That intense gaze felt like a vortex slowly pulling me into that blue, and no matter how much I wanted to look away, I couldn't tear my eyes from him. My heart began to race, each beat striking harder against my chest as an unexplainable warmth spread through me in waves. The feeling didn't stay confined to my body; it seeped into my thoughts, drawing me into a strange, hazy daze.
"Mate."
His voice was deep—thick, almost like a melody that sank straight into me.
That single word landed on my mind like a sudden blow, snapping me out of that strange trance.
Mate?
What was that supposed to mean?
Before saying anything, I found myself studying the man standing in front of me. Only then did I truly realize how large he was. He was nearly two meters tall—maybe even more. His shoulders were broad, his body so well-defined that it was impossible not to look; as if he had spent years doing nothing but training.
My gaze drifted downward without me noticing.
And then… I remembered.
He was completely naked.
The moment I realized what I was seeing, I quickly turned my head away. Heat rushed to my cheeks, embarrassment spreading across my skin as I struggled to steady my breathing.
Right then, I heard a low, muffled rumble.
The sound… was coming from him.
From the man who had been the black wolf.
Was I supposed to call this a werewolf?
Ah… what am I even thinking?
"What do you mean—"
My words were cut off.
Because in the next instant, Kongar appeared in front of me. He had stepped between me and the man who had called me "mate." His back was to me, his broad shoulders completely blocking my view.
He spoke before I even had the chance to react.
"She is mine…"
His voice was low, but the threat within it seeped through the spaces between his words and spread into the air.
My heart skipped a beat.
What was this… thing inside me?
Kongar slightly turned his head toward me.
"…my master," he said in a quieter voice. "I am enough for you."
Then he turned his gaze back to the man in front of him.
A deep growl suddenly rose and spread through the forest.
The wolves around us tensed all at once. Then, as if they had received an invisible command, they lowered their heads to the ground. The sounds coming from them shifted between growls and whimpers.
A shiver ran through me.
But this wasn't fear.
On the contrary… there was a strange excitement rising inside me.
My eyes drifted back to Kongar.
That sound… seemed to have no effect on him. He stood there, perfectly still, not taking a single step back.
It was as if he had positioned himself in front of me, drawing an invisible line between us, standing there with the kind of resolve that wouldn't allow anyone to cross it.
The man stepped forward, then reached out and grabbed Kongar by the throat with a deep growl; the movement was so sudden and powerful that my eyes widened in reflexive fear.
I moved before I could even think. Slipping past Kongar, I grabbed the man's arm, and the moment I touched him, a sharp tingling shot through my hand; it felt like a thin current of electricity running beneath my skin, real enough to make me flinch.
The man's growl stopped abruptly.
I lifted my head and looked at his face; those blue eyes were brighter this time, almost glowing, holding me in place with a gaze that pinned me where I stood.
My heart started racing again, pounding uncontrollably in my chest as something unexplainable stirred inside me; every time I looked at him, I couldn't make sense of the way my body reacted.
I had to look away, clearing my throat as my lips parted.
"I-I… um… could you let him go… please?" I whispered, my voice coming out much softer than I expected, and I couldn't understand why it was so difficult to look into his eyes while speaking.
Even so, I could still feel his gaze on me; its intensity kept building, as if he wasn't merely looking at me, but reaching into something deep within me.
As I waited for his response, I tried to steady the pounding of my heart, but he said nothing.
Just as I was about to speak again, a dry, sharp sound from behind shattered my thoughts—
the sound of bone cracking…
I turned my head sharply in that direction, and the sight that met my eyes made my breath catch in my throat; a few steps away, someone else was standing there.
Another naked man.
This time, I couldn't suppress the thought rising in my mind.
None of this could be real… right?
My eyes scanned the surroundings uneasily, and that was when I realized the brown wolf was no longer there; the massive body I had just left behind had vanished as if it had never existed.
When I looked back at the new man in front of me, an involuntary suspicion stirred within me.
That… couldn't be the wolf, could it?
As I struggled with that thought, a faint tremor ran through my hand, starting at my fingertips and spreading up toward my wrist.
Then I heard it—
a deep, dominant growl.
When I turned my head forward again, I saw Kongar's completely darkened eyes and the other man's glowing blue gaze fixed on me at the same time.
And I was the sole focus of them both.
Under the weight of those stares, my heart began to pound as if it would burst out of my chest.
Kongar seemed unaffected by the powerful hands gripping his throat; as if he felt no pain, or if he did, it simply didn't matter.
But when I looked at those hands, I noticed the detail that made my stomach twist.
The fingers… weren't normal.
The nails had lengthened, sharpened, almost turning into claws, digging into Kongar's neck. A yellowish liquid clung to their tips, glistening faintly.
That… had to be his blood.
My mind tried to reject it.
I couldn't be imagining all of this… could I? Because this was too much to be something my mind had made up. The strange sensation moving inside me, the tingling in my hands… all of it felt far too real.
"Alpha."
The voice cut through my thoughts.
When I turned my head in that direction, I saw that it was the other man—the one who had appeared moments ago—who had spoken.
"This creature…" he said, his gaze flickering briefly toward Kongar, "…seems to be valuable to Luna—"
His sentence was cut off abruptly.
The blue-eyed man—Alpha—silenced him with a deep growl.
But the other man didn't step back.
"You wouldn't want to upset her, would you?" he continued, his voice now more measured, yet just as cautious.
I found myself instinctively agreeing with his words.
But…
Who was Luna?
"She is mine… mine alone," Alpha said; his voice was deep and heavy, the words didn't fade into the air—they settled heavily over me.
At those words, my heart skipped a beat before my brows drew together.
Alpha's eyes moved over my face, studying me with a careful, unwavering intensity, as if he wouldn't miss even the smallest movement.
"I don't belong to anyone," I said, my voice coming out sharper than I expected. I wasn't an object. And who did he think he was?
Alpha held my gaze for a moment.
Under the weight of that look, it became difficult to breathe.
Just then, the faint smile that formed on Kongar's lips caught Alpha's attention, and his expression darkened instantly; despite the deep growl rising from his throat, he eased my arm free with a surprising gentleness, enclosing it within his other hand, and then, increasing the pressure of the hand gripping Kongar, he hurled him aside as if he weighed nothing at all.
Kongar's back slammed into a tree before he fell to the ground. His head hung forward.
And he wasn't moving.
"No! Kongar—"
My voice broke in my throat. I tried to lunge toward him, but the firm grip around my wrist didn't allow it. I struggled to pull free, but it was useless; his fingers tightened around my wrist so fiercely that I thought my bones would crack.
When I let out a pained sound, his grip loosened for a moment… but he didn't let go.
"Let me go!" I snapped, my voice trembling with anger. Had he killed him?
"Alpha, I think you should calm down," the other man said, approaching us with careful steps. His hands were raised, as if trying to ease the tension in the air.
But Alpha didn't pay him any attention.
All his focus was on me.
The moment I had first seen Kongar flashed before my eyes. If werewolves were real… then he was real too. I was sure of it now. All of this was real. How could it possibly be a hallucination? Not when this man was holding my wrist this tightly…
My lips parted on their own.
"Kongar… don't leave me… don't let go."