Chapter 3 THE COLLISION

Layla didn't wait for his reaction.

The moment the words left her mouth, she turned and walked away fast. Her chest was tight, her pulse too loud, her wolf pacing anxiously under her skin.

She shouldn't have said anything.

She shouldn't have told him even a piece of the truth.

But when he looked at her with those eyes filled with confusion and fear, she couldn't lie.

Not about this.

Not about him.

The mark on her shoulder pulsed again, deep and hot, like a warning she couldn't ignore.

He's following, her wolf whispered.

Layla didn't even turn around. She felt him behind her, the force of his presence pulling at her like a tide. Every step she took, he matched. Silent but intense. Determined.

Finally, she spun around to face him, breath fogging in the cold night air.

"Why are you following me?" she demanded.

Adrian stopped a few feet away from her. His expression wasn't angry anymore. It was something worse, focused, controlled, like a man forcing himself not to panic.

"Because I'm not letting you run away again." His tone was low, but there was an edge to it. "Not until I understand what's happening to me."

Layla swallowed hard. "Nothing is happening to you that I can fix."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

"No," he said quietly, shaking his head. "You know more. And you're terrified. I saw it in your eyes back there."

Layla looked down. Her hands were shaking. She tried to hide them in the sleeves of her sweatshirt, but Adrian's gaze followed the movement.

He saw everything.

He sensed everything.

That alone terrified her more than the rogues.

Adrian took a step closer, slow and cautious, like approaching a frightened animal.

"Something chased you out of that alley," he said softly. "Something you're still running from."

Layla's breath hitched.

He wasn't wrong.

"And then I touched you," he continued, "and... something burned into my skin. Something I can't explain. Something you clearly understand."

Layla shut her eyes.

"Stop," she whispered. "Please."

But Adrian didn't.

His voice lowered, becoming almost gentle.

"I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just trying to make sense of this. You said I'm not one of you. Then what am I?" He swallowed. "Am I dying? Is that what this is?"

Her eyes flew open.

"No!" she said, louder than she meant to. "You're not dying."

He blinked, startled by her sudden shift.

Layla pressed a hand to her forehead. She could feel her wolf pushing back, urging her to move closer to him to protect, to explain. But she fought it. Hard.

She couldn't give him too much. Not yet.

Her voice came out softer. "You're not dying, Adrian."

His name tasted strange on her tongue, warm, unwanted but familiar.

Adrian exhaled in relief, but his shoulders didn't relax.

"Then what's happening?" he asked.

Layla bit her lip. "You're... awakening."

"Awakening what?"

Her throat tightened. She stared at him, at the mark glowing faintly through his shirt. At the strength radiating from him that he didn't realize he had.

"You're not human," she whispered.

Adrian stared at her like she had slapped him.

The wind picked up, brushing a strand of hair across his forehead. He didn't move, didn't blink, didn't breathe for a long moment.

Then he laughed.

Not a real laugh.

A disbelieving, exhausted, what-the-hell-is-my-life kind of laugh.

"Not human," he repeated slowly. "That's... insane."

Layla nodded weakly. "I know."

"I run a multi-billion-dollar company," he said, voice rising. "I have board meetings, stockholders, employees. I bleed human blood. I eat human food. I live in a penthouse not a cave."

"You were raised human," Layla said gently. "But that doesn't mean you are one."

Adrian shook his head. "I don't believe this."

"You felt the mark. You heard my heartbeat. You moved faster than any human could when that rogue attacked."

"That was adrenaline."

"No," Layla whispered. "That was your wolf."

Adrian's jaw tensed. He took a step back, as if her words were something he needed distance from.

"A wolf." His voice cracked. "Do you hear yourself?"

Layla stepped forward before she could stop herself.

"It's real," she said softly. "Even if you don't want it to be."

Adrian stared at her for a long moment, breathing hard. She could almost see his mind racing logic crashing into instincts, human identity colliding with something ancient inside him.

"How do you know this?" he finally asked. "How do you know what I am?"

Layla hesitated.

The truth was heavy on her tongue.

Because you're the heir I was warned to avoid.

Because you're the danger my father fears.

Because you're the one destiny bound me to destroy... or save.

But she didn't say any of that.

She simply whispered, "Because I can feel you."

Adrian's expression shifted.

Softened.

Just for a second.

It was enough to make her heart stutter.

Then

Grrrrrrr...

Layla froze.

Adrian's eyes snapped behind her.

A low growl rolled through the alley beside them deep, hungry and close.

Layla's blood turned to ice.

Rogues.

Two wolves stepped out of the shadows, their eyes glowing a sickly red, their teeth dripping saliva. They weren't hiding anymore. They didn't care about being seen by humans.

They were here for her.

Adrian didn't hesitate.

He grabbed Layla's wrist and pulled her behind him, body tensing like he was ready to fight barehanded.

Layla yanked her hand back. "No...Adrian, you can't fight them!"

The rogues snarled.

Adrian didn't move.

"Get behind me," he said sharply.

Layla shook her head. "You don't understand"

The first rogue lunged.

It happened too fast for a human eye to follow but Adrian moved.

Not like a human.

Not like a man.

He moved like lightning.

Like instinct.

Like a predator waking up.

He stepped forward with sudden, unnatural speed, grabbing Layla around the waist and pulling her out of the way as the rogue's claws swiped the air where she had been standing.

Layla hit the ground with Adrian's arm still around her. She gasped.

Adrian didn't look at her.

He was staring at the wolves.

And for the first time, Layla saw it clearly

His eyes.

Silver.

Bright, sharp, glowing silver.

She felt her entire world drop out from under her.

"Oh my god..." she whispered. "You're shifting."

Adrian didn't hear her.

Or maybe he did, but he couldn't process it.

Because his voice no longer fully human growled

"Stay Away From Her."

The wolves snarled back.

Layla's heart pounded so hard she thought it might break.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Not this fast.

Not tonight.

Her mate, her impossible, forbidden mate was awakening right in front of her.

And the world around them was about to burn.