Chapter 2 2

Lorien POV

There was no way I could return to the packhouse now. Going back would be suicide.

The guard didn’t linger long behind me, but I didn’t need him to. The threat in his silence said everything if he saw me again tonight, he’d do what every other wolf in this pack had dreamed of for years. He’d kill me.

So I ran.

I didn’t stop until the trees gave way to the lake, where the sobs I’d been holding back finally tore free. My body shook with every breath, exhaustion crawling into my bones until I was numb. The moon shimmered on the lake’s surface, its reflection trembling with the ripples, but the sight gave me no peace.

My wolf paced within me, restless and defiant, urging me to turn around to go back, to find him. My mate. But that wasn’t an option. Not if I wanted to live.

I had to calm down. I had to stop her from taking control and forcing her way back to the party.

With trembling fingers, I stripped off my torn dress and held it up in the moonlight. My hand slipped through the new hole, and I sighed, letting it fall to the ground. It was beyond repair, at least for someone with my poor sewing skills. Maybe I could salvage the fabric for rags anything but waste it.

Kicking off my flats, I stepped into the lake. The cold water bit into my skin, but it cleared my head. I waded deeper, crouching until the water reached my waist before dipping under completely.

For a brief, suspended moment, the world went silent.

Then I surfaced and froze.

That feeling. That prickling on the back of my neck. Someone was watching me.

I turned slowly, eyes scanning the trees. The moment I spotted movement near my discarded dress, my breath caught.

He was standing there.

Rhael. The Alpha’s son.

His arms were folded across his chest, his body half-shadowed by the moonlight, but I knew that face anywhere.

Had they sent him after me to punish me? To finish what the guard started?

“Is this my birthday gift?” he called out, voice deep and rich, curling through me like smoke. A shiver raced down my spine. I sank lower into the water until only my chin broke the surface, trying to hide my bare body.

We had never spoken before. Even when our parents worked side by side, he was always training or surrounded by tutors. And when he wasn’t, he was with Maeryn.

Our worlds had never touched.

I had never realized how beautiful his voice was until now.

“You left your party,” I said, my confusion heavy in the air. Everyone had come to see him yet he was here, watching me.

I glanced through the trees, searching for others, certain this had to be some cruel prank. Rhael had never acknowledged me after I’d been demoted to an Omega. It was forbidden for me to speak to him unless he addressed me first, and until tonight, he never had.

I was nothing to him. Maybe Maeryn was right.

“I smelled my mate,” he said simply, pushing off the tree. “Why wouldn’t I go after her?”

My heart stopped.

He shrugged off his jacket, revealing a crisp white shirt beneath. My pulse stuttered as he began unbuttoning it, one button at a time.

“Your… your mate?” I whispered, disbelief and hope twisting together in my chest. I’d known my mate was somewhere at the party tonight but the Alpha’s son? That was impossible.

And yet

He kicked off his shoes, peeled off his shirt, and let his pants fall to the ground. My breath hitched as I turned my gaze away, cheeks burning when his boxers followed.

A heartbeat later, the scent hit me rich, intoxicating, undeniable.

It wasn’t a trick.

It was fate.

MATE.

“Yes,” he said, voice roughened now, eyes dark as he waded into the lake. The water lapped higher against his thighs with each step. My eyes widened as his body hardened before the water concealed him.

Then he reached me.

In one swift motion, his hands were on me strong, claiming. His arm slid around my waist, lifting me effortlessly while his other hand caught my thigh, pulling it over his hip.

Sparks exploded across my skin, sharp and electric. My wolf howled with joy, clawing her way forward, desperate to claim him. She’d been screaming for him all night, and now now he was here. Ours.

I wrapped my other leg around him as he pressed me closer, chest to chest, breath to breath.

“I’ve been searching for you all night,” he murmured, his words brushing against my lips.

“You found me,” I breathed, awe filling every corner of my soul.

His answering growl vibrated against my skin, deep and primal, making heat coil low in my belly. Then his mouth was on mine fierce, hungry, and consuming.

He carried me from the water without breaking the kiss, lowering me onto the soft sand. His hands, his scent, his touch they overwhelmed me. For the first time in years, I wasn’t cold. I wasn’t alone.

I was his.

And as the night slipped into dawn, I drowned in him his warmth, his hunger, his love.

When the first rays of sunlight crept over the trees, I lay tangled in his arms, body aching in the sweetest way. A smile curved my lips as I nuzzled into his chest. He was still hard against my stomach, his arms heavy but gentle around me.

“Good morning,” I murmured, voice soft and hazy. My body was sore but utterly sated.

I stretched languidly, tracing the marks he’d left on my neck his bites, his claim. But there was one bite still missing. The mark. The final bond. Maybe he wanted to wait for the ceremony. That was tradition, after all.

Rhael sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

When he didn’t answer, unease crept in. My smile faltered.

“Rhael? Are you okay?”

He laughed cold and humorless and sat up. The sudden absence of his warmth made me shiver.

“Rhael?” I whispered again, voice trembling as I pushed myself upright beside him, the sand rough beneath my palms.

Then his tone changed. Sharp. Commanding. Cruel.

“Get your hands off me,” he snapped. “What’s your name, Omega?”