LIMERENCE

Chapter One

ONE: A SCENT THAT SCREAMS MATE

“I’ve smelled it again!”

Amelia turned sharply to face her friend, who was trying discreetly to fix her hair using the screen of her phone.

“What? The sage? I told you they’d burn it all day long here. You really should have taken your inhaler because of your allergies, or better still, you shouldn’t have come.”

“No, Nikki!” Amelia snapped, but the scent was already fading. “I smelled my mate again.”

Nikki almost dropped her phone as she turned to stare at Amelia, her eyes widening with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. “Really? Here? Amelia, what are the odds that you’ll find your mate when you’re over at a debate in enemy territory?”

“Ahhh… maybe he’s one of us?” Amelia offered, but even she did not believe that.

The atmosphere suddenly grew serious. They were in enemy territory, about to debate with Woodville diplomats that cutting them off from their trading route was counterproductive, and yet, the two ladies in their early twenties felt no fear. But at the thought of being mated to someone from the enemy pack…

“You’ll have to reject him, you know?” Nikki voiced what had already crossed her friend’s mind, but Amelia wasn’t ready for that conversation.

“I need to use the bathroom,” Amelia murmured instead, getting up.

All her life, she had lived to please—first her father, and then her entire pack. Her life had never really been her own. As the only child of the Hyde Pack Alpha and the future Alpha, she’d done every single thing for her pack. But now… now, Amelia wanted something for herself.

Her mate.

She knew she would have to reject him, and yet, her heart longed to be with him.

She should find an empty bathroom to sit in and collect her thoughts, but instead, Amelia found herself wandering further into the Woodville Alpha residence, pushing into the library, her mind lost in thought.

The debate had been her idea. Her father had thought it useless, especially since the more humane Alpha of Woodville was dead, and his ruthless son had taken over. What was the new Alpha Romanov like?

The paintings on the wall drew her, and she stepped closer to stare into those dark eyes—eyes that belonged to the Romanov bloodline.

The second-to-last Alpha had had his portrait taken when he was already in his late fifties or early sixties. He looked considerate, kind, a worthy opponent. Next to him, the new Alpha, Tristan, looked…

“People say I’m as different from my father in character as we are alike in looks.”

Amelia spun around, her cheeks flushing as she found herself face-to-face with Alpha Tristan. “I—I…”

All at once, the ever-elusive scent that had haunted her engulfed her. Musk, pine, leather, and that sheer male essence that screamed mate.

Unable to speak, she took several steps back until her back hit a shelf.

“Don’t spoil it now,” he chided, waving off her awkwardness like it was a mere distraction. “You’ve already dared to wander into my private living quarters and stare at my father’s picture like it was an artifact in a museum. Go on, please, be bold enough to tell me what you think.”

“About you?” she asked, her voice a mere whisper. Why was her pulse racing and her heart beating in mismatched patterns?

Alpha Tristan seemed amused. “About the painting you were looking at.”

She swallowed, turning slightly to look at it again. “I think your father looks like a good man—kind, considerate…”

His lips curved up in a wicked smile. “So then, if I’m opposite in character, you know I’m ruthless, heartless… A bad man, mate.”

He said the last word so softly, it was a mere whisper—an ominous threat. Without thinking, Amelia turned to run.

He caught her easily, and his laughter was kind when he turned her around so she was facing him.

“Not so quick, mate. I’ve searched for you for almost a decade now. Don’t you think I deserve the chance to meet you properly?”

“Hmmm?” she murmured, unable to think. Her breath caught as she struggled against emotions she could not name.

Tristan was still smiling when he buried his head in her hair. “You smell of lavender and roses and… Hyde Pack. You’re the enemy, then? Are you frightened because I’m your enemy or because I’m your mate?”

“Both,” she whispered. He was drawing little circles on her back, and Amelia couldn’t stop the slight trembling that ran over her entire body. “I c-can’t be with you.”

Alpha Tristan turned her face up to his, taking in the wide-eyed innocence, the sheer desire in her heart-shaped face. Her nostrils flared, and she bit down on her lower lip until he feared it would start bleeding.

His own face was expressionless as he finally gave in to the desire to taste her lips.

Amelia moaned, pressing harder against him. “You’re my enemy,” she whispered, but it came out breathy, like an endearment, a lover’s caress.

“Hmmm? All’s fair in love and war, is it not?” Tristan asked before deepening the kiss.

Kissing her, touching her felt so easy, so right. Her body melted where it met his. His turned to steel until his wolf was roaring in his ears, demanding—possess, protect, take.

The moan that tore through her throat sounded more like a sob. No. All was not fair in love and war, Amelia thought with a new niggling fear. She could play the cold game of diplomacy all right when it came to pack affairs, but not with her mate. Definitely not with her heart.

With a low cry, she tore away from him, putting some distance between them before she whipped around to look at him.

He’d said he’d searched for her for almost a decade. She’d waited for him for four years, since she’d turned eighteen. And now…

Now, she’d seen how cruel the Moon’s pairing was because she knew.

This man could like her, could be fond of her even, but he would never love her. His pack would always come first.

“I, Amelia Stone, daughter of Alpha Ehli of Hyde Pack, reject you, Alpha Tristan Romanov, as my mate,” she choked out, her heart breaking with every word.

Tristan paused, and then his lips curved in the most wicked smile.

“Ah, but I was hoping you would say that. Our bond, you see, is fated. It’s stronger than any rejection……”