Elara paced her tiny room like a caged animal. Every sound in the hallway made her jump.
Every creak of the old building sent her heart racing. Lock your door tonight. Alpha Kael's warning echoed in her thoughts.
She'd turned the rusty lock three times already, but it felt flimsy against the power pulsing through Stonehaven.
Hours crawled by. The rogue strike must be serious. Through her small window, she could see wolves running across the courtyard. Guards yelled orders. Emergency lights glowed in the darkness.
But all she could think about was Kael's burning eyes. His rough hand on her face. The promise in his words.
When I come back, nothing will ever be the same. A soft knock made her freeze. "Elara?" came a gentle voice. "It's me. Lysander." She knew that sound. Kael's quiet cousin.
The one who always watched but never spoke. What did he want? "The Alpha asked me to check on you," Lysander continued through the door. "To make sure you're safe." Relief flooded through her.
She unlocked the door and opened it a crack. Lysander stood in the dark hallway, his silver-gray eyes shadowed with concern. He looked nothing like his strong cousin. Lean instead of big.
Calm instead of dominating. But something about him made her wolf settle quietly. "Are you alright?" he asked softly. "I'm scared," she admitted.
"I don't understand what's happening to me." Pain flashed across his features. "I know. Your smell... it's changed everything, hasn't it?" Heat rose in her face. "You can smell it too?"
"Everyone can." His voice was barely a whisper. "But Elara, you need to be careful. Kael isn't himself right now." "What do you mean?"
Lysander glanced down the hallway, then stepped closer. "My cousin has never lost control. Not once in fifteen years. But tonight... tonight he's dangerous.
More dangerous than usual." "He won't hurt me," she said, though doubt came into her voice. "He might not mean to." Lysander's eyes held deep sadness.
"Just... be careful. Promise me." Before she could answer, heavy footsteps sounded down the hallway. Lysander's face went pale. "He's coming," he breathed. "I have to go."
"Wait—" But Lysander was already disappearing around the corner like a ghost. The footsteps grew louder. Slower. Predatory.
Elara's heart hammered against her ribs. She wanted to slam the door shut, but her feet wouldn't move. Kael emerged at the end of the hallway. Blood stained his shirt.
Scratches marked his face. His dark hair was wild, his eyes blazing with anger and something else. Something that made her stomach flip with fear and excitement. He looked like a wolf who'd just torn apart his attackers.
"Open the door, Elara." His voice was rough, authoritative. "Are you hurt?" she whispered. "Open it." She stepped back, her hand shaking on the doorknob.
The small room felt even tinier when he filled the opening. "The rogues?" she managed. "Dead. All of them." He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
The lock clicked with certainty. They stared at each other in the dim light from her bedroom lamp. The air between them crackled with stress. "You're shaking," he noted. "I'm scared." "Of me?" She nodded, unable to lie. Something shifted in his face.
The wild rage softened into something gentler but no less dangerous. "I won't hurt you," he said quietly. "But I can't promise to be gentle. Not with the way you smell right now."
Her breath caught. "Kael—" "Alpha," he amended, moving closer. "When we're alone, you call me Alpha." The command sent shivers down her spine. "Alpha."
"Good girl." His praise made her wolf purr with pleasure. He reached out slowly, giving her time to pull away. When she didn't, his fingers traced the line of her jaw. "So soft," he murmured. "So perfect."
His thumb brushed across her lower lip. Her knees nearly buckled. "I've been thinking about you all night," he added, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Even while I was fighting for our pack's survival, all I could think about was coming back to you." "That's not normal, is it?" she breathed. "Nothing about this is normal." His other hand found her waist, pulling her closer.
"But I don't care anymore." The scent of blood and battle stuck to him, mixed with his own wild smell. It should have horrified her. Instead, it made her feel safe. Protected.
"You're mine," he said, his face touching hers. "Say it." "I'm yours," she whispered. The words released something primal in him.
His lips crashed against hers, desperate and claiming. She'd never been kissed before, but her body knew exactly how to react. Her hands fisted in his torn shirt, holding on as he deepened the kiss.
He tasted like danger and desire, like everything she'd been too afraid to dream about. When they finally broke apart, both were breathing hard.
"Bed," he ordered, his voice rough with need. Fear and excitement warred in her chest. "I've never..." "I know." His hands framed her face gently. "I'll take care of you.
I'll make it good." She believed him. Despite everything, she trusted him completely. What happened next was nothing like the scary stories she'd heard from other omegas. Kael was demanding but careful, passionate but watchful.
He worshipped her body like she was special, not just something to be used. Afterward, she lay curled against his chest, listening to his beating slow.
His arms wrapped around her like steel bands, keeping her safe. "Stay with me tonight," he muttered into her hair. "What about your rules?" "I told you. The rules don't apply to you."
She closed her eyes, feeling safer than she ever had in her life. For the first time since her folks died, she wasn't alone.
But outside her window, hidden in the shadows between the trees, silver-gray eyes watched with heartbreak and desperate desire. Lysander pressed his back against the rough bark, his hands curled into fists.
Every impulse screamed at him to break down that door. To take what was rightfully his. Because he'd known the truth for three years.
Since the moment Elara turned fifteen and he'd caught her scent on the wind. She wasn't just special. She was his mate. His true, fated mate.
But he'd said nothing. Done nothing. Watched in silence as she grew into the beautiful woman now lying in his cousin's arms.
The mate bond burned in his chest like acid. Every touch Kael gave her felt like a knife to his heart. Every soft sound she made was pain.
But what choice did he have? Kael was the Alpha. Kael was strong and ruthless and used to taking whatever he wanted.
And Lysander was just the quiet cousin who lived in the shadows. A twig snapped behind him. He spun around to find Beta Marcus coming through the trees.
"Thought I might find you here," Marcus said quietly. "I was just—" "I know what you were doing." Marcus's voice held no judgment.
"The question is, what are you going to do about it?" Lysander's jaw clenched. "Nothing. There's nothing I can do."
"There's always something you can do." Marcus moved closer, his face serious. "But you better decide fast. Because Alpha Kael isn't going to let that girl go. Not ever."
"She's not mine to claim." "Isn't she?" The question hung in the air between them like a dare. Above them, through the small window, came the sound of soft laughing.
Elara's laughter, sweet and innocent and totally unaware of the storm gathering around her. Lysander's hands clenched tighter. His wolf howled with rage and loss and desperate need. Because Marcus was right.
The bond called to him, insisted he fight for what was his. But could he really go to war with his own cousin? And if he did, would any of them survive it?