2- The Forbidden Attraction

Aiden

The woods are my sanctuary, the one place where I can be alone with my thoughts, away from the pack, away from the constant pressure of leadership. Tonight, though, it’s different. Tonight, I’m not alone. I can feel her presence before I even see her—an innocent, fragile human, wandering into my territory as if she belongs here.

She doesn’t.

The very scent of her makes my blood boil, reminding me of everything I hate about her kind. They’re weak, fragile, but also dangerous. My parents learned that the hard way, and their deaths are a constant reminder of the threat humans pose. Yet, as I stand here watching her, hidden in the shadows, something else stirs within me—something I haven’t felt in years.

I hate her for it.

She shouldn’t be here. She’s trespassing into a world she knows nothing about, a world that would swallow her whole without a second thought. I should turn away, leave her to her foolishness. But I can’t. There’s something about her that keeps me rooted to the spot, something that draws me in despite the anger bubbling beneath my skin.

When she calls out, her voice trembling with fear, I almost step out from the shadows then. The fear in her voice excites me in a way that it shouldn’t. It reminds me that I’m the predator here, and she’s nothing more than prey. But there’s more to it than that—something deeper, more primal. I’ve never felt anything like it before, and it infuriates me.

I step onto the path, letting her see me. Her eyes widen, and the scent of her fear intensifies, wrapping around me like a drug. She’s frozen, staring at me with those wide, innocent eyes that only make me angrier. How dare she look at me like that? How dare she make me feel this way?

I keep my distance at first, watching as she struggles to decide whether to run or stay. There’s a part of me that wants her to run, just so I can give chase, to remind her what I am, what she’s dealing with. But when she finally speaks, her voice soft and trembling, I find myself stepping closer instead.

“Who are you?” she asks, and I can hear the fear laced with curiosity in her tone.

I don’t answer right away. Instead, I let her feel the weight of my gaze, the power that I wield in this world. She’s so small, so fragile—one wrong move, and I could break her. The thought should disgust me, but it doesn’t. It only fuels the twisted desire that’s been building inside me since I first caught her scent.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I finally say, my voice a low growl that sends a shiver down her spine.

Her response is incoherent, a mix of apologies and excuses that only irritate me more. It doesn’t matter why she’s here—what matters is that she is, and that changes everything. I should scare her off, make sure she never returns, but the words don’t come. Instead, I find myself moving even closer, drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

“What do you want from me?” she asks, and I can see the fear in her eyes, the uncertainty, but also something else—something that mirrors the emotions swirling inside me. She’s just as confused as I am, and that thought thrills me more than it should.

“What I want is irrelevant,” I tell her, and it’s the truth. I don’t know what I want anymore, and that scares me. But what I will do—that’s something I can control. Or so I think. The urge to reach out, to touch her, is overwhelming, and before I realize what I’m doing, I brush a strand of hair from her face.

Her skin is warm, soft, and the touch sends a jolt of something dark and electric through me. I pull back before I can do something I’ll regret, something that will shatter the fragile control I’m clinging to.

“Don’t worry, little human,” I murmur, my voice barely above a whisper. “You’ll understand soon enough.”

With that, I turn and walk away, forcing myself to disappear into the shadows before the temptation to stay becomes too strong. But even as I leave her behind, I know this isn’t the end. The pull I feel toward her is too strong, too dangerous to ignore. She’s a threat—not just to my pack, but to the control I’ve spent years building. And yet, I can’t stay away.

As I make my way back to the pack, my thoughts are consumed by her—by the way she looked at me, by the fear I saw in her eyes, and by the way that fear mingled with something else, something that felt disturbingly like desire. I know I should forget about her, but I can’t. She’s in my territory now, and that makes her mine, whether I like it or not.

But she’s human, and humans bring nothing but pain and destruction. I’ve seen it before, lived it, and I swore I would never let it happen again. My parents’ deaths are a constant reminder of that. And yet, here I am, drawn to a human girl who doesn’t even know the danger she’s in.

I reach the edge of the forest, where the lights of the pack’s settlement flicker in the distance. But instead of heading straight there, I linger at the tree line, my thoughts still tangled up in her. I’ve never felt anything like this before, and I hate that I can’t control it. I hate that she’s already gotten under my skin.

She’s a threat, and threats need to be eliminated. But as I stand there, staring into the darkness, I know I won’t do it. I can’t. Not yet. Not until I understand why she makes me feel this way—why I’m so drawn to her despite everything I know about humans.

But one thing is certain: she won’t escape me so easily. She’s mine now, and I will find her again. And when I do, I’ll make sure she understands exactly what that means.

---

** Isabella**

I don’t know how long I stand there, staring into the darkness where he disappeared. Minutes? Hours? The sun has fully set, and the cold night air is starting to seep into my bones, but I can’t move. I’m too shaken, too confused by what just happened.

Who was he? What was he? There was something about him, something that wasn’t… human. I can’t explain it, but I felt it deep in my bones, a primal instinct that screamed at me to run, to get as far away from him as possible. But at the same time, there was a pull, something dark and magnetic that made it impossible to move, to even think clearly.

And then there was his touch—so gentle, yet filled with an unspoken power that sent shivers down my spine. I’ve never felt anything like it before, and the memory of it lingers, burning itself into my mind.

I finally force myself to move, to turn and head back down the path toward the orphanage. My legs are shaky, and my heart is still pounding, but I push forward, trying to make sense of everything. But the more I think about it, the more confused I become. Nothing about this makes sense. Who was that man, and why did I feel so drawn to him?

As I walk, the events of the encounter replay in my mind over and over again. His eyes, the way they seemed to pierce right through me, the power in his voice, the way he moved, as if he was something more than human… it all felt like a dream, something too surreal to be real.

But it was real. I know it was.

By the time I reach the edge of the forest, the orphanage lights glowing softly in the distance, I’m more confused than ever. I should feel relieved to be back on familiar ground, but all I can think about is him. Who he is, where he came from, and why I can’t seem to get him out of my mind.

I stop just outside the orphanage gate, taking a deep breath to steady myself. Maybe it’s best if I just forget about this, if I pretend it never happened. But even as I think it, I know that’s impossible. He’s already inside my head, and I have a feeling he’s not going anywhere.

As I push open the gate and step into the yard, I glance back at the forest one last time. It’s dark now, the trees silhouetted against the night sky, and for a moment, I think I see something—a shadow moving between the trees, watching me.

I blink, and it’s gone. Just my imagination, I tell myself, but the unease lingers. Something has changed, something I don’t understand yet, but I can feel it. And somehow, I know that this is only the beginning.