Chapter#05

Liam’s POV

I couldn’t sleep, and I knew why. That scent, sweet, wild, and maddening, like honey mixed with wildflowers and rain, had hit me like a thunderclap earlier today, lingering in the air after Kaelen’s collapse in the arena. It had been faint, but I recognized it instantly.

My mate.

The thought sent a surge through my chest. My wolf growled low, urging me to find her. What the hell was she doing here, in the Ironfang Academy of all places? I paced along the edge of the training field as my hands clenched and unclenched at my sides. The frost-covered ground crunched beneath my boots.

I dragged a hand through my tousled chestnut hair, trying to steady myself. Fate had a cruel sense of humor, tossing me into chaos when I was already barely holding on.

As I bent down to stretch my hamstrings, the scent hit me again, stronger this time. I froze. My wolf stirred within me, snarling and pacing, urging me to move. Without hesitation, I followed the invisible trail, letting my instincts guide me. My heart pounded as I moved through the camp.

The trail led me out of the camp and into the woods. I moved silently. And then, I saw her.

She was in the hot spring, nestled deep within the grove. My wolf growled again, urging me forward, telling me to go closer. Was she my mate? Fate wasn’t done with me yet.

Selene’s POV

I slowly turned, peering into the dark where the voice had come from. My heart hammered against my ribs. I was caught. A tall figure stood at the edge of the hot spring. My breath hitched in my throat as I tried to make out his features. The steam from the spring rose around me like a veil.

And then I saw him.

“Liam,” I breathed to myself. The name slipped out before I could stop it. My stomach twisted into a knot, panic surging through me like a tidal wave.

The water clung to my skin like a shield as I pressed deeper into the pool, hoping it would swallow me, hiding the truth of my body. My heart thundered in my chest, each beat loud enough to betray me. My wolf was on high alert as Liam’s sharp hazel eyes scanned the dark like a predator seeking prey. His officer’s uniform was unbuttoned at the collar.

“My mate,” Liam murmured, as if the words were a prayer to the Moon Goddess herself. “Where are you?”

My breath hitched as a cold dread pooled in my gut. Mate? No. It couldn’t be. Damien had been my mate. The bond had shattered with his death, leaving a void that still ached. Another mate bond, here, now, was impossible. Or was it? My wolf stirred within me, but I clamped down on it, refusing to let it surface.

Before Liam could step closer, a shadow moved behind him, massive and menacing, that made my wolf whimper in fear, and something else.

“Your mate?” A deep, gravelly voice broke through the silence, sending a shiver racing down my spine.

Liam turned abruptly, his hand instinctively going to his side as if to draw a weapon. “Varian?” he spat, “What are you doing here?”

As soon as the other man stepped forward in the moonlight, I could recognize him. He was the same man who knocked me unconscious earlier.

“That’s what I should be asking you,” he growled.

Liam squared his shoulders, “I don’t answer to you.”

Varian sighed, “No, but you should. I’m here for my mate.”

They were looking for their mate? But there was no one here except me!

The realization hit me like a claw to the chest. My breath caught as panic surged through me.

“Your mate?” Liam said in a tone sharp with disbelief as his hazel eyes flicked toward the spring.

My pulse quickened and my chest tightened as Varian’s gaze drifted, scanning the area with a predator’s precision. He sniffed the air. His nostrils flared as he took in the scent that I knew was mine. The Duskfang potion couldn’t fully mask in the heat of the spring. I sank deeper into the spring.

“The sweet, intoxicating aroma…” he murmured, stepping closer to the water’s edge. His boots crunching on the frost-covered moss.

“Like honey mixed with wildflowers and rain,” Liam whispered, almost as if finishing Varian’s thought.

The moment the words left Liam’s mouth, Varian turned to him with a feral snarl. His hand shot out to grab Liam by the collar, his claws extending slightly as his wolf surged to the surface. “That’s my mate’s scent!” he roared.

Panic surged through me. My scent was the center of their conflict. It was something that could unmask me. And suddenly, I broke the surface of the water, gasping for air. Their heads snapped toward me as their eyes locked onto me with an intensity that made my entire body freeze. Every instinct screamed to flee, but I knew I couldn’t escape, not with my wolf stirring, drawn to Varian in a way I couldn’t control.

Liam’s eyes widened, “Kaelen?” he said. His mind struggled to reconcile the scent with the boy he thought I was.

But my gaze shifted to Varian, and I froze as the moonlight caught his face. The scar on his neck only added to his rugged handsomeness. He had the kind of face you couldn’t look away from. His deep green eyes were piercing, like they could see straight into my soul, stripping away the disguise I’d clung to.

He was huge. His broad shoulders and solid frame made him look like a warrior carved from the stories of old Ironfang heroes. Every inch of him screamed power. My heart thudded in my chest, a mix of fear and something else, something primal. I should’ve been scared, and I was, but there was something about him that made it hard to move, like my wolf didn’t want to run. It wanted to stay. It wanted him.

“I saw someone…” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. The lie trembled on my lips as I pointed frantically toward the trees. “Someone ran into the woods that way.”

Varian didn’t move, his piercing gaze pinned me in place. His eyes narrowed as if he could see through the deception. “Don’t lie to me,” he growled. His voice was a low rumble that sent a shiver down my spine. “Do it again, and I’ll kill you.”

My heart hammered against my ribs. My wolf stirred at the edges of my control. My scent grew stronger now, mingling with Varian’s own earthy, storm-like scent in a way that made my instincts howl. My human mind screamed at me to run, to protect the disguise that kept me safe, but my wolf wanted closer, whispering a truth I wasn’t ready to face.

“Stay away from him,” Liam snapped as he stepped between me and Varian.

“Stay away?” Varian echoed, “And what will you do if I don’t, pup?”

Liam clenched his fists. “He’s just a recruit,” he bit out. “And he said he saw someone running into the woods. You’re scaring him for no reason.”

“Please…” I pleaded as I clung to the water’s edge, my body shaking with the effort to keep my wolf at bay. “Please don’t hurt me…”

Varian’s eyes shifted to me, “You think I’d hurt what’s mine?” he said.

Mine?

That word hammered through my mind, echoing in my bones, and my wolf was now screaming to come out, its silver fur shimmering beneath my skin despite the potion. I clamped down on it, my entire body trembling with the effort to keep it at bay. The mate bond pulled me toward Varian even as I fought to hold onto my disguise.

“What?” Liam shot back as his eyes darted between me and Varian. “He’s not…”

“She’s mine,” Varian thundered as he glared at Liam. “And I don’t share.”

Liam burst out laughing. An incredulous sound that cut through the tension, his hands on his hips as he turned to me. “Kaelen, he remembers the fight,” he sarcastically said.

“You can fool anyone but me…” Varian let out a soft chuckle, his gaze fixed on me, seeing past the cropped brown hair. My stomach twisted. A cold dread pooled in my gut. He knew. Somehow, he knew.

I couldn’t let anyone know. I’d made a promise to my brothers, to myself, to the memory of my pack. If anyone discovered I wasn’t Kaelen, I’d be out of the Academy, along with Rowan and Caden. The lords could maybe kill me and my brothers for breaking the one big rule.

They were lying for me, risking everything to keep me safe from Leandro’s hunt. I’d be putting them both in danger, exposing us all to the Bloodclaw Alpha’s wrath. Leandro and his men were still out there, searching for me. I had to train, to grow stronger, to avenge my family, my people, everyone he’d killed that day. I couldn’t get caught.

“I don’t care what you think,” Liam growled, stepping closer to Varian, “You’re not taking him.”

Varian’s smile faded, replaced by a cold, deadly expression. “Then you’d better be ready to fight for her,” he said in a low growl. His claws extended fully as he prepared to lunge.

I barely had time to react before Varian moved, lunging toward Liam with a snarl that echoed through the grove. My wolf howled inside me, torn between fear and the undeniable pull that tethered me to Varian, a bond I couldn’t ignore. I couldn’t move, not because of fear, but because my wolf whispered one word over and over, drowning out everything else.

Mate.