2. Mine
1222 Words
Angelo
Three f*****g days.
I had spent three days tracking these bastards.
Three rogues had crossed into my territory, attacked people under my name and claimed they belonged to Blood Moon.
Idiots.
If I wanted someone hurt, I didn’t send incompetent rogues to do it for me.
If I wanted someone dead, I went myself.
Everyone knew that.
Which meant somebody was either trying to provoke me—or these three had a death wish.
I was comfortable accommodating either.
Their scent grew stronger between the trees.
Blood.
Sweat.
Fear.
Close.
My Lycan shifted inside me, restless.
Finally.
Patience.
His amusement brushed through me.
You have spent three days threatening trees. Do not preach patience to me.
I ignored him.
We had shared this body since I was fourteen. Most of the time, separating his emotions from mine took effort.
Tonight his impatience matched mine perfectly.
The forest grew quieter as I moved.
Then another scent reached me.
Female.
Unknown.
Fear.
I stopped.
A voice carried through the trees.
“I don’t think she can talk.”
Then laughter.
“That just makes it more fun.”
Rage hit me.
Mine first.
Then his.
Move.
I was already moving.
Through the trees, I saw three men surrounding a woman.
Naked.
Cornered.
One of them had a hand on her.
For one second, the forest disappeared.
Stone walls.
Chains.
A locked door.
A voice telling me to behave.
My vision flashed red.
The Lycan’s fury surged alongside mine.
Kill him.
Not yet.
He touched her.
I noticed.
The rogue grabbed her face.
Enough.
A growl tore from my chest.
All three froze.
Good.
Slowly, the largest turned.
His face drained of color.
“My King.”
I stepped into the clearing.
“Move.”
Nobody argued.
They backed away.
Then I saw her properly.
Silver-white hair fell around her body.
Her skin almost glowed beneath the moonlight.
Her eyes were enormous.
Terrified.
Confused.
And the moment they met mine—
everything inside me went silent.
Not calm.
Silent.
Even him.
That bothered me.
What?
No answer.
What the hell is wrong with you?
His presence remained there, completely focused on her.
That was worse.
I forced myself to look away.
“What are you doing here?”
“We can explain,” the rogue said.
“No.”
He blinked.
“No?”
“You can’t.”
I stepped toward him.
“You entered my territory.”
His gaze dropped.
“You used my name.”
Nobody moved.
“You attacked civilians while claiming to belong to my pack.”
I glanced at the woman.
“And now I find you surrounding a defenseless female.”
“She trespassed.”
“So did you.”
His mouth snapped shut.
One of the others tried.
“We weren’t going to—”
I looked at him.
He stopped.
Smartest decision he had made all night.
The first rogue swallowed.
“She did something.”
My attention sharpened.
“What?”
“I don’t know. For a second, I couldn’t move.”
His eyes flicked toward her.
“Like something was pushing me down.”
Interesting.
The woman looked completely lost.
“Enzo.”
Leaves shifted.
My second-in-command appeared.
His gaze traveled over the rogues.
Then the woman.
Then me.
His eyebrows rose.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to.”
He smiled.
I hated him.
“Take them.”
The rogues protested.
Enzo’s smile lost all humor.
“You heard your king.”
Two guards emerged.
As they dragged the men away, the largest called back.
“There’s something wrong with her!”
I watched them disappear.
Then looked at her.
He wasn’t wrong.
I simply wasn’t convinced wrong meant dangerous.
I stepped closer.
She scrambled backward.
I stopped.
Her fear irritated me.
Not because she feared me.
Most people did.
But because I suddenly wanted to know exactly what those bastards had done before I arrived.
“Did they hurt you?”
No answer.
“Can you speak?”
Her expression shifted.
She touched her throat and shook her head.
“You understand me?”
A hesitant nod.
“Do you know where you are?”
No.
“Your name?”
She froze.
Then slowly shook her head again.
My brow furrowed.
“You don’t know your own name?”
Panic filled her eyes.
Fuck.
No clothes.
No shoes.
No injuries.
No scent belonging to any pack I knew.
“What do you remember?”
Her expression answered.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
I exhaled.
Perfect.
A naked, mute woman with no memories had appeared in my territory while rogues were impersonating my men.
Completely normal evening.
I pulled off my shirt.
Her eyes widened.
“Relax.”
I dropped it between us.
“Put it on.”
Suspicion narrowed her eyes.
“I just stopped three men from attacking you. If I intended to hurt you, clothing would be an unnecessarily complicated first step.”
Her eyes narrowed further.
Attitude.
Interesting.
I turned my back.
After a moment, fabric rustled.
When I looked again, she stood wearing my shirt.
It nearly reached her knees.
Something tightened inside my chest.
The Lycan stirred.
Better.
What?
No answer.
I frowned.
“You’re coming with me.”
She immediately shook her head.
“No?”
Another shake.
People did not tell me no.
Apparently the amnesiac woman hadn’t received that information.
I pointed toward the forest.
“You can stay here.”
Her eyes widened.
“Alone.”
She glanced at the darkness.
“In a forest full of wolves.”
Her gaze snapped back.
Then she reluctantly stepped forward.
“Thought so.”
She glared at me.
I almost smiled.
Almost.
We hadn’t gone far when she stopped.
She was staring upward.
At the moon.
Pain transformed her face.
Anger.
Longing.
Something that looked disturbingly like betrayal.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
My Lycan shifted uneasily.
She does not understand why she hurts.
Neither do I.
That does not make it less real.
I glanced inwardly at him.
That was the first thing he had said since seeing her.
You’ve been strangely quiet.
He ignored that.
Of course.
“Come on,” I told her.
She wiped the tear away and followed.
My Lycan remained attentive.
Not restless.
Not angry.
Watching.
That bothered me more than his silence.
Behind me, she stumbled.
I turned automatically.
My hand caught hers.
The second our skin touched, power crashed through me.
My Lycan surged forward with such certainty that my breath stopped.
Recognition flooded our shared body.
His.
Mine.
Impossible to separate.
Mate.
I released her hand.
No.
Absolutely f*****g not.
She stared at me.
You’re wrong.
For once, the answer came instantly.
I am not.
We touched her for half a second.
Recognition does not require your permission, Angelo.
My jaw clenched.
She looked between my eyes as though trying to understand what had happened.
My Lycan’s certainty settled deeper.
She is our mate.
No.
A wave of irritation rolled through me.
Entirely his.
Denial is not an argument.
It is tonight.
I looked at the strange woman standing in my shirt.
Trouble.
That was what she was.
Beautiful, mysterious, moonlit trouble.
And apparently—
mine.
“No,” I muttered.
Her eyebrows pulled together.
“Absolutely f*****g not.”
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