The Wounded Stranger
1077 Words
The moment I stepped out of the training hall, the wind shifted—sharp, metallic, carrying the heavy scent of blood. My wolf reacted instantly, rising, alert. Blood on my territory? At dawn? That alone was enough to make my heart thrum with danger.
But there was something else hidden beneath it… something faint, warm, familiar in a way I couldn’t explain.
A pull.
No.
Not possible.
I followed the scent through the trees until I reached the border outpost. Two warriors stood frozen, their eyes wide, their bodies tense like they didn’t know whether to bow or run.
“What happened?” I demanded.
They stepped aside.
That’s when I saw him.
A young man lay collapsed at the base of a tree, his body torn open by claw marks. His shirt was ripped, soaked with blood, his breathing shallow and broken. Dirt streaked his skin. Bruises covered his arms. His wolf—whatever it was—was barely hanging on.
But his face…
Soft, sharp, beautiful in a way that struck too deep.
And then he opened his eyes.
Grey. Stormy. Unfocused.
But the moment they locked on me, something in my chest detonated.
A bond.
A connection.
A force bigger than logic, bigger than power, bigger than the walls I’d built around my heart.
My wolf surged forward with a snarl of recognition.
Mate.
I stumbled back a step as the truth slammed into me like a blade.
No.
No—this couldn’t be happening.
“He crossed the border alone,” one warrior said carefully. “He collapsed before we even reached him.”
“Did he say his name?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay even.
“Only once. He whispered… Liam.”
Liam.
The name hit me harder than it should have.
I knelt beside him despite every instinct screaming at me to keep my distance. Alpha or not, the mate bond didn’t care. It tugged at me, urging me closer, urging me to touch, to claim, to protect.
My hand hovered above his chest—his heartbeat weak but steady.
His voice cracked as he whispered, “Please… don’t… leave me…”
The sound of it nearly shattered me.
“Who did this to you?” I asked gently.
His gaze flickered, pain tightening his jaw. “Red Moon… they’re hunting everyone connected to you… they want war…”
A cold surge spread through me. Red Moon Pack had been stirring trouble for months, but attacking rogues and outsiders on my borders? That was an open challenge.
But why him?
Why hunt a lone wolf with no known rank or history?
Unless…
Unless he wasn’t just anyone.
Liam coughed, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. My chest constricted.
“Selene…” he whispered again, like he already knew my name.
“How do you know me?” I demanded, leaning closer.
His gaze softened. Not with fear. Not with awe.
With recognition.
“I saw you… in the moonlight. Before I collapsed… I felt you calling.”
My throat tightened.
The Moon’s Chosen.
The prophecy my elders whispered about since I was a child.
A mate who would arrive wounded under the full moon.
A mate who would choose me even before seeing me clearly.
But I had never believed it. I never wanted to.
I stood abruptly and snapped at my warriors, “Carry him. Now. Take him to the medical wing. No one speaks of this to anyone. Not yet.”
“Yes, Alpha!”
They lifted him carefully. Liam winced but didn’t cry out. His eyes never left me, even as a shiver ran through him from the cold morning air.
And the bond… the bond pulled tighter.
---
We arrived at the pack infirmary within minutes. The healers rushed forward.
“Who is he, Alpha?” Healer Maran asked.
“A rogue injured by Red Moon territory,” I said. Not technically a lie. “Treat him. Keep him under watch. Inform me of every change.”
Maran nodded and started working, stitching his wounds and stabilizing his breathing.
I stayed.
I shouldn’t have.
I hated myself for it.
But I couldn’t leave.
Not when the bond kept whispering—stay, stay, stay.
“He’ll live,” Maran finally said. “But he’ll need rest. Days, maybe weeks.”
“Good,” I replied, though my voice felt distant.
When the healer left, silence filled the room. Moonlight streamed through the window, soft and silver, spilling across Liam’s face.
He looked peaceful now. Almost… innocent.
I stepped closer.
My heart betrayed me again—softening, cracking.
Why him?
Why now?
Why fate, when I never asked for it?
I was Alpha. I had a kingdom to protect. I didn’t need a bond dictating my future.
But my wolf whispered otherwise.
He is ours.
I clenched my fists. “No,” I muttered to myself. “Not yet. Not until I know who he really is.”
Because something wasn’t adding up.
He arrived at the exact moment Red Moon stirred trouble.
He crossed my border alone.
He was attacked by warriors who normally killed on sight.
So why leave him alive?
I studied his sleeping form—his long lashes, the curve of his cheekbones, the faint scar across his eyebrow.
Liam wasn’t just a random rogue.
He was hiding something.
I turned to leave.
But before I reached the door, I heard a soft whisper.
“…Selene…”
I froze.
Slowly, I looked back.
Liam wasn’t awake. His eyes were still closed. But his lips parted again.
“You… saved me…”
My heart twisted painfully.
“Rest,” I said, forcing my voice to stay firm. “We’ll talk when you’re stronger.”
I stepped out, closing the door behind me.
The warriors waiting outside stood at attention.
“Keep guard,” I ordered. “No one enters without my permission.”
They bowed.
I walked down the corridor, my chest heavy with a storm I couldn’t control.
Liam’s arrival wasn’t an accident.
The moon choosing him wasn’t chance.
And Red Moon’s attack wasn’t random.
This was the beginning of something far bigger—
A war, a prophecy, a bond I didn’t want but couldn’t escape.
And deep down, even if I tried to lie to myself…
A part of me knew:
My life would never be the same again.
My mate had arrived.
And fate never knocks gently.
- Writer
