Lena's breath hitched as she stared at her arm, the scratches from Zane's wolf now faint lines under the truck's dim dome light. Dawn's gray glow filtered through the pines, but it couldn't chase the chill in her bones. Her arm shouldn't look like this, gashes closing in minutes, skin knitting like a time-lapse trick. She yanked her sleeve down, hiding it, but her heart pounded, echoing the howls that had chased them from the safehouse. Kael sat beside her, blood still crusting his knuckles, his gold-flecked eyes fixed on the road as the truck rumbled deeper into Blackwood Forest.
"You saw it," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, fear tightening her throat. "My arm... it's not normal." She wanted him to deny it, to say it was shock, adrenaline, anything but what her gut screamed.
Kael's jaw clenched, his hands steady on the wheel, but his silence was louder than words.
He'd seen her heal too fast, too clean for a human. His wolf stirred, piecing together fragments: her scent, never quite human; the mark glowing; the rogues hunting her before he'd even claimed her. Lena wasn't just caught in his world, she was part of it, maybe always had been.
"Kael," she pressed, turning to him, her hazel eyes wide, desperate. "Say something."
He pulled the truck onto a dirt shoulder, cutting the engine. The forest loomed, silent but alive, and he faced her, his expression unreadable. "You're not hurt anymore," he said, voice low, careful. "Those scratches, they should've needed stitches. Days to heal. Not minutes."
She shook her head, hugging her arm like it could erase the truth. "Don't. It's... it's your fault. That bite, your mark, it's messing with me." Her neck throbbed under the hoodie, the mark's heat pulsing, and she clung to the lie.
She was human. Normal. Not like him, not like the monsters tearing her life apart.
Kael leaned closer, his scent—pine, leather, wild, flooding her, the mate bond sparking despite her fear. "Lena, listen," he said, his tone soft but firm. "The mark doesn't do that.
It binds us, yeah, but healing like this? That's you. Something in you... it's not fully human."
Her laugh was sharp, panicked, cutting through the cab. "Not human? Are you hearing yourself? I'm not a werewolf, Kael. I'm not... whatever you think I am!" She shoved at the door, needing air, needing distance, but he caught her wrist, gentle but unyielding.
"You can't run from this," he said, his eyes searching hers, gold sparking with urgency.
"Your scent's always been off—honey, cedar but something else, something I couldn't place. The rogues, Zane, they're not just after you because of me. They want you for what you are."
"What l am?" She yanked free, her voice rising, fear turning to anger. "I'm Lena Harper, Kael! I grew up in Crestwood, I worked at Moonlit Brew, I had a normal life until you showed up!
Don't put your crazy on me!"
His wolf whined, hating her distress, but Kael didn't back down. He saw it now—her healing, the mark's glow, the way her eyes caught light like no human's should. "You're scared," he said, softer. "I get it. But think, Lena. The dreams, wolves, howls. The way you fought that rogue, held your own. You're stronger than you know."
"Stop it!" She slid out of the truck, slamming the door, her sneakers crunching frost as she paced the clearing. Her arm tingled, not with pain but something deeper, like a current under her skin. She flashed to her childhood— fevers no doctor could explain, cuts that faded too fast, her mom's vague stories about "family quirks." No. She was human. She had to be.
Kael followed, keeping his distance, his boots soft on the ground. "I'm not saying you're a wolf," he said, hands raised. "But you're something. The mark, it's reacting to you, glowing, pulling us tighter. That's not normal, even for a mate."
She spun, her hair whipping in the wind, tears pricking her eyes. "I don't want to be your mate! I don't want any of this—your pack, your enemies, your world! Why can't you leave me alone?"
"Because I can't," he growled, stepping closer, his voice raw. "You're in my blood, Lena. And you're in danger. Zane's wolves, the rogues, my own pack turning. If you're not human, if you've got power, they'll want it. Or they'll destroy it."
Her chest heaved, fear and fury tangling. She wanted to deny it, to scream that he was wrong, but her arm, smooth now with no trace of scratches, mocked her. The mark burned, like it was listening, and she saw her dream again: a black wolf, gold eyes, howling her name.
Kael's wolf. "I'm scared," she admitted, her voice small, breaking. "I don't know what's happening to me."
He closed the gap, slow, like she might bolt. "I know," he said, his hand hovering near her cheek, not touching. "But I'm here. We'll figure it out, your healing, the mark, all of it. You're not alone."
She met his eyes, gold and steady, and the bond hummed, warm, tempting. Part of her wanted to lean into him, to let his strength anchor her, but fear held her back. She wasn't his mate, wasn't anything but Lena. Human, normal. Right? She stepped away, shaking her head. "I need time, Kael. Not answers. Time."
He nodded, pain flashing across his face, but he didn't push. "We'll stop soon. Somewhere safer. Just... stay with me."
She didn't answer, turning back to the truck, her bag slung over her shoulder. It was heavier than she remembered, stuffed with clothes from her friend's place, and it snagged on the door as she climbed in. Something slipped out, hitting the ground with a soft clink. Lena froze, her eyes locking on it—a pendant, silver, etched with a crescent moon and symbols she didn't recognize. It wasn't hers. She'd never seen it before.
She crouched, her fingers trembling as she picked it up. It was warm, heavier than it looked, and the symbols seemed to pulse, like the mark on her neck. "Kael," she said, her voice barely audible, fear spiking anew. "What is this?"