Chapter 63 63
Rain battered down on him, sluicing away the blood that moments ago had soaked his skin. Each flash of lightning carved his form out of the darkness, sharp and undeniable. And that—that was what made her heart seize.
There were no wounds.
No gashes on his chest.
No torn flesh on his forehead.
Fernando stood untouched.
Like nothing had ever happened.
Like him.
No.
No this couldn’t be real.
Her mind recoiled, scrambling for excuses. She had to be hallucinating. The heat burning through her veins must be messing with her senses. Her body was betraying her, playing cruel tricks. Anything—anything but this.
She clung to denial with desperate fingers, inventing reason after reason, but reality was relentless. How long could she lie to herself when her own eyes refused to look away?
He dragged his fingers through his hair, combing it back as his bare, powerful back flexed beneath the rain. Muscles rolled beneath wet skin as he turned
and she bolted sideways, pressing herself against the wooden wall, hiding in the shadows just in time.
Her breaths came fast and shallow as she stared into the dark, seeing nothing, hearing everything. Her heart slammed violently against her ribs, each beat louder than the thunder overhead.
You’re overthinking, she told herself weakly.
But the lie tasted bitter.
She had seen him kill that massive bear with his bare hands. Seen claws extend where fingers should have been. Seen strength no human should possess.
She had seen his eyes glow gold just for a second and had dismissed it as fear playing tricks on her.
But now, staring at his unmarred chest, the absence of wounds twisting her stomach into knots, panic churned violently inside her.
She watched him move away from the cottage, disappearing into the trees.
And without thinking without weighing fear or reason she stepped out after him, her movements cautious, silent.
Unaware that tonight would tear her life apart and rebuild it into something unrecognizable.
Fernando being angry was an understatement.
He was livid.
The bear hadn’t been natural. It had come out of nowhere, driven mad by magic witchcraft. That was the only explanation for an attack so reckless, so deliberate.
His jaw tightened as the realization struck him again.
Sofía had seen him kill it.
The thought made his blood burn. He could only hope she hadn’t seen the claws. Hope she hadn’t understood what she’d witnessed.
She’d looked terrified small, shaken and that cursed cottage hadn’t helped ease her fear.
He needed to make sure the area was secure.
If witches could send a spellbound bear after him, then there was a high chance they were nearby. Watching. Waiting. Or worse rogues lurking in the shadows.
The idea alone made rage coil viciously in his chest.
He moved farther from the cottage, scanning the woods, searching for any trace of unfamiliar scent. The heavy rain made tracking nearly impossible, washing everything clean.
Then
A twig snapped.
Four o’clock.
His muscles locked instantly.
In the next heartbeat, Hunter tore free.
Bones cracked. Flesh shifted. Power exploded through him as he transformed mid-lunge, a massive black wolf bursting from human skin, magnificent and lethal, flying toward its target.
Sofía stood frozen behind a tree at the edge of the clearing, horror unfolding before her eyes.
Shock hit her first sharp, paralyzing.
Then fear followed, ripping through every nerve in her body.
“W-What is h-he…?” The words barely formed, broken and trembling as they slipped from her lips.
She shook violently, like a leaf caught in a storm.
The man she loved was gone.
In his place stood a beast.
A massive black wolf.
She had watched him change. Watched flesh become fur, humanity dissolve into something primal and terrifying.
He wasn’t human.
He was her worst nightmare.
Her feet wouldn’t move. Her body had forgotten how. Her throat closed tight, stealing her breath as she watched the wolf kill a man before her eyes swift, brutal, final.
A silent gasp tore free when the wolf lifted its head and its eyes locked onto hers.
Terror iced her spine.
She stumbled back instinctively, then turned and ran.
Branches tore at her skin as she fled through the woods, panic driving her blindly forward until a powerful force slammed into her from behind.
She screamed as she lost her footing, crashing toward the ground
but he twisted mid-fall, taking the impact himself.
She landed on the wolf’s massive body.
Sofía shrieked and scrambled away, stumbling back several steps. When she looked again, the wolf was gone.
Her heart pounded wildly as her gaze darted around
and then she saw him.
Fernando stepped out from between the trees in his human form, rain slicking his skin. He wore only his pants, hanging low on his hips, water tracing the hard lines of his body.
She couldn’t lift her eyes to his face.
She didn’t need to.
His sharp, furious green eyes locked onto her, pinning her in place.
“W-What a-are… y-you?” she stammered.
The only sign of emotion was the slight twitch of his jaw.
He was furious.
And terrified she now knew the truth.
That he was a beast.
A cold wind swept through the clearing, lifting her soaked hair, raising goosebumps along her skin. The air felt charged ominous, alive.
He said nothing.
Silence swallowed them whole, heavy and threatening, rain blurring the world around them like a living thing waiting to strike.
She couldn’t move.
The burning inside her so confusing, so wrong eased just by looking at him. Desire twisted unexpectedly in her chest, terrifying her more than the fear.
He looked dark beneath the moonlight. Dangerous. Brooding. Unfairly handsome.
Her mind screamed at her to run.
His body stiffened as her scent reached him, every muscle going taut, every instinct flaring.
“You’re on heat,” he growled.
His deep voice vibrated through the air, strained controlled as though holding himself back was physically painful.
The truth crashed down on her all at once.
He wasn’t human.
He was a creature.
A werewolf.
Her legs buckled.
Panic surged, and suddenly she spun and ran, throwing herself in the opposite direction with everything she had.
A ferocious growl thundered behind her, freezing her blood and nearly stealing her strength but she didn’t stop.
Shoes flew off her feet as she ran blindly, sobbing, branches cutting into her bare skin. Twigs and sharp leaves sliced her soles, drawing blood, but she didn’t care.
She had to escape.
She could feel him closing in.
Then
Her arm was yanked back hard.
The world flipped as she screamed, terror ripping from her throat.
“NO! Let go!” she cried, thrashing wildly against him.
One savage growl shattered her resistance.
Her body went rigid with fear.
“I won’t be gentle anymore,” he snarled purely, terrifyingly animal.