OPPOSITE WORLDS

CHAPTER ONE

ALLEGRA’S POV

No. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Out of everyone in this pack—hell, out of everyone in the world—why does he have to be my mate?

I pace back and forth in Sicana’s bedroom, my hands trembling as I try to process the cruel joke the Moon Goddess just played on me. Kace Bianchi. The same Kace who has tormented me for as long as I can remember. The same Kace who never let a day go by without making my life miserable.

“I mean, there are literally hundreds of people in this pack,” I rant, my voice rising with frustration. “And he is my mate? That doesn’t even make sense!” I whip around to face Sicana, who watches me with a mix of amusement and sympathy.

Sicana, my best friend and Kace’s younger sister, sighs and closes her bedroom door, sealing us in. “Look, I get it, okay? This isn’t ideal. But it’s not like you can do anything about it. The mate bond is unbreakable.”

I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest. “Oh, I can’t do anything about it? Watch me.”

She shakes her head, flopping onto her bed. “Allegra, I know my brother can be… difficult.”

“Difficult?” I nearly choke. “Try insufferable. Arrogant. A complete and utter ass.”

Sicana bites her lip, as if trying to suppress a laugh. “Okay, fine. He’s not exactly a saint, but on the brighter side… you’d get the best of both worlds.” She flashes me a teasing grin. “Not only would you be the future Luna, but we’d also officially be sisters.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Oh yeah? You think that’s a selling point? Because I’d rather throw myself into a pit of rogues than be tied to your brother for the rest of my life.”

Sicana’s face softens. “You don’t have to accept him right away, Allegra. But rejecting him? That’s not something you can just do without consequences.”

I swallow hard, knowing she’s right. The mate bond isn’t just some silly fairy tale. It’s real, raw, and unbreakable without immense suffering on both sides. But the idea of being bonded to Kace—to love him? To be his Luna?

I shake my head, a storm of emotions brewing inside me. “There is no way in hell I’m accepting him as my mate. I’d rather die than be a part of his world.”

But even as I say the words, a shiver runs down my spine. Because deep down, a small, terrifying part of me wonders…

What if I don’t have a choice?

Sicana’s words hang in the air, thick and heavy.

Kace will find out soon.

And when he does, what will he do? Laugh in my face? Use it against me like he’s used everything else? Or worse—what if he actually wants this? What if he wants me as his mate?

The thought alone makes my stomach churn.

“I need to get out of here,” I mutter, raking a hand through my hair. “I need to think.”

Sicana watches me carefully. “Allegra…”

But I don’t let her finish. I grab my hoodie from the back of her chair, pull it over my head, and storm toward the door. I don’t even know where I’m going—anywhere but here. Anywhere but near him.

I make it halfway down the hall before I feel it.

The shift in the air.

The weight of someone’s presence.

Then, the scent.

Cedarwood and smoke. Familiar. Infuriatingly familiar.

I freeze. My heartbeat slams against my ribs, but I refuse to turn around. I don’t need to—I already know who’s standing there.

A low chuckle sends a shiver down my spine. “Running already, little wolf?”

His voice is smooth, confident. Mocking. Just like it’s always been.

I squeeze my eyes shut. No, no, no. Not now. Not yet.

I take a breath, force my shoulders back, and slowly turn.

Kace Bianchi leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, a smirk tugging at his lips. He looks as effortlessly perfect as always—messy dark hair, sharp features, piercing silver eyes that gleam with something unreadable.

But there’s something different about him now.

Or maybe it’s just that I know something different.

The bond hums between us, invisible but there, like a cord tying me to him. My wolf stirs at the sight of him, but I shove her back down. Not now. Not ever.

I school my features into a glare. “Move.”

He raises an eyebrow, amused. “No ‘congratulations’? No ‘thank you, Moon Goddess, for giving me the best possible mate’?”

My blood boils. I clench my fists so hard my nails bite into my palms. “Over my dead body.”

His smirk widens. “Careful what you wish for, Luna.”

My breath catches.

No.

He knows.

I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but he knows.

I take a step back. “Stay away from me, Kace.”

His expression darkens, the playful glint in his eyes flickering into something deeper. “You really think that’s an option?”

I open my mouth, ready to tell him exactly where he can shove his arrogance, but I don’t get the chance.

Because in a blur of movement, he’s suddenly right there—towering over me, close enough that the heat of his body seeps into mine.

I barely have time to react before he leans in, his breath ghosting over my ear.

“You can fight it all you want, Allegra,” he murmurs, voice low, dangerous. “But you’re mine.”

My pulse spikes. My breath stutters.

And for the first time since this nightmare began…

I realize just how real this is.

KACE’S POV

I knew the second I saw her.

The second she walked down that damn hallway, head held high, her scent hitting me like a punch to the gut.

Vanilla and wildflowers. Soft and sweet, but with an edge—just like her.

Allegra Madden.

My mate.

The Moon Goddess must have a twisted sense of humor.

Out of every she-wolf in this pack, her? The girl who’s hated me since we were kids? The girl I spent years pushing, teasing, testing—half because I enjoyed it, half because I didn’t know how else to get her attention?

I smirk, watching her stiffen beneath my gaze. She won’t look at me, but I can feel it—the way the bond pulls at her, the way her wolf stirs just like mine.

She doesn’t want this.

Well, too bad.

Because I’m not letting her go.

“Running already, little wolf?” I say, my voice laced with amusement.

She freezes. Her whole body tenses, but she doesn’t turn around.

For a second, I let myself look at her—not just look, but see.

She’s changed since we were kids. The roundness of her face is gone, replaced by sharper angles. Her hair is longer, her body stronger, trained. But she still has the same fire in her eyes, the same stubborn tilt of her chin.

And now she’s mine.

She finally turns, glaring up at me with all the fury in the world. “Move.”

I tilt my head, crossing my arms over my chest. “No ‘congratulations’? No ‘thank you, Moon Goddess, for giving me the best possible mate’?”

Her hands ball into fists. She’s mad.

Good.

Because that means she feels it.

“Over my dead body,” she spits.

I chuckle, leaning casually against the wall. “Careful what you wish for, Luna.”

Her breath hitches.

There it is.

The moment it clicks. The realization.

She knows I know.

She takes a step back, and for some reason, that pisses me off.

“Stay away from me, Kace.”

Like hell.

I push off the wall, moving faster than she expects. I don’t touch her, but I’m close enough to see her throat bob as she swallows, close enough to hear the sharp inhale of breath she takes.

She’s trying to fight it.

But she can’t.

Not any more than I can.

I lean in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. “You can fight it all you want, Allegra,” I murmur, my voice dropping lower. “But you’re mine.”

She shudders.

She hates that she reacts.

I love that she reacts.

But before I can push her further, she snaps out of it. She jerks back, eyes blazing.

“I will never be yours,” she growls.

I just smirk.

“Then you better start running, little wolf.”

Because this game we’ve played for years?

It’s only just begun.