Savages

She'd been lingering on the fringe, wishing she could vanish into the trees.

But the moment their scent touched her, something inside her responded - a deep, primal thrum under her skin. Her pulse pounded, too loud. Instinct pushed her backward, deeper into the dark.

And that was when she felt it.

Before she even saw him, her body knew.
The space behind her shifted - empty one heartbeat, full the next. A presence closed in, and a pull coiled tight in her gut.

He'd moved before reason could intervene. A scent had hooked into him, dragging him through the woods like prey scenting blood. His wolf prowled just beneath his skin, muscles tensing, jaw locking against the raw urge to claim.

His gaze found her neck, the tremor of her breath. He froze - not from control, but from the horror of wanting something he didn't yet understand.

Leah's breath hitched. Every hair on her body rose as instinct whispered the truth she didn't want to hear:
something had found her.

"I've never seen you before." It wasn't a question. It was a claim disguised as curiosity.

Something ancient rippled between them - a pull, a recognition. She didn't understand what was happening only that her body did somehow.

His nostrils flared. "You..." His voice broke off, roughened.

The earth itself seemed to hold its breath as the bond clicked into place - invisible, undeniable, ancient.

He took a step closer behind her.
She didn't move.
"Mine."

• • •

Leah had always resented werewolves, despite her own lineage. They were reckless, impulsive, dangerous. She lived with her human grandmother on the outskirts of a town hidden in the forests.

That is, until her grandmother's funeral changes everything. She finds a letter addressed to her from her late grandmother-urging her to reconnect with her roots and her deep regrets for keeping her shielded from it. And once she makes the decision to venture out into the woods, she might find no reason to come crawling back to the human world