The Wolf That Saved Me

Chapter 3: Werewolf Hunters

I swallowed, forcing down the sudden, dizzying pull I felt toward him.

“Running out of time for what?” I asked, my voice uneven.

His lips parted, but he hesitated. As if he wasn’t sure he should tell me. As if he didn’t trust himself.

“You feel it, don’t you?” he said finally.

That low, gravelly voice sent a shiver through me. I hated how my body reacted to it, to him.

I folded my arms, trying to ignore the heat spreading through my veins. “Feel what?”

His eyes flickered to my hands, my nails digging into my arms, the tension in my shoulders.

“The hunger,” he murmured.

My stomach twisted. A deep, gnawing ache curled in my gut, and I knew exactly what he meant.

It wasn’t hunger for food.

It was something else.

Something dangerous.

I had felt it that night when I lost control, when I tore into—no. I couldn’t think about that. I wouldn’t.

I clenched my teeth. “You did this to me.”

His expression darkened. “I saved you.”

“That’s not saving.” My breath hitched. “You made me a monster.”

A shadow of something flickered across his face. His fingers twitched at his sides. Then, so low I almost missed it, he whispered, “You don’t even know what a monster is yet.”

The way he said it, like he had seen real monsters, like maybe he was one. I didn’t know whether to be terrified or… something else entirely.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. I took a step back, but I could feel it again, that strange, restless pull between us, like an invisible thread tying me to him.

I hated it. I craved it.

His eyes dipped down, just for a second, to my throat. My pulse. I saw the way his jaw tensed, the way his breath hitched, like he was fighting something, too.

Like maybe he was just as hungry as I was.

The air between us was thick, suffocating. I felt my hands trembling, my skin burning. I needed to get away from him. Now.

I forced myself to turn, to step away, to put as much distance between us as possible.

But his voice stopped me cold. “You don’t trust me,” he said.

I turned my head slightly, just enough to see him over my shoulder. “Of course I don’t.”

His gaze never left mine. “Then why haven’t you run?”

I had no answer. Because he was right.

I hadn’t run and that scared me more than anything.

Every second I stood here, I felt that pull between us tightening like a noose.

I couldn't let this continue.

“Stay away from me.” My voice was steady, but I felt the tremor in my fingers, the way my pulse hammered against my skin.

He didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

I turned, taking a step away from him, then another. I expected him to stop me, to say something, to force me to acknowledge whatever the hell this was between us.

But he let me go. And somehow, that unsettled me even more.

I found Elias sitting in the back booth of a dimly lit café, stirring his tea like he was the most calculated person I’d ever met. His golden eyes lifted when he saw me, a slow smirk tugging at his lips.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he murmured, tilting his head. “Or something worse.”

I slid into the seat across from him, my body still thrumming with unease. “You knew.”

Elias raised a brow. “Knew what, darling?”

I clenched my jaw. “You knew he was watching me.”

Something flickered in his gaze, but it was gone too quickly to read. He took a slow sip of his tea before setting it down. “I might have suspected.”

My nails dug into the table. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

He sighed, feigning disappointment. “If I told you, you would’ve gone looking for him, wouldn’t you?”

I hated how well he could read me.

I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you even care?”

Elias leaned in, his voice lower, silkier. “Because I don’t like sharing.”

Something cold slithered down my spine.

I had trusted Elias because I had no one else. Because when I was drowning, he had been the only one to throw me a rope. But now…

Now I wasn’t sure if he had pulled me out of the water to save me or to drag me into something even darker.

“You think he’s dangerous,” I said. “But what about you, Elias? What do you want from me?”

His smirk deepened, but there was something sharper underneath it now. Something calculating.

“Oh, Olivia,” he murmured. “I already have you exactly where I want you.”

My blood ran cold. I wasn’t sure who was the bigger threat anymore.

The man who bit me or the one who never needed to.

(THE WATCHER POV)

I found him exactly where I expected.

Elias never did subtlety well, he likes to be seen, to be felt in every room he occupied. The kind of man who made sure the world revolved around him, just by existing. And right now, he was leaning lazily against a lamppost outside Olivia’s apartment, waiting.

Waiting for her. Waiting to twist his influence deeper into her bones.

“You’re persistent,” I muttered, stepping into the glow of the streetlight.

Elias didn’t flinch. Didn’t even look surprised. Instead, he let out a slow, satisfied sigh. “Brother,” he mused, pushing off the post and facing me fully. “I was wondering when you’d crawl out of whatever shadows you’ve been sulking in.”

I ignored his provocation. “Stay away from her.”

He chuckled, the sound rich and amused. “Oh, Michael. You can’t seriously think you’re in any position to make demands.” His golden eyes gleamed with amusement. “You bit her. Marked her. Gave her a life she never asked for. And now, what? You want to play protector? A little late for that, don’t you think?”

My fists clenched at my sides. “I saved her.”

“You cursed her,” Elias corrected smoothly, stepping closer. “And now, she’s looking for answers. Answers I’m more than happy to provide.”

I grabbed his collar, shoving him against the lamppost with a growl. A normal man would’ve been terrified. Elias only grinned.

“Olivia isn’t a game,” I gritted out.

Elias tilted his head. “Isn’t she?” His voice dipped lower, more venomous. “Because from where I’m standing, she’s already playing, whether she knows it or not.”

I let go of him, forcing myself to step back. He was baiting me, like he always did. And if I let my anger win, Olivia would be caught between us.

Elias straightened his jacket with an exaggerated sigh. “Come now, Michael. You know I don’t ruin things.” His smirk deepened. “I simply… test them.”

My jaw locked. “She isn’t one of your experiments.”

“No,” he murmured. “She’s much more interesting than that.”

I stared at him, my gut twisting with unease. I knew Elias. Knew his games. And if he had set his sights on Olivia…

She was in more danger than she realized.

“I won’t let you use her,” I said, voice low.

Elias only chuckled again, stepping past me. “Oh, dear brother,” he whispered, clapping a hand on my shoulder as he passed. “You’re assuming she isn’t already mine.”

I turned to glare at him, but he was already walking away, whistling like this was all some grand joke.

I knew then, without a doubt—he wasn’t going to stay away from Olivia.

Which meant I’d have to find another way to keep her safe.

(Night of the full moon)

The night air was sharp, cutting through my thin jacket like a blade. I could feel something was wrong. The full moon hung too bright in the sky, illuminating the empty streets of the town I was trying to call home. I had left my apartment for air, for space to escape the pressure of everything closing in on me. But now, I wished I hadn’t.

I wasn’t alone.

At first, I thought it was him, The Watcher. Always lurking, always watching. But the air smelled wrong. My senses had become sharper, more attuned to things they shouldn’t be, and something about the scent made my stomach turn.

I heard them before I saw them, heavy boots against concrete, the soft clink of metal. Instinct screamed at me to run, but my body refused to move. Then, out of the darkness, they emerged.

Hunters.

There were three of them, dressed in dark clothing, their faces obscured by shadows. One carried a rifle, the other two had blades—silver, my gut told me. The scent of it made my skin crawl.

“She’s just a newbie,” one of them muttered. “Barely turned.”

“Doesn’t matter,” the tallest one said. “They grow into monsters. We don’t wait.”

I stepped back, panic rising in my throat. “I’m not..”

“Don’t bother lying,” the leader cut me off. “We can smell it on you.”

My pulse hammered against my ribs. My wolf powers if I could even call it that, stirred weakly inside me, but I didn’t know how to use it, how to fight. I was trapped in between, too human to be strong, too wolf to be safe.

They moved closer. I turned to run, but I was too slow. One of them lunged, grabbing my arm. The silver burned like fire, searing into my skin. I screamed, struggling, but they were stronger, trained. I was going to die.

Then came the growl. Deep. Unrelenting. A sound that shook the air around us.

The Watcher.

He moved fast, too fast for my human eyes to track. One moment the hunter had me, the next he was on the ground, his throat torn open. The others reacted instantly, raising their weapons, but the watcher was faster. He ripped through them with terrifying precision, a force of nature in the moonlight.

I barely recognized him like this. He wasn’t just a shadow in the distance anymore—he was a monster made of teeth and rage. And he was killing for me.

The last hunter barely managed to fire his rifle before he crushed him. The shot rang out, echoing through the night, and I flinched as the scent of blood filled my lungs.

Then, silence.

The Watcher stood over their bodies, his breathing ragged, his golden eyes locking onto mine. His face and hands were soaked in blood. He looked at me as if trying to gauge my reaction, waiting for me to run, to scream.

I did neither.

I should have been afraid. I should have hated him for what he had done to me that night at the bar, for cursing me to this existence. But as I stood there, staring at the bodies of men who had come to kill me, all I felt was the weight of reality sinking in.

This was my life now.

He stepped toward me, his expression unreadable. “I’m Michael, You can’t stay here.” His voice was rough, low, not quite human.

I swallowed hard. “I know.”

His jaw clenched. He was still watching me, always watching me. But for the first time, I realized something else.

Michael wasn’t my enemy. He was my shield.