The pendant burned in Lena's hand, its warmth unnatural, like a coal plucked from a fire that didn't exist. She crouched in the frost-dusted clearing, the truck's headlights cutting harsh beams through Blackwood Forest's dawn mist.
Her breath fogged, sharp with panic, as she stared at the silver crescent moon etched into the metal, its unfamiliar symbols pulsing faintly, like a heartbeat she could feel but not hear.
Her neck throbbed where Kael's mark lay hidden under her hoodie, syncing with the pendant's heat, and her stomach twisted. This wasn't hers. She'd never seen it before it fell from her bag, yet it felt alive, tethered to her in a way that made her skin crawl.
"Kael," she said again, her voice a frayed thread, barely cutting through the forest's eerie quiet. She stood, holding the pendant out like it might bite, her hazel eyes wide with questions she wasn't sure she wanted answered. Her arm, impossibly healed from Zane's wolf scratches, tingled under her sleeve, another betrayal of the normal life she'd clung to.
Kael turned from scanning the trees, his gold-flecked eyes locking on the pendant. His wolf surged, a low growl rumbling in his chest as he stepped closer, boots crunching frost. The air shifted, heavy with something ancient, and his nostrils flared, catching a scent beneath Lena's—honey, cedar, and now something sharper, like ozone before a storm. Old magic. Not Silverfang, not Thornclaw, but older, deeper, the kind his pack's elders whispered of in warnings about forgotten powers. His wolf clawed at him, protective, wary, picturing Lena's glowing mark, her healing, and now this.
"Where did you get that?" he asked, voice rough, low enough to blend with the wind. He didn't touch the pendant, but his fingers twitched, claws itching to break free. The mate bond hummed, pulling him to her, but this was trouble, a piece of her puzzle he hadn't seen coming.
"I don't know," Lena snapped, her fear sharpening to anger. She shook her head, chestnut hair spilling loose from her bun, catching the truck's light. "It fell out of my bag, but it's not mine. I swear, Kael, I've never…" She stopped, her fingers tightening around the pendant as it vibrated, a low hum that buzzed through her bones. Her breath hitched, and she stumbled back, the knife from the safehouse clattering from her pocket to the ground. "It's... it's doing something."
Kael was at her side in a flash, his hand hovering near her elbow, not touching, she'd told him not to—but close enough to catch her if she fell. His eyes narrowed on the pendant, the symbols glowing now, soft silver, like moonlight trapped in metal. "Lena, drop it," he said, urgent but steady, his wolf pacing inside him. "It's magic. Old. Not safe."
"Drop it?" Her laugh was brittle, edged with panic. "You think I want to hold this thing? It's like it's... stuck." She tried to open her hand, but her fingers wouldn't budge, curled tight around the pendant as if it had a will of its own.
The hum grew louder, a melody weaving through her mind, not sound but feeling. Sorrow, strength, a call she couldn't name. Her mark burned hotter, and she gasped, clutching her neck with her free hand. "Kael, what's happening to me?"
He cursed under his breath, his wolf snarling at the pendant's power, at his own helplessness.
Lena wasn't just his mate; she was something else, something Zane and the rogues wanted, something tied to this relic. He saw her healing again, scratches vanishing, her eyes catching light like no human's should. The prophecy Gavric had muttered about, a power to reshape wolves—flashed in his mind, but he shoved it down. Not now. He needed her safe, not caught in myths.
"Focus on me," he said, stepping closer, his voice a lifeline. Her hazel eyes met his, wide, terrified, but that spark he loved—defiant, fierce, still burned. "Breathe, Lena. You're stronger than it. Fight it."
She nodded, shaky, her chest heaving as she tried to wrench her hand open. The pendant's glow flared, silver light spilling between her fingers, and Kael felt it, a pulse of magic that wasn't just old but alive, probing, seeking. His wolf howled, sensing a threat not to him but to her, to the bond tying them. He grabbed her wrist, gentle but firm, ignoring her flinch, and
poured his alpha strength into it, a silent command: Let go.
The pendant resisted, its hum spiking to a wail only Lena seemed to hear. She cried out, her knees buckling, but Kael caught her, one arm around her waist, pulling her against his chest Her scent; honey, cedar, flooded him, drowning the magic's bite, and the bond roared, hot, binding, pushing back the pendant's pull. But her closeness, her trembling body, her lips parted, her fear and fire lit something primal in him, a hunger he'd fought since marking her.
"Lena," he growled, voice thick, his lips near her ear, his hands tightening on her hips. He tried to stop, to focus. Zane, rogues, magic, but her warmth, the bond's pulse, broke him. "I can't.." he rasped, and before sense could hold him, he kissed her, hard, desperate, pinning her against the truck's cold metal. She gasped, kissing him back, fierce, her hands fisting his jacket, pulling him closer, their need a spark igniting dry wood.
It was fast, unplanned, raw. His hands slid under her hoodie, rough on her skin, lifting her just enough, her legs hooking around him.
"Kael," she moaned, soft, urgent, as he tore at her jeans' button, his claws grazing, careful but wild. He entered her, quick, deep, a groan tearing from him as she arched, nails digging into his shoulders, their breaths harsh in the quiet. It was frantic, stolen—her heat, his strength, the bond sealing in sweat and gasps, no words, just them, alive, defiant. Seconds, maybe, but it burned, their love a blaze against the pendant's threat, the world's chaos.
He stilled, panting, forehead pressed to hers, shame flickering—he'd lost control, but her fingers traced his lips, soft, forgiving, her eyes saying she'd needed it too. "I'm okay," she whispered, breathless, love in her voice, and he nodded, kissing her gently, pulling her hoodie straight, their bond humming, stronger now.
The pendant's glow dimmed, its hum softening, and her fingers loosened, just enough for Kael to pry it free. It hit the ground with a dull thud, the symbols fading, but the air still crackled, heavy with what it had done.
Lena sagged against him, breathing hard, her hands steadying on his chest, the moment's heat lingering but the fear rushing back.
"What was that?" she whispered, her voice raw, trembling. She pulled back, just enough to look at him, her face pale but fierce. "It felt... alive. Like it knew me."
Kael didn't answer right away, his eyes on the pendant lying in the frost. Its power was dormant now, but he felt its echo, a whisper of something vast, tied to her blood, her healing, the mark he'd left. "Old magic," he said finally, voice tight, his hand finding hers, lacing their fingers, grounding them both. "Not wolf, not human. Something else. It's tied to you, Lena, same as the mark, same as your healing." He met her gaze, his wolf steadying him. "You're not just caught in my world. You're part of it."
"Part of it?" Her voice rose, fear twisting to anger again. She shoved away from him, standing on her own, though her legs shook.
"I'm not your prophecy, Kael! I'm not some... some artifact for you to figure out!" She pointed at the pendant, her hand trembling, the afterglow of their clash fading under her panic. "That thing, my arm, it's not me. I'm human. I have to be."
His wolf whined, hating her pain, but Kael didn't flinch. He saw her dreams—wolves, howls, gold eyes, mirrored in her fear, her denial. "You're more," he said, soft but certain, stepping closer, his hand hovering, wanting to touch but holding back. "The rogues, Zane, they've been after you since before I marked you. This pendant, it's not random. It's yours, Lena, even if you don't remember."
She opened her mouth to argue, but the pendant hummed again, fainter now, a low vibration that made them both freeze. Lena's eyes widened, her hand flying to her chest, not the mark but her heart, like something pulled there. The forest seemed to hold its breath, the dawn's gray light bending around the pendant, casting shadows that shouldn't exist—shapes of wolves, women, circles of stone.
Then she heard it.
Lena.
A voice, female, ancient, not from the pendant but inside her, clear as a bell and heavy with sorrow. It called her name, soft, insistent, like a mother she'd never known. Her knees buckled, and she gasped, her eyes darting to Kael, searching for proof he'd heard it too. "Did you..." she started, but her voice broke, fear choking her. The voice came again, Lena, fainter now, a whisper fading into silence.
Kael's wolf roared, sensing the magic's reach, its claim on her. He stepped between her and the pendant, his claws flexing, ready to shred it if it moved. "What did you hear?" he demanded, his voice raw, gold eyes blazing.
"Lena, tell me."
She stared at him, her face drained of color, the bond pulsing between them, alive with her fear and his need to protect. "A voice," she whispered, barely audible. "It... it said my name."