SCRATCHES IN THE DARK

CHAPTER 2: WINTER AND GOLD EYES

Day 1 of being a $5 million liar.

The contract was very specific.

Clause 3.2: “Public appearances required. 3x per week.”

Clause 4.1: “Physical contact limited to hand-holding for photos only.”

Clause 7.8: “Do not ask questions about the company. Or the CEO. Or the moon.”

What the contract did NOT say:

“Don’t notice how he smells like a snowstorm.”

“Don’t notice his jaw when he’s mad.”

“Don’t notice that he knows how you take your coffee.”

But here I was. 8:03 AM.

Desk outside Cade Blackwood’s office.

Title: “Special Consultant.”

Reality: Overpaid human shield with a degree in accounting.

The door opened.

“Coffee.”

A black mug appeared on my desk. No sugar.

I hadn’t told him how I took it.

Through the glass, he was pacing. Phone to his ear.

“…no, tell the board I’ll be at the gala. With my fiancé.”

A pause.

“Yes. Her. Lyra.”

Fiancé.

The word hit my chest like a brick.

I’d signed the papers 12 hours ago.

$5M. 30 days. Fake engagement.

To save my mom’s hospital bills and to keep Victor off the company board.

Simple. Clean. No feelings.

Right.

“Lyra.”

His voice cut through the glass. He hadn’t looked up.

I jumped anyway. “Yes?”

“Get in here.”

I grabbed my tablet and walked in.

The winter hit me first.

Pine. Cold air. And under it, something wild that made the hairs on my arms stand up.

Like stepping into a forest in January.

He hung up. Looked at me.

Those gold eyes did a slow sweep.

Face. Hands. Shoes. Back to my face.

Assessing. Like I was a line item on a spreadsheet.

“You look tired,” he said.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re lying.”

He stepped around the desk. Too close.

“I can hear it. Your heartbeat.”

I laughed. Nervous. “Okay, billionaire. Sure.”

He didn’t smile.

“I’m serious. It’s fast.”

His eyes dropped to my throat. Where my pulse was.

“Are you scared of me?”

“Yes,” I said before I could lie.

Something flickered in his eyes.

Approval? Regret?

He turned away too fast.

“Gala is tonight. 7 PM. Black tie. Press will be there.”

He pulled open a drawer. Slid a black velvet box across the desk.

Inside: A necklace. Diamonds. Cold. Heavy.

Worth more than my apartment.

“It’s a tracker,” I said flatly.

“It’s protection,” he corrected.

“Put it on.”

I picked it up. The metal was freezing against my fingers.

“I can do it myself.”

He didn’t answer.

But when I fumbled with the clasp behind my neck, his hands were there.

Warm. Careful.

His fingers brushed my skin.

And my whole body lit up.

It wasn’t attraction. Not exactly.

It was like someone flipped a switch inside my chest.

Like my blood recognized him.

I gasped.

He went completely still behind me.

I could feel his breath on my neck.

“Did you feel that?” I whispered.

“No.”

The lie was instant.

I heard his heartbeat speed up to match mine.

He stepped back like I’d burned him.

Put 3 feet of distance between us.

“6 PM. Driver. Don’t be late.”

I nodded and fled.

Because for 3 seconds there, I’d wanted him to touch me again.

6:58 PM. BLACKWOOD GALA.

Cameras. Champagne. Lies.

And me. In a dress I couldn’t afford. With diamonds I didn’t own.

On the arm of the most dangerous man in the city.

He looked like sin in a tux.

I looked like a girl playing dress-up.

“Smile,” he murmured in my ear.

His breath was warm against my neck.

I smiled. My face hurt.

“Mr. Blackwood!”

Reporters. Flashes.

“Who’s the lucky lady?”

Cade’s hand settled on the small of my back.

Warm. Possessive.

“My fiancé. Lyra.”

The cameras went crazy.

“Since when?”

“How did you meet?”

“Is it true about the merger with Victor’s company?”

“Enough,” Cade said. Voice like ice.

The crowd parted.

And then she appeared.

Elena.

Red dress. Too pretty. Too close.

Her eyes cut to my necklace. Then to my face.

Then to Cade’s hand on me.

“Fiancé?” she laughed. “Since when, Cade? Last week you said you’d never”

“Elena.” His warning was clear.

She leaned in. Whispered just for me:

“He doesn’t keep things he can’t own, sweetie. 30 days. We all know how this ends.”

She walked away.

My throat went dry.

$5M. That’s all this was.

“Are you alright?” Cade asked.

“Peachy.”

That’s when the lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then they died.

The ballroom went black.

Screams.

A crash.

Glass breaking.

The sound of running.

And then I smelled it.

Not cologne. Not winter.

Blood. And wet fur.

Like a dog that’s been in the rain.

Something moved in the dark. Fast.

Too fast for human.

A hand clamped around my wrist. Bone-crushing.

Yanked me backward.

Not Cade’s.

“Let go of me!” I tried to scream, but the noise swallowed it.

A voice in my ear. Low.Animals.

“The Alpha’s little bride. Victor says hi.”

I was dragged through the crowd.

People were screaming. Running.

From somewhere in the dark, I heard it.

A roar.

Not human.

Not anything human.

“LYRA!”

Cade.

The last thing I saw before everything went black was his eyes.

Across the ballroom.

Glowing gold in the dark.

And teeth.

So many teeth.

And then cold hands covered my mouth.

And the world tilted.

I WOKE UP TO PAIN.

Darkness.

Cold concrete under my back.

The smell of blood, rust, and wet dog in my nose.

My wrist throbbed. Where that hand had grabbed me in the gala.

I tried to move. Couldn’t.

Ropes. Tight. Biting into my skin.

“Don’t scream,” a voice said from the dark. “It just makes him hungrier.”

I opened my eyes.

Warehouse. Broken windows. Moonlight cutting through the dust.

Chains on the walls. Old blood stains on the floor.

And him.

Victor.

Blonde. Tall. Suit jacket off. Smiling like he’d already won.

“Where’s Cade?” My voice came out steadier than I felt.

“Busy cleaning up your mess,” Victor said. He crouched in front of me.

His eyes flicked to the diamond at my throat.

He reached out and yanked it off. Metal bit my skin.

“The little tracker. How precious.”

He stood. Circled me.

“You don’t even smell like him yet. That’s sad. 28 days and he hasn’t marked you.”

“I’m not”

“His?” Victor laughed. “Please. The whole city knows. ‘Blackwood CEO takes fiancé.’”

He leaned in. Sniffed my hair.

“You smell like fear. And coffee. And something else. Something sweet.”

Footsteps.

Fast. Heavy. Coming from outside.

Victor’s smile dropped.

The warehouse door blew off its hinges.

Cade stood there.

But not my Cade.

His white shirt was torn open. Blood on his knuckles.

Eyes fully gold. No human left in them.

And his mouth

His mouth was full of teeth.

Victor stood slowly. “There he is. The Alpha.”

Cade didn’t speak.

He looked at me first. At the ropes. At the red marks on my wrist.

At the missing necklace.

His chest rose. Fell.

And then he roared.

The sound hit the walls and shook them.

It wasn’t human. It wasn’t anything human.

Victor shifted.

It happened in 2 seconds.

Bones cracked. Skin split. Fur ripped through.

A massive grey wolf, bigger than any dog I’d ever seen.

Drool dripping from fangs.

They collided.

I scrambled back as far as the ropes would let me.

Glass shattered. Tables flipped.

Growling so loud my ears rang.

Cade was faster. Bigger.

But Victor was vicious.

Claws raked. Teeth snapped.

Blood hit the floor.

“Hold him!” Victor snarled.

Two more wolves dropped from the rafters.

My heart stopped.

Cade took the first one out with one swipe.

The second lunged for me.

I screamed.

Cade moved.

He was between me and the wolf in half a second.

Claws out.

He slashed across its throat.

The wolf yelped and went down

, twitching.

Silence. Except for breathing. Heavy. Wet.

Victor, bleeding from his side, backed toward the door.

“This isn’t over, cousin,” he spat. Blood in his teeth.

“Blood Moon. I’ll take what’s mine. The company. The pack. Her.”

He ran. The other wolves followed.

Just like that. Gone.