She was waiting to die.

The sound of growls was drawing closer by the second, like thunder tearing through the night, and the omega had decided that waiting for her end was the only thing left to do.

But she had already suffered so much...

Did she not deserve at least a peaceful death?

Had having her heart and body shattered not been enough?

Lyra tried to lift her head, but the weight of her own body pressed her into the cold, filthy forest floor. Every breath was a battle, every movement, torture.

The wolves were so close...

Terror gripped her mind, making her entire body tremble when she realized she didn’t want to die like that. So, without thinking, following the most primal instinct for survival, she tried to move. Her bloodied, trembling arms dug into the earth in front of her. Her legs, numb from pain, dragged uselessly behind her naked frame.

Just a little more, she whispered, barely audible, as the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

The sound of paws was deafening now.

They were close.

Too close.

Tears streamed down uncontrollably as Lyra dragged herself faster, her skin peeling off in thin layers, leaving a trail of blood behind her. Her body begged for rest, but fear pushed her forward.

A few more feet.

Just a few more.

Please, goddess, please, she prayed as her fingers clawed at the dirt, sobbing uncontrollably, her body crushed by pain and exhaustion. Please help me, just this once.

Then, in the darkness of the forest, something glimmered. A pale beam of light filtered through a nearly invisible gap between the roots of an ancient tree.

Lyra blinked in disbelief.

An entrance.

A cave.

Without thinking, she forced her body toward it. Each move was pure agony. Every breath sliced her lungs. But she didn’t stop. She couldn’t.

The claws of one rogue slashed the air just behind her, so close she felt the wind from the strike graze her bare skin. A guttural, hungry snarl tore through the night.

Please, she whimpered, a desperate plea to any force that might still be listening.

With one last surge of desperation, Lyra slipped into the narrow gap, swallowed by the cave’s darkness. The earth and roots closed behind her like a curtain, hiding her from the predators' eyes.

Her body slid down the tunnel, spiraling out of control as a scream tore from her lips, until she crashed against stone, briefly losing consciousness.

Inside, the silence was suffocating.

She breathed, or rather, gasped, the cave’s thick, damp air. The scent of wet earth and moss filled her nose. It was pitch black. Her back was pressed against the ground, and the pain now seemed unbearable. There was water beneath her; she could feel it. But she couldn’t move. She had definitely broken something during the fall.

Someone… someone help me, please… but her voice was barely a whisper, and the only ones who heard it were the wolves above, clawing at the hole, widening the entrance to reach their prey.

And they wouldn’t take long.

With effort, she curled up in the water and blood seeping from her own body, trembling uncontrollably. She hugged her knees to her chest, trying to shield herself from the cold, the fear, the pain. Her entire body trembled, but she had no strength left to cry.

Lyra shut her eyes, her exhausted body giving in. She wouldn’t stay awake much longer.

Inside that unknown cave, lost and nearly dead, she did the only thing left to do.

She prayed.

Moon goddess… she whispered, her voice fading into the void. If… if this is where I’m meant to die… let it be quick. Let me not suffer anymore. I… I just want… peace.

Her words dissolved into the darkness, as if the cave itself swallowed them whole.

The cold grew worse.

Moisture dripped from the walls, tapping steadily in the otherwise deafening silence broken only by growls and the sound of claws scraping earth above her.

Lyra didn’t know if she would survive until morning.

Her eyes grew heavy. Her mind slipped in and out of consciousness. Every heartbeat was a struggle. She knew she wouldn’t last much longer.

Maybe it was better this way.

Maybe...

Just before the last flicker of strength in her chest went out, Lyra heard it.

They had broken through. The celebration howls echoed through the cave as the first wolf dropped down behind her, snarling with delight at the sight of his helpless prey curled up on the floor.

Her breathing quickened. The fear was absolute, crushing. She didn’t want to be torn apart alive. She didn’t want to feel their teeth ripping into her flesh while still conscious.

So she made a choice.

If it was the end, she wouldn’t watch.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to picture something beautiful, any good memory she could take with her.

The footsteps came closer.

She held her breath.

And waited for death.

Please, at least let it be… let it be fast…

But deeper in the cave, something that would change everything lay dormant, wrapped in enchanted sleep. Thick chains bound its wrists and ankles, carved with glowing silver runes of containment, shimmering with pure magic, holding down the massive beast with razor claws and pitch-black fur. Time didn’t exist in that place. Its soul was trapped in the abyss of its own mind, where light never reached, where silence crushed like stone, and all that remained was eternal emptiness.

But then… something broke the silence and the dark.

A voice, weak and trembling. Barely loud enough to be heard in the absolute stillness.

Please, at least let it be… let it be fast…

The plea echoed through the void.

The creature stirred for the first time in centuries. Within its prison, its eyes opened, confused, but alert. The monster’s human form searched the darkness, while the beastly body thrashed, still too weak to shatter its chains.

Then another voice echoed louder this time, clear and commanding, in his mind.

It is time, son of the moon. The world needs the Supreme Alpha, the one who rises from innocent blood to restore order to chaos. Wake up, River.

The ground trembled.

The enchantments cracked with a sharp snap. The beast’s eyelids flew open, and his eyes, glowing red like burning coals, lit up the darkness.

He gasped violently, chest heaving like he was breathing for the first time.

The scent hit him like a blade.

Blood.

Fear.

Despair.

And something else.

Something that made every hair on his body stand on end.

Her presence.

Her pain.

River roared, the chains vibrating around him.

A deafening, primal roar shattered the silence, shaking the cave walls.

With a brutal yank, River snapped the first chains.

The runes glowed one last time before turning to silver dust.

With wild eyes and a frenzied mind, he tore through the remaining bindings. The sound of metal breaking echoed like thunder.

The cave shook.

The alpha was free.

Dazed, he staggered, struggling to breathe, like the world was spinning around him. But then the scent overwhelmed him again. Strong. Hot. Irresistible.

And he ran.

His bare feet pounded the stone, muscles coiled in full tension, air slicing past his powerful, naked body. He was enormous, larger than any wolf. His thick black fur was matted and damp from the cave’s humidity.

And then he saw her.

Lying in the center of the cave.

Small.

Bloody.

Naked.

Hurt in ways even he couldn’t fully understand.

His chest tightened with something he hadn’t felt in centuries, a violent mix of rage and bloodlust.

But he wasn’t alone.

In front of her, three wolves much smaller than him snarled at her, baring their teeth, ready to finish what they’d started.

Mine.

The guttural, monstrous voice echoed across the cave, reaching the intruders.

The rogues froze, sniffing the air, recognizing the monster’s scent and voice, but it was already too late.

River lunged forward like a storm of fury.

His massive frame moved with terrifying speed, and in his glowing red eyes, there was no pity, only a burning need to destroy.

The first wolf tried to attack, but River grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air with one hand. The creature’s eyes widened in panic just before River’s fingers crushed his windpipe with a grotesque snap.

Blood splattered the walls.

The second tried to flee, but River leapt, sank his teeth into the wolf’s shoulder, and slammed him against the wall. The sickening crack of broken bones echoed as a scream was cut off by another of River’s roars, now fully lost to savagery.

The third rogue cowered, trembling, showing submission, begging like a helpless animal.

But River showed no mercy.

After all, she had been crying moments ago too, hadn’t she?

With a single blow, he tore out the last one’s throat, spilling more blood on the sacred cave floor. The screams stopped. Silence returned. But not the same silence as before.

This silence was heavy.

Dense.

River, panting, covered in blood, his red eyes glowing, turned his gaze to the girl lying on the ground. Still alive. Unconscious. But breathing.

And the only thought in his mind at that moment was that he had to protect her.