The white-golden wolf

The Stranger

The scent lingered long after I left Richard Blackwood's office.

Fresh rain.

Ancient pine.

Wild mountain air.

It wrapped itself around my senses like a forgotten melody, stirring memories I couldn't quite reach.

I slowed in the hallway outside the executive suite.

Something about it felt familiar.

Not familiar in the way a place or person could be familiar.

Deeper than that.

Instinctive.

As if some buried part of me recognised it even though my mind did not.

My fingers drifted unconsciously towards the silver pendant beneath my blouse.

The moment I touched it, a strange warmth pulsed against my fingertips.

I froze.

"Clarissa?"

No answer.

"Clarissa?"

"I'm here."

Her voice sounded distracted.

That was unusual.

My wolf was rarely anything but opinionated.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

Not exactly reassuring.

I pressed a hand against the cool wall and drew in a slow breath.

The scent was stronger here.

Rain.

Pine.

Something wild.

Something that made my heart beat faster for reasons I couldn't explain.

"Lara?"

I jumped.

Sarah hurried towards me, concern etched across her face.

"You look pale."

"I'm fine."

She stopped in front of me and folded her arms.

"You keep saying that."

"I know."

"One of these days, I'm going to believe you."

I managed a faint smile.

"I'll work on it."

Sarah studied me for another moment.

She'd become one of my closest friends at Blackwood Industries, which unfortunately meant she'd also become annoyingly good at recognising when I was lying.

"Was Richard difficult?"

"No."

"Did he give you more work?"

"No."

"Did you accidentally delete something important and are currently planning to flee the country?"

I stared at her.

"Oddly specific."

"I like to prepare for every possibility."

Despite myself, I laughed.

"I'm fine, Sarah. Really."

Her expression softened.

"You know you can tell me if something's wrong."

Guilt pinched at my chest.

Sarah knew almost nothing about the world I came from.

To her, I was simply Lara—the quiet woman who worked too much, drank too much coffee and occasionally stared into space as if she'd forgotten where she was.

She didn't know about Clarissa.

She didn't know about packs.

Or Alphas.

Or the blood-soaked memories that still woke me at night.

And she certainly didn't know about the strange warning I'd felt that morning.

I preferred it that way.

The fewer people who knew about my past, the safer everyone remained.

At least, that was what I had always believed.

Before I could reply, the elevator doors opened with a soft chime.

The effect was immediate.

Conversation throughout the floor faded.

Employees straightened in their seats.

Someone hurriedly minimised something on their computer.

A receptionist nearly dropped the stack of files she was carrying.

Even Sarah instinctively stepped aside.

I frowned.

"What?"

She didn't answer.

Three men stepped from the elevator.

The first was broad-shouldered, with sandy-blond hair and an easy grin that suggested he found life endlessly amusing. His expensive suit couldn't quite hide the relaxed confidence of someone who could handle himself perfectly well in a fight.

The second man was older.

Perhaps in his late forties.

His dark hair was threaded with grey at the temples, and a thin scar disappeared beneath his jaw. Unlike his companion, he wasn't smiling.

His gaze moved across the room with the practised alertness of someone who noticed every entrance, every exit and every potential threat.

A soldier.

My instincts recognised that immediately.

But it was the man walking between them who made everything else disappear.

Tall.

Powerful.

Controlled.

He wore a charcoal suit tailored with effortless precision, but there was something almost unnatural about seeing him dressed for an office.

He belonged beneath an open sky.

Among mountains and forests.

Somewhere wild.

His dark hair framed a face that was calm rather than severe, and his grey-blue eyes swept across the office with quiet confidence.

He didn't demand attention.

He simply commanded it.

Every wolf on the floor instinctively knew what he was before anyone said his name.

Alpha.

Power rolled from him without effort.

Not the suffocating kind I'd experienced around Alphas desperate to prove their strength.

His was different.

Contained.

Disciplined.

More dangerous because of it.

Then the scent struck me.

Rain.

Pine.

Mountains.

My breath caught.

It was him.

The scent I'd noticed outside Richard's office.

The scent that had somehow settled beneath my skin.

My heartbeat stumbled.

Then raced.

"Lara..."

Clarissa's voice was barely a whisper.

I swallowed.

"What?"

She didn't answer.

The stranger continued forwards.

Each step brought him closer.

And with each step, something inside me pulled tighter.

"Clarissa?"

"Oh."

That was all she said.

"Oh?"

My wolf was silent for another heartbeat.

Then—

"It's him."

My stomach dropped.

"What do you mean, it's him?"

"I..."

Clarissa sounded stunned.

For perhaps the first time in our lives, she seemed genuinely speechless.

Then warmth spread through my chest.

Not mine.

Hers.

Joy.

Recognition.

Longing.

"But that's our mate."

Everything stopped.

I stared at the stranger.

Mate?

No.

No, that couldn't be right.

"Clarissa."

"Our mate."

"Stop."

"Our mate."

"Clarissa!"

"What? I'm excited!"

"This isn't funny."

"I'm not joking."

That was the problem.

I could feel her certainty.

Wolves didn't mistake the mate bond.

Not like this.

The Moon Goddess supposedly created a perfect counterpart for every wolf. Someone whose soul answered yours in a way no ordinary bond ever could.

I'd stopped believing mine existed years ago.

After everything that happened, mates and destiny had seemed like stories meant for people whose lives hadn't burned to ashes.

I'd convinced myself the Moon Goddess had simply overlooked me.

Or perhaps she'd decided I'd already survived enough complications.

Apparently, she disagreed.

Because now, in the middle of an office on an otherwise ordinary morning, my wolf was practically vibrating beneath my skin.

"He smells wonderful."

"Clarissa."

"What?"

"Please have some dignity."

"I am a wolf."

"That isn't an excuse."

"It absolutely is."

I would have laughed if I weren't busy trying to remember how breathing worked.

Then the stranger stopped.

His head turned.

Slowly.

His eyes found mine.

The world vanished.

The ringing phones.

The tapping keyboards.

The quiet conversations.

Sarah standing beside me.

All of it disappeared.

There was only him.

Grey-blue eyes locked onto mine.

Something shifted in his expression.

Recognition.

Not simple attraction.

Not curiosity.

Recognition.

As though he had spent years searching for something without knowing what it was—

and had finally found it.

My pulse thundered in my ears.

Something warm spread beneath my blouse.

The pendant.

Again.

I nearly reached for it.

Then his eyes narrowed slightly.

Could he sense it too?

A strange pressure gathered in the air between us.

Clarissa moved closer to the surface.

His wolf was there.

I could feel him.

Powerful.

Restless.

Watching us.

"He's looking at us," Clarissa whispered.

"I noticed."

"He likes us."

"You cannot possibly know that."

"I can feel his wolf."

"So can I."

"And?"

"And I would very much like to disappear."

Clarissa sounded horrified.

"Absolutely not."

Someone called across the room.

"Alpha Kael."

The connection snapped.

I inhaled sharply.

He turned.

Richard Blackwood had stepped from his office.

He crossed the floor with the easy confidence of an Alpha on his own territory, though even he seemed more formal than usual.

The two men clasped forearms in greeting.

"Welcome," Richard said. "It's good to see you again."

"The pleasure is mine," the stranger replied.

Kael.

His voice was deep, calm and measured.

Not loud.

Not forceful.

Yet every word carried quiet authority.

Something about hearing his voice made Clarissa stir again.

"Oh, that's unfair."

I almost groaned.

"What now?"

"Even his voice is attractive."

"Please stop talking."

"Never."

Sarah leaned closer.

"Do you know who that is?"

I forced myself to look away.

"No."

Her eyebrows shot upwards.

"You really don't?"

"Should I?"

"That's Kael Nightshade."

The name meant nothing for half a second.

Then recognition hit.

I looked at him again.

"Nightshade?"

Sarah lowered her voice to an excited whisper.

"The Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack."

"I've heard of Shadowfang."

"Everyone has."

She grinned.

"They're one of the most influential packs in the region."

That was putting it mildly.

Even after withdrawing from pack life, I'd heard the name Shadowfang.

Strong territory.

Old bloodlines.

A reputation for discipline.

And an Alpha very few people were foolish enough to challenge.

Apparently, that Alpha was my mate.

Perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

"He's also ridiculously attractive," Sarah added.

I looked at her.

"Is that relevant?"

"Extremely."

Clarissa agreed immediately.

"I like her."

"You like anyone who agrees with you."

"Correct."

Sarah studied my face.

"Wait."

I didn't like that tone.

"What?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"You're blushing."

"I am not."

"You are."

"It's warm."

She glanced towards the air-conditioning vent directly above us.

"Lara."

"Don't."

A grin spread across her face.

"Oh, this is interesting."

"Nothing is interesting."

"You're terrible at lying."

"I'm actually excellent at it."

"No. You're just quiet enough that people don't normally ask questions."

Unfortunately, she had a point.

I turned towards my desk before she could interrogate me further.

Then, against every sensible instinct I possessed, I looked back.

Kael was already watching me.

Again.

Our eyes met.

Clarissa practically purred.

"Definitely our mate."

"Please stop saying that."

"I'm physically incapable."

This time, Kael's expression changed.

Barely.

The smallest lift of one eyebrow.

As if he somehow knew exactly what was happening inside my head.

I looked away immediately.

Across the room, Kael Nightshade had stopped listening.

Not visibly.

Years of leadership had taught him how to maintain a conversation while his attention was divided.

Richard was discussing territory agreements.

Kael heard the words.

He simply didn't care about them at that moment.

His wolf was pacing.

Restlessly.

Violently.

Mate.

The word had entered his mind the instant he'd stepped from the elevator.

Kael had nearly stopped walking.

He hadn't.

Alphas did not freeze in the middle of another Alpha's territory because their wolf suddenly lost its mind.

But then he'd seen her.

Dark hair.

Blue eyes.

A delicate face that looked calm until one noticed the tension in her shoulders.

She stood near the reception desk beside a blonde woman, staring at him as though she'd forgotten how to move.

Mate.

His wolf said it again.

Kael's jaw tightened.

Impossible.

"Is something wrong?"

Elias had noticed.

Of course he had.

His Beta noticed everything.

Kael didn't answer immediately.

Instead, his gaze returned to the young woman.

There was something else.

Something beneath the unmistakable pull of the mate bond.

Something he couldn't identify.

Her scent was wrong.

No.

Not wrong.

Different.

Layered beneath the softness of her natural scent was something ancient.

Something that stirred an instinct Kael had learned never to ignore.

"I caught an unfamiliar scent," he said quietly.

Elias frowned.

"Another Alpha?"

"No."

"A rogue?"

"No."

"Then what?"

Kael watched the woman return to her desk.

"I don't know."

Elias followed his gaze.

"The woman?"

Kael said nothing.

That was answer enough.

The sandy-haired man standing on Kael's other side noticed too.

A slow grin appeared.

"Oh."

Kael gave him a warning look.

"Don't."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

"I was going to say she seems lovely."

"You don't know her."

"Neither do you, apparently, yet you've been staring at her since we arrived."

Elias sighed.

"Finn."

"What?"

"Try behaving professionally for five minutes."

Finn considered that.

"No."

Kael ignored them both.

His attention remained fixed on the woman.

Something silver briefly appeared near the collar of her blouse.

A chain.

A pendant hidden beneath the fabric.

The moment he saw it, his wolf went completely still.

Kael frowned.

"What is it?" he asked internally.

No response.

That concerned him.

His wolf had never reacted this way to anyone.

Not even during battle.

Not even when challenging his father for leadership of Shadowfang.

Yet one quiet woman in an office had reduced the creature to stunned silence.

Then a single word echoed through him.

Protect.

Kael's expression hardened.

From what?

He didn't know.

And that bothered him more than he cared to admit.

I tried to work.

I genuinely did.

I opened my emails.

Read the first one.

Then read it again.

And again.

By the fourth attempt, I still couldn't have explained what it said.

I typed the wrong date into three documents.

Sent a report to the wrong printer.

Nearly addressed an email to myself.

Finally, Sarah laughed.

"You've officially stopped pretending to work."

I leaned back in my chair.

"I know."

"So..."

"No."

"I haven't asked anything yet."

"You were going to."

"True."

She leaned against the edge of my desk.

"Are you going to tell me why you've spent the last ten minutes staring at our visitors?"

Heat rushed into my cheeks.

"I wasn't staring."

"You absolutely were."

"I was... observing."

Sarah laughed.

"Right."

"I'm naturally observant."

"You walked into the glass conference-room door last Tuesday."

"That happened once."

"Twice."

"The second time doesn't count."

"Why?"

"I was carrying coffee."

She stared at me.

"That explanation makes absolutely no sense."

"I know."

Sarah glanced towards Kael.

"To be fair..."

A knowing smile appeared.

"Half the office has been observing."

I couldn't help laughing.

For a moment, the tension eased.

This was normal.

Work.

Sarah teasing me.

Coffee cooling beside my keyboard.

A stack of reports Richard wanted finished before lunch.

Normal was good.

Normal was safe.

But Clarissa had gone quiet again.

Not sleeping.

Listening.

Waiting.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"You've said that a lot today."

"I don't like it either."

Her unease seeped into me.

I glanced towards Kael.

He was speaking with Richard and the other two men now, his posture relaxed.

Nothing appeared wrong.

Yet the strange pressure beneath my skin hadn't disappeared.

If anything, it had grown stronger.

Then a sharp chill moved down my spine.

I stopped breathing.

There.

For the briefest moment, I felt it.

Not Kael.

Something else.

Cold.

Distant.

Watching.

My fingers tightened around the edge of my desk.

"Lara?"

Sarah's smile vanished.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

Clarissa growled.

Not loudly.

Not playfully.

A deep warning rumbled through my mind.

"Lara."

"What?"

"We're being watched."

My heartbeat accelerated.

"By Kael?"

"No."

That single word turned my blood cold.

I looked towards the windows.

From this height, I could see much of the city below.

Cars moved through the streets.

People crossed pavements.

Everything looked ordinary.

But the sensation remained.

Someone—or something—was there.

Watching.

Waiting.

My pendant suddenly burned against my chest.

I gasped.

"Lara?"

Sarah reached for me.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

I pressed my palm against my blouse.

The heat vanished almost instantly.

What was happening?

First the nightmare.

Then the thing near the boundary.

Now Kael.

And this.

Too much had changed in a single morning.

Clarissa was silent for several seconds.

Then she spoke.

"Lara..."

"What?"

"I don't think meeting him was an accident."

I looked across the office.

Kael had stopped speaking.

His head turned towards the windows.

The exact place I'd been looking.

His expression sharpened.

His Beta noticed immediately.

So did the sandy-haired man.

All three became alert.

My stomach dropped.

Kael had felt it too.

Then his gaze found mine.

This time there was no curiosity in his expression.

No surprise.

Only warning.

A shiver ran through me.

For five years, I'd built a quiet life from the ruins of the one I'd lost.

I had Mary.

Kevin.

Sarah.

A job.

A home.

Safety.

I'd begun to believe the past had finally released me.

I was wrong.

Because somewhere beyond those glass windows, hidden among thousands of ordinary people, something ancient had awakened.

Something that remembered my scent.

Something that had been searching for five years.

And on the same morning fate placed my mate directly in my path...

it found me too.