When the moon ca full, Rhydric lost everything that made him human.
He’d tried. God, he’d tried...tried to suppress it, to ditate, to chain himself to the walls of his basent. But it never worked. His wolf was too wild, too raw. It was as if every ounce of rage his parents had buried inside themselves had been born into him.
He’d destroyed rooms. Broken bones.
He’d hurt himself more tis than he could count.
And through it all, he’d kept one secret buried deep none of his pack could ever know.
They saw him as the youngest Alpha in history. Strong. Calm. Unshakable.
But if they saw him lose control... if they saw what really happened on nights like this...
They’d never follow him again.
Only Ian knew.
Ian, his oldest friend. A healer. The only one who had seen him break and still stood by him afterward.
Rhydric inhaled slowly, eyes glowing faintly gold as he crouched near a cluster of trees, grounding himself. He could already feel his wolf at the peak of his skin. At least no one would see him in his lowest.
Suddenly he felt sothing. More like a pull, faint but unmistakable
Like an invisible thread had just wrapped itself around his chest, tugging him toward sothing.
He straightened slowly, his head turning toward the deeper part of the forest. The wind shifted, and the scent hit him a scent that didn’t belong here.
The scent of a soul too fragile to be here.
Rhydric’s pulse quickened. He didn’t think. His instincts took over, pushing his feet forward, deeper into the woods. His claws were already half-ford, glinting faintly in the moonlight as his breathing grew harsh.
The pull got stronger the further he went.
It felt like the forest itself was leading him sowhere, dragging him through the shadows and silence until the air grew colder. The breeze picked up, violent and unsteady, rustling through the trees as if warning him.
Then he heard it.
A sound that froze the breath in his throat.
A scream.
Not of a wild animal.
A human voice. Her voice. Athena.
Rhydric’s heart lurched, and before he even realized it, he was running.
Branches whipped against his face and arms, but he didn’t care. His wolf senses sharpened to a point, every heartbeat, every snap of twig beneath his boots roared in his skull.
He burst into a small clearing just in ti to see her.
Athena.
And soone no, sothing had her.
The creature was just another wolf, who couldn’t control himself, its eyes burning red, its claws curved and black.
Rhydric’s blood went cold, then hot all at once. His vision blurred. The beast inside him surged, breaking past the fragile control he’d been clinging to all night.
And as the moonlight hit his face, his eyes shifted.
When Rhydric saw the wolf grab Athena by her hair, sothing inside him snapped.
It wasn’t just anger. It was bloodlust. It was madness.
It was a roar that ripped through his veins so violently it made the air around him tremble.
His grey eyes burned gold bright, blazing, and untad. His claws flexed, sharp enough to slice through bone. His body vibrated with restrained power, and his wolf, his cursed, his uncontrollable beast howled inside him, demanding blood.
He had never felt the urge to kill so badly. Not even on a full moon. Not even when he’d lost control and ripped through trees trying to chain himself back to sanity. But right now...fuck..right now, he wanted to bury his claws into that wolf’s chest and pull his heart out with his bare hand.
He wanted to rip the bastard’s spine out piece by piece.
He wanted to hear his ribs crack.
He wanted to snap his neck, tear open his throat, and crush his skull under his heel until there was nothing left but silence and the stench of blood.
And maybe then...just maybe...the rage would stop burning through him.
But what undid him completely... was the sight of the wolf raising a claw toward her face. Her face.
Athena’s face.
The fury that exploded inside him was beyond anything human. His control snapped like glass. His breath ca out in a feral growl, his canines extending, his body tensing for a kill he didn’t plan.
He moved like speed. He blurred with the air. You could bearly see him. The force of his speed made the leaves swirl violently. The ground cracked under his boots. In a heartbeat, he was behind the wolf.
And with a sound that split the night, he drove his claws straight through the bastard’s back.
The wolf choked, gasping, his eyes wide. Rhydric didn’t even blink. His hand twisted viciously, digging deeper until he could feel the heartbeat pounding against his palm. Then he yanked hard and ripped it out.
The heart pulsed in his hand, alive, still beating.
Warm blood ran down his arm, painting his claws crimson.
The wolf fell on his knees, shaking profusely.
For a mont, Rhydric just stood there his breath coming out in rough, heavy rasps. His golden eyes burned brighter under the moonlight. The scent of blood filled the air, thick and tallic.
Then he looked up
And froze.
Athena was staring at him.
Her face was pale, her lips trembling.
Her eyes those beautiful, blue eyes were filled with disbelief. With horror.
She looked like the world had just collapsed around her.
Rhydric had never felt so stupid in his entire life.
He’d exposed himself. He’d shown her the part of him he spent years hiding the monster, the beast, the thing that never should have been seen.
And now, she was looking at him like he was no different from the wolf he’d just killed. Like he was sothing to fear.
Her eyes flickered down to the heart still pulsing in his hand. The second she saw it, she gasped her body jerking like the air had been stolen from her lungs.
"Damn it," he muttered, his throat dry.
Rhydric swallowed hard, trying to breathe past the knot in his chest. He had never felt this exposed, this bare. Every instinct scread at him to turn away, to hide, to vanish into the shadows where monsters belonged.
But another part of him, the part that was still burning from seeing her hurt refused to regret it.
He didn’t care. Not right now.
He didn’t regret killing that bastard. Not one bit.
And if by so twisted miracle the wolf dared to rise again, Rhydric swore he’d enjoy killing him a second ti. Slowly. Painfully.
But before he could even think, Athena swayed.
Her face grew even paler, her breathing uneven and sharp. Her eyes fluttered, unfocused, and her knees buckled beneath her.
Rhydric face widened but she was already falling.
He dropped the heart imdiately, it hit the ground with a wet thud and caught her before she could touch the earth.
Her body was cold, trembling, fragile in his arms. Her pale white hair brushed against his jaw as he held her close, his chest rising and falling in jagged breaths.
And then, suddenly...
Her scent hit him.
He froze.
God. She slled so damn good. So pure. So hers, just like the kerchief.
That lavender scent sweetness mixed with the faint trace of fear and adrenaline, it hit him like a drug. His control, what little he had left, shuddered dangerously.
He shouldn’t be thinking this. Not now. Not while she was unconscious.
But he couldn’t help it.
Every breath he took was filled with her.
Every beat of his heart echoed hers.
Rhydric closed his eyes, his grip tightening around her trembling fra as he exhaled shakily.
He forced his claws to retract, forced his wolf back down, forced himself to stay in control.
Fuck that was so damn hard. And hurting.
He looked at her pale face, at the way her lashes brushed her cheeks, and his chest twisted painfully.
He shouldn’t have let her see this side of him.
He shouldn’t have let her anywhere near danger.
He shouldn’t have felt this much.
But it was too late.
He pulled her closer, pressing her lightly against him, whispering under his breath in a low, broken growl,
"You’re safe now, little moon...
Three hour later...
Athena stirred slowly.
Her body felt heavy, like she’d been dragged out of deep water. For a long mont, she didn’t open her eyes. The sheets beneath her were soft, impossibly soft and the faint scent of clean linen and cedarwood filled the air. Warmth cocooned her, seeping into her bones, and for a fleeting second, she wanted to stay there forever.
But then, her little fantasy ended a little quickly when she suddenly rember sothing.
The sound of cracking ribs.
The sll of blood.
The flash of golden eyes and a heart beating in soone’s hand.
Her eyes flew open.
She jerked upright, gasping, her pulse racing so fast it hurt.
And that was when she saw them.
Not just Rhydric but all of them.
The Phantom Four.
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