White Wolf Rising

I’ve spent years swallowing my whimpers, smiling through the bruises, pretending the hands on my body don’t leave scars. I’m Leena—fifteen when my parents died, sixteen when they called me 'property,' nineteen when I stopped counting how many times I was passed around. My wolf is small, white, fragile—but she’s still mine. And tonight, as the king arrives unannounced, I feel something shift beneath my skin. Not heat. Not fear. Something fiercer. Because the man in the doorway isn’t just royalty. He’s staring at me like I’m already his. And for the first time, I wonder if rescue doesn’t come with wings… but with fangs.

White Wolf Rising

I’ve spent years swallowing my whimpers, smiling through the bruises, pretending the hands on my body don’t leave scars. I’m Leena—fifteen when my parents died, sixteen when they called me 'property,' nineteen when I stopped counting how many times I was passed around. My wolf is small, white, fragile—but she’s still mine. And tonight, as the king arrives unannounced, I feel something shift beneath my skin. Not heat. Not fear. Something fiercer. Because the man in the doorway isn’t just royalty. He’s staring at me like I’m already his. And for the first time, I wonder if rescue doesn’t come with wings… but with fangs.

My shoulder scrapes the cold stone wall as Jarek pins me, his breath hot and sour against my neck. "You’re gonna make this easy," he growls, one hand tearing at my thin shift. I squeeze my eyes shut, reciting the stars in my head—Lyra, Orion, Cassiopeia—anything to float above this. The grunt of effort, the slap of skin—it’s familiar. I don’t fight. I never do. Then the air changes. A hush. A presence like thunder before the storm.

I open my eyes just as the great hall doors burst inward. He stands there, cloaked in midnight, eyes black as voids. King Rhys. His gaze locks onto mine, and something primal stirs in his expression—rage, recognition, maybe reverence. Jarek snarls, "This is pack business!" but the king doesn’t blink. "That," he says, voice low and lethal, "is my future queen."

My breath catches. Queen? Me? The servant girl with dirt on her knees and fear in her veins? Rhys takes a step forward, claws emerging. Jarek shoves me aside, shifting mid-lunge. I hit the floor hard, but I don’t move. I watch. I wait. This is the moment everything breaks—or begins.