THE ROGUE QUEEN

I should have run.

Every part of me screamed to move, to get up, to disappear into the shadows before whoever found me decided I was a threat.

But I couldn't.

My body refused to respond. The shift had drained everything, every bit of strength, every drop of energy I didn't know I had. Even breathing felt like dragging air with struggle.

Get up, my wolf whispered. Her voice weak but urgent. We need to move.

"I... can't..."

*Try.*

I did. I tried with everything.

My legs trembled as I tried to stand myself, but they gave out immediately. I fell back to the ground with a small , broken, pathetic whimper that sounded nothing like the powerful creature I'd been not so long ago.

The footsteps came closer.

Slow, careful, cautious. Like whoever it was clearly didn't want to startle a dangerous animal.

Smart.

"Easy," the voice said again, it was a man's voice, definitely male, with a rough edge that spoke of someone who'd lived hard. "I'm not going to hurt you."

A laugh wanted to bubble up in my throat. Not hurt me? I was a massive wolf made of literal shadows. the same creature who had terrified a pack of armed hunters only hours ago.

And yet here I was, helpless, too weak to even lift my head.

"You're injured," the voice continued, closer now. "That arrow wound on your shoulder it's still bleeding."

I blinked slowly, confusion mixing with exhaustion.

Was it really still bleeding?

I tried to look, but moving my head sent waves of dizziness crashing through me. Every part of me throbbed with pain. My bones felt broken, like they'd been crushed and then pieced back together the wrong way.

"I've got supplies. Medicine. Let me help." The man said.

*Don't trust him,* my wolf warned, but even she sounded exhausted. *Humans lie. Wolves lie. Everyone lies.*

But what choice did I have?

If I stayed here, bleeding, helpless, and weak, I'd be dead before sunrise-either from the wound or from whatever creature found me first.

At least if this stranger killed me, it would be quick.

I let my head drop back to the ground, too tired to fight anymore.

The footsteps stopped just a few feet away.

"Alright," the man said quietly. "I'm coming closer now. Don't bite me, okay?"

A shadow fell across my vision, and I forced my eyes open.

A man knelt beside me.

He was young, maybe in his early twenties, maybe. Sun-browned skin, amber eyes that glowed faintly in the darkness, dark hair pulled back in a messy knot. A jagged scar cut across his jawline, pale and raised. He wore simple clothes, dark pants, a worn jacket, boots that looked like they'd walked too many miles.

A rogue.

It showed in everything about him, the way he moved, careful and ready for anything. The scars along his arms and neck told stories of fights he'd lived through. The guarded look in his eyes said he'd been broken before and somehow kept going.

He'd been through hell.

"You're beautiful," he said softly, his eyes moving over my huge wolf body. "Scary as hell, but still beautiful."

If I could have laughed, I would have.

Beautiful? No. I was nothing close to that. I was a monster wearing a pretty disguise.

He pulled a pack off his shoulder and started digging through it until he pulled out some bandages, herbs, and a small bottle of clear liquid. "This will hurt," he said, pulling the cork out. "But it'll clean the wound."

He reached for my shoulder slowly, watching for any sign that I might attack him.

I didn't move.

When his fingers brushed against my fur, I flinched, not from pain, but from the shock of it.

Touch.

Gentle touch.

I couldn't remember the last time someone had touched me without the intent to hurt.

He poured the clear liquid over the wound, and pain tore through me like fire. I growled, snapping my teeth together as the burn spread down my shoulder.

"I know, I know," he said softly, his voice calm but steady. "Almost finished."

He moved quickly, cleaning and wrapping the wound with skill that came from experience. When he was done, he sat back and looked at me closely.

"You're not from here," he said, not asking but stating it like a fact. "Shadow Wolves have been gone for centuries. Or at least, that's what people believe."

I watched him carefully, unsure what he wanted.

Was he planning to hand me over? Sell me to the highest bidder? The Council would pay a huge reward for a Shadow Wolf, especially a living one.

"Relax," he said, like he could read my mind. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I'm not exactly on good terms with the Council myself."

He stood and swung his pack over his shoulder. "There's a camp about a mile east," he said. "Rogues stay there. Wolves without packs. You can come if you want."

Then he turned and started walking away.

Wait, my wolf's voice echoed in my head.

"Wait," I tried to say, but it came out as a low whine.

He stopped and looked back at me.

I tried to shift, to change back into my human form, but my body wouldn't obey. My wolf held tight, protective, stubborn.

Let me take control, I told her. I need to speak to him.

You're not strong enough. It'll hurt.

I don't care.

For a moment, she was silent. Then she let go.

The world started spinning. My body grew smaller. Bones cracked and shifted back into place. My fur sank into my skin, and my claws turned into fingers. The pain was sharp and nonstop, and I bit my tongue to stop myself from screaming until it was finally over.

When it was over, I was human again.

Naked.

Shivering.

Bleeding.

I curled into myself immediately, trying to cover as much as I could with my arms and legs, my cheeks burning with humiliation.

The man's eyes widened, but he didn't stare. Instead, he quickly took off his leather jacket and tossed it toward me.

"Here."

I caught it with trembling hands and pulled it on quickly. It was huge on me, falling almost to my knees, but it was warm and it smelled like pine and smoke and safety.

"Thank you," I whispered, my voice dry and weak.

"Don't mention it." He kept his gaze carefully averted, looking at the trees instead of me. "You got a name?"

I hesitated.

Giving my name meant making myself real. Making this real.

But what did I have to lose?

"Selene," I said finally. "My name is Selene."

"Kael," he replied. "Kael Draven."

A long silence stretched between us, awkward and uncertain.

Then he spoke again, his tone careful. "So... Selene. What's a Shadow Wolf doing bleeding out in the middle of No Man's Land?"

I didn't know where to begin.

Where did I even start?

The rejection? The banishment? The hunters who'd tried to kill me?

"I..." My throat tightened. "I don't have anywhere else to go."

His expression softened. "Yeah. I know that feeling."

He crouched down to my level, keeping a respectful distance. "Listen. The camp I mentioned it's not much. Just a bunch of outcasts trying to survive. But it's safe. And we don't ask questions about where people come from or what they're running from."

"Why are you helping me?" I asked quietly. "You don't know me. For all you know, I could be dangerous."

"You are dangerous," he said bluntly. "I saw what you did to those hunters. Heard them screaming from half a mile away." He met my eyes, and there was no judgment there. Only understanding. "But dangerous doesn't mean evil. Sometimes it just means you've been hurt enough to fight back."

His words hit me harder than I expected.

I'd spent my whole life being told I was worthless, weak, nothing.

And now this stranger, this rogue who owed me nothing was telling me I was dangerous.

Like it was a good thing.

"I won't hurt anyone," I said quickly. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want-"

"To be left alone?" Kael finished. "To find somewhere you can breathe without constantly looking over your shoulder?"

"Yes."

He nodded slowly. "Then come to the camp. Stay as long as you need. And when you're ready to leave, you leave. No strings attached."

I wanted to believe him.

I wanted to trust that someone, somewhere in this cruel world, might actually help me without expecting something in return.

But trust was dangerous.

"How do I know this isn't a trap?" I asked, my voice small.

Kael stood and extended his hand to me. "You don't. But you're hurt, you're exhausted, and you're in the middle of territory you don't know. You need help whether you want to admit it or not."

He was right.

I hated that he was right.

I stared at his hand for a long moment, weighing my options.

I could refuse. Try to survive on my own. Keep running until my body gave out completely.

Or I could take a chance.

Slowly, I reached out and placed my hand in his.

His grip was warm. Steady. Strong.

He pulled me to my feet, and I swayed immediately, my legs threatening to give out.

He helped me up, and my knees gave out immediately. Kael caught me before I fell. "Easy. When's the last time you ate?"

I tried to think. Yesterday? The day before?

"I don't know."

He muttered something under his breath that sounded like a curse. "Okay. New plan. We get you to camp, get food in you, and let you sleep for about twelve hours. Sound good?"

It sounded like heaven.

"Okay," I whispered.

We started walking, Kael keeping pace with my stumbling steps. The forest was dark and unfamiliar, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going, navigating through the trees with practiced ease.

"So," he said after a few minutes of silence. "Shadow Wolf, huh? That's got to be a hell of a story."

"It's... complicated."

He smirked faintly. "The best stories usually are."

I glanced at him. "What about you? What's your story?"

His jaw tightened. "Also complicated."

"But you're a rogue."

"Yeah."

"By choice?"

"No." The word was sharp. Final. "No one chooses this life, Selene. We end up here because everywhere else rejected us first."

The bitterness in his voice was familiar. I'd felt it myself less than twelve hours ago.

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

He was silent for so long I thought he wasn't going to answer.

Then he said, "My pack was wiped out when I was sixteen. The Council's enforcers destroyed us for refusing to swear loyalty to the Alpha King."

My breath caught. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was a long time ago." But the pain in his eyes said otherwise. "I've been wandering ever since. Doing odd jobs, staying out of Council territory, trying not to get killed."

"Sounds lonely."

"It is." He glanced at me, something unreadable in his expression. "But maybe it doesn't have to be."

Before I could respond, the trees opened up into a clearing.

And I froze.

The camp was huge, rows of makeshift tents and shelters built from scraps. Fires flickered across the space, casting warm light on faces that looked tired, but alive. And everywhere I looked, there were wolves.

Not in wolf form. In human form, talking, laughing, cooking, repairing weapons.

Rogues.

All of them.

"Welcome," Kael said softly, "to the last place on earth that'll take us in."