The forest had always been a place of peace for me. A place where I could think, where the noise of the pack faded, and I could pretend—for a few minutes—that I wasn't the daughter of a disgraced warrior. But tonight, the trees whispered differently.
I ran. Not from fear, but from instinct.
My wolf, restless beneath my skin, paced as though she could sense what was coming. Her name was Kira, and she rarely stirred unless something important was near. And now she was wide awake.
The moonlight poured through the canopy, casting long shadows on the path. The air buzzed with energy. And then I felt it.
The pull.
Not a soft tug or gentle nudge—but a magnetic force that dragged every piece of me toward it. Toward him.
I stopped breathing.
Footsteps behind me. Heavy, purposeful, and confident. The scent of cedar and something dark and wild hit me before I saw him. My heart skipped.
And then I turned—and locked eyes with Alpha Kael.
Tall, broad-shouldered, and powerful, Kael stood like the forest belonged to him. His black hair was tousled, his jaw set in hard lines, and his golden eyes—those eyes—glowed in the dark. He looked at me not with curiosity, but with recognition.
My breath caught.
Kira growled low in my mind.
Mate.
I stumbled back a step, but Kael didn't move. His expression was unreadable, like a storm about to break.
"You felt it too," he said quietly. It wasn't a question.
I nodded slowly, mouth dry. "What is this?"
He stepped forward, closing the distance between us. "The bond," he murmured. "Fate chose you."
No. No, it couldn't be. I was no one. A pack outcast. The girl whose father betrayed his Alpha. And he… he was the most feared Alpha in the region. Powerful. Respected. Cold.
This couldn't be real.
"I don't want this," I whispered, more to myself than him.
Kael's jaw tensed. "Neither did I."
The silence between us stretched. Heavy. Unforgiving.
But beneath it, the bond crackled like lightning. I could feel his heartbeat. I could feel his pain. And worse—I could feel myself wanting him.
"You'll reject me, then?" I asked.
Kael looked away, jaw clenched. "Rejection is not something I do lightly."
I blinked. "So what now?"
His gaze returned to mine. "Now, we wait."
"For what?"
"For the moon to decide."
The Next Day
Back at the pack house, I avoided everyone. I didn't want to explain why I'd disappeared in the middle of patrol or why my scent was now tangled with Kael's. Rumors would spread fast. They always did.
But by afternoon, I couldn't hide anymore.
Kael had summoned me.
I stood outside his office door, hands shaking. This wasn't just an Alpha's office—it was his. Stepping inside meant accepting something. Or at least confronting it.
I knocked once.
"Enter."
His voice, deep and low, rolled through the wooden door like a command my body couldn't refuse. I stepped inside.
Kael sat behind a massive oak desk, stacks of papers in front of him. His eyes flicked up to mine, unreadable as always.
"You're late."
"I didn't realize I was expected to come running."
His lip twitched, almost amused. Almost.
"Sit."
I did.
"I called you here," he said, "because we need to talk about what this bond means—for the pack."
Of course. It was never just about us. It was always about duty. Power. Appearances.
"I'm not Luna material," I blurted before I could stop myself. "You don't need to sugarcoat it."
Kael stood, rounding the desk slowly. "And yet, you're my mate."
I hated how that word made my heart flutter.
He stopped in front of me, towering over my chair. "Do you want to reject me?"
I looked up at him. There was fire in his eyes. A challenge.
"I don't know what I want," I admitted. "I just know I wasn't ready for this."
Kael leaned down, his voice low. "Neither was I. But fate doesn't care about what we want."
I swallowed hard.
Then the door burst open.
"Alpha!"
A warrior stood breathless in the doorway. "A rogue breach. Northeast border. Two wounded."
Kael's face shifted instantly. Warrior mode. Alpha.
He looked at me. "Come. You're with me."
"What?"
"You're mine," he said simply. "And I don't leave mine behind."
At the Border
Blood. Dirt. Growls.
The forest burned with tension as Kael and I reached the wounded patrol. Two wolves lay injured, gashes deep on their flanks. And across from them, three rogues stood defiant. Scarred. Wild. Dangerous.
Kael didn't hesitate. He shifted mid-run, his massive black wolf slamming into the lead rogue with terrifying force. Bones cracked. Blood sprayed.
I should've been scared.
But I felt the bond roar to life inside me.
Kira surged forward.
Shift.
The transformation was fast. Painful. Glorious.
My wolf was smaller than Kael's, but sleek and fast. With her speed and his power, we were unstoppable.
Together, we fought as if we'd trained side by side for years. A blur of teeth and fur. Precision. Unity.
And when the last rogue fell, whimpering into the dirt, Kael turned to me.
Our wolves stared at each other. There was something more than pride in his eyes. Something softer. And for the first time, I felt like I belonged.
That Night
I sat by the river, blood cleaned, clothes changed. The stars sparkled above, and the cool air calmed my racing heart.
Kael found me there.
He didn't speak at first. Just sat beside me, the silence stretching between us like a thread.
"I saw you today," he finally said. "Not just your wolf. You."
I didn't answer.
"You fought beside me like a true Alpha's mate."
"I didn't do it for you," I whispered.
"I know."
Another pause.
"I won't force the bond," he said. "But I won't reject it either."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I want to know you. Before we decide anything."
I looked at him. Really looked. For the first time, I saw past the power, past the title.
And saw a man who'd been alone for too long.
"Okay," I said.
His lips curved—barely—but it was there.
A beginning.