Jake POV
Jake had been waiting at his door for twenty minutes.
He didn't know why. Didn't know how he knew Emma was coming. The connection had woken him up around eleven, pulling at something deep inside his chest. Something ancient.
His mate was coming.
He'd gotten out of bed and poured whiskey. Tried to convince himself it was just his body responding to female pheromones in the compound. Nothing more. Jake Stone didn't believe in mates. Didn't believe in fated connections.
Then the knock came.
Soft. Almost apologetic.
Jake moved to the door and opened it. The scent hit him like a physical force. Honey and wildflowers and something wild underneath. Home. That's what she smelled like.
Emma stood in his hallway burning with heat and desperation. The invisible omega who'd lived in his compound for three years without him ever actually seeing her. He'd known she existed the same way he knew the kitchens existed. She was part of the structure. Not something that required his attention.
But his alpha recognized her immediately.
Every cell in his body screamed that she was his. That his mate had finally come to him.
Jake pulled her inside and closed the door.
He pinned her against the wall and kissed her with desperation that surprised them both. She tasted like heat and honey and something uniquely hers. Jake's hands found her jaw and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. The mate bond burned between them, connecting their souls in ways Jake didn't believe were possible.
Emma's hands gripped his shoulders. She was shaking. Or maybe he was shaking. Or maybe they were both vibrating with something that went beyond physical attraction.
Jake broke the kiss but couldn't move away from her. He rested his forehead against hers and tried to steady his breathing.
Why her.
The question rose up inside him like poison. Out of all the females in the pack, why had the bond chosen this one. The invisible omega. The girl who'd spent three years making herself smaller until Jake literally couldn't see her anymore.
But he could feel her now.
Through the bond, he could feel her confusion. Her fear. Her overwhelming need for him to touch her. To claim her.
Jake pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"Why you?" he asked. Not angry. Just confused.
Emma didn't answer with words. She pulled him toward his bed.
The night blurred after that.
Jake tried to be gentle. Tried to remember that she was in heat for the first time with him, that her body was responding to instinct and biology and the pull of the bond. But Emma didn't want gentle. She wanted claiming. She wanted marking. She wanted him to connect to her on a level that went deeper than skin.
They bonded that night. Not just physically, though that was intense and overwhelming. But on a cellular level. The mate bond wove through their bodies like silver threads, connecting them in ways that made separation feel like death.
By the time the sun started rising, Emma's scent had completely changed. Jake's mark was all over her. The entire pack would smell it the moment she walked out of his quarters.
Jake held her close as dawn broke through the windows.
He could feel the bond settling into his bones now. Could feel it creating channels through his body so he could sense her emotions, her needs, her presence. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once. For the first time in three years, since his father died and forced him into leadership, Jake felt connected to something.
Emma stirred against his chest.
Her eyes opened slowly and she looked confused for a moment. Then awareness crashed into her and she seemed to understand what had happened. What couldn't be undone.
Jake waited for her to pull away.
But Emma didn't pull away.
She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his chest.
Through the bond, Jake felt her emotions flooding into him. Relief. Belonging. The overwhelming sensation of finally being seen by someone. But underneath all of that, something else made his possessive instincts spike.
She was afraid.
Not of him. Jake could tell that much. But of what came next. Of the visibility this bond would bring. Of the fact that she was no longer allowed to hide. Of the possibility that he would expect things from her that she wasn't ready to give.
And underneath all of that, he felt her determination not to break. Not to run.
Jake's arms tightened around her involuntarily.
He could feel himself sinking into the bond already. Could feel his protective instincts transforming into something obsessive. Something that wanted to keep her in this bed, in his quarters, away from every threat that existed.
He needed to mark her as completely as possible. Needed to make sure every male in the pack understood that she was his. Needed to isolate her if necessary. Do whatever it took to keep her safe.
The feeling was consuming him. Beautiful and dangerous all at once.
Jake was so focused on that, on the overwhelming urge to protect and possess, that he almost missed the small voice screaming that he was becoming dangerous.
That the mate bond was transforming him into the kind of alpha who confused love with ownership.
But he couldn't stop it.
Emma felt his emotions shifting through the bond. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
And in that moment, Jake realized something that made his blood run cold.
She could feel his possessiveness. His obsession. His need.
Her hand moved to his chest, right over his heart. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to.
Through the bond, Jake felt the first small spark of doubt. The first whisper of a question that would eventually become a scream.
Have I made a terrible mistake.