EYES IN THE DARKNESS
The glowing red eyes stared at them from the darkness between the trees.
Unblinking.
Watching.
Aria felt a chill run down her spine.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the sleeve of the Alpha King’s coat as she stood behind him.
“What… is that?” she whispered.
The Alpha King didn’t answer immediately.
His golden eyes were locked on the shadowed figure.
Every muscle in his body had gone tense.
Alert.
Dangerous.
Slowly, the shape in the forest moved.
Branches rustled softly as something large stepped forward into the faint moonlight.
Aria gasped.
It was a wolf.
But not like any wolf she had ever seen.
Its fur was dark—almost black—but streaked with patches of rough grey. Its body looked thin and twisted, as if something about it was unnatural.
And those eyes…
They glowed an eerie red.
Her wolf growled softly inside her mind.
Rogue.
Aria blinked.
“A rogue?” she whispered quietly.
The Alpha King heard her.
“Yes.”
His voice was calm, but there was a dangerous edge beneath it.
Rogue wolves were outcasts.
Wolves who had abandoned their packs or been cast out for crimes.
Most of them were unstable.
Violent.
And extremely dangerous.
But something about this rogue felt… different.
Aria could feel it.
The air around them felt heavy.
Wrong.
The rogue wolf took another step forward.
A low growl rumbled from its chest.
The Alpha King stepped slightly in front of Aria, shielding her with his body.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said coldly.
The rogue’s red eyes flickered toward Aria.
Then back to the Alpha King.
It let out a strange sound.
Not quite a growl.
Almost like a laugh.
Aria’s wolf stirred uneasily.
Something’s wrong.
“What do you mean?” Aria whispered inside her mind.
But before her wolf could answer—
The rogue suddenly shifted.
Its body twisted violently as bones cracked and reformed.
Within seconds, a man stood where the wolf had been.
Aria’s eyes widened in shock.
The man looked rough and wild.
His dark hair was messy, his skin marked with several old scars.
But his glowing red eyes remained the same.
Unnatural.
He smiled slowly.
“Well… well…”
His voice was hoarse, like someone who hadn’t spoken in a long time.
“The Alpha King himself.”
The Alpha King’s expression didn’t change.
“What do you want?”
The rogue’s gaze slowly moved toward Aria again.
His smile widened.
“Her.”
Aria felt her heart slam against her ribs.
The Alpha King’s eyes darkened instantly.
“You have five seconds to leave,” he said calmly.
The rogue chuckled.
“Five seconds?”
He tilted his head slightly, studying Aria with open curiosity.
“Do you even know what she is?”
The Alpha King’s voice dropped lower.
“I know enough.”
The rogue’s red eyes gleamed.
“No,” he said softly.
“You really don’t.”
Aria’s wolf suddenly growled loudly inside her mind.
He knows something.
“What?” Aria asked silently.
But her wolf didn’t answer.
Instead—
The rogue man suddenly lunged forward.
Fast.
Far faster than Aria expected.
His claws extended as he shifted partially back into his wolf form mid-attack.
Aria gasped.
But the Alpha King moved even faster.
In the blink of an eye—
His hand shot forward and caught the rogue’s throat.
The impact stopped the attack instantly.
The rogue’s feet lifted slightly off the ground as the Alpha King held him effortlessly.
Golden eyes burned with quiet fury.
“I warned you,” the Alpha King said.
The rogue only smiled.
Even while being held in the air.
Blood trickled slightly from the corner of his mouth as he laughed softly.
“You can kill me…”
His glowing red eyes slowly turned toward Aria again.
“…but it won’t stop the others from coming.”
A cold silence fell over the forest.
The Alpha King’s grip tightened slightly.
“Others?” he asked.
The rogue’s smile grew wider.
“Oh yes…”
His voice dropped into a whisper.
“They’ve been searching for her for a very long time.”
Aria felt her stomach drop.
“What are you talking about?” she asked nervously.
The rogue’s glowing eyes locked onto hers.
And then he said the words that made the Alpha King’s expression finally change.
“Because that girl…”
He coughed weakly but kept smiling.
“…is the last heir of the Shadow Bloodline.”