Fated?
1948 Words
In the morning, I wake up exhausted. The gray light of dawn filters through my curtains, soft and cold, painting the room in pale silver. My head throbs faintly — not from lack of sleep, but from everything. The conversation from last night still loops in my mind like a haunting melody.
Luca and I had stayed up for hours, talking about wolves, the Vale bloodline, my parents, and the truth about Pineridge. I had demanded answers, and for once, he didn’t hold back.
Rolling onto my side, I blink sleepily — and freeze when I see him.
Luca’s on my floor, half-covered by a blanket I must’ve tossed him sometime around three a.m. His arm’s thrown over his face, his breathing steady, chest rising and falling. For a moment, he looks so… normal. Just a guy who crashed after a long night. Not a wolf, not a secret-keeper. Just Luca.
I sit up slowly, brushing my hair out of my eyes. My room smells faintly of pine and rain, probably from him.
He stirs as the floor creaks. “Morning,” he murmurs, voice low and rough from sleep.
“Morning,” I say back, my throat still heavy with questions.
He pushes himself up, raking his fingers through his hair. His eyes find mine, soft and a little cautious — like he’s checking if I’m still mad at him for dropping last night’s bombshell.
I stretch, trying to sound casual. “So… who’s your mate?”
The question slips out before I can stop it.
He freezes. His expression shifts, guarded now, all traces of drowsy warmth gone. “That’s… complicated.”
I raise a brow. “You said everyone has one.”
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “Everyone does. But not everyone finds them.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
He leans back against my wall, looking away toward the window. “The bond — the fated connection — it’s rare now. Used to be, every wolf had one, no exceptions. But after the packs fractured, things changed. The magic weakened. Some of us are born without a true mate.”
I study him, the way his jaw tightens when he says it, the flicker of something almost like pain behind his eyes. “So… you’re saying you don’t have one?”
He hesitates, then nods once. “I’ve never felt it. Never heard the call. Some say it means I wasn’t meant for anyone. Others think the person just… isn’t alive anymore.”
The heaviness in his voice makes my stomach twist.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
He shrugs, trying to play it off, but his eyes stay on the floor. “Don’t be. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Having a mate can be… messy. You lose control sometimes. You feel everything they feel. If they’re hurt, you’re hurt. If they die—” He stops himself, shaking his head. “You don’t come back from that.”
I swallow hard, suddenly glad for the silence that follows.
He glances at me again, his gaze softer now. “It’s better this way. I get to choose who I care about. I don’t have to love someone just because fate says so.”
The way he says it makes something inside me stir. There’s meaning hidden in those words — not spoken, but there.
I look down at my hands. “That sounds… lonely.”
“Sometimes,” he admits. “But it also means I’m free. I don’t have to belong to anyone.”
I nod slowly, even though the thought of belonging to someone doesn’t sound as terrible as it should. Especially not when I think of Kade and the strange, magnetic pull I feel whenever he’s near.
“So when I shift,” I say quietly, “that’s when I’ll know, right? Who my mate is.”
Luca’s expression hardens almost instantly. “Yeah. And once the bond forms, there’s no undoing it. That’s why I wanted you to know everything before it happens. You need to be ready, Aria. You need to choose who you are before fate tries to decide for you.”
His voice holds a warning, one that sinks deep beneath my skin.
I nod slowly, the weight of it pressing down on me. “And if it is Kade?”
He looks away again, jaw tight. “Then things will get very complicated.”
Silence stretches between us again — thick, uneasy, and full of things neither of us want to say.
After a moment, I manage a small smile. “You didn’t have to stay, you know.”
“Yeah, I did,” he says, standing and grabbing his jacket. “Someone had to make sure you didn’t sneak off to the woods again.”
I roll my eyes, but can’t help the faint smile tugging at my lips. “Thanks… for staying.”
He gives me a crooked grin. “Anytime, Vale.”
And as he leaves my room, I can’t shake the feeling that Luca’s holding more secrets than he’s letting on — ones that have nothing to do with the past, and everything to do with what’s coming.
By the time we got to school, the sky had turned a washed-out blue, clouds hanging low like they hadn’t decided whether to rain or clear. The air still smelled of pine and wet earth — a scent that always clung to Pineridge after a storm.
Luca and I walked side by side through the parking lot. His hood was pulled up, hands shoved into his pockets, eyes scanning the crowd in that sharp, animal way he had — like he was always waiting for something to happen.
I still felt the weight of everything from last night pressing down on me: the truth about my family, the Vale bloodline, the packs, and the fact that in less than a month, I’d shift for the first time. Every step I took felt heavier, more real.
“Everyone’s staring,” I muttered under my breath.
“They always stare,” Luca said, eyes flicking toward the group of kids near the entrance. Some looked away quickly when he met their gaze. Others didn’t — they just watched, quiet and tense, like they knew something I didn’t.
It made my stomach twist.
When we reached the steps, I slowed down, glancing toward the courtyard. And there he was.
Kade.
Leaning against the railing like he owned the place — which, in a way, he did. His dark hair glinted under the weak sunlight, silver eyes catching the light just enough to look unnatural. The air around him felt charged, like the moment before lightning strikes.
He was laughing at something one of his friends said, but the second he saw me, everything in him stilled. The laughter died. His gaze locked on me — sharp, predatory, and far too intense.
My pulse jumped.
Luca noticed too. I felt the tension radiate off him, the muscles in his jaw tightening as he muttered, “Just ignore him.”
I wanted to. I really did. But Kade’s stare didn’t waver, and when I walked past, his head turned slightly, following me like a wolf tracking movement in the trees.
The air seemed to hum between us. My skin prickled, heat rushing up my neck.
Inside the building, I exhaled shakily. “He’s… different,” I whispered.
Luca gave me a sidelong look. “Different how?”
“Before, he barely noticed me. Now it’s like he’s… watching. Like he’s waiting for something.”
“He is,” Luca said quietly, pulling open the door to our homeroom. “You’re changing, Aria. And wolves can sense that. The closer you get to your shift, the stronger your energy becomes. It draws attention—especially his.”
The words made my chest tighten. I didn’t want Kade to notice me. Not like that.
But a part of me—something deep, wild, and restless—felt the opposite. It wanted him to look. Wanted him to come closer.
I shoved the thought down as we slid into our seats.
Classes dragged on painfully slow. I tried focusing on the board, but my mind kept drifting—to the woods, to the way Kade’s eyes had glowed faintly in the morning light, to Luca’s words from last night about fate and mates.
Halfway through second period, I caught sight of Kade through the door’s glass window. He was in the hallway, talking to a teacher—or pretending to. His gaze flicked up and found me instantly.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
He smirked faintly before walking away.
I looked back at the board, pretending to take notes, but my hand was shaking. Luca nudged me with his pen, whispering, “You okay?”
“Fine,” I lied.
He studied me for a second longer, then looked forward again.
At lunch, I sat with Luca, Savannah, and Claire at our usual table near the window. Savannah was rambling about a movie she’d seen, her hands flying with every word, but my mind was far away. I could feel eyes on me—again.
When I glanced up, Kade was sitting across the cafeteria. Alone. No one else dared sit near him. He didn’t look away when I met his gaze. He just… stared.
Luca followed my line of sight and stiffened. “He’s testing you,” he muttered.
“Testing me?”
“Seeing how aware you are. How much you can feel.”
I frowned. “Feel what?”
“The bond,” he said under his breath. “The pull. It’s getting stronger.”
I swallowed, my heart pounding. “And if he’s really my—”
“Don’t say it here,” Luca cut in quickly, his tone sharp. “Not where they can hear.”
That made me glance around the room. People weren’t just watching. They were listening. Their conversations paused when I spoke. Their eyes darted away whenever I looked at them.
Every instinct in me screamed that I didn’t belong here anymore—or worse, that I did, and they all knew it before I did.
When the bell rang, I felt a strange relief. I gathered my things quickly and headed for the door, but before I could step out, a voice stopped me.
“Aria.”
I froze.
Kade stood there in the hallway, closer than he’d ever been before. His scent hit me first—woodsmoke, rain, and something darkly electric that made my pulse skip.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said softly, his tone somewhere between amused and accusing.
I forced a breath. “I’ve been busy.”
His lips curved into a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. “You should be careful, Vale. The moon’s getting stronger. It tends to bring out… instincts.”
He stepped closer, his voice dropping lower. “And some instincts are hard to fight.”
Before I could respond, Luca appeared between us, his body tense. “Back off, Kade.”
Kade’s smirk faded into something colder. His gaze flicked between us, and for a heartbeat, something dangerous shimmered beneath his calm expression.
Then he turned away, walking down the hall without another word.
The moment he was gone, I let out the breath I’d been holding. “He’s getting worse,” I whispered.
Luca nodded grimly. “Yeah. And the full moon’s only three weeks away.”
His words sent a shiver down my spine. Because somewhere deep inside, my wolf was already stirring—awake, aware, and waiting.
- Writer
