Chapter 36

The scent of wolves pressed in from all sides.

Riley could smell the damp earth, the sweat, the tension in the air before she saw them. Dozens of them. Moving through the trees like shadows, circling, waiting.

Kieran's body tensed beside her, his golden eyes flashing as he tracked their movements. His muscles were coiled tight, ready for a fight.

But Riley didn't flinch.

She stood still, the cold air pressing against her skin, the weight of what had just happened still buzzing through her bones.

She wasn't afraid.

Not anymore.

A low growl rumbled through the trees.

Then, from the darkness, a figure stepped forward.

Tall. Broad shoulders. A scar ran from his temple down to his jaw, cutting through what had once been a striking face. His golden eyes were sharp, assessing, and completely focused on her.

Not Kieran.

Not the others.

Only her.

Riley recognized him immediately.

Marcus Hale.

One of Tobias's enforcers.

And the fact that he was here meant one thing.

Tobias had sent them for her.

Marcus stopped a few feet away, head tilting slightly. He sniffed the air once, his nose wrinkling, his brows furrowing slightly as if he wasn't expecting what he found.

Riley didn't move.

She held his gaze, waiting.

Then he spoke, his voice low, rough.

"You smell different."

Kieran let out a low growl, stepping forward slightly, but Riley lifted a hand. Wait.

Marcus's sharp gaze flicked between them before settling back on her. "What did you do?"

Riley took a slow breath. "What do you think?"

Marcus's lips curled slightly, something uneasy flashing in his expression. "I think Tobias was right to be worried."

Kieran stepped in front of her now, his stance completely rigid. "You need to leave."

Marcus ignored him. "That's not how this works, Wolfe." His gaze returned to Riley. "Tobias wants you back."

Riley smiled, slow and sharp. "That's too bad."

Marcus didn't smile back.

"You don't get it, do you?" He exhaled through his nose, looking almost frustrated. "This isn't a request. You come with us, or we make you."

The wolves behind him shifted slightly, their bodies flickering in and out of the trees, the tension thick enough to choke on.

Kieran's claws were already out. "I'd like to see you try."

Marcus finally looked at him, his lips twisting. "Oh, I bet you would." His voice dropped. "That didn't work out too well for you last time, though, did it?"

Kieran snarled, the air around him crackling.

But Riley stepped forward first.

All the heat in her veins, all the power thrumming beneath her skin wanted out.

She didn't know what had changed.

She didn't know if it was the vision, the truth, the past coming back in pieces.

But she wasn't just standing here anymore.

She wasn't just reacting.

She was something else now.

And Marcus knew it.

She could see it in the way his stance shifted, in the way the wolves around him hesitated, their ears twitching, their nostrils flaring.

They could feel it, too.

Something was different.

Riley tilted her head. "You don't want to do this."

Marcus held her gaze. "I think I do."

A flicker of amusement curled in her chest. "Do you?"

His nostrils flared again.

And then his breath hitched.

His brows furrowed, his fingers flexing like he had just touched something that burned.

And that was when Riley understood.

It wasn't just that something had changed inside her.

It was that they could sense it.

The same way they could sense the Alpha. The same way they could sense power.

The realization sent a jolt through her.

The wolves weren't just waiting for Marcus's orders.

They were waiting for hers.

A slow, careful breath left her lips.

She stepped forward again, ignoring Kieran's sharp warning behind her.

Marcus didn't move.

Neither did the wolves.

And that was the confirmation she needed.

They weren't sure if she was their enemy.

Because deep down, some part of them still recognized her.

And that meant she had a choice.

She could fight them.

Or she could take them.

The thought sent another pulse of heat through her veins, her stomach twisting in something that wasn't quite fear.

She shouldn't be considering this.

She shouldn't be thinking about what it would mean to turn them against Tobias, to take what had once been his and make it hers.

But the hunger inside her?

It wanted her to.

The power that had been clawing at the edges of her mind, the thing she had tried so desperately to suppress was awake now.

And it wasn't going back to sleep.

Riley inhaled slowly, letting her golden gaze flick between the wolves in front of her.

She could see them watching, waiting, sensing the shift in the air.

A test.

A challenge.

Marcus felt it too.

His hands curled into fists, his jaw tightening. "What did you do?"

Riley smiled. "I woke up."

The words were barely out of her mouth before everything exploded.

The wolves lunged.

Kieran moved first, claws flashing, his body a blur as he intercepted the first attacker. The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, the air crackling with heat and violence.

Marcus was on her in seconds, fast and brutal.

But Riley was faster.

She sidestepped his attack with ease, twisting at the last second, her body reacting before her mind could catch up. It was instinct. Pure and effortless.

Marcus's eyes widened.

She saw the exact moment he realized she wasn't the same girl he had been sent to retrieve.

The moment he realized he wasn't in control anymore.

Riley didn't wait.

She lunged, faster than she should have been, stronger than she had ever been. She slammed her palm into Marcus's chest, and the second her skin made contact

He collapsed.

A violent pulse of heat shot through her fingers, something raw and uncontained tearing through the space between them.

Marcus choked, eyes wild as he hit the ground, his body spasming like something had just ripped through him.

The wolves stopped.

The fight was over before it had even started.

They could feel it.

They could feel her.

Something deeper than a challenge, something more powerful than a simple battle for dominance.

Recognition.

The realization settled deep in Riley's bones, something ancient and undeniable.

She had won.

Not through blood.

Not through death.

Through something else.

Through who she was.

The silence stretched.

Marcus lay at her feet, breathing hard, but he didn't move.

The wolves watched her now, their ears flat, their heads lowered not in fear.

In submission.

A new thought curled inside her.

Maybe she had come back to finish what she started.

But maybe just maybe

She had come back to take back everything.

The weight of it settled over her like a second skin.

The wolves had lowered their heads, their bodies tense not out of fear, but out of recognition.

They saw something in her.

Something they knew.

Something they had once followed.

And for the first time, Riley wasn't sure if that terrified her or thrilled her.

Her breath came slow and steady, the fire inside her simmering beneath the surface, no longer raging out of control but not disappearing, either. It was there. Waiting. Watching. Ready.

She stared down at Marcus, who was still struggling to move, his chest heaving. His golden eyes flickered with pain, but beneath it beneath the exhaustion, the frustration

There was something else.

Something close to understanding.

"You" he rasped, coughing, his fingers curling into the dirt beneath him. "I should have known."

Riley tilted her head slightly, her heart still pounding. "Known what?"

Marcus lifted his gaze to hers, his breath uneven.

"That you weren't meant to be hunted," he whispered.

She inhaled sharply, the words striking something deep inside her, something raw and undeniable.

Marcus swallowed hard, looking past her at the wolves still frozen in place, at the ones who had hesitated, the ones who hadn't followed his orders.

And then, softly, "They're waiting for you."

The realization sank in, cold and heavy.

Waiting for her to do what?

To fight? To run? To prove to them that she was nothing more than the girl they had been sent to capture?

Or

Were they waiting for something else?

Something bigger?

Something that had been promised to them long before she even knew she existed?

A slow, cold shiver ran down her spine.

She could feel Kieran's gaze on her, burning, waiting for her to say something, to make a choice.

But she didn't know what to say.

Because Marcus was right.

They weren't looking at her like she was an enemy.

They were looking at her like she was already theirs.

The thought sent a sharp, electric thrill coiling through her chest.

She took a step forward, slowly, carefully. The wolves tensed but didn't move away.

She could feel the shift between them, something more than instinct, something deeper than a simple show of dominance.

This wasn't just about winning a fight.

It was about who she was.

Who she had always been.

She inhaled slowly, tasting the change in the air.

This wasn't just about Tobias anymore.

This wasn't about Kieran, Lena, or even the war waiting just beyond the horizon.

This was about her.

And if they were waiting

Then maybe it was time to stop running.

Maybe it was time to step forward.

To see if they would follow.

Her heart pounded.

The wolves watched.

And Riley took the first step toward them.

The moment Riley stepped forward, the wolves stilled.

Not in fear.

Not in defiance.

But in expectation.

She could feel it now, the way their gazes followed her, the way their bodies tensed but did not retreat. The air between them was thick, humming with an energy she didn't fully understand, but recognized all the same.

This wasn't just about power.

It wasn't just about dominance.

It was about belonging.

Riley's pulse roared in her ears, but she didn't let herself hesitate.

She took another step.

One of the wolves, a broad-shouldered male with dark fur and golden eyes, lowered his head slightly. Not a full bow, but close.

Her breath hitched.

She knew what this was.

Not submission.

Not surrender.

The others shifted, their movements cautious, almost careful as if waiting to see what she would do next.

Kieran was beside her now, his presence tense, his breath uneven. She didn't have to look at him to know what he was thinking.

This wasn't supposed to be happening.

She wasn't supposed to have this effect on them.

But she did.

And Tobias had known it all along.

That's why he had hunted her.

Not just because she was a threat.

But because she was something more.

Marcus exhaled sharply from where he still knelt on the ground, shaking his head slightly. "I don't know what you are anymore."

Riley finally turned back to him. "I don't think I do either."

Marcus let out a rough, humorless laugh, rubbing a hand across his face. "Then we're all in trouble."

She narrowed her gaze. "Why?"

His golden eyes flicked back up to hers, something unreadable in his expression.

"Because if you wanted them," he murmured, nodding toward the wolves still watching her, still waiting

"They're already yours."

A sharp pulse of heat shot through her chest.

The weight of his words settled deep.

Because they weren't just a possibility.

They were the truth.

And she had a choice to make.

One that could change everything.

Her breath came slow, measured, but inside she was burning.

Because for the first time since all of this had started, she wasn't being hunted.

She wasn't being cornered, or forced, or chased.

She was being given something.

Something dangerous.

Something powerful.

And the worst part?

Somewhere deep inside

She wanted it.