My Illegal Mate

Chapter 2

The inside of the Alpha house smells like power.

Not in a dramatic way. No lightning bolts or glowing walls. Just layers of wolf scent so thick they almost press against my lungs when I step over the threshold.

Old wood. Pine. Stone warmed by sunlight. And underneath it all - wolves. Strong ones.

My wolf lifts her head cautiously inside me. "Too many."

“I noticed.” I murmur under my breath.

“Hmm?” my mom says beside me.

“Nothing.” I answer quickly.

The entrance hall is enormous, all tall windows and dark beams stretching up toward a ceiling that feels about three stories too high. It’s beautiful, but in the kind of way that makes you stand a little straighter without meaning to.

Alpha territory. Alpha house. Alpha rules.

Alpha Cedric walks ahead of us, confident and relaxed like he was born here - which, obviously, he was. He pauses near a wide staircase and turns back with a warm smile.

“I hope the drive wasn’t too tiring.”

My mom shakes her head. “Not at all. It was peaceful.”

Peaceful is a generous word for the three-hour drive where I silently panicked about my entire future. But I appreciate the optimism.

“Cass?” Cedric asks.

I blink, realizing both of them are looking at me. “Oh-uh. It was fine.”

Smooth, Cass. Very convincing.

Cedric’s smile deepens just slightly, like he can tell I’m overwhelmed but isn’t going to call attention to it. I appreciate that.

Footsteps echo somewhere deeper in the house, and suddenly I’m aware of eyes on us again. Two wolves approach from a side hallway.

The first is a tall man with dark hair streaked with silver at the temples. His posture is straight and controlled, and the scent of authority rolls off him almost as strongly as Cedric’s.

The second man beside him is broader, heavier in muscle, with sharp eyes that settle on me immediately. Judgment.

The kind wolves use when deciding if something belongs in their territory or they want to kill it in instant.

“Rowan.” Cedric says, nodding to the first man. “Victor.”

The silver-streaked man inclines his head respectfully toward my mother.

“Luna Viviane,” he says.

My mom smiles politely. “Viviane is fine for now.”

Victor doesn’t smile. His gaze moves from my mom to me. “And this is Cass. Viviane's daughter.” Cedric adds.

I resist the urge to shift under the weight of his stare. Victor studies me for a moment longer than comfortable.

“We protect our pack carefully here,” he says evenly.

Ah. So we’re starting with subtle threats.

“Good,” I reply before my brain can stop me. “That seems like a useful habit.”

My mom shoots me a quick look. Too late.

Victor’s eyebrow lifts slightly. Rowan, the other man, hides something that might be amusement.

Cedric clears his throat lightly. “Rowan will show you to your rooms.”

Thank Goddess. We moved. The hallways of the Alpha house are quieter than the entrance hall, but the feeling of being watched doesn’t go away.

Rowan walks ahead of us, steady and calm.

“School starts tomorrow,” he says over his shoulder. “Blue Mountain High is about ten minutes from here.”

Great. New school. New pack. New social disaster waiting to happen.

My wolf sighs dramatically. "We could run away."

“Tempting,” I whisper.

My mom bumps my shoulder lightly. “Still talking to yourself?”

“She started it,” I say, pointing vaguely at my chest.

Rowan glances back, clearly hearing us but politely pretending he didn’t. We stop at the end of the hallway.

“Here,” he says, opening a door.

The room is bigger than my bedroom back home. Large windows overlook the forest behind the house, and the afternoon light pours across the wooden floor. The furniture is simple but elegant, everything warm tones and soft textures.

It’s beautiful. It’s also completely unfamiliar.

“This used to be a guest suite,” Rowan explains. “It’s quieter on this side of the house.”

My mom walks in, setting bag down. “It’s lovely,” she says sincerely.

Rowan nods once and leaves us alone. The moment the door closes, I exhale.

“Well,” I say, dropping my backpack onto the bed. “This isn’t intimidating at all.”

My mom laughs softly.

“You’re doing fine.”

“Am I?” I flop backward onto the mattress. “Because I’m pretty sure the Gamma just threatened me.”

“He didn’t threaten you,” she says, sitting beside me.

“He did the wolf version of it.”

“That’s still not the same thing.”

I stare up at the ceiling and I notice a little c***k in the right corner. “Did you see Adrian?”

Her hand pauses briefly on the bedspread.

“Yes.”

“And?”

She hesitates. Which is not reassuring. “Adrian is… adjusting,” she says carefully.

“That’s one word for it.”

My wolf huffs. "He looked at us like we were walking poison."

"Exactly." I replay in my mind this time and sit up.

“Mom. Did you see his eyes?”

She sighs softly. “I did.”

“And that’s not normal, right?”

“No,” she admits. That answer sits heavy in the air between us. “But,” she adds quickly, “Adrian has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. Alpha heirs grow up differently.”

“Sure,” I say. “But usually not with spontaneous eye-glowing and silent hatred.”

She smiles faintly. “Give it time." She stops for a bit, then walks towards me and gives me a kiss in my forehead. "I'll be going to unpack my own things. You should too.” Then she walked away.

Time. Right. I slide off the bed and wander toward the bathroom door.

“Let’s hope time works quickly.”

The bathroom is huge. Apparently Alpha houses believe in excessive counter space. I wash my hands, mostly because I need something normal to do with them. Then I notice something strange. Another door on the opposite wall.

I stare at it wondering where they lead to. To the walk in wardrobe?

No. I could swear I saw closet inside the room.

My wolf perks up. "Open it."

“This is a terrible idea,” I whisper. Which is exactly why I turn the handle. The door swings open easily. And reveals another bedroom. Empty. But definitely lived in.

Dark bedding. A desk with scattered books. A jacket thrown over the chair. Male scent. Strong male scent.

My wolf immediately stiffens. "Him."

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.”

The realization lands all at once. Shared bathroom. Of course. Because the universe clearly decided I didn’t have enough problems today, so why not add another one.

I start to close the door and heading back to my room and then I hear footsteps. Right behind me.

I freeze.

The air shifts instantly. My wolf rises inside me like a startled animal. All things screems: danger.

Slowly, very slowly, I turn around. Adrian is standing in the doorway to the hall. Tall. Still. Watching me.

For a second neither of us speaks.

Being this close to him feels… strange. His scent is stronger here, filling the small space between us. Pine and cold air and something darker underneath.

His eyes flick briefly to the open door between the rooms. Understanding dawns. His jaw tightens.

“Great,” he mutters.

I fold my arms. “Look, I didn’t design the floor plan or knew the room will be next to yours.”

His gaze lifts to mine. And there it is again - that tension. That tight control holding something dangerous just under the surface. His wolf presses forward.

I can feel it. The instinctive weight of it against my own.

Adrian takes one step forward. Then stops abruptly, like he hit an invisible barrier. His hands curl into fists. For a moment he looks almost… angry with himself.

Finally he speaks. Deadly quiet. “You should lock that door.”

I blink.

“What?”

He gestures once toward the door between the rooms.

“Lock it.”

“Why?”

His eyes flash gold for a split second. Then he looks away. His voice drops lower.

“Because my wolf doesn’t trust itself around you.”

And before I can ask what that means - he turns and walks away. Leaving me standing alone in the bathroom with my heart pounding and one very uncomfortable thought settling in my mind.

Whatever Adrian’s problem with me is… it’s definitely not simple hatred.