Chapter Two — Kade
884 Words
“The moment I saw her, I knew I’d never survive her.”
She smelled like wildfire.
Not the sweet kind. The kind that scorched earth and swallowed forests. The kind that changed everything.
The second Aria crossed into my territory, I felt it.
The bond.
It slammed into my chest like a blade, sharp and ancient, twisting through every bone and nerve. For five years, she’d been a ghost—a whisper in the woods. And now, she was here, in my forest, burning brighter than the goddamn moon.
She shouldn’t have been here.
Not now.
Not when everything was already falling apart.
I found her near the southern ridge, standing like a storm wrapped in a human body—curves, rage, and eyes that saw too much. My wolf clawed at my skin the second I saw her. Mine. Mine. Mine.
But she wasn’t.
She couldn’t be.
My mate was supposed to be Lira Vale. A safe match. A political alliance. A locked-in future that kept my pack alive.
Aria?
She was chaos wrapped in temptation.
And yet, the bond didn’t lie.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I told her.
Her voice was sharp. “Why do you think?”
And when she said it—the bond—I wanted to deny it. Wanted to pretend it was a mistake, a hallucination, a trick of the moon.
But it wasn’t.
We stood close. Too close. The moment her scent hit me full force, my restraint snapped like twigs under my boots. The wolf inside me went silent—reverent. The bond didn’t just recognize her. It worshipped her.
And when she whispered “Reject me,” it nearly broke me.
I should’ve said the words. Should’ve spared us both.
Instead, I kissed her.
Gods, I kissed her like I was dying. Like she was oxygen. Like she belonged under me, around me, against me.
And when I pulled away, I hated myself for it.
Because the moment our lips parted, the scent of rage slammed into the clearing.
Lira.
She moved fast—silver and fury. Her claws were out before I could stop her. I shifted without thinking, my body tearing in two as my wolf exploded forward. Massive. Protective. Territorial.
I met her mid-air, snarling, throwing her down before she could touch Aria.
I didn’t want this fight.
But Lira did.
She came for blood. Not just Aria’s—mine.
We clashed hard. She was fast, vicious. But I was stronger. I held back. She didn’t. And when her claws sliced across my shoulder, I let her.
I let her.
Because if I’d really fought her, she’d be in pieces.
Then Aria’s voice cut through the chaos.
“Stop!”
And everything did.
Her presence was magnetic. My wolf froze. My body stilled. Lira’s rage hit a wall of silence.
Aria was standing there, breathless, bleeding, furious—and still managing to look like a goddess bathed in moonlight.
I shifted back, blood dripping down my chest. “Go,” I told Lira.
She didn’t move at first. Then she looked between us and realized the truth.
She’d already lost me.
She just didn’t know how long ago it had happened.
She disappeared into the trees.
I stood there, staring at the girl who’d ruined my world twice in one lifetime.
“You kissed me,” she said.
I nodded. There was no use pretending.
“And now your fiancée wants to kill me.”
Another nod.
Her voice dropped. “What’s your plan, Alpha? Hide me? Claim me? Reject me?”
I didn’t answer.
Because none of those options fit.
She didn’t fit in my life.
And yet… she was the bond. My true mate. My moonbound.
“Come with me,” I said.
Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
I turned. “Because I need to figure out what you are… and why the bond didn’t kill me.”
⸻
Later, at the estate…
The second we stepped inside the Blackfang mansion, tension coiled in the air like fog. The pack wolves could smell her. Their Alpha had brought home an omega with fire in her scent and rebellion in her stride.
The mate bond pulsed between us. My blood itched with it. I was fighting not to touch her, not to claim her in front of everyone watching.
Every time she brushed against me, my self-control cracked.
She didn’t even realize what she was doing to me.
I led her to the upper level—my quarters, where no one else could touch her. I opened the door and forced my voice to stay neutral.
“You’ll stay here tonight.”
She blinked. “You’re letting me sleep in your bed?”
“You’ll take the bed. I’ll be on the balcony. Guarding the door.”
“Protecting me, or protecting them from me?”
I met her gaze. “Both.”
Because the bond was dangerous. So was she. And so was I.
I turned and walked out before I did something stupid—like drag her into the sheets and let instinct win.
But I could still feel her in the room. Her scent on my skin. Her fire in my blood.
And the worst part?
I didn’t want to fight it anymore.
- Writer
