Bloom

What did I do?!

The air around me is still, so still it feels suffocating. I don’t know what just happened. My heart thunders in my chest, too loud in this unnatural silence. It’s as if the world has frozen. Wolves mid-lunge, teeth bared. Warriors mid-scream, eyes wide in terror. Even the leaves seem suspended in midair, refusing to fall.

Everyone is locked in place. Everyone but me.

And him.

Alpha Azeo stands among the frozen chaos, his presence cutting through the stillness like a blade. His chest rises and falls with controlled breaths, his eyes glowing with something feral. I could’ve sworn I heard him speaking a moment ago—his voice low, commanding—but no one else is here. Just him, moving in this frozen world like it was built for him.

And me.

Panic claws at my throat, but worse than the panic is the way my body reacts when his gaze finds me. He’s smirking as he steps forward, not with cruelty but with the confidence of a man who knows exactly what he wants.

Oh, no. I’m alone. Alone with him. The others can’t help me. No one can.

At least that smirk isn’t mocking this time. It’s… proud? Victorious? The realization makes my stomach twist.

I should stay hidden. I should stay in my tree, out of his reach. But my body betrays me. My limbs move before my mind decides, and I drop lightly from my branch, landing in a crouch before rising to face him.

“Well, well, well…” His voice rolls over me, deep and velvet-smooth. “Look who decided to join the fun.”

“I’m not joining in on your ‘fun,’” I snap, venom dripping from the word. “My cover’s blown. What use is it staying up there?” I jerk my chin at the tree I abandoned.

His eyes glitter, hungry. “It was you who made them all stop. You joined the game without even realizing.”

I open my mouth to deny it, but he closes the distance between us in two strides. He’s suddenly there, heat radiating off his body, his scent wrapping around me like smoke and cedar and something darker—something that makes my knees weak.

“You really are…” His voice drops, softer now, dangerous in its intimacy. “…the most beautiful being I’ve ever set eyes on.”

My breath hitches. The words shouldn’t matter. Not from him. Not after everything he’s said to me before—the insults, the belittling. And yet… my pulse quickens, betraying me.

I steel myself, masking my tremor with sharpness. “Whatever happened here has nothing to do with me.”

“McKenna.” My name on his lips is too gentle, too knowing. “I pushed you. I humiliated you, so they’d exile you. I never wanted this—never knew tonight would end like this. If I’d known…” His jaw clenches, regret flickering across his face. “I would have chosen another way.”

The sincerity in his tone rocks me harder than his arrogance ever did.

“You are so much stronger than you realize,” he continues, voice low but insistent. “You’re not just a wolf, McKenna. You’re part of something older. Rarer. My kind. A Wolf Shifter. We’re myths to your people, but I know the truth. And now, so do you.”

He reaches out, slow and deliberate, as though giving me the chance to refuse him. My breath stutters when his fingers brush mine. Sparks erupt at the contact, shooting up my arm and lodging hot and insistent in my chest.

The world narrows to that single touch. His hand enveloping mine. The way his thumb traces circles against my skin, small and almost reverent. My body betrays me again—heat floods through me, my pulse racing. I should pull away. I don’t.

‘You can trust him.’

The voice slips through my mind like silk. I freeze.

‘I am your wolf,’ it whispers. ‘Zada. We come forward earlier than others for our kind. You are not crazy. You are awakening.’

I swallow hard. My knees wobble, not just from the voice but from the way Azeo’s eyes darken, as if he feels every flicker of heat inside me.

“You’re not dreaming,” he murmurs, tightening his hold on my hand. His other hand lifts, brushing a strand of hair from my face. The calloused tips of his fingers graze my cheek, leaving fire in their wake. “And you’re not knocked out. This is real.”

I glance around, desperate for distraction. Everywhere around us, wolves and warriors are frozen mid-motion. A rogue’s fangs are bared inches from Gabby’s throat. Her terrified eyes are wide, yet motionless, unblinking.

Rage boils up, hot and sudden. “He should be punished,” I whisper, stepping toward the rogue. “He tried to kill her. Sweet, innocent Gabby. He wanted to rip her to pieces.”

Azeo’s footsteps follow mine, steady and controlled. “Careful, little wolf. Your thoughts… they hold power now. And we don’t yet know how far it goes.”

“I don’t care.” My voice is sharper, trembling with fury. “He deserves it.”

And as the words leave me, the rogue wolf jerks. Bones snap. Flesh tears. In an instant, he is ripped apart, shredded into nothing more than blood and ruin.

The silence that follows is deafening.

I stagger back, horrified. My hands tremble, sticky with invisible guilt. “What did you do?” I whisper, turning to him.

But Azeo is staring at me like I’ve just rewritten the laws of the world. Shock paints his features, warring with awe.

“That wasn’t me,” he breathes. “That was you.”

“No.” My voice cracks. A tear slips free, hot against my skin. “Please… please tell me it wasn’t me.”

He steps closer, close enough that his heat sinks into me again, close enough that his scent makes me dizzy. His hand cups my face, thumb brushing the tear away. His eyes lock on mine, burning, pulling me into him.

“You are more powerful than you realize,” he murmurs. “Stronger than all of us, maybe stronger than me. But you don’t have to face it alone. I’ll help you. I’ll be there—every step of the way. No matter how dark it gets.”

The sincerity in his tone steals my breath. But worse than that sincerity is the way my body responds to him. My skin tingles under his touch. My wolf stirs inside me, Zada’s voice a low purr. Mate.

“Don’t,” I whisper, trembling.

“Don’t what?” His smirk is gone now, replaced by something raw. His thumb trails down my cheek, grazing the corner of my lips, lingering far too long.

“Don’t play games with me,” I manage, though my voice is unsteady.

His gaze drops to my mouth. My lips part of their own accord, traitorous. Heat curls low in my stomach. The world is still frozen, silent, but here, between us, everything is too loud. The thrum of blood in my veins. The wild rhythm of my heart. The soft growl in his throat that sounds more like hunger than anger.

“Games?” His voice is a rasp. “No, McKenna. This is no game.”

He leans closer, until his breath ghosts against my mouth. My entire body vibrates with the pull, the instinct to close the gap, to surrender. Sparks dance across my skin like lightning. My wolf is practically howling inside me, urging me toward him.

“Mate,” Azeo whispers, the single word reverent, binding.

I gasp, the word slamming into me like a blow. My wolf roars in agreement, claws scratching at the edges of my control. My knees weaken, my body trembling with the need to give in, to let his mouth claim mine.

But fear snakes through the heat. Fear of myself. Fear of what I just did. Fear of him.

“What did I do?” I whisper again, voice breaking. My hand trembles in his, half wanting to pull away, half aching to hold on forever.

His answer is not a denial. Not comfort. Just the truth, burning and undeniable.

“You became what you were always meant to be.”

And then he pulls me closer, until there is no space left between us, until every nerve in my body screams with fire and need.