Chapter 1

• Winter days were bleak and desolate an endless stretch of gray skies and biting wind that gnawed through layers of fabric and flesh alike. The air hung heavy with frost, and every step on the frozen pavement echoed with a faint squeak, as though the city itself protested the cold.I tugged my white down jacket tighter around my slender frame as I hurried along the narrow street. My breath came out in tiny clouds, my hands buried deep in my pockets, and yet my cheeks were flushed pink not from the cold, but from excitement.
• Even such a bitter day couldn’t dampen my mood. I was going on a date my first one since turning eighteen.
• “Kenzo”
• The thought of his name alone brought a smile to my lips. He had been my neighbor since childhood the boy who used to tug on my braids, who had shared his umbrella in the rain, and who, just yesterday, had finally found the courage to confess his feelings. We were to meet at the park, the one near the river where cherry trees would soon bud when spring came.
• My heart fluttered with anticipation.
• But fate, as it often did, had other plans.
• I turned a corner and collided headlong with someone.
• The impact threw my back a step. The man I had run into stumbled, his shoulder crashing into the wall before he dropped to his knees.
• “Oh! I’m so sorry” I began, then froze.
• The man was young perhaps twenty-six, twenty-seven with sharp, chiseled features and dark hair matted to his forehead. His coat, black wool lined with silver buttons, hung open enough for me to see his shirt stained deep crimson. His hand clutched at his abdomen, blood seeping through his fingers and steaming faintly in the cold.
• My pulse spiked.
• “Sir, you’re bleeding! I’ll call an ambulance”
• He shook his head weakly. His voice, though faint, carried a strange authority, a low timbre that vibrated through the air.
• “Don’t… call anyone,” he rasped. “They’re… chasing me.”
• And then I heard it distant footsteps, urgent and heavy. Voices followed, low and guttural.
• “Hurry! He couldn’t have gone far!”
• My heart lurched. They’re going to kill him.
• Without thinking, I grabbed the man’s arm, struggling to drag him toward a thick cluster of shrubs near the roadside. The metallic scent of blood filled my nostrils, sharp and dizzying.
• “Hide here,” I whispered urgently. “I’ll lead them away.”
• He tried to stop me, his fingers curling weakly around my wrist. “Don’t”
• But I had already darted out,
• A group of men in black appeared from around the corner seconds later. Their faces were hard and cruel, their eyes scanning every direction. The tallest of them stepped forward, his voice cutting through the icy air.
• “Hey, girl! You seen an injured man run by here?”
• I pulse thundered in her ears, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. Calmly, I slipped one hand into my pocket, pressing my phone until I felt the familiar click of a speed-dial button.
• “I think I saw someone heading that way,” I said evenly, pointing down the opposite street.
• The men exchanged glances. One of them narrowed his eyes at me, suspicion flickering across his face. He took a step forward.
• My phone began to ring.
• I exhaled softly and answered it, raising my voice just enough to be heard. “Hi, Kenzo! … You’ll be here in one minute? Okay, I’ll wait by the bus stop.”
• The men paused. Hearing The sound of my casual tone, my normalcy, seemed to dissolve their doubts.
• A man in a suit happened to be walking toward the bus stop then. I waved at him brightly. “Hi, Kenzo! I’m here!”
• The thugs glanced at each other, decided I wasn’t worth the trouble, and sprinted in the direction I had pointed.
• Only when they disappeared around the corner did I lower my phone and bow to the confused stranger. “I’m so sorry, sir. That was… a misunderstanding. Thank you for helping me unknowingly.”
• The man smiled awkwardly and walked off, muttering something about strange girls and their dramatics.
• I crossed the street again, my boots crunching against the frosty ground. I ducked into the bushes where I had left the injured man.
• He hadn’t moved.
• My heart plummeted. The snow beneath him was stained dark with blood, his skin waxen, his lips pale.
• “Sir!” I cried, kneeling beside him. My trembling hands shook his shoulder. “Please don’t die! You can’t die!”
• Tears blurred my vision. It was my first time being this close to death and the stillness terrified me.
• “Stop shaking me,” came a weak, muffled groan. “I’m not dead.”
• I froze quickly , mid-sob, and blinked at him.
• He opened his eyes slowly, revealing irises so dark and clear they seemed to swallow the light.
• “Y-yo scared me!” I stammered, wiping my tears furiously. “You should have said something sooner!”
• His lips curved faintly. “You were braver when you lied to those men.”
• “I am brave!” I retorted, puffing my cheeks.
• “Then why are your hands trembling?”
• “Because I ran too fast,” I said, flustered. Then my voice softened. “And because I was worried you had die.”
• I pulled out my handkerchief and pressed it against his wound. “You can’t keep bleeding like this. Those men are gone now. I can take you to a hospital.”
• He shook his head. “No need.”
• "It's okay. My people are here."
• As if on cue, the roar of an engine filled the silence. A sleek black Land Rover screeched to a halt nearby, its tires spitting snow. Two men jumped out, dressed in matching dark coats, eyes alert and sharp.
• They pushed past the brush and knelt immediately beside the wounded man.
• “Young Master!” one of them said breathlessly. “Alpha, we found you finally!”
• I blinked . Alpha?
• The word echoed strangely in my mind. It wasn’t a name it was a title. Something primal, commanding.
• Alpha? Like a wolf?
• rational mind dismissed it instantly. No. That’s ridiculous. Wolves don’t exist in Tokyo. And certainly not human ones.
• But when I looked at him again the raw strength beneath his pain, the way his eyes gleamed even in exhaustion something deep in my gut twisted with an instinctive recognition.
• The two men helped him up carefully. The “Alpha” turned his head slightly to look at me.
• “What’s your name?” he asked.
• His voice was low and resonant, like the rumble of distant thunder.
• I hesitated, then replied softly, “…Naomi.”
• For a heartbeat, he just looked at me . The faintest trace of warmth flickered in those night-dark eyes.
• Then he turned away and climbed into the Land Rover.
• I remained crouched as the vehicle sped off, its taillights fading into the mist.
• Silence returned thick and surreal. I glanced down at her trembling hands, still smeared with his blood, and for a moment, everything felt like a dream.
• Then I realized something my handkerchief was gone. He must’ve taken it with him.
• My cheeks flushed unexpectedly.
• The image of his eyes so dark, so impossibly alive flashed again in my mind, and my heart thudded against my ribs.
• I shook my head quickly. No. Stop it. He’s probably some gangster… or a soldier… or
• My eyes widened. “Oh no Kenzo!”
• I gasped, springing to my feet. I had completely forgotten my date. With a panicked yelp, my dashed toward the park, my breath puffing in the cold air.