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Lena woke up with someone else's teeth in her neck.
Not in. On. The mark sat there like a brand, crescent-shaped and dark against her skin. She'd scrubbed it in the shower until the water ran cold. Covered it with concealer that slid right off. Even tried icing it. Nothing worked.
It had been three days since the blackout party at the warehouse district, and the bite hadn't faded one shade.
She pressed two fingers against it now, standing in her apartment kitchen. The skin felt hot. Not infected-hot. Something else. Something that made her stomach twist and her pulse kick up in a way she didn't want to think about.
"You keep touching it like that, you'll make it worse."
Lena spun around.
The guy from the warehouse leaned against her door frame. Tall. Dark hair that looked like he'd been running his hands through it. Eyes that caught the light wrong, almost reflective. He looked exactly like he had three nights ago, right down to the leather jacket and the half-smile that probably worked on every other girl in a ten-mile radius.
She was not every other girl.
"How the hell did you get in here?" She grabbed the chef's knife from the counter. Her hand didn't shake. Good.
"Your lock's garbage." He didn't move. Didn't even look at the knife. "And you didn't answer my texts."
"Because I blocked you." Lena's voice came out flat. "After you bit me and disappeared."
"I didn't disappear. You passed out."
"You bit me."
"Yeah." He pushed off the door frame and stepped into her kitchen like he belonged there. "I did."
She pointed the knife at him. "Stay there."
He stopped. Tilted his head. "You gonna stab me, Lena?"
"Don't use my name like we're friends."
"We're not friends." His smile dropped. "We're a lot more complicated than that."
The mark on her neck pulsed.
Lena's breath hitched. It felt like a second heartbeat, warm and insistent, spreading down her collarbone. She pressed her palm against it. "What did you do to me?"
"Saved your life." He said it simple. Matter-of-fact. "You were dying. Some asshole slipped you something at that party. Poison. You had maybe five minutes."
"So you bit me?"
"It was the only way to filter the poison out fast enough. My venom bonds to toxins. Neutralizes them." He watched her face. "You're welcome, by the way."
Lena laughed. It came out sharp. "You want me to thank you?"
"I want you to stop pretending you don't feel it."
She felt it. God, she felt it. Every time he took a step closer, the mark got hotter. Her skin buzzed. It was like her body recognized him and wanted to close the distance, even though her brain was screaming at her to run.
"I don't feel anything," she lied.
"Right." He moved again. Slow. Deliberate. "Then your heartbeat wouldn't spike every time I get close."
"You can hear my heartbeat?"
"I can hear a lot of things."
He was only three feet away now. Close enough that she could smell him—cedar and smoke and something animal she couldn't name. The knife felt heavy in her hand. Useless. He could've taken it from her already if he wanted to.
He hadn't touched her once.
"What are you?" she asked.
His jaw tightened. "You really want to know?"
"I have a bite mark that won't go away and a stalker in my kitchen. Yeah. I want to know."
"Wolf."
She stared at him. "What?"
"Wolf clan. Guardian line. We've been here longer than this city's had a name." He said it like he was telling her the weather. "The bite's a blood bond. You've got thirty days before the full moon locks it in."
Lena set the knife down. Not because she trusted him. Because her hand was shaking now, and she didn't want him to see it. "You're insane."
"I'm really not."
"You expect me to believe you're a werewolf."
"I expect you to believe what's already happening to you." He stepped closer again. One more foot. "You feel it when I'm close. You felt it the second I walked in. It's not going away, Lena. It's only going to get stronger."
The mark burned.
She hated that he was right. Hated that her body was doing things she hadn't told it to do. Leaning in. Wanting him closer.
She forced herself to step back. "Then how do I break it?"
Something flickered across his face. Too fast for her to read. "There are ways."
"Tell me."
"I will. But first you need to understand what you're dealing with." He stopped moving. Held her gaze. "The bond's not just some mystical bullshit. It's a beacon. Every wolf within a hundred miles knows you're marked now. Some of them are going to want to know why."
"Why would they care?"
"Because blood bonds don't happen by accident. They're reserved for mates. Pack family. Humans don't get them unless—" He cut himself off.
"Unless what?"
"Unless there's a reason."
Lena's stomach dropped. "You're saying you marked me as your mate?"
"I'm saying I marked you to save your life, and now we both have to deal with the fallout." His voice went hard. "You want me gone? Fine. But you're already being hunted."
"By who?"
"By wolves who think humans shouldn't carry our marks. By rogues who'll try to use you to get to me. By—" He stopped. His head snapped toward the window.
Lena heard it half a second later. Tires on gravel. A car door slamming.
He moved fast. Faster than anyone should. He crossed the kitchen and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the window. His hand was warm. Too warm. The mark flared so bright she gasped.
"Don't make a sound," he said quietly.
She wanted to argue. Wanted to shove him off and call the cops and pretend the last three days hadn't happened. But something in his voice stopped her.
He was scared.
Footsteps on the stairs. Heavy. Multiple people.
He pulled her toward the back hallway. "Is there another way out?"
"Fire escape. Bedroom window."
"Go."
She didn't move. "Who is it?"
"People I really hoped wouldn't find you this fast." He looked at her. Really looked at her. "I'm sorry."
A knock on the door. Three sharp raps.
Then a voice. Low. Male. Controlled. "We know she's in there, Kade."
Kade. So that was his name.
He swore under his breath and moved to the door. Lena grabbed his arm without thinking. The bond lit up like a live wire. Her whole body went hot.
He looked down at her hand on his sleeve. "You should go."
"This is my apartment."
"And those are wolves who don't care."
Another knock. Harder. "Open the door."
Kade's hand went to the deadbolt. He glanced back at her one more time. "Stay behind me."
"I didn't agree to—"
He opened the door.
Three men stood in the hallway. All of them tall. All of them looking at her like she was a problem that needed solving.
The one in front smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "Kade. It's been a while."
"Not long enough, Theron."
Theron. The name sounded important. Dangerous. Lena's pulse hammered in her throat.
Theron's gaze slid past Kade and locked onto her. Onto the mark on her neck. His smile widened. "So it's true. You actually bonded a human."
"She's none of your business," Kade said.
"She's everyone's business now." Theron stepped forward. Kade blocked him. "You broke tradition. Endangered the pack. And for what? A girl who doesn't even know what you are?"
"She knows enough."
"Does she know what happens if the bond completes? Does she know what you're turning her into?"
Lena's chest tightened. "What's he talking about?"
Kade didn't answer.
Theron's smile sharpened. "He didn't tell you. Of course he didn't." He looked at Kade. "You always were a selfish bastard."
"Get out," Kade said quietly.
"Can't do that." Theron pulled something from his jacket. A phone. He tapped the screen once and held it up.
A voice crackled through. Older. Authoritative. "Bring her in. We need to assess the situation."
Kade's whole body went rigid. "No."
"It's not your call anymore." Theron pocketed the phone and looked at Lena. "You're coming with us."
"Like hell I am," Lena said.
Theron's eyes flashed. Literally flashed, gold and inhuman. "That wasn't a request."
Kade moved between them. His voice dropped an octave. "You're not taking her."
"Then we'll take you both."
The two men behind Theron stepped forward. The hallway felt smaller. Hotter. Lena's fight-or-flight response was screaming flight, but there was nowhere to go.
Kade's hand found hers. The bond blazed. For one second, she felt what he felt—rage and fear and something fierce she didn't have a name for.
"Hold on," he said.
Then the window behind them exploded.
Glass sprayed across the living room. Lena screamed. Kade pulled her down as something massive and dark lunged through the broken frame.
Not something. Someone.
Another wolf. Bigger than the others. Gray fur and yellow eyes and teeth that looked like they could snap bone.
Theron swore and shifted. One second he was human. The next he was a wolf, black-furred and snarling.
Kade shoved Lena toward the hallway. "Fire escape. Now."
"What about you?"
"I'll find you. Go."
She ran. Her legs felt like they weren't hers. The apartment erupted into chaos behind her—growls and crashes and the sound of claws on wood. She hit the bedroom and scrambled out the window onto the fire escape.
The night air slapped her face. Cold. Sharp. Real.
She climbed down as fast as she could. Her hands were shaking so hard she almost missed a rung. The alley below was dark. Empty.
She dropped the last few feet and landed hard. Pain shot up her ankle. She bit down on a gasp and limped toward the street.
Headlights flared.
A black SUV pulled up to the curb. The engine idled. Tinted windows. No plates.
Lena froze.
The back window rolled down. A woman's face appeared. Sharp cheekbones. Cold eyes. She looked at Lena like she was inventory.
"Hand over the blood-bound human," she said. "And no one else has to die tonight."