Chapter 2 - The Gentle Giant in the Moonlight

The forest had grown darker. Colder. More threatening.

I don't know how long I sat there on the frigid ground, tears freezing on my cheeks as reality crashed down around me. Every word Julian had spoken played on repeat in my mind.

No one important.

A placeholder.

We're done.

Six years erased in seconds. Six years of promises, of tender kisses and whispered futures—gone. My entire life had been built around Jules and our plans together. What was I supposed to do now?

My ankle throbbed with sharp, insistent pain as I finally forced myself to stand. The forest seemed to close in around me, dark and indifferent to my suffering. I needed to get back to the packhouse—back to Alpha Maxen, my adoptive father. He would help me make sense of this nightmare.

I took one step and nearly collapsed as pain shot up my leg. Definitely sprained.

Great.

Lost in unfamiliar woods. Practically naked in freezing temperatures. Injured. And somewhere out there, sex-crazed wolves were hunting for mates.

My teeth chattered as I hobbled forward, using tree trunks for support. Each step was agony. The thin cotton of my nightgown offered no protection against the biting autumn air. My fingers had gone numb, and I couldn't feel my toes anymore.

I tried to remember the survival skills Alpha Maxen had taught me. Follow water downhill—it usually leads to civilization. Look for moss growing on the north side of trees. Watch the stars.

But clouds had rolled in, obscuring the stars, and in the darkness, I couldn't tell moss from shadow.

"Hello?" I called, my voice pathetically small against the vastness of the forest. "Is anyone there?"

Only the howling wind answered me.

I stumbled on, each step more painful than the last. My mind drifted to dangerous places. Would anyone even notice I was missing? Would Julian care if I froze to death out here? Would he feel a flicker of remorse for leaving me alone and injured?

The image of his hand around my throat flashed before my eyes. The cold fury in his gaze. The stranger who had replaced my loving boyfriend.

A sob escaped my lips, the sound swallowed by the night. I was nobody now. Nothing.

The trees suddenly thinned, and I found myself at the edge of a small clearing. Moonlight broke through the clouds, bathing the space in ethereal silver light. It was beautiful. Unnaturally so.

Perfect wildflowers dotted the clearing despite the season. The grass looked soft, inviting. Even the air felt different here—warmer, somehow. Protected.

Too perfect. Too still.

Every instinct screamed danger, yet my frozen body craved the moonlit warmth. I limped forward, drawn by the promise of comfort.

That's when I saw it.

A massive shadow at the far edge of the clearing. Too large to be a normal wolf. Too still to be anything but a predator watching its prey.

I froze, heart hammering against my ribs.

The shadow moved, and moonlight caught its fur—pitch black that seemed to absorb the light around it. Glowing golden eyes fixed on me with unnerving intelligence.

This wasn't a normal wolf. Normal wolves weren't the size of horses. Normal wolves didn't have fur that seemed to ripple with darkness itself. Normal wolves didn't make the very air around them feel charged with power.

I took a shaky step backward, ready to run despite my injured ankle. Ready to face the agony if it meant escaping whatever this creature was.

The wolf—if you could call it that—rose to its full height. It was colossal. Monstrous. Its shoulders alone stood higher than my head.

A whimper escaped my throat. This was how I would die. Alone. Frozen. Torn apart by some supernatural beast.

The massive wolf stepped into the clearing, each movement deliberate and graceful despite its impossible size. Its eyes never left mine, pinning me in place with their golden intensity.

I should run. I knew I should run.

But where? And how far would I get on my injured ankle before this monster caught me?

As the beast approached, my legs finally gave out. I collapsed onto the soft grass, trembling violently—from cold, from fear, from exhaustion.

"Please," I whispered, though I knew begging would do no good. "Please don't hurt me."

The wolf paused, tilting its massive head as if considering my words. Then, to my utter shock, it lowered itself to the ground several feet away from me. It laid its massive head on enormous paws, eyes still watching me intently.

Not attacking. Not advancing. Just... watching.

Minutes passed in tense silence. My shivers grew more violent as my body fought to retain heat. The wolf's eyes tracked every tremor, every desperate attempt to warm myself by rubbing my arms.

Then, slowly, it rose again. My breath caught in my throat as it padded toward me.

This is it, I thought. It was just playing with me. Enjoying my fear before the kill.

I closed my eyes, unable to watch death approach.

Warmth.

That's what I felt next. Not the tearing of claws or the piercing of teeth, but warmth as the massive creature lowered itself beside me, pressing its huge body against my frozen form.

I gasped, eyes flying open to find myself inches from the wolf's face. Up close, I could see the intricate patterns in its fur—swirls of deeper black against midnight, almost like living tattoos that shifted with each breath.

The wolf curled around me, its massive tail sweeping over my legs like a thick, furry blanket. Heat radiated from its body, chasing away the deadly cold that had settled in my bones.

"What are you doing?" I whispered, bewildered by this turn of events.

The wolf simply huffed, its warm breath washing over my face. Not threatening. Almost... protective.

This made no sense. Wolves—even werewolves—didn't behave this way toward strangers. Especially not human strangers.

Yet here this monstrous creature was, sharing its warmth. Shielding me from the bitter cold that might have claimed my life.

Hesitantly, I reached out a trembling hand. The wolf watched but didn't move as my fingers made contact with its fur. So soft. Impossibly soft. And warm. God, so wonderfully warm.

"Thank you," I murmured, not caring how crazy it was to thank a wolf. A strange, magical, impossible wolf.

Its golden eyes blinked slowly in acknowledgment. Almost like a nod.

Exhaustion crashed over me in waves. The events of the night—Julian's betrayal, my injury, the cold, the fear—had drained every ounce of my strength. My eyelids grew heavy as the wolf's heat seeped into my frozen limbs.

"I should keep going," I mumbled, though the thought of leaving this unexpected sanctuary filled me with dread. "Need to get home."

The wolf rumbled deep in its chest. Not a growl—more like a disagreement. Stay, that sound seemed to say.

And really, where would I go? Stumbling through dark woods on an injured ankle, with who knew what dangers lurking in the shadows?

Here, in this perfect clearing with this strange, gentle giant, I was safe. Warm. Protected.

My eyes drifted closed despite my best efforts to stay alert. The rhythmic breathing of the wolf lulled me toward unconsciousness. Its heartbeat—strong and steady against my back—was oddly comforting.

In this surreal moment, sheltered by a creature that should terrify me, I felt safer than I had all night. Safer, even, than I'd felt in Julian's arms these past months.

The irony wasn't lost on me. A monster was showing me more kindness than the man I'd loved for six years.

As I hovered on the edge of consciousness, I sensed the wolf shift slightly, adjusting its position to better cover me with its warmth. Its massive head came to rest just above mine, its breath stirring my hair.

"Why are you helping me?" I whispered, not expecting an answer.

The wolf simply pressed closer, its protection unmistakable.

I let myself drift, too exhausted to question this strange turn of events further. Whatever this creature was, whatever its reasons for helping me, I could worry about it tomorrow. If I survived until tomorrow.

A dark thought crossed my mind as sleep pulled me under. What if this was all a dream? What if I was actually freezing to death, and my brain was creating this fantasy of warmth and protection as a final comfort?

The wolf's tail tightened around me, as if sensing my dark thoughts.

Real or not, this moment of peace was a gift I desperately needed. So I surrendered to it, letting exhaustion claim me.

I don't know how long I dozed against the wolf's warm side. Minutes or hours, it was impossible to tell. But I was yanked back to consciousness when the massive body beside me suddenly tensed.

My eyes snapped open to find the wolf on its feet, its body rigid as it loomed protectively over me. A deep, bone-chilling growl rumbled from its chest—a sound so powerful it seemed to vibrate through the earth beneath us.

The peaceful clearing had transformed. The air crackled with tension. The wolf's fur stood on end, those strange patterns within it seeming to writhe and shift with some inner power.

Its massive head was turned toward the darkness beyond the clearing, golden eyes fixed on something I couldn't see.

Whatever was out there, it was enough to alarm even this monstrous creature.

And if it frightened my protector, how terrified should I be?