Chapter 27

Alright… let’s make this fun for all of us. 😌

Here’s how I’m rewarding you, my special readers, and the ink to my pen.

1. Hit a top ranking for a week straight → mass release of 3 Chapters.

2. Send a super gift → mass release of 5 Chapters.

Now for the real mischief, these are the rewards. Also, this is where the real chaos lies.

1. Top interactive reader in a week → gets a shoutout

2. One-time super gift → gets a Chapter dedicated to you.

3. Repeated super gifts → you start getting little spoilers + future hints.

4. Highest Golden Ticket sender of the month (20–30 range) → you get a permanent role in the book

Yes, an actual role. 😅🥹 Immortality secured.

Let’s build this story together 🤍

Nate and Xanden moved through the forest side by side. Their steps were quiet despite the number of men trailing behind them.

There were guards, and hunters. And a few maids carrying supplies.

The forest stretched endlessly ahead, thick with towering trees and the scent of damp earth.

It was a good hunting day.

Suddenly, Xanden slowed. Just slightly.

Nate noticed immediately.

“What?” he muttered.

Xanden didn’t answer.

His eyes darkened, turning musky as his wolf stirred beneath the surface. Something brushed against his senses. It was faint, but unmistakable.

Familiar even.

Nate stilled beside him.

Then his eyes flashed red.

Xanden didn’t respond.

He was already searching, and listening.

“Move along,” Xanden ordered suddenly.

The men behind them hesitated, then quickly obeyed. No one questioned him, as no one ever did.

The group moved ahead, leaving the two brothers behind.

Xanden turned slowly.

Nate followed his gaze.

And there, a distance away, partially hidden between the trees were movement of two figures.

One was smaller, and did an awful job in hiding her silver hair.

Nate’s jaw tightened. “Fuck me,” he muttered.

They didn’t wait. Their bodies moved on instinct. They immediately used their speed, and power.

They cut through the forest like shadows, and closed the distance in seconds.

Aire barely had time to react.

One moment, she was moving quietly beside Mabel. The next, they were there.

The alphas were tiggt before her, towering, sudden, and impossible.

She gasped.

A sharp, startled sound escaped her lips.

Mabel shut her eyes briefly.

’This is how I die,’ she thought.

Aire adjusted her hat calmly, and ran off with no explanation, nor a word.

Xanden blinked. He immediately took off after her.

“Look after her!” he shouted over his shoulder, the ’her’ referring to Mabel who just stood there, visibly shaken and annoyed she got caught up in this.

Nate exhaled sharply, glancing at Mabel, who looked like she had already accepted her fate.

Aire ran through the forest like she knew it.

She moved around trees, over roots, and through the narrow paths without hesitation.

Xanden followed. Fast enough to get a hold of her, but his focus wasn’t on catching her. It was on her footing.

He watched her balance, careful enough to ensure her safety.

His wolf stirred uneasily. She has no wolf, and yet, she ran like this?

She ran like this?

Aire suddenly stopped. She stopped so abruptly that Xanden almost collided into her.

She raised her hand slightly, listening to her surroundings.

Xanden frowned.

Then, he heard it too.

It was just a rustle. Soft, and measured.

Probably a stag.

Aire turned slightly.

Her eyes sharpened, and Xanden stepped closer.

“Are you serious?” he asked, his voice low but edged with disbelief. “You can’t hunt p>

Aire didn’t answer.

Instead, she quickly moved toward him.

And unexpectedly, before he could react, she yanked the gun from his grip.

Xanden froze, completely caught off guard.

Aire slipped behind a tree, lowering herself into position with practiced ease.

Her body aligned steady and precise with good practise.

She lifted the gun, and looked through it.

“Aire,” Xanden warned.

“Shuu,” she whispered. Then she glanced back at him, a small smile playing on her lips. “Get down p>

Xanden stared at her for a second longer.

Then, slowly, he lowered himself beside her. Still watching her, and trying to understand her.

“What is wrong with you?” he muttered under his breath. “You will be Luna the moment the elders decide p>

For the first time, Aire rolled her eyes.

“Would you be quiet?” she asked with a little edge in her voice.

Her gaze never left the target.

Xanden blinked.

That… surprised him.

“Are rules meaningless to you?” he pressed. “This is a difficult situation p>

That made her pause for a second. Then, she lowered the gun, and turned to him.

“Exactly which difficult situation are you referring to, my lord?” she asked.

Her tone wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t soft either. She would accept anything but she’d never accept someone giving mean names to the only thing that have ever made her to feel alive.

Xanden frowned.

Aire seemed to realize it too. She just crossed the line. Her expression shifted immediately, and she bowed her head slightly.

“I apologize,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to p>

Xanden shook his head. “It’s fine p>

And somehow, he meant it.

He stepped closer. Closer than before, then moved behind her.

Aire stilled.

He reached for her hand gently, guiding it back to the gun.

Her breath caught.

He was warm.

Too warm.

His body hovered just behind hers, solid and steady. His chest was barely an inch from her back.

She could feel it.

She could feel the heat, the strength, and his control.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the weapon as his hand covered hers.

His hand was large, firm, and certain.

He adjusted her grip, and lowered her aim just slightly.

“Like this,” he murmured.

His voice was quieter now, and closer.

His breath brushed against her ear.

Aire swallowed.

Her heartbeat shifted. She could feel every inch of him. She felt the fabric of his shirt, and the strength beneath it.

The way he held himself back.

Xanden’s eyes dropped to her lips, then back to her eyes. His eyes then traced th curve of her slender neck, and the siver strands of her hair.

He shouldn’t be this close. He knew that, and his wolf knew that.

And yet, he didn’t move away.

“I can feel it too,” he said softly. “We might have a prey nearby p>

His thumb brushed lightly over her fingers.

Aire turned her head slightly. Their faces nearly aligned.

Her breath fanned across his lips. “It’s your wolf acting,” she said quietly.

The words hit differently at this distance.

“Even if the elders decide she continued, her gaze steady on his, “I won’t accept this mate bond p>

Xanden’s jaw tightened.

Her voice didn’t waver. “Not until you and your brothers see me beyond my curse p>

His eyes dropped again, to her lips. Then her eyes. Again, and again.

Like he was fighting himself. Every instinct in him screamed to close the distance.

To claim. To taste. To take. However, he couldn’t. His hand tightened slightly over hers, then loosened.

His breath grew uneven.

He forced himself back with just a step. However, it felt like pulling away from something he shouldn’t want this much.

He cleared his throat, looked away, and regained control.

Aire watched him.

Then, she smiled. She gave him an appreciative smile, then she turned back to the gun.

Steadying her breath, she refocused her eyes on her target, and the stag shifted in the distance.

Aire’s finger rested on the trigger.

Xanden watched her.