When Alpha Crane was still alive, Lucian had found his temporary refuge among humans, a world he found both fascinating and tedious. He studied law at the prestigious Stanford University, not because he really needed it, but because it gave him an excuse to mingle with them, to observe them, to play with their naivety. He was the Alpha's son, an impeccable lineage ran through his veins, and his strength and presence were so imposing that few dared to challenge him. But that didn't stop him from immersing himself in the chaos of human fraternities, where laughter was empty and bodies moved to the rhythm of music that lacked soul.
That particular night, the Alpha Phi fraternity was at its peak. Strobe lights bathed the place in flashes of color, and the air was heavy with cheap perfume and sweat. Lucian was in a corner, a red cup full of beer in hand, watching the spectacle with a mixture of boredom and disdain. Human females were always a passing entertainment for him, deliciously naive creatures who fell captivated by his charisma and golden eyes. But tonight, something different had brought him there.
It wasn't the hubbub or the strident laughter that kept him in that place. There was something more, something he couldn't identify but that kept him restless. Jaxon, his Beta, had insisted on attending this particular party, but Lucian wasn't convinced. The girls from this fraternity had always seemed bland to him, too desperate to fill their voids with excess and superficiality. However, there was something in the air that night that kept him alert, as if an invisible force was guiding him towards an unknown destiny.
Then it happened.
It was like a whisper in the wind, a scent so faint that he almost overlooked it. But no. There it was again, enveloping him like an invisible caress. His entire body tensed instantly, every fiber of his being reacting as if lightning had struck him. The red cup fell from his hand, spilling the forgotten beer onto the sticky floor. He didn't care. Nothing else existed in that moment except that scent.
Vanilla. Sweet and warm, but with a wild and pure undertone that completely disarmed him. It was a smell that seemed to speak directly to his soul, awakening something primitive and fierce within him. His chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, desperate to capture more of that elusive essence. Luca, his inner wolf, stirred with an intensity he had never experienced before.
"It's her," Luca growled within his mind, his voice hoarse and charged with emotion.
Lucian closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm the storm raging inside him. But it was useless. That scent called to him like a siren at sea, irresistible and undeniable. His golden eyes shone with a dangerous intensity as he scanned the crowd, desperately searching for the source of that smell.
The noise of the party faded around him. He couldn't hear the laughter or the music; he couldn't see the dancing bodies or the drunken faces surrounding him. His entire world reduced to that scent, to that promise of something he knew belonged to him. Because it was his. He knew it with every fiber of his being.
"Find her," Luca demanded impatiently, roaring inside him like a chained beast yearning to break free.
Lucian moved through the crowd like a predator who had caught the scent of his prey. His mere presence was enough to clear a path among the bodies, as if an invisible force pushed others aside. But he didn't notice; his attention was completely consumed by a scent that enveloped him, a faint and elusive trail that tormented and fascinated him at the same time. It was like an intangible caress whispering in his ear, mocking his control, awakening something dark and primitive within him.
Each inhalation was a lash of pleasure and agony. The scent was sweet and wild, a mixture that disarmed him. He couldn't escape its influence, nor did he want to. It was as if that smell belonged to some forgotten corner of his soul, something he had been waiting for centuries. His chest tensed with each step, with each breath that brought him closer to the origin of that fragrance that claimed him. Luca, his wolf, roared within him, demanding action, calling for her. His mate.
"Lucian?" Jaxon's voice, his Beta, filtered through the noise of the crowd and the chaos in his mind. "What's happening?"
Lucian raised a hand without even looking at him, ordering silence with an abrupt gesture. His eyes, normally cold and calculating, now shone with a dangerous intensity, like burning embers in the darkness. There were no words to explain what he felt. He couldn't speak, couldn't think clearly. Everything he was, everything he had been, was focused on that fragrance that drove him to the edge of madness.
He moved with feline precision, his steps firm and determined as he crossed the crowded room. Curious gazes followed him; women whispered among nervous giggles, trying to attract his attention. But he saw nothing. Heard nothing. Nothing mattered except the scent that called to him like an ancient and irresistible song.
Luca emerged forcefully from within him, claiming control for an instant. The wolf was desperate, hungry for her. Lucian felt his senses sharpen even more under the influence of his inner beast. His sense of smell guided him like a beacon in the darkness, leading him toward the source of what he longed for so much.
And then he arrived.
But there was no one there.
Lucian stopped short, his chest rising and falling as he inhaled deeply, trying to capture that scent once more. In front of him was only a group of students chatting animatedly, completely oblivious to the storm raging inside the Alpha. He closed his eyes and inhaled the air again with desperation, but the scent was no longer there. It had vanished like a dream upon waking.
A low, menacing growl escaped his throat, causing nearby students to instinctively move away. Some even backed up several steps, their faces pale with fear at Lucian's imposing presence. Jaxon arrived at his side, his face reflecting genuine concern.
"What the hell is happening?" he asked quietly, though he knew something serious must be occurring to disturb the most controlled man he knew.
Lucian didn't respond. His golden eyes continued scanning the place with fierce intensity, as if he could force her to appear by simply wanting it enough. His jaw was so tense it seemed made of granite; his hands closed into fists as he struggled to contain the frustration threatening to consume him.
"She was here," he finally murmured, his words charged with such raw possessiveness that even Jaxon felt a shiver run down his spine.
"She? Your mate?" asked the Beta, finally understanding the gravity of the situation.
Lucian nodded slowly, without taking his gaze from the place where he had last felt that celestial scent. It was as if he expected her to emerge from the shadows at any moment. But she didn't.
"I felt her..." His voice was barely a low growl. "But now she's gone."
"Are you sure? Maybe it was just a coincidence..."
Lucian turned his head toward him so quickly that Jaxon stepped back by instinct. The Alpha's look was deadly, his eyes shining with contained fury that promised consequences for anyone who dared contradict him.
"There are no coincidences when it comes to my mate," he snapped with a cutting and definitive tone. "That scent is unique. It's her. I know it."
He knew it with absolute certainty, with a conviction so deep that he needed no proof or explanations. That scent was his. It belonged to him. It was a silent but powerful promise, something that resonated in every fiber of his being. He had spent more than a century searching for his mate, waiting for the moment when destiny would reveal to him the woman destined to be his other half.
And now that he had finally felt her presence, destiny seemed to mock him by taking her away before he could even see her.
Lucian closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm the storm within him. But it was useless. The absence of the scent tore him apart inside, leaving him empty and furious at the same time. Luca growled within him, impatient and frustrated, demanding answers that neither of them had.
"I won't rest until I find her," he finally said, his voice low but filled with determination. "She is mine."
Jaxon observed his friend cautiously. He had seen Lucian furious before, but this was different. This was something much deeper, more visceral. He knew that nothing and nobody could stop him now.
"Then we'll find her," he finally responded, knowing there was no point in arguing with him. "But you need to calm down before you scare everyone here."
Lucian didn't respond. His eyes continued scanning the place as if he could force destiny to return what had been so cruelly taken from him. But he knew it wouldn't be that easy.
She was out there somewhere.
And when he found her—because it wasn't a question of if he would, but when—there would be no force in this world or the next that could take her away from him.
She was his.
She had always been.
And she always would be.