Owned by the billionaire beast

The beginning

The man stepped into the cabin as though he owned the night.

Broken glass crunched beneath polished leather shoes. The wind tugged at the torn edges of the doorway, yet not a strand of his dark hair moved out of place.

Nora didn't lower the acoustic hailing device.

She kept it trained on him, her finger resting on the trigger.

The creature remained on its knees, chest heaving, its massive body trembling beneath the invisible weight of the frequency she'd unleashed. It didn't dare look at the newcomer.

It bowed its head.

The man glanced down at it, his expression unreadable.

"Enough."

He spoke softly.

The beast immediately stopped struggling.

Nora's grip tightened.

"You can control it."

His eyes lifted to meet hers.

"They usually obey."

"Usually?"

A faint smile touched his lips.

"Tonight appears to be an exception."

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

The cabin seemed impossibly small.

The air between them felt charged, as though a thunderstorm had found its way indoors.

Nora studied him carefully.

He looked no older than his early thirties. His suit was impeccably tailored, charcoal gray with a crisp white shirt beneath. There wasn't a speck of mud on him despite the forest outside.

Nothing about him fit.

Not his clothes.

Not his calm.

Not those impossible golden eyes.

"You've got five seconds to explain what that thing is," she said, keeping the device aimed squarely at his chest. "And don't insult me by telling me it's a bear."

His gaze drifted briefly toward the creature.

"It isn't."

"I figured that much."

"It belongs to me."

Nora blinked.

"Belongs to you?"

"It's one of my wolves."

Her laugh came out sharp and humorless.

"Wolves don't stand on two legs."

"No."

"They don't speak."

"No."

"They certainly don't try to rip people apart."

A shadow crossed his face.

"They do when they've lost control."

Silence settled between them again.

Nora searched his expression for any sign that he was joking.

She found none.

"You expect me to believe this?"

"I don't expect anything."

"Then start making sense."

Instead of answering, he looked toward the creature.

"You may leave."

The beast hesitated.

It looked at Nora.

Not with hatred.

With fear.

Then it slipped through the broken doorway and vanished into the fog without another sound.

Nora stared after it.

"It... obeyed you."

"It obeyed both of us."

She frowned.

"What does that mean?"

His eyes settled on her again.

"It hasn't listened to my voice in three years."

A chill crept down her spine.

"But it listened to yours."

"I used sound."

"You gave it a command."

"I matched its resonance."

"You made an Alpha beast submit."

"I don't know what an Alpha beast is."

"No."

His voice softened.

"I don't suppose you do."

He took a slow step closer.

Nora immediately raised the hailing device.

"Don't."

He stopped.

"I've already seen what that machine can do," he said calmly. "I'd rather not experience it myself."

"Good."

For the first time, he looked genuinely curious.

"What is your name?"

"Nora."

"Nora..."

He repeated it quietly, as though testing how it sounded.

Then he nodded once.

"I'm Kieran."

She waited.

He offered nothing else.

"Kieran...?"

"Vane."

The surname meant nothing to her.

Outside, the wind shifted.

A low howl echoed somewhere deep in the mountains.

Another answered.

Then another.

Kieran's expression changed instantly.

The calm disappeared.

He turned toward the forest, listening.

"They're coming."

Nora felt it this time.

A vibration beneath her feet.

Not one heartbeat.

Many.

Fast.

Closing in.

She looked toward the darkness beyond the shattered doorway.

"Who's coming?"

He met her eyes.

"My enemies."

Another howl split the night, much closer than before.

Kieran looked back at her, his voice suddenly firm.

"If you want to live until sunrise..."

He extended his hand.

"...come with me."

Nora looked from his outstretched hand to the darkness outside.

One choice meant trusting a stranger who claimed to command monsters.

The other meant facing whatever was racing through the forest alone.

Neither felt safe.

But one of them offered a chance.

She took a slow breath.

Then made her decision.