Hacked By The Wolf

chapter 3

The terrace doors exploded inward in a storm of razor sharp glass. Rain and wind howled through the penthouse, whipping Zara’s hair across her face as three figures landed in perfect unison on the black marble. They wore matte-black tactical gear that drank the emergency red light, faces hidden behind sleek masks. Only their eyes glowed ferocious amber, slit like predators in the dark.

Claws extended from gloved fingers with a soft, deadly snick.

Zara’s breath caught. This wasn’t SWAT. This wasn’t human.

Roman moved in a blur, placing his body between her and the intruders like a living shield. Power rolled off him in waves, thick and electric, raising every hair on her arms. His growl vibrated through the floor and into her bones.

Get behind the bar. Now.

Zara’s hand was already inside her jacket, closing around the compact taser.

Not happening.

The lead intruder straightened slowly, tilting his head. The voice that came through the mask was distorted, amused.

Roman Vale. Protecting a human pet. How the mighty have lowered themselves.

Roman’s snarl deepened, primal and guttural.

You’re on my territory, Cassian. Leave with your lives while you still can.

Cassian. The name landed like a threat all its own.

We smelled her from three blocks away, Cassian continued, voice dripping mockery. Your mate. Unmarked. Unclaimed. Deliciously vulnerable.

Roman’s entire frame went rigid. The air pressure in the room seemed to drop, heavy with impending violence.

Touch her and I will tear your throat out and feed it to you piece by piece.

Cassian laughed, low and ugly.

Such passion for a dying bloodline. We know what your labs hide, Vale. The cure. The sequences. And now we know the final ingredient walks on two very breakable legs.

Zara’s mind reeled. The files she had stolen genetic markers, blood samples, research notes labeled Lunar Degeneration. She had thought it was code for some illegal human trial. Not… this.

Roman glanced back at her, eyes fully gold now, pupils narrowed to vertical slits. The look was raw apology, possession, desperation all at once.

Stay close to me, he said quietly. No matter what you see next.

Then he let go.

The shift ripped through him like lightning. Fabric shredded, bones cracked and lengthened in a heartbeat. Black fur burst across his skin as he dropped to all fours. In the space of a single breath, a massive wolf stood where the man had been shoulders level with Zara’s chest, midnight fur gleaming wet with rain, fangs longer than her fingers bared in a snarl that shook the remaining glass in the windows.

Zara stumbled back, heart slamming against her ribs. Werewolf. The word felt ridiculous and undeniable at the same time.

The intruders shifted too smaller wolves, lean and vicious, gray and brown pelts bristling. They attacked as one.

Roman met Cassian head-on. Bodies collided with a thud that rattled the floor. Jaws snapped, claws raked fur and flesh. Blood sprayed across the marble—dark, almost black in the red light.

The other two wolves split, circling wide.

One broke toward Zara.

She didn’t hesitate. The taser came up and fired. Blue arcs crackled across the wolf’s chest mid-leap. It convulsed, crashed into the bar, sent bottles exploding in a cascade of glass and liquor that soaked her boots.

The second wolf vaulted over its stunned packmate, jaws wide for her throat.

Roman roared pure fury and barreled sideways, intercepting the attacker. He caught it by the scruff and flung it like a rag doll. It slammed into the reinforced glass wall hard enough to spiderweb the pane from floor to ceiling.

Cassian seized the opening. Claws slashed across Roman’s flank, opening deep gashes that poured blood. Roman spun, snapped inches from Cassian’s throat.

Zara’s eyes scanned frantically for anything heavier. She spotted a sleek steel sculpture abstract wolf form, ironically on a nearby pedestal. She heaved it up, muscles burning, and swung with everything she had.

The base connected with Cassian’s hind leg. Bone cracked like gunfire. The wolf yelped, staggered.

Roman pounced. Jaws closed around Cassian’s throat. One brutal shake. A wet crunch.

Cassian went limp, shifting back to human even in death—mask cracked, eyes wide and empty.

The surviving wolves froze, then backed toward the shattered doors, tails low.

Roman rose over the body, blood dripping from his muzzle, and unleashed a howl that rattled Zara’s teeth and soul alike. Victory. Warning. Grief.

The intruders fled, leaping into the storm and disappearing into the night.

Silence crashed down, broken only by wind and distant sirens.

Roman turned to her. The massive wolf shimmered, fur receding, bones reshaping with wet pops. Moments later the man stood there gloriously naked, chest heaving, wounds already knitting closed before her eyes. Blood streaked his ribs, but the flow slowed to a trickle.

He didn’t move closer. Just watched her with those glowing gold eyes, waiting for her to run. To scream. To break.

Zara’s hands trembled as she set the sculpture down. The taser lay forgotten amid the wreckage. Her mind tried to catch up and failed spectacularly.

You’re a werewolf, she whispered.

Yes.

And those were…

Rivals. A pack that wants what’s mine.

The cure?

Among other things. His voice was rough, raw from the shift.

Zara looked at the dead man on the floor, then at the blood painting Roman’s skin, then at his face still inhumanly beautiful, even covered in violence.

And me? What am I in all this?

Roman took one careful step forward. Then another. Until the heat of his bare skin warmed the air between them.

You’re my mate, he said, voice low and reverent. The one the moon chose for me. The one I would burn the world down to protect.

Her breath hitched.

And the reason they came tonight.

He reached out slowly, giving her every chance to pull away, and brushed a trembling thumb across her cheek, smearing a faint streak of blood.

They’ll come again. Stronger. Until the bond is sealed. Until I mark you.

His hand slid to the curve of her neck, thumb resting lightly over her racing pulse.

A bite here, he murmured, eyes fixed on the spot. My fangs in your skin. My essence in your blood. Then no one could ever take you from me.

Zara’s entire body ignited at the words at the promise in them. Fear and want twisted together until she couldn’t tell them apart.

And if I say no?

Roman’s jaw clenched. Pain flashed across his face, raw and unguarded.

Then I will still protect you with my life. But the pull will drive us both mad. And they will never stop hunting you.

Thunder cracked overhead. Rain poured through the broken doors, soaking them both.

Zara stared up at him bloodied, naked, more monster than man, and still the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

His hand stayed at her throat, gentle despite the power thrumming beneath his skin.

Choose, Zara, he whispered. Run now and I’ll let you go. Or stay… and let me make you mine forever.

Her heart thundered so loudly she was sure he heard it.

Outside, headlights swept across the shattered glass more vehicles arriving below. Reinforcements. Or another attack.

Time was gone.

Zara lifted her chin, met those burning gold eyes, and felt the world tilt on its axis.

She reached up, closed her fingers around his wrist the one touching her throat and pulled his hand harder against her skin.

Do it, she said, voice steady despite the earthquake inside her.

Mark me.

Roman’s eyes flared wide. A tremor ran through him.

Then his control snapped.

He crushed her against his blood-slick chest, mouth crashing down on hers in a kiss that tasted of copper and storm and desperate need. His fangs grazed her lower lip sharp, deliberate.

Zara gasped into his mouth.

And in the instant before his teeth sank into her neck, a single thought seared through her mind like lightning.

She had hacked the wrong system.

This one was about to hack her soul.