Howls and Hexes

CHAPTER 5

Zac

I had watched her leave with her friend, my beautiful Rayna.

She was mine now. Even if she didn’t know it yet.

Something about her told me she looked down on herself most of the time. I noticed it after she took the drinks I got her. She kind of sank into herself, like she was shy or unsure, like she didn’t love herself. She kept hiding behind the redhead’s shadow. I hated that. I hated that she couldn’t see what I saw. That she didn’t know her curves were soft poetry, or that her eyes held whole galaxies. That she had this quiet strength humming beneath her skin.

I’d have to work on that. I’d have to be patient. I’d have to show her that her figure didn’t matter—only her heart.

I didn’t even know her last name yet. She had to be here for school, or maybe work. But she wasn’t a regular. You could tell that instantly, Rayna felt different. She Looked different. Moved differently. She didn’t belong in the noise of that bar.

My brother and Elias didn’t stop poking fun all night, saying I was obsessed. I told them to knock it off and as their Alpha, they did. But they weren’t wrong. I was obsessed. From the second I saw her, something ancient in me clicked into place.

She drank so much she could barely stand, and I hated seeing her that way. I almost followed her out. But I didn’t want to rush things. We couldn’t get to know each other when she was drunk. That wouldn’t be fair to her or to me. Still, something in me stirred when she walked away, like I was leaving behind a part of myself.

But I believe in fate . They don’t make mistakes.

If they brought her to me once, they would bring her back again.

Even though I wanted to hold her, to be next to her all night, I knew I had to take it slow. Humans don’t feel things the way we do. They want to take their time. Ease into emotion. And I could respect that, even if it killed me.

If she had been a wolf, we would’ve left together the moment we met. She would’ve spent the night under me, with me worshiping every inch of her. She’d have known without a single word that she was mine and I was hers. But Rayna was human. She didn’t know about our world. She didn’t know what a mate bond even was.

But damn it all to hell, I wanted her.

Still, it could work. I knew of Alphas in other packs who’d mated with humans. Some worked out beautifully. Some didn’t. But I’d make it work. Rayna was gentle Luna material. A Luna was more than a title. She was the heart of the pack. A guide. A healer. A mother. A confidant. But was Rayna strong enough?

Not physically humans would never come close to our strength but emotionally? Mentally? Could she carry the weight?

I didn’t know yet. I’d have to find out.

Elias and Danielle had left, and I was stuck with Kai and Stella making out like horny teenagers in the booth. “I’m going home,” I muttered. They didn’t even look up. Typical.

It was normal, really. Mates were naturally clingy. Public displays of affection were the norm even encouraged. Touch was everything to us. Reassurance. Bond. Claim.

My kind had been around for as long as humans. Maybe longer.

According to the legends, Poseidon created us. Yeah—the god. The one who ruled the seas.

He got tired of being alone in his realm, so he came to earth and transformed into a man. No one knew who he really was. He was powerful, wealthy, ridiculously handsome, and he knew it. Women were drawn to him like fish to bait.

He slept with human women across the world, and when they gave birth, something divine and wild emerged. Wolves. The women didn’t survive the births, but their children did.

The first of our kind were born in blood and shadow. They were fierce and primal. They mated with each other, and the wolf race grew.

But Poseidon gave us more than strength he gave us mates.

Soulbonds. One perfect person, fated for each of us. Bonds are so deep that no distance, no time, not even death could sever them. He gave us true love, and the instincts to find it. That’s what I felt when I saw Rayna.

Poseidon knew we weren’t meant to walk this world alone.

It’s said he created the mate bond to give us what he never had.

Of course, that was before the witches came. Dark ones, drunk on blood magic. They hunted us, killed us, experimented on us. They feared our strength. They envied our bond. So they tried to break it.

But that was a long time ago. We haven’t seen witches in years.

We thought we were safe.

Now, I wasn’t so sure.

When I got home, I stripped down to my briefs and collapsed into bed.

I dreamed of Rayna.

She was in my arms again, her breath hitching as I whispered things against her neck. I buried my face in her hair and kissed down her collarbone, my hands gliding over her full hips. She moaned softly, arching into me, and I devoured her lips with mine. There was no shame in the way she touched my back, like her hands were made for my skin. Her body fit against mine perfectly, like two halves of a puzzle.

She didn’t speak, but her eyes told me everything.

You’re mine.

I’m yours.

I woke up hard and aching.

It had been years since I’d had a wet dream.

Rayna had officially ruined me.

Thank you, Poseidon.

I got dressed, tossing on jeans, a black tee, and my worn leather jacket. I glanced at my key rack. Rows of options—trucks, bikes, muscle cars. I had everything I wanted. My home was huge, inherited and expanded over time. Each garage had its own theme, one for trucks, one for motorcycles, one for classic restorations.

It was a sunny day. Perfect for a ride.

I grabbed the key to my Ducati Diavel V4, one of my favorite machines. Sleek. Dangerous. Fast. I opened the garage door and rolled the beast out. The moment I twisted the throttle and took off, the wind hit my face and the world blurred.

Silverden was beautiful in summer. Wide stretches of road, dense woods, and just past the ridge the Falling Pike Mountains, rising like ancient sentinels. My ancestors picked this land well.

I lived just outside the town, on the edge of the forest. I liked privacy, but I also liked control. Silverden had become a college town over the years. The streets buzzed with undergrads, parties, frat houses. I didn’t get involved, but I watched everything.

It was mid-afternoon by the time I reached the house. The one where the accident had happened.

One of my properties.

Nathan, the town sheriff and a wolf had called me about it. Said a girl named Courtney hit her head and fell down the stairs. Blood coming from her ears and eyes. It sounded bad. Sounded… suspicious. I needed to see it for myself.

I rang the doorbell.

Footsteps. Then the door swung open and there she was.

Rayna.

She looked surprised. Paler than usual. Her white hair was pulled up, and she was wearing an oversized hoodie and a long, shapeless skirt that pooled awkwardly at her ankles.

No cleavage. No shorts. Not even socks.

She didn’t know how to dress for home comfort, clearly. But I kind of loved that. She wasn’t showing off for anyone. She was… raw. Real. Imperfect. But maybe she thought I was judging her, because her eyes dipped, and she fidgeted like I’d caught her stealing.

“Hi, Zac. We meet again,” she said, voice small. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m the owner of the house,” I explained gently, “and I heard about what happened last night. I wanted to check that the stairs weren’t faulty—split wood, loose railing, anything like that.”

Her posture stiffened. “No… yeah, I mean, that makes sense. Come in.”

I stepped inside. The house was clean. Too clean.

“The blood’s gone?” I asked.

“Tessa cleaned it up. She was up early.”

“Was she supposed to leave it for inspection?” I asked, but not harshly.

“No one told us that,” Rayna said. “She just… didn’t want it there.”

“Fair enough.”

I walked up the stairs. Every board was intact. Solid. No warps. No loose nails. It wasn’t my house that had failed.

“Do you mind showing me Courtney’s room?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Of course.”

We walked down the hallway. The walls were bare, save for a faint streak of blood near the corner.

“She hit her head more than once?” I asked.

“I… think so,” Rayna said, rubbing her palms together.

There was no sign of struggle. No broken furniture. Just tension hanging in the air like smoke.

“Do you know how Courtney’s doing?” she asked, biting her lip.

“No updates. I’m sorry.”

She looked down. I couldn’t tell if she was upset, guilty, or scared.

“Look… Rayna,” I said, facing her fully, “now that I’ve found you again, maybe we should..”

“Zac…”

“—go on a date,” I finished.

She blinked. Her lips parted. She looked shocked. Then flustered. Her toe started drawing patterns on the wooden floor.

“I’ll have to raincheck on that,” she whispered.

I smiled softly. “Alright. Can I at least have your number? In case I need to follow up on Courtney.”

That made her laugh, and she finally looked at me. “Smooth,” she said.

I handed her my phone. She typed her number in and returned it.

“I’ll call you,” I said.

She nodded, cheeks tinted pink. “Okay.”

I glanced at the name she typed in—Rayna Voss.

Voss.

Now I had what I needed.

As I walked to the door, I felt her gaze follow me through the glass.

I smirked.

As I sped down the winding back roads of Silverden, the engine of my bike roaring under me, the pull of my thoughts refused to let go of her Rayna. Every second I spent away from her left a kind of restless energy buzzing beneath my skin, like my wolf was pacing inside me.

I opened the mind link again, this time dragging both Elias and Kai into it.

“Elias, Kai—you both there?”

“Yeah,” Elias answered, casual. “What's up, Alpha?”

“Of course,” Kai added. “What’s going on?”

“I need a deep dive,” I said. “On someone named Rayna Voss.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Wait Voss?” Elias sounded like he was holding back a laugh. “Is that her? The white-haired chick from the bar?”

“Yes,” I said, jaw tight.

“You saw her again?” Kai asked, tone curious.

“She’s renting one of our properties. I just left her house. There was an accident at the rental last night, and I went to check in.”

Kai whistled. “And let me guess—you asked her out?”

“Yeah. But she said… raincheck.”

Elias actually snorted. “Damn. That’s code for I’m not that into you, bro.”

My grip tightened on the handlebars. “Don’t be stupid. She’s human. She doesn’t feel the bond as deep as we do.”

“Or maybe she just doesn’t feel it at all,” Elias muttered. “Look, Zac, don’t take this the wrong way, but are you sure she’s your mate? I mean, yeah, she’s got that whole ethereal, innocent look going for her, but I saw her at the bar. She was practically hiding behind that redhead.”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” I growled through the link, low and warning.

“I’m just saying,” Elias went on, undeterred. “You could have your pick of powerful women, women who could stand beside an Alpha. And instead, you’re chasing some soft-spoken human with zero pack value?”

“She’s mine,” I said, the words coated in finality. “The bond doesn’t lie. I don’t care how she looks or where she came from. The fates picked her. That’s all I need to know.”

Kai jumped in, his voice steadier. “Elias, you’re being a d**k. Zac’s always trusted the fates. If he says she’s the one, then that’s that.”

“Yeah, but—” Elias started.

“No,” Kai snapped. “Not everything is about strength and politics. Luna is about balance. Maybe she’s exactly what the pack needs. We don’t even know her yet.”

“She didn’t even say yes,” Elias said flatly.

“She didn’t say no, either,” I fired back. “She was surprised, maybe a little overwhelmed. She blushed. She gave me her number. That’s more than nothing.”

“Look,” Kai said, gentler now, “just take it slow. Humans aren’t wired like us. You come on too strong, and you’ll spook her.”

“I know,” I sighed.

“Still,” Elias muttered. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’re thinking with your instincts, not your head.”

I cut the link without another word.

The silence that followed was thick with tension, but I didn’t care. Elias didn’t see what I saw. He didn’t feel what I felt. Rayna was different, yes but she was mine.

And if the pack couldn't see it yet, they would.