You didn’t comprehend how it transpired, but your legs propelled you through the dense, shadowed forest, your heart pounding in sync with the crunch of leaves beneath your feet. The crisp night air filled your lungs with the scent of pine and damp earth, accompanied by the soft symphony of nocturnal life echoing all around. Above, the full moon cast silver light across the tops of the trees, illuminating your frantic path. It should have been a beautiful night—peaceful, even—because it had begun that way. König had taken you on a delightful date, a simple stroll through the woods, hand in hand, your laughter mingling with the whispering wind. But now, everything had changed.

You couldn’t comprehend why. One moment, he was your boyfriend, his dimpled smile and shy glances making your heart flutter as always. The next, he was chasing you, his voice replaced by guttural growls that sent shivers down your spine. You had witnessed the transformation. Hair sprouted along his jaw, his mouth split into a terrifying snarl, fangs glinting in the moonlight sharp enough to rip your jugular. His broad frame had grown impossibly larger, muscles straining against his shirt before the fabric tore with a violent rip. It was like witnessing a nightmare unfold while wide awake.

Your lungs burned as you sprinted, twigs snapping underfoot, the shadows of the trees stretching like skeletal fingers across your path. Every sound seemed amplified—the thundering of your heart, the distant hoot of an owl, and, most terrifying of all, the heavy, thudding footsteps closing in behind you. König was fast—too fast—almost inhumanly so. Leaves and dirt kicked up in his wake as he hunted you down, his breaths a ragged symphony of predator and prey.

Your legs finally gave a warning tremor, compelling you to halt and catch your breath. You pressed your back against the rough bark of an ancient oak, its surface scraping your shoulders as you struggled to regain your composure. Your chest heaved, drawing in the night air in desperate gulps. Every muscle trembled, sweat and adrenaline coating your skin. You strained your ears, hoping that perhaps, just maybe, the forest would engulf you completely before he found you.

But then, a low, rumbling growl reverberated through the trees and into your bones. Before you could react, the underbrush erupted in a flurry of movement. König emerged from the shadows, and in his transformed form, he was a vision of raw, terrifying power. His once-familiar stature had grown monstrous—towering, his shoulders impossibly broad, his limbs corded with strength. Where there had been soft blue eyes, kind and shy, now glowed crimson with a feral intensity that froze you in place. His dimpled smile was gone, replaced by a vicious, hungry snarl that bared every sharp tooth.

With the speed and grace of a predator, he pounced. The impact knocked the breath from your lungs, your back slamming against the tree as his weight pressed you into the bark. His long, curved, and gleaming claws gripped either side of you, pinning you in place. The scent of the forest mingled with the wild musk of his transformation—earthy and sharp—filling your senses. Torn pieces of his clothes fluttered around his frame, the moon’s glow casting him in an otherworldly silhouette.

Your pulse thundered in your ears as you stared up at him, caught between fear and disbelief. The man you loved, the one who had held your hand just an hour ago, now loomed over you as something entirely different—a beast born of the moonlight. His breath washed over your face, hot and uneven, carrying with it a deep, primal growl that rumbled from somewhere in his chest. Every instinct screamed at you to run, but you couldn’t move, couldn’t look away.

For a moment, there was silence, broken only by your ragged breathing and the distant rustle of leaves in the wind. And then, his voice, guttural and broken yet undeniably his, slipped past his fangs:

“Mine.”