Moonlight's Dark Secret

Chapter 3

Oh my f*****g god.

If Axel asks me one more time where his mate is, I might actually lose it. My patience is already hanging by a thread, and his panic is pulling harder on that thread than it can bear.

“Stefan, have you heard from Cooper?” His voice buzzes through the mindlink for the twelfth time in the last twenty minutes, each word frayed with worry.

I shove back my chair hard enough that it slams into the wall behind me with a sharp crack. The sound echoes down the hall, and I know the pack members nearby probably froze mid-step, ears pricking.

I storm down the two flights of stairs to the front entrance, each stride heavier than the last, frustration pounding in my veins. When I reach the foyer, there he is—pacing like a caged wolf about to chew through the bars.

Axel’s practically carving grooves into the hardwood floor with his back-and-forth steps. His dirty-blond hair sticks up in every direction from where he’s been yanking at it. His forest-green eyes are flashing dangerously, his wolf so close to the surface that the air around him hums with suppressed power.

“Axel, you need to calm down,” I mutter, forcing my tone into something that sounds steadier than the storm I’m fighting inside. Comfort isn’t my strong suit. But he’s my beta. My best friend. I owe him the effort, even if my attempts at soothing usually feel more like sandpaper than silk.

“He should be back by now,” Axel snaps, his voice sharp enough to cut. His hands clench and unclench as though he’s seconds from tearing his own skin apart. “His last class ended at five. It’s five-forty-five. He’s not answering his phone, and the mindlink is dead silent.”

I grip his shoulder, grounding him with the weight of my hand. His muscles twitch under my palm, hard as stone, like he’s balancing on the razor’s edge of shifting right here in the foyer. “He’s fine. Knowing Cooper, he probably just got distracted—”

The crunch of footsteps on gravel cuts me off. My head snaps toward the door, but the scent hits me first. Familiar. Beloved.

Cooper.

Relief rushes through Axel so fast I almost feel it as my own. His shoulders sag, tension bleeding out of him in a visible wave, his wolf retreating just as the door swings open.

There he is. Backpack slung over one shoulder, coffee cup in hand, curls tumbling into his eyes. He looks casual, relaxed, warm brown eyes shining despite the storm he’s unknowingly walked into.

“Hey, Ax, I missed—ugh!”

He barely gets two words out before Axel yanks him into a bone-crushing embrace. If they weren’t werewolves, Cooper would’ve been flattened into paste against the floorboards.

“Watch the coffee,” Cooper grumbles, though his lips curve into a grin when Axel finally loosens his hold.

“Where were you?” Axel demands immediately, words tumbling out sharp and fast. “I was mind linking you, and—”

“I’m sorry.” Cooper cuts him off, guilt flashing across his expression. “After class I stopped by this little coffee shop... Ken’s. I got to talking with one of the employees about their beans and, well… lost track of time. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Axel doesn’t bother with a verbal reply. Instead, he cups Cooper’s cheek as if reassuring himself he’s real, pressing a desperate kiss to his lips.

I turn away out of respect. Ten seconds later, it’s not respect anymore, it’s survival. Because what started as a quick kiss has turned into a full-on make-out session right there in the doorway. The bond between them hums thick in the air, vibrating through every corner of the room. It’s suffocating and warm all at once, the kind of love that makes you ache for your own.

“Alright, enough, you two. Get a room,” I mutter, swatting at them half-heartedly, though a smirk pulls at the corner of my mouth.

They’re mates. Soulmates. Blessed by the moon goddess herself. Most wolves find their other half at sixteen, the moment they’re ready. Me? I’m twenty-three. Still waiting. Still aching.

At night, I dream of her. Who she is. What she smells like. Whether she’ll love me with the same fierce devotion I already know I’ll pour into her. But dreams are dangerous. Because what if something has already happened to her? What if the goddess decided I wasn’t worthy of her at all?

A life without a mate is no life at all. Just meaningless encounters and hollow nights.

Axel nudges my arm with a grin, his joy palpable, before he takes Cooper’s bag and leads him toward the kitchen. I follow, falling into step as wolves along the way bow their heads slightly, murmuring “Alpha” as they pass. I return each nod. My father drilled that lesson into me years ago: respect given is respect earned. It stuck.

The smell of dinner greets us before we even reach the kitchen—roast venison, wild herbs, fresh bread. My stomach growls, but beneath that hunger something else twists, something older and more primal. It’s been haunting me for weeks now, this feeling, this anticipation, but tonight it sharpens into something near unbearable.

We settle at the long oak table, its surface scarred with the carved initials of restless pups and worn smooth by countless shared meals. I lean back in my chair, watching Axel pull Cooper close, their bond radiant. To distract myself from the envy chewing at my insides, I ask Cooper, “How was your first day of college?”

His eyes light up instantly, excitement spilling across his face like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. He scoots closer, eager to talk, hands gesturing as though words alone can’t hold the weight of his enthusiasm.

But the moment he moves, my entire world shifts.

A scent.

Sweet. Intoxicating. Roses dipped in honey, with something deeper threaded through it. It slams into me like a tidal wave, and my wolf surges forward so violently I nearly lose control. My chest constricts, pupils dilate, breath tearing out of me ragged. My body leans forward before I even register the movement, instinct pulling me toward the source.

It’s not Cooper.

It’s the pen.

The pen tucked neatly into his shirt pocket.

I snatch it without thinking, bringing it to my nose. The fragrance hits again, hard enough to make my entire body vibrate. My mate. The bond sings in my blood like wildfire.

Before reason can catch up, instinct rules me. In a blink, I’ve slammed Cooper against the wall, my hand locked around his throat. My voice comes out low, guttural, more wolf than man. “Where did you get this pen?”

His eyes widen, shock flaring as his hands claw at my wrist, struggling for breath.

“Stefan!” Axel’s roar shakes the walls. He’s on me in an instant, shoving me off with the full force of a beta protecting his mate. His green eyes blaze, his wolf barely contained as he plants himself between us. “What the f**k do you think you’re doing, putting your hands on my mate?”

My fury burns hotter, but it’s not aimed at Cooper. My wolf thrashes, demanding answers, demanding her. I snap back at Axel, voice rough with desperation. “What I want to know is why he has my mate’s scent on him!”

We’re nose-to-nose now, growls rumbling deep in our chests, the room thick with tension. The pack has gone silent around us, every wolf frozen, waiting for the explosion.

“Stop it! Both of you!” Cooper wedges himself between us, chest heaving, eyes darting between us. Despite his rattled breath, his voice holds steady. “Stefan, listen. I don’t know who your mate is exactly, but if that pen smells like her—then I’ve met her.”

Every muscle in me locks. My heart stutters, then races. “Tell me.”

“She’s in my psych class,” Cooper says, careful, measured. “Her pen ran out of ink, so I gave her mine. She gave it back after the lecture. That’s it. That’s the entire interaction.”

“Take me to her.” The words tear out of me like a command, Alpha authority laced through every syllable.

Cooper shakes his head slowly. “Alpha… she’s human.”

The words hit like a blade to the chest.

Not because I wanted her to be a wolf. I don’t give a damn about that. But because she doesn’t know. She can’t possibly understand what mates are, what it means to be chosen by the moon goddess herself.

I clench the pen tighter, inhaling the faint trace of her scent again, grounding myself against the storm raging inside me. Every instinct screams to go to her now, to claim her, to mark her. But I know better. I can’t just walk up to a human stranger and kiss her like a wolf would. She wouldn’t understand. She might run.

Other wolves have had human mates before. Rare, yes, but not impossible. Their stories are etched into pack memory. And they all say the same thing: patience. Persistence. Care.

So I’ll wait.

I’ll find her. I’ll win her over slowly. I’ll play human if I have to.

Because whether she knows it yet or not… she’s mine.