Chapter 1
********Arman pov **********
Thunder cracked across the sky as the full moon tore through the clouds.
I ran fast as I could,through the woods,
It was late already,I shouldn't have stayed out this late.
I struggled with breathing as my lungs were burning, my bare feet tearing through the forest floor.The trees reached for me like twisted fingers,branches snapping at my skin.
I didn’t stop. I shouldn't stop.
The transformation was beginning,
My veins pulsed with heat, searing like molten iron. My bones ached, rearranging under the skin. The curse was coming for me, clawing its way out.
“No,” I gasped, my voice already distorting into something inhuman. “Not yet please” I cried out
Begging it to stop.But I knew too well it wouldn't
The pain slammed into me, dropping me to my knees. I roared out loud as the beast ate me up.My Muscles convulsed. My spine arched. My hands split open at the knuckles as claws forced their way out. My eyes burned black, swallowing the color of the world around me.
Then suddenly,silence.
Only the wind. The moonlight. And me, hunched, trembling in pain.
I had lost control again,again
“What the hell...” came a voice,
My head snapped up.
She stood at the edge of the woods, clutching a torn umbrella, she was already soaked in rain.Her boots were muddied. Her curls were stuck to her face.
Her wide blue eyes met my monstrous gaze.
She took a shaky step back.
I snarled.
Then she ran.
And in that single moment,the beast, suddenly became calm,calmer than I ever felt in years The transformation had stopped.Something that should’ve been impossible.
The beast the thing that had haunted me for years had calmed at the sight of her.
Suddenly,my body started changing back to human form.
What the hell??
My claws shrank, the bones in my hands snapping back into place with a sickening crunch. My spine straightened, my vision blurred as colour returned back to my eye.
I collapsed forward, breathing heavily as mud soaked into my skin
I had to chain myself down most nights just to keep the beast from breaking loose.
And now… it had just stopped.
I forced myself to my knees, with a shaking hand,I reached into the torn remains of my jacket,My phone, I need to call Jaden my driver.He shouldn't let her leave.Rain dripped across the screen as I pressed the call icon.
“Pick up,” I muttered through clenched teeth. “Come on, Jaden…”
A click.
“Sir?”
" Listen carefully,” I growled. “There’s a woman. She just ran out of the forest. Soaked. Blonde straight hair, Mud on her boots. Find her.”
“Sir—?”
“Now, Jaden. Follow her , Keep her in sight. Do not let her leave ,I’m on my way.”
“Yes, sir.”
Then my phone sounded after a minute
“Spotted her,” Jaden’s voice came through. . “She’s headed for the main road. Shaking. Looks like she’s trying to call someone."
“Hurry,make sure she doesn't get away."
“yes sir."
Jaden’s voice crackling faintly as I made my way through the leaves.
“She’s moving fast, sir,” Jaden replied, voice steady. “But I’m pulling up now. I’ll try to get her into the car.”
I raised the phone back to my ear, voice low and urgent. “She can’t leave, Jaden. You understand me? We don’t know who she is, what she saw, or what she’ll say.”
“She isn't co operating, sir,” he whispered.
“Then stop her,” I snapped. “Do whatever you have to. Knock her out if it comes to that but I need her alive.”
There was a long pause on the other end.
Then Jaden’s voice: “Understood.”
I pushed forward, feet splashing through the mud,My heart was beating fast I felt it crawl up my spine.
Survival.
If she spoke about what she saw tonight,
I was finished.
The curse, the bloodline, the centuries of hiding it would all unravel with a single scream from her lips. Just that she’d seen me at my worst.
And if she ran to the wrong people…
No. I couldn’t let that happen.
A sharp crack of thunder rolled overhead as I broke through the final line of trees.My SUV was packed outside the forest as jaden was waiting.
The rear passenger door was open already.I tried to catch my breadth.
Then I saw her a beautiful figure slumped against the seat, her blonde hair tangled across her cheek.
Jaden stood beside the door, His blazer was already soaked in rain.
“She was trying to run away."he said as soon as he saw me “Didn’t give me a choice.”
I walked slowly toward the car, my pulse slowing, though my jaw clenched tighter with each step.
“You didn’t hurt her?” I asked.
“Not more than I had to. She’s breathing fine.”
Good.
That mattered more than I wanted to admit.
I leaned into the car, watching as her chest rise and fall. Her skin was cold, her hands trembling even while she is unconscious.
I turned to Jaden. “To the mansion."
“Yes, sir.”
As he rounded the car, I slipped into the backseat beside her, soaking the leather with my ruined clothes.
And as the engine rumbled to life, I sat back in the shadows beside a woman I didn’t know yet somehow, she had tamed the beast in me.
I didn’t know why.
But I’d find out.
Even if I had to keep her until I did.
