Kieran's POV
I slammed my fist into the car door as we pulled up to the pack house.
"Easy there, brother," Caelan said from the driver's seat. "What's got you so angry now?"
Everything. That's what I wanted to say. But I couldn't tell my brothers that I was sick of being perfect. Sick of everyone expecting me to be the ideal future Alpha. Sick of pretending I wanted to marry Elaria when she made my skin crawl every time she touched me.
I was tired of being what everyone else wanted me to be instead of who I really was.
"Just tired," I lied, hating how easily the words came out.
Lucien snorted from the back seat. "You've been 'just tired' for two years, Kieran. Maybe you should try being honest for once instead of pretending everything's fine."
I wanted to punch him. My wolf wanted to challenge him right here in the driveway. But that would prove everyone right - that I couldn't control myself. That I wasn't ready to lead. That I was just another hot-headed monster who couldn't handle pressure.
The golden boy picture would crack, and then what would I be?
"Let's just go inside," I mumbled, climbing out before I said something I'd regret.
But as soon as I opened the car door, something hit me like a lightning bolt hitting twice.
A smell. The most amazing scent I'd ever smelled in my entire life.
Honey and plants. Summer rain and something else I couldn't name. Something that made my wolf howl inside my head and scratch at my ribs, desperate to get out and find the cause.
I stumbled backward, nearly falling over the car door.
"Whoa!" Caelan caught my arm. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
I couldn't answer. The smell was everywhere, filling my nose and making my head spin like I'd been drinking. My wolf was going completely insane, pacing and snarling and demanding I find whoever smelled like heaven on earth.
"Do you smell that?" I asked, my voice coming out rough and strange and not like me at all.
"Smell what?" Lucien got out of the car, sniffing the air like a bloodhound. Then his eyes went wide. "Oh. Oh wow. What is that?"
Caelan got out too, and I watched his face change totally. His eyes dilated. His breathing got faster. His hands started shaking.
"What is that?" he whispered, sounding as confused as I felt.
I didn't know. But I needed to find out before I lost my mind completely. Before I did something stupid and reckless that would embarrass our family.
We walked toward the pack house like we were in a dream. The smell got stronger with every step, pulling us forward like invisible chains. My hands were shaking. My wolf was practically screaming.
This had never happened to me before. I was always in control. Always calm and collected and responsible. The perfect future Alpha who never lost his cool.
But right now, I felt like a wild animal who'd never learned to be human.
"Kieran," Lucien grabbed my shoulder with fingers that dug in deep. "Your eyes are glowing."
I looked at my reflection in the front window. He was right. My eyes were bright gold, not their normal brown. My wolf was so close to the surface that I was barely human anymore. I looked scary. Wild.
"What's happening to us?" I asked, and hated how scared I sounded.
None of us had an answer.
We opened the front door, and the smell hit us like a wall of pure need. All three of us stumbled backward before pushing forward again.
"We're home!" Caelan shouted, but his voice sounded strained and desperate. "Did you miss us?"
Pack members came running to greet us. They hugged us and asked about our training and told us how much they'd missed us. But I could barely hear them over the noise in my head. Over my wolf's constant requests.
Find her. Find her now. She's here. She's close. Find her before someone else does.
My wolf's voice was so loud I was surprised no one else could hear it echoing in my brain.
"Where is everyone?" I asked Alpha Dad, trying to keep my voice normal. My voice didn't sound like mine at all.
"Most of the pack is here," he said, looking at me oddly. "Are you feeling alright, son? You look pale."
No. I wasn't okay. I was losing my mind over a smell. The perfect kid was falling apart, and I couldn't stop it.
"Kieran," Lucien whispered next to me, his words urgent. "Follow me. Now."
He was moving toward the back of the house, following his nose like a bloodhound on a trail. Caelan was right behind him, his eyes still glowing gold.
We moved through the crowd of pack members like we were sleepwalking. They were all talking and joking, celebrating our return, but their voices sounded far away. All I could focus on was that incredible smell calling to me.
"Do you smell that?" I asked my brothers, even though I knew they did.
"Honey and wildflowers," Lucien answered. His voice was rough with need and something else. Something desperate.
"Like summer and sunshine," Caelan added. "Where is it coming from? Who feels like that?"
I closed my eyes and breathed deep. The smell was strongest toward the kitchen. Whoever she was, she was back there.
Wait. She?
How did I know it was a girl? But somehow, I did. My wolf knew. He was calling her mate in my head, over and over like a prayer.
But that was impossible. I was supposed to mate with Elaria. It was arranged. It was my job.
"There," Caelan said, pointing toward the kitchen. "She's in there."
We moved like we were hunting. Silent and focused and deadly serious.
The kitchen door was closed, but I could hear something inside. Quiet breaths. A heartbeat so fast it sounded like a hummingbird's wings.
"She's scared," I said, surprised by how much that worried me.
"We're scaring her," Lucien growled. "She can probably smell us too."
"Should we knock?" Caelan asked.
"No," I said. "If we knock, she might run."
And I couldn't let that happen. I needed to see her face. Needed to know who she was and why my wolf was calling her mate.
I reached for the door handle. My hand was shaking so bad I could barely grip it.
"Kieran," Lucien said. "What if this changes everything?"
I looked at my brothers. They looked as scared and confused as I felt.
"What if it's supposed to?" I asked.
I turned the handle slowly. The door opened with a tiny creak.
And there, pressed against the far wall like a caught animal, was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.
She had dark hair and huge eyes that looked frightened. She was small and delicate, but something about her made my wolf drop to his belly in submission.
Our eyes met.
The world exploded.
Pain shot through my chest like someone had driven a knife into my heart. But it wasn't bad pain. It was the pain of something broken finally being fixed.
The mate bond.
I was looking at my mate.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was that I could feel my brothers' ties snapping into place too.
All three of us. One girl.
This was impossible.
This was going to destroy everything.