Leila did not move.
Dominic stood just beyond the boundary line of her pack lands, moonlight carving sharp silver edges along his broad shoulders. The forest seemed to bend around him, shadows stretching longer, deeper.
"You're mistaken," she said, though her voice lacked conviction. "I already have a mate."
Dominic tilted his head slightly.
"Do you?"
The question struck deeper than it should have.
Her wolf stirred again — restless, pacing inside her mind like a caged creature sensing something it had waited for its entire life.
Behind her, the pack grounds were quiet.
Too quiet.
"You shouldn't be here," she said again.
"And yet," he replied calmly, "you walked toward me."
That was true.
She had felt him.
Like a pull beneath her ribs.
Like a thread tightening.
Her heart began pounding harder.
Dominic's eyes darkened slightly.
"Does he treat you well?" he asked.
The question caught her off guard.
"That's none of your concern."
His jaw flexed.
"Everything that threatens my territory is my concern."
"I am not part of your territory."
A faint, dangerous smile touched his lips.
"Not yet."
The words sent heat rushing to her face — anger, not attraction.
"Don't be arrogant."
"I'm observant."
Suddenly—
Pain.
Sharp and sudden.
Leila gasped, gripping her chest.
It felt like something inside her had tightened violently — like claws scraping against her heart.
Dominic's expression shifted instantly.
"You feel it," he said.
Her knees nearly buckled.
Her wolf howled inside her mind — not in pain, but in conflict.
The bond.
Her mate bond.
It was… unstable.
That had never happened before.
Mate bonds were sacred. Sealed by the Moon Goddess. Unbreakable unless formally rejected.
Why would it hurt?
Dominic took a step forward, crossing the invisible boundary line.
The moment he did—
The pain intensified.
And something else sparked.
Heat.
Raw, dangerous heat.
"Stay back," she whispered.
But her voice trembled for a different reason now.
Dominic inhaled slowly, his nostrils flaring slightly.
His eyes sharpened.
"He doesn't complete you."
The statement was quiet.
Certain.
Her breath hitched.
"You don't know anything about my bond."
"I know what I smell."
Her heart skipped.
"What do you smell?"
"Unsealed fate."
The forest seemed to go silent.
Her wolf went still.
Unsealed.
That word echoed violently in her mind.
Mate bonds were either sealed… or rejected.
There was no in-between.
Unless—
No.
That was myth.
Old legends elders whispered but never confirmed.
Dominic stepped closer.
Close enough now that she could feel his body heat against the night air.
Close enough to see the faint silver streak cutting through his dark hair.
"Tell me," he murmured, voice low. "When he marked you… did you feel the burn spread fully?"
Her breath faltered.
When Kael had marked her…
It had hurt.
But the fire had never traveled through her entire body like the elders described.
She had blamed herself.
Assumed something was wrong with her.
Dominic saw the answer in her silence.
A flicker of something intense passed through his eyes.
"Interesting."
The Alpha Who Watched
Suddenly—
A surge of power exploded behind her.
"Leila!"
Kael.
Dominic stepped back immediately, but he didn't retreat.
He turned slowly as Kael emerged from the shadows, flanked by two warriors.
Kael's aura was dominant, aggressive, protective.
But when his eyes landed on Dominic—
For a brief second—
Fear flickered.
Dominic noticed.
And smiled.
"You dare step onto my lands?" Kael growled.
Dominic's voice remained calm. "Your Luna stepped into mine first."
Kael's eyes snapped to Leila.
"You crossed the deep border?"
"I was saving Finn."
Kael didn't answer her.
He was too focused on Dominic.
"You will leave. Now."
Dominic's crimson gaze shifted between them.
Then settled on Leila.
"Careful, Luna," he said softly. "Not all bonds are blessings."
Kael's claws extended slightly.
"You speak of bonds as if you understand them."
Dominic's smile vanished.
"I understand broken ones."
The air thickened.
Dominance pressed against dominance.
Leila stood between two Alphas.
And her wolf—
Was reacting more strongly to the wrong one.
Dominic took a step backward, retreating into shadow.
But before disappearing, he said one final thing.
"I will be seeing you again."
Not a threat.
A promise.
Then he was gone.
Cracks in the Foundation
The moment Dominic's presence vanished, the pressure in Leila's chest eased slightly.
But not fully.
Kael turned to her slowly.
"What did he say to you?"
"Nothing important."
"Do not lie to me."
Her spine stiffened.
"I'm not."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"You are my Luna. If he attempts to interfere—"
"He saved me today."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Kael froze.
"He what?"
"He drove away rogue wolves."
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Kael's jaw clenched.
"He has a reputation for manipulation."
"He didn't harm me."
"That doesn't mean he won't."
Her wolf stirred in protest.
Kael placed his hand against her cheek.
The gesture should have comforted her.
Instead—
It felt distant.
Faint.
Like touching through glass.
"You belong here," Kael said firmly.
The words felt like chains.
Not reassurance.
Behind her ribs—
Something tugged.
Not toward safety.
Toward the forest.
The Elder's Warning
Later that night, as Kael left to reinforce patrols, one of the pack elders approached her quietly.
Elder Mira.
Old. Wise. Eyes that saw too much.
"You met him," Mira said softly.
Leila didn't bother denying it.
"Yes."
Mira studied her face carefully.
"Did you feel… different?"
Leila hesitated.
Then nodded.
The elder's expression darkened.
"I prayed this would not happen."
Her stomach tightened.
"What would not happen?"
Mira's voice lowered to nearly a whisper.
"There are rare cases… where the first mate bond is not the true bond."
Leila's heart stopped.
"That's impossible."
"It is forbidden knowledge," Mira corrected. "Not impossible."
Her pulse roared in her ears.
"If the Moon Goddess chooses a wolf for political unity… the bond can be partial."
Partial.
Unsealed.
Dominic's word echoed again.
"But the true bond…" Mira continued, "when it appears… it overrides all others."
Leila stepped back.
"No."
"It is rare," Mira said quickly. "And dangerous. Especially if the second wolf is…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
She didn't need to.
Dominic.
The cursed alpha.
Leila's hands trembled.
"This cannot be true."
Mira's gaze softened.
"Then pray you do not feel it strengthen."
As if summoned by the thought—
A sudden, searing warmth flared low in Leila's abdomen.
Brief.
But undeniable.
Not pain.
Recognition.
Her wolf lifted its head.
Awake.
Alert.
Answering something in the distance.
And deep in the forest—
A red-eyed alpha paused mid-stride.
And smiled.