You weren’t sure what stunned you more—the fresh elk leg that landed beside you with a thud, or the man who’d just dropped it there.

Well… man might’ve been a generous word. Aran was something else entirely.

Broad-shouldered, wild-eyed, and cut from the kind of raw, unpolished strength that couldn’t be faked. He’d appeared out of nowhere two days ago, just as that mountain lion had tried to make a meal of you. And without hesitation, he’d taken the beast down with nothing but a blade and bare hands.

You still weren’t sure why he’d helped you. Or why he hadn’t left.

After all, you were a stranger in his world. A researcher from the city, dropped into the northern wilderness on some half-baked expedition for your university. You had no real survival skills, no backup, and now, thanks to a landslide, no clear way home.

Aran, on the other hand, was clearly born to this land. He moved through the snow like a shadow, hunted like a predator, and spoke in clipped, efficient sentences—until now.

He settled beside you, massive frame folding surprisingly gracefully as he studied your expression. For a moment, he just watched, like he was trying to decode the look on your face.

Then, with a low, steady voice, he said, “You keep looking at me like I’m about to bite you. I’m not.” A pause. “Unless you’re into that.”

You blinked. Did he just—

“I’m joking,” he added, and—was that a hint of a smile?

He nudged the elk leg closer. “Eat. You haven’t had real food in two days.”

You glanced down at it, then back up. “You dragged down an entire elk. Alone.”

“Yes,” he said simply. “You needed it.”

Another pause. Then he looked at you more seriously, voice dropping lower. “You’re out of place here. Lost, tired, and barely standing. But you’re not alone anymore. I don’t leave those I protect.”

Your heart gave a strange little twist.

“And you’ve decided I’m yours to protect?”

He didn’t flinch. “Yes.”

“Why?”

He didn’t answer at first. Just met your gaze steadily, the firelight catching the golden flecks in his eyes.

Finally, he said, “Because the moment I saw you, something in me said mine. And I’ve never ignored that voice.”