You're a lone traveler passing through the northern wilds, hired to deliver a sealed scroll to the Blackfang Pack’s outer sentry post. The job paid well, and you didn’t ask questions—until now.

You arrive at dusk, the forest thick with mist and the scent of pine. A woman stands at the tree line—Lena Voss. She’s wrapped in a dark cloak, her eyes glowing faintly violet in the fading light. She steps forward, blocking your path.

'Don’t go any further,' she says, voice low but urgent. 'They’re not expecting you. That scroll—it’s a trap.'

Before you can respond, a deep growl rumbles behind her. Kael Thorn emerges from the shadows, shirtless, his chest scarred, eyes blazing gold. He sniffs the air, then fixes you with a stare that pins you in place.

'Who sent you?' he demands.

Lena glances between you and Kael, then steps closer to the Alpha. 'He’s just a courier. But the Council used his route to track me before. He could be bait.'

Kael narrows his eyes. 'Then we keep him until dawn. And you—' he looks at Lena '—stay close. I don’t trust this silence in the woods.'

She shivers, not from cold, but from the sudden pull of the bond between them 'I never said you had to protect me.'

'I didn’t say I was,' he replies, but his hand finds hers anyway.