Claimed by the Wolf

y the night could understand. Lyra Flynn pulled her coat tighter around her as she walked home from the bookstore where she worked part-time. The crisp autumn air carried the scent of damp earth and

f. Muscles rippled beneath its coat as it moved with unsettling grace, its gaze locked onto hers. Time seemed to slow. A wave of something strange rolled over her. Recognition. Which made no sense. She had never seen this creature before. Had she? Her pulse thundered in her ears. She should run. Scream. Do something. But she stood frozen, caught in the depth of those golden eyes. Then- "Lyra." The voice wasn't spoken aloud. It slid through her mind, rich and deep, curling around her like smoke. Her vision swayed. The world tilted. The last thing she saw was the wolf stepping closer before darkness swallowed her whole. - She woke to the scent of damp earth and pine. Cool grass pressed against her cheek. A dull ache throbbed at the base of her skull, and when she moved, a sharp pain lanced through her limbs, like she had been thrown there. Her fingers curled into the dirt. Where was she? She forced her heavy eyelids open. The forest loomed around her, the trees thick and ancient, their twisted roots sprawling across the earth like veins. A soft mist clung to the undergrowth, swirling in the dim moonlight. It was quiet-too quiet. Even the wind had stilled. Panic surged through her chest. She had been on the road home. Then... the eyes. The voice. The wolf. A rustle in the underbrush snapped her attention to the right. She wasn't alone. Her body locked up as a figure emerged from the shadows. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Moving with an unnatural fluidity, as if he were more shadow than man. The moonlight caught his face-sharp cheekbones, a strong jaw, dark hair tousled as