The cold night air stung against Ariana’s skin as the world spun in chaos around her.
The alley was alive with the snarls and snapping jaws of rogue wolves, their glowing eyes cutting through the shadows like shards of burning glass. Her pulse thudded in her ears, drowning out the hum of the distant diner lights still flickering somewhere behind her.
Kael stood in front of her, a wall of muscle and heat, his back broad and tense as he faced the threat head-on. The faint shimmer of gold in his eyes reflected the neon from a broken streetlamp above, like the promise of something ancient and dangerous lurking beneath his skin.
“Stay behind me,” he growled, the sound more beast than man.
Ariana’s hands trembled, but not from the cold. This man—this stranger—wasn’t just dangerous; he was so
