Chapter Two
1255 Words
CHLOE’S POV
The packhouse’s grand hall was already buzzing by the time we arrived. Soft golden light filtered through the chandeliers, bouncing off crystals and polished wood. Wolves from all ranks and ages filled the space. Some laughing, some dancing, others standing in corners with drinks and secrets in their eyes.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen this many people gathered, smiling like their world hasn’t crumbled. For a split second, I forget I’m a refugee, forget the weight pressing down on my chest. For the first time since I lost everything, it almost feels like I’m back on Earth whole and alive.
“Chloe!” Lily grabs my hand, spinning me around so fast I stumble. “You look incredible! Oh my goddness!, if you don’t find your mate tonight, I’ll swear off the Moon Goddess myself.”
I glanced down at the deep green dress we salvaged from the donations. It hugs my waist and flares out slightly at my hips. I feel like an imposter in it, but I manage a smile. “Thanks, Lils. You look hot enough to melt the ice on the northern ridge.”
Lily laughs, elbowing me. “That’s the plan girl.”
Her eyes dart around the room like a radar locked on one target. She’s more excited about tonight than I am, but I don’t blame her. She’s been my rock, my spark in the shadows. Tonight, she deserves something good.
“Speaking of hot,” she whispers, suddenly breathless. “Beta Mark, over there at the fireplace. Oh my goddess.”
I followed her gaze.
That’s when I saw him.
Not Mark, though I do spot him, tall, broad-shouldered, laughing with someone near the fireplace. But my eyes snug on the man standing just behind him leaning against the stone hearth like he owns the room, yet strangely apart from it.
Mr. Charming!.
My breath catches. His midnight hair falls just enough over his brow to make me wonder if he styles it that way, or if the wind did it for him. His sharp jawline tenses slightly when he lifts a drink to his lips, and the amber firelight dances across his features like it’s trying to seduce him.
He looks… distant, alone and ntouchable.
But then,
Lily gasps. “Beta Mark’s coming over. Chloe…Chloe breathe.”
I barely register her words. My eyes are locked on the man beside the fire.
Mark strides right up, his presence impossible to ignore, but his focus is solely on Lily. “Hey,” he says, voice warm and smooth. “You’re Lily, right?”
“I…uh…yeah,” she stammers. “That’s me.”
“I’m Mark.”
“I know,” she blurts, then blushes furiously. “I mean, I’ve heard about you. Beta Mark.”
He chuckles, brushing a thumb across her hand. “You don’t have to call me Beta. Just Mark’s fine… mate.”
My eyes widen.
Did he just call her mate?
Lily’s mouth opens, then closes, and then she stares at him like she’s waiting for the sky to fall. Her cheeks go crimson.
“I thought I’d be single forever,” Mark says lowly, leaning toward her. “Thank the Goddess you were just in another pack.”
The air stills, time seems to freeze for a heartbeat.
He means it.
He’s found his mate.
I’m stunned. But happy…really happy for her. Lily deserves this.
They walk away together, hands brushing like magnets before finally locking. Just before they disappear into the corridor, I hear Lily laugh. It was so free and bright, like I haven’t heard in months.
I smile faintly. “Lucky girl.”
My chest tightens.
I won’t be that lucky.
I swallow against the ache. My mate… if he even existed… he’s gone. Lost in the m******e that stole my parents, my home, my everything. I try to believe otherwise, try to listen when Lily says I still have hope, but deep down, it’s just a quiet, dying wish.
I glance toward the fireplace.
Mr Charming is still there, still alone.
He’s watching me now.
Our eyes meets and something shifts.
It’s not a lightning bolt or an earthquake. It’s quieter than that. A whisper under my skin and a breath in my blood.
And then…
“It’s him,” my wolf murmurs inside me, her voice soft, reverent. “I think it’s him.”
My heart stutters.
He straightens from the fireplace and starts walking toward me.
Oh Moon.
I try to look away, to act like I’m not staring, but I’m rooted to the floor. My pulse races.
“Hi,” he says, stopping a respectable distance from me. His voice is deep and smooth like velvet and smoke.
“Hi,” I reply, barely managing to keep my voice from cracking.
“I’m Marcus,” he says, offering his hand. “Alpha of the Dark Woods pack.”
Alpha!
My spine stiffens slightly. Of course he’s the Alpha.
“I’m Chloe,” I say, shaking his hand. His touch is warm and firm but not overbearing.
He nods. “I figured. You arrived with the refugees three weeks ago.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “We’ve been… settling.”
His gaze is intense, but not harsh. He’s studying, like he’s trying to see more than what’s on the surface.
“I saw you earlier,” he admits. “In the corner.”
“I noticed.”
He smiles faintly, lips twitching. “You looked like you wanted to be anywhere but here.”
I shrug. “It’s… complicated.”
He doesn’t press. Just tilts his head slightly. “Are you finding your way in the pack?”
“I’m trying,” I answer honestly. “It’s… different.”
“I imagine it is.” He replied
Silence settles between us, but it’s not uncomfortable. It hums alive with questions neither of us are ready to ask.
“You looked happy for your friend,” he says softly. “When she left with Mark.”
“I was,” I reply. “She deserves to find her mate.”
“You don’t think you will?”
My eyes flick up to his.
“I used to,” I say. “Not so much anymore.”
“Why not?”
I stare at him for a moment. “Because I think he’s already dead.”
His brows draw together slightly. “I’m sorry.”
I nod. “It’s fine. Life moves on.”
“Sometimes,” he says, voice lower now, “the Goddess surprises us.”
My breath hitches.
“It’s him,” my wolf says again, firmer this time. “I can feel it.”
I feel it too. That invisible pull. The soft call echoing between us. But my fear is louder.
I can’t say it. Not tonight, not yet.
Marcus glances over his shoulder as someone calls his name. “I should go,” he says. “But I’m glad I met you, Chloe.”
“Me too,” I whisper before I can stop myself.
He walks away slowly, like he doesn’t really want to.
My wolf is practically pacing now.
“Say something,” she pleads. “He could be the one.”
But I just stand there watching his back and holding my breath.
The full moon is high now, silver and silent.
And for the first time in a long while, I feel like maybe… just maybe… the Goddess hasn’t given up on me.
- Writer
