The air in Maggie’s apartment froze. Astrid stood in the middle of the room, candle trembling in her hand, her two friends suspended mid-motion like statues drained of life. Tai was frozen in place, a frown locked on his face. Maggie’s mouth hung open, mid-word, her expression pinned in shock.
And then there was him. Sitting in Maggie’s armchair as if he owned it, one leg crossed over the other, watching Astrid with eyes that were not human. Red as fresh blood, with vertical pupils that narrowed in the candlelight. Not a man, though he wore the shape of one.
Not a wolf, though his stillness carried the weight of a predator. Her wolf snarled beneath her skin, every instinct screaming to fight or run. But there was nowhere to go. Time itself had stopped.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, his voice like smoke and honey. “You’re the one who called for me. ”
Astrid’s heart slammed against her ribs. “I didn’t.
”
He rose in one fluid, impossible motion. White-blonde hair fell around a face too beautiful to be real—high cheekbones, full lips, pale skin that seemed to glow from within. His beauty was painful to look at. “Oh?
” He moved closer, slow and deliberate. “Is that not your blood I smell? ”
He picked up the brass bowl from the table, where her blood had fallen onto the burning herbs. He inhaled deeply, as if savoring fine wine.
“Rich, potent wolf blood,” he murmured. “Carrying such delicious longing. ”
Astrid backed away, thrusting the candle forward like a pathetic weapon. “It wasn’t meant for you.
”
“Yet here I am. ” His smile widened, revealing teeth too sharp to be human. She glanced at Tai, frozen mid-scramble, and thought, *I blame him. *
Cool fingers caught her chin, forcing her gaze back.
The touch burned cold against her skin, and the candle flame guttered, as if trying to escape. “Eyes on me, little wolf,” he murmured. The room seemed to darken. The plants on Maggie’s windowsills withered before Astrid’s eyes.
The air turned heavy with the scent of burning sugar and something ancient and metallic. “Who are you? ” she whispered, her wolf pacing frantically beneath her skin. He smirked.
“Your worst nightmare. ”
Then, noticing her expression, he added, “Relax. That was a joke. I’m a demon.
”
The word hung between them, simple and devastating. “And I have a proposition for you. ”
His fingertips traced the air near her cheek, never quite touching. “Such desperate longing in your blood,” he whispered.
“I think we might be able to help each other. ”
—
A few hours earlier, the annual spring gathering of the Northern Territories pack had been in full swing. Wolves from every neighboring pack filled the great hall, clinking glasses and trading pleasantries. Alliances formed, trade agreements sealed, and potential mates assessed.
Astrid tugged at the unfamiliar dress her mother had insisted on. It was too tight, too delicate, chosen to hide the muscle she’d spent years building. The fabric felt like a cage compared to her training clothes. Her mother’s instructions echoed in her head: *Stand up straight.
Smile, but not too broadly. And for Moon’s sake, try to laugh at their jokes. *
She tried. She really did.
But when Eric, the Beta of the Mountain Ridge Pack, passed by, he only nodded politely and kept walking. When the southern alpha’s son paused nearby, she complimented his ceremonial dagger—a genuine appreciation of the craftsmanship—but he looked startled, as if she’d threatened him. None of it mattered anyway. Her eyes kept drifting across the hall to Daniel.
He stood tall and confident in formal attire, laughter crinkling the corners of his eyes as he spoke to a woman at his side. Daniel, who taught her to track when they were eight. Daniel, who sat with her all night when her first shift left her feverish and terrified. Daniel, who was completely and utterly captivated by her sister.
Jasmine. Astrid watched them together, the ache in her chest as familiar as breathing. Her sister was radiant in a pale gold dress, honey-blonde hair gleaming in the light. Daniel couldn’t take his eyes off her, his whole body angled toward her as if she were the sun.
Astrid forced herself to look away. She smoothed her dress, straightened her posture, watched a handsome wolf from the western pack move in her direction. Hope flickered in her chest. He walked right past her to the bar, not even sparing a glance.
“For crying out loud, Astrid. ” Her mother appeared at her side, hissing the words. “You look like you’re ready to attack. Would it kill you to smile a little?
”
Astrid gave her best smile. Her mother sighed dramatically. “We’re screwed,” she muttered under her breath. Then she cleared her throat.
“Look, why don’t you try to copy what Jasmine does? Your sister was always good at being approachable. ”
Astrid’s jaw tightened. The pressure sat on her shoulders like a physical weight.
With Jasmine matched to a regular warrior, all hopes for the family’s advancement rested on Astrid now. Her mother drifted off to charm a neighboring Luna, leaving Astrid alone at the edge of the hall. The words echoed in her chest as she looked at Daniel and Jasmine again. *This is about our entire family’s standing.
You must bring honor to us all. *
“You look like you need a drink,” a voice said from behind her. “A real one, I mean. ”
Tai.
Of course it was Tai—her oldest friend, the only one who knew her well enough not to offer empty platitudes. “Am I that predictable? ”
“Only to someone who’s known you since you ate dirt on a dare when we were six. ”
He extended a flask.
She took it. They stood in companionable silence, watching the happy couple receive congratulations across the room. “Your mother’s looking for you,” Tai said finally. “Something about the Riverstone Pack’s alpha showing interest.
”
Astrid snorted. “He was asking about Jasmine. They all are. ”
“Not all of them.
”
“Name one who’s asked about me tonight. ”
His silence was answer enough. “Okay. ” Tai nudged her shoulder.
“How about we get out of here? ”
“Go where? ”
“I might know someone who could help with your situation. ”
“A miracle worker?
”
“Something like that. ” His expression turned thoughtful. “You trust me? ”
She shouldn’t have nodded.
That moment of trust would lead her straight into the arms of a demon. But that night, she didn’t know it yet. —
Tai’s witch friend lived in a simple flat in a nondescript building, not the mystical cottage Astrid had imagined. The only hint of something unusual was the sheer number of plants—hanging from the ceiling, crowding every windowsill, sprouting from pots of all sizes along the walls.
Maggie was in her thirties, wearing an oversized sweater with no robes or dramatic makeup. She looked like anyone. “Do one of you want to tell me what brings you here? ” she asked, gathering herbs for tea.
“Desperation,” Tai quipped, earning a death glare from Astrid. “Hers, not mine,” he added good-naturedly. Maggie’s eyes shifted to Astrid with curious interest. “Astrid here is a poor, unfortunate soul, Mags,” Tai insisted, practically pushing her forward.
“One who needs your help. ”
Maggie studied her with shrewd eyes. Then she silently put away the teapot. “So, the strong stuff, then?
”
Tai nodded gravely. “Please. ”
They drank wine that burned going down, loosening tongues and lowering walls. Astrid found herself telling this stranger everything—about Daniel, about how she’d finally gathered the courage to confess her feelings, only for him to interrupt and declare he’d found his mate in Jasmine.
“I should have told him sooner,” Astrid whispered, heavy with regret. “How much sooner were you thinking? ” Tai asked. “Because I’m pretty sure he’s friend-zoned you since that burping contest you won.
”
Astrid kicked him in the shin. “This isn’t just about Daniel,” she said, turning back to Maggie. “Jasmine choosing him puts the careful political balance of my entire family at risk. Everyone expected her to marry up—perhaps even the neighboring pack’s alpha son.
And now they’re stuck with me. ”
She finished her third glass. “So, to quote my mother, we’re screwed. I will never pass for a perfect bride or a perfect daughter.
”
“You’re selling yourself short,” Tai protested. “With a lot of makeup, and if you squint. ”
“You also kick very well,” Tai winced, rubbing his leg. Maggie tapped her nails against her wine glass thoughtfully.
“Well, I could read your cards, see what they say. Who knows? Love could be right around the corner. ”
What followed was a blur of increasingly bizarre divination methods, each fueled by more wine.
Tea leaves—Astrid saw what looked like a wolf eating its own tail. A black mirror that showed only darkness. Scattered bones that Maggie assured them were not human. By the time they were on their fifth attempt, something involving melted wax dropped into cold water, all three were thoroughly drunk.
Tai lay sprawled on the floor, giggling at shapes in the ceiling. “Okay,” Maggie said. “There’s one more thing we could try. ”
She returned from another room with a wooden board covered in symbols and a velvet pouch that held crystals and a pendulum.
“We can try summoning a spirit,” she said. “See if one of your ancestors could help reverse your fortune. ”
“Is that possible? ” Tai propped himself up on his elbows.
“I don’t know,” Maggie admitted with a loose smile. “But it could be fun. ”
She cleared the coffee table with surprising efficiency, arranging candles in a circle and placing herbs in a small brass bowl at the center. “Normally, I wouldn’t do this,” she said.
“But desperate times, desperate measures, right? ”
She began chanting in a language Astrid didn’t recognize as she lit the candles. The air grew heavy, charged with something that made Astrid’s wolf stir uneasily beneath her skin. “Now,” Maggie whispered, producing a small silver knife.
“I need a drop of your blood. Think about summoning your ancestors, seeking their help. Focus on what you truly desire. ”
Astrid winced as the blade nicked her finger.
She held it over the burning herbs, watching a single drop of blood form. But her mind wasn’t on ancestors. All she could think about was Daniel and Jasmine together. The warmth in his eyes that was never for her.
Her parents’ disappointed faces as they asked if she’d begun courting anyone. The last man she’d been introduced to, backing away nervously after she’d casually demonstrated her knife expertise. The blood drop fell. It hovered for a moment, suspended in time, before touching the smoldering leaves.
Instead of sizzling as expected, it disappeared, absorbed instantly. The silence that followed was absolute. Even the refrigerator hum and the distant traffic outside vanished, as if someone had muted the world. Then the smoke began.
It erupted from the bowl like a geyser—unnaturally thick, blood red, twisting into shapes that seemed almost deliberate. Claws. Fangs. Eyes that formed and dissolved.
The temperature plummeted. Frost crackled across the wine glasses. Astrid’s breath fogged in front of her face. All the candles extinguished at once, but the room didn’t go dark.
Instead, it was bathed in a sickly crimson glow from the smoke itself. “Maggie,” Astrid whispered, her voice unnaturally loud. “I think I mixed the wrong herbs,” Maggie said, her face pale in the red light. The smoke pooled along the floor, curling around their ankles like a living thing.
It felt wrong against Astrid’s skin—not cold, not hot, but somehow both. “What do you mean? ” Astrid asked. Maggie didn’t respond.
“Maggie, what did you mean? ”
Astrid turned to look at her friends—and froze. They weren’t moving. Not frozen in fear.
Actually frozen. Maggie’s mouth was open mid-explanation, horror dawning on her face. Tai was suspended in the act of scrambling to his feet, one hand braced on the table. Not a muscle twitched.
Not an eyelid blinked. The only sound in the room was Astrid’s ragged breathing. “Hello? ” she called out, her voice trembling.
“Is anyone…? ”
The smoke surged upward, coalescing into a dense column that towered to the ceiling. The crimson light pulsed like a heartbeat, casting grotesque, shifting shadows across the walls. Astrid backed away, stumbling over an ottoman.
“This isn’t happening. ”
She heard a rustling behind her—fabric brushing against fabric. The distinct sensation of being watched prickled the back of her neck. She struck a match with trembling fingers.
It flared to life, a tiny beacon in the crimson gloom. She whirled around, thrusting it forward like a weapon. The flame illuminated a face inches from her own. Beautiful in a way that hurt to look at.
Flawless pale skin. White-blonde hair floating as if underwater. Eyes red like fresh blood with vertical pupils that contracted slightly in the matchlight. “You rang?
” he purred, lips curling into a smile that revealed teeth too sharp to be human. Astrid’s warrior instincts kicked in. She grabbed a candle, thrusting the flame toward his face as she scrambled backward—but he was gone. He reappeared in Maggie’s armchair, lounging casually as if he’d been there all along.
“Now, now,” he said, examining his nails. “Is that any way to greet the answer to your prayers? ”
—
The candle flame flickered, casting eerie shadows across the demon’s face. His scent was intoxicating in a way that made her wolf dizzy—dark honey, burnt cinnamon, and something older and wilder she couldn’t name.
“What do you want? ” Astrid asked, her heart hammering. “The better question, little wolf, is what do *you* want? ”
His gaze felt physical, like a caress sliding over her skin.
“For you to leave. ”
The demon laughed. “We both know that’s not what your blood was crying out for when it fell upon those herbs. ”
He inhaled deeply, eyes half-closing in apparent pleasure.
“Such desperation. Such longing. The humiliation. The fear of failing your family.
”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Astrid growled. He rose, circling her slowly—deliberate, predatory, undeniably elegant. “Then I suppose you weren’t at a gathering tonight watching the man you love announce his intention to mate with your sister. ”
Something in his tone sent a shiver down her spine.
“Go away,” Astrid commanded, about as impressive as a tiny kitten. The demon circled her once more, then paused, his eyes sweeping the room. He picked up the abandoned bottle of Wolf’s Bane wine from the table, frowning in distaste at the label. “Is this what you wolves drink in your pastime?
”
Astrid blinked. “Are you critiquing our wine? ”
“I’m making conversation. ”
He poured himself a glass with the elegance of a sommelier.
“Would you like some? Might help settle those nerves. ”
Despite herself, Astrid snorted. “You’re offering me a drink of wine you don’t even like or own.
”
“You look like you could use it,” he answered simply, holding out the glass. Their fingers brushed as she took it. “I’m already drunk enough,” Astrid said, taking a cautious sip anyway. “Drunk enough to be talking to you even.
”
The demon pouted with full, perfectly shaped lips. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. ”
“I didn’t call for you,” Astrid insisted, though her voice lacked conviction. “Not intentionally, perhaps.
” He settled into the armchair, drawing her eye to the lean strength of his form. “But blood magic has a way of revealing our deepest desires, little wolf. And yours were, shall we say, particularly potent. ”
“So you just appear whenever someone’s desperate enough?
”
“Not at all. ” He sipped the wine, watching her over the rim. “Most humans want such boring things. I only come for the interesting ones.
”
“So I’m interesting? ”
“Very much so. ” He tapped his nose. “I can smell the yearning on you for the dark-haired wolf with the hero complex.
”
A reluctant laugh escaped her. “Daniel doesn’t have a hero complex. ”
“Please. ” The demon rolled his eyes.
“He’s practically a walking romance novel cover. All brooding looks and noble sacrifices, I’d wager. ”
His distaste was so exaggerated that Astrid found herself smiling despite the absurdity of everything. “So you don’t want me to help you find your mate, little wolf?
” His voice dropped to a seductive murmur. The smile faded from her face. “As if you could. ”
“You don’t believe me?
I’m wounded. ” He placed a hand over his heart. “What if I told you I’ve been helping lovesick fools find matches for centuries? ”
“I’d say you’re full of it.
”
“Maybe I am. And yet, what do you have to lose? ”
“Oh, I don’t know, my soul. ”
The demon laughed—a rich sound that vibrated through her chest.
“Your soul? What would I do with that dusty old thing? ” He waved a hand dismissively. “No, little wolf, I have much more practical interests.
”
“Like what? ”
“All in good time. ” His lips curled. “Come closer.
”
Astrid hesitated, then took a step forward, drawn by something she couldn’t name—curiosity, desperation, the wine. “That’s better. ” He circled her again, but this time the movement felt less predatory, more evaluative. “The men of your world are blind.
But I can open their eyes. ”
“What do you mean? ”
“I mean I can make you irresistible. ” His voice was liquid silk.
“Every male in your vicinity will be drawn to you. Your scent, your presence, your essence. They won’t be able to look away. ”
Despite herself, Astrid felt a flicker of hope—and something warmer, something that pooled low in her belly.
“You mean you’re going to change my appearance? ”
The demon snorted. “It’s not so much about appearances. And yours is beautiful as it is.
”
Astrid felt a flush creeping up her neck. “I will give you a magnetism of sorts,” he continued. “A pull that no male can resist. Potential mates will come to you, ready for your choosing.
”
“But willingly? ”
“Oh, they’ll be very willing. They’ll think it was entirely their idea. ”
“I’m supposed to trust you?
” Astrid laughed. “You’re a demon. ”
“And you’re a wolf. ” He shrugged.
“We all have our burdens to bear. ”
The unexpected quip startled another laugh from her. *This is insane. * Standing in her friend’s frozen apartment, bantering with a supernatural being who was offering to solve all her problems—and feeling what?
Attracted? Enchanted? “So, my mate will find me,” she surmised, swaying slightly on her feet. “Your mate?
” The demon steadied her with a hand on her arm. “Or mates. You’ll only have to take your pick. ”
The room spun a little faster.
“And in exchange? ”
The demon reached into the smoke still swirling between them. When his hand emerged, he was holding a delicate silver chain with a small red stone pendant. “In exchange, you’ll be wearing this necklace.
”
Astrid blinked, certain she’d misheard. “That’s it? ”
“That’s it. ”
The necklace dangled from his fingers, catching the candlelight.
“Are you in? ”
Astrid shook her head. “This is too good to be true. ”
“And yet.
” The demon smiled. “It will be just as I said. ”
From somewhere within the smoke, he produced a scroll, unfurling it with a flourish. The parchment was covered in elegant script, with symbols framing the edges.
“A simple agreement,” he explained. “Stating exactly what I’ve told you. I make you irresistible to men, and you wear my necklace. ”
Astrid tried to read the scroll, but the words swam before her wine-blurred vision.
Her head felt too heavy, her thoughts sluggish and muddled. “Allow me. ” The demon cleared his throat dramatically. “The bearer, Astrid Raven, shall be granted irresistible allure, *etc.
etc. ,* save for relatives, ’cause that would be weird, *etc. etc. * In exchange, she agrees to wear the enchanted necklace provided by the demon… Levi.
”
“Who’s Levi? ” Astrid interrupted, frowning. “That would be my name,” he replied with a hint of impatience. He offered her the scroll, his fingers brushing hers deliberately as he transferred it to her hands.
“Go on. Take a pen and sign the scroll. ”
She stared at him. “I don’t have a pen.
”
With a twist of his wrist, a gleaming fountain pen appeared between his fingers, the nib glinting ominously in the candlelight. Their eyes met over the scroll. Something shifted in his expression—the predatory hunger replaced by what appeared to be genuine sincerity. “It will be fine, Astrid,” he said softly.
“I promise. ”
The warmth in his voice disarmed her final defenses. Her family’s standing. Her sister’s happiness.
Daniel. It all hung in the balance. And beneath it all, the strange, inexplicable pull she felt toward this beautiful, dangerous creature. With unsteady fingers, she took the pen and scrolled her name at the bottom of the scroll.
The moment the ink touched the parchment, the smoke swirled violently around them. The necklace rose from his palm, hovering in the air for a heartbeat before settling around her neck. The stone felt warm against her skin, pulsing in time with her heart. When she looked up, the demon was gone.
The candles flared back to life. Tai’s laughter resumed mid-word. Maggie’s horror transformed into confusion as she looked around the now-ordinary room. “Wrong herbs,” Maggie finished, blinking.
“Huh? The lights are back. That was weird. ”
“Did you guys feel that?
” Tai asked, rubbing his arms. “Like a cold draft or something? ”
Astrid’s hand flew to her throat. Her fingers found the smooth stone pendant that hadn’t been there before.
“More wine? ” Maggie offered, already reaching for the bottle. Astrid nodded numbly, trying to process what had just happened. *Had it been real?
*
She took another sip of wine, her mind replaying fragments of the encounter. Serpentine eyes watching her with amusement. A voice like velvet over gravel that seemed to caress her from the inside out. The scent of honey and cinnamon and something ancient that made her dizzy still.
*“It will be fine, Astrid. I promise. ”*
A shiver ran through her as the realization hit.
She never told him her name.
