Chapter 7
1099 Words
Joss
The ballroom was alive.
Music filled the room, laughter echoed from every corner, and the scent of delicious food seemed to hang permanently in the air.
I stood near the entrance for a moment, watching my pack enjoy themselves.
Arielle had done it.
She had taken my simple idea for a pack celebration and turned it into something extraordinary.
The room looked magnificent.
Crystal chandeliers glittered above us, reflecting the warm golden lights that had been strung across the ceiling. The tables were covered with elegant decorations, flowers and candles, while the enormous banquet stretched almost the entire length of the room.
And, of course, there was the chocolate fountain.
I glanced toward Sam.
He was standing beside it with a plate piled high with chocolate-covered strawberries.
I shook my head.
Somehow, the man who had complained about the fountain for the last two hours had become one of its biggest supporters.
I smiled to myself.
Everywhere I looked, members of my pack were smiling.
Couples were dancing in the centre of the room.
Friends were gathered around the tables, talking and laughing.
Children were running around until their parents called them back.
Even some of our older pack members had joined the dancing.
This was exactly what I had wanted.
A night where everyone could forget their responsibilities.
A night where we could simply enjoy being together.
My eyes searched the room.
I found Arielle almost immediately.
She was standing with Tori near one of the tables, laughing at something Tori had said.
My chest tightened with affection.
My mate.
My beautiful Arielle.
Four years.
Four years since the Moon Goddess had given her to me.
Four years since I had first felt the bond between us.
Four years since I had known without a doubt that she was the woman I was meant to spend my life with.
There was no one else.
There never could be.
Arielle was my future.
My home.
My everything.
“Alpha.”
I turned as one of my warriors approached.
“The Golden Fern Pack has arrived.”
I nodded.
“Good.”
I glanced toward Arielle.
She hadn’t noticed yet.
I’d let her know they were here once I’d greeted their Alpha.
I walked toward the entrance just as the ballroom doors opened.
Several members of the Golden Fern Pack entered.
At the front was their Alpha.
Carlos.
I had met him a handful of times before, though we’d never had much reason to interact beyond pack business.
He spotted me and smiled.
“Alpha Joss.”
“Alpha Carlos.”
We clasped forearms.
“I’m glad you could make it.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it.”
Carlos looked around the ballroom.
“You weren’t exaggerating when you told me your mate had planned something special.”
I laughed.
“No. She wasn’t going to settle for anything ordinary.”
“I can see that.”
His gaze travelled across the room.
“Your pack looks like they’re enjoying themselves.”
“They are.”
“And I can understand why.”
We both laughed.
For several minutes, we stood talking about the party, our packs and the possibility of strengthening the relationship between Ice Lake and Golden Fern.
Everything was normal.
Everything was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
One second, I was listening to Carlos talk.
The next…
I froze.
A scent hit me.
Sweet.
Warm.
Intoxicating.
It wrapped around me so suddenly that I forgot how to breathe.
My wolf exploded to life inside my head.
Mate.
My entire body went rigid.
No.
It couldn’t be.
I looked around the room.
The scent was everywhere.
Stronger than anything I had ever experienced.
It was pulling at something deep inside me.
Demanding that I find the source.
My heart began pounding.
My palms became clammy.
My wolf was practically clawing at my insides.
Our mate.
I shook my head.
“No.”
Carlos stopped talking.
“Joss?”
I barely heard him.
I couldn’t understand what was happening.
I already had a mate.
Arielle.
The woman I loved.
The woman I had chosen.
The woman the Moon Goddess had given me.
There was no way I could have another.
But my wolf didn’t care.
Mate.
The scent became stronger.
I slowly turned my head.
And then I saw her.
She was standing several feet away, talking to one of the Golden Fern pack members.
A young woman.
I didn’t know her.
I’d never seen her before.
Yet the moment my eyes landed on her, something inside me snapped into place.
The bond hit me with such force that I almost stumbled.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
My wolf howled.
There she is.
My mouth went dry.
The woman looked up.
Our eyes met.
And the world seemed to disappear.
Everything around me became distant.
The music.
The laughter.
The conversations.
None of it mattered anymore.
All I could see was her.
All I could smell was her.
All I could feel was the impossible pull between us.
My second mate.
The words echoed through my mind.
My second mate.
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t think.
I couldn’t breathe.
Then, somewhere behind me, I heard a familiar laugh.
Arielle.
My mate.
My first mate.
The woman I had promised my life to.
My stomach twisted.
I looked toward her.
She was still laughing with Tori, completely unaware of what had just happened.
She looked happy.
She looked beautiful.
She looked at home.
And then I looked back at my second mate.
She was still staring at me.
Confusion crossed her face.
She didn’t understand it either.
Neither did I.
How could this be happening?
How could the Moon Goddess give me another mate when I already had one?
My wolf gave me the only answer it cared about.
Who cares? She is ours.
I clenched my fists.
“No.”
The word barely escaped my lips.
Carlos looked at me strangely.
“What did you say?”
I couldn’t answer him.
Because in that moment, I knew one thing with absolute certainty.
My life had just changed forever.
And the woman I loved was only a few steps away from discovering why.
I looked at Arielle again.
She smiled.
She had no idea.
No idea that the man she believed belonged completely to her had just found another mate.
And as my second mate slowly began walking toward me, I realized with growing horror that there was no way to stop what was coming.
Because the moment our eyes had met…
The bond had already been sealed.
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