The white-golden wolf

A Chance Encounter

The scent stayed with me after I left Richard Blackwood's office. I could still smell it as I walked back toward my desk, even though there was no reason for it to have followed me. Rain, pine, and cold mountain air. I couldn't explain why it seemed familiar. I'd never been to Shadowfang territory, at least not that I could remember.

My fingers found the silver pendant beneath my blouse. It was cool against my skin, but when I touched it, I felt a little warmth pass through the metal.

"Clarissa?"

She didn't answer.

"Clarissa?"

"I'm here."

She sounded distracted.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

That wasn't reassuring.

I rested my hand against the wall and took another breath. The scent was still there.

"You can smell it too?"

"Yes."

"And you don't know what it is?"

"No."

Before I could ask anything else, Sarah came hurrying toward me.

"You look pale."

"I'm fine."

"You keep saying that."

"I know."

"One day I'm going to believe you."

I smiled. "I'll let you know when that happens."

She laughed.

"Was Richard difficult?"

"No."

"Did he give you more work?"

"No."

"Did you delete something important and now you're planning to leave the country?"

I stared at her. "That's oddly specific."

"I like to be prepared."

I laughed, and she smiled.

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

"I know."

Sarah had become one of my closest friends since I'd started working at Blackwood Industries. She knew when I was tired, when I hadn't eaten properly, and when I was pretending everything was fine. What she didn't know was why.

I'd never told her about Clarissa or the pack I'd grown up in. She knew I'd lost my parents, but I'd never given her the details. Some things were easier to keep to myself.

Before I could answer, the elevator doors opened.

Three men stepped out, and people around us immediately became more careful. Conversations quieted, a few employees straightened in their chairs, and the receptionist looked up from her desk.

The first man was broad-shouldered, with sandy-blond hair and an easy smile. The second was older, probably in his late forties, with dark hair going grey at the temples and a thin scar beneath his jaw. He wasn't smiling, and his attention moved around the office as if he were quietly taking everything in.

The man between them was the one I couldn't stop looking at.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a charcoal suit. His dark hair was slightly untidy, and his grey-blue eyes moved across the room with a calmness that made everyone else seem more aware of him.

I knew he was an Alpha before anyone said it.

Then I caught his scent.

Rain, pine, and mountain air.

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

"Lara," Clarissa said.

"What?"

She didn't answer.

The man kept walking toward us, and the feeling inside me grew stronger.

"Clarissa?"

"Oh."

"What?"

She sounded stunned.

"He's our mate."

I stared at her.

"No."

"Yes."

"Clarissa."

"Our mate."

I'd heard stories about mates all my life, but I'd never expected to find mine. After losing my parents, I'd had other things to worry about. The idea of someone being chosen specifically for me had always seemed like something that happened to other people.

Apparently, I was wrong.

"You're serious?"

"Completely."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

Before I could say anything else, the man looked directly at me.

Our eyes met, and for a moment I forgot about everyone around us. There was a slight change in his expression too, as though he'd felt the same thing.

Richard came out of his office.

"Alpha Kael."

Kael turned toward him, and I finally had a name.

Sarah leaned closer.

"Do you know who that is?"

I shook my head.

"That's Kael Nightshade. The Shadowfang Alpha."

I'd heard of Shadowfang. Everyone had.

"Great," I muttered.

Sarah looked amused. "That's all?"

"What am I supposed to say?"

She glanced at Kael.

"He's ridiculously attractive."

"Is that important?"

"Very."

Clarissa agreed immediately.

"I like her."

"You like anyone who agrees with you."

"That's not true."

"It is."

"Fine. Maybe."

I turned back toward my desk before either of them could continue.

The afternoon passed slowly. Kael and the other Shadowfang wolves stayed in Richard's office, and I kept noticing the closed door without meaning to.

"Three hours and seventeen minutes," Clarissa said.

I checked the clock.

"Why are you keeping track?"

"I was curious."

"You've been counting."

"Maybe."

"He could leave without saying goodbye."

"I know."

"You'd be disappointed."

"I wouldn't."

She laughed. "You don't even believe yourself."

I tried to ignore her and get back to work, but I kept wondering what Kael was like when he wasn't surrounded by his pack. He hadn't behaved like the Alphas I'd known. He didn't need to remind anyone that he was powerful. Everyone already knew.

By five o'clock, most of the office had emptied.

Sarah stopped beside my desk with her jacket on.

"You're still here?"

"So are you."

"I'm leaving."

She pointed at my computer. "You should try it."

"I am."

"You said that yesterday."

"And eventually I left."

"At seven-thirty."

"Still counts."

She laughed, then looked at me more seriously.

"And Lara?"

I looked up.

"Are you actually okay?"

I thought about telling her everything, but I wasn't ready.

"I'm just tired."

She knew I wasn't telling her the whole truth, but she let it go.

"Get some sleep tonight."

"I'll try."

"That's not reassuring."

"It's the best I've got."

She smiled.

"See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

I finished the last things on my desk and shut down my computer. Richard's door was still closed. I wondered if Kael was still inside, then decided it wasn't my business.

I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs.

The parking garage was quiet, and the cool air coming in from outside felt good after being inside all day. I found my car and started looking for my keys.

For a few minutes, I felt almost normal again. Maybe I'd made too much of everything. The nightmare had left me unsettled, and that could explain why I'd noticed things that weren't there. The figure near the trees could have been the mist. The pendant warming against my skin could have been nothing.

I was still thinking about it when the wind changed.

Kael's scent reached me again.

"Mate," Clarissa said.

"I know."

Footsteps sounded behind me.

I turned and found Kael walking toward me. He'd removed his jacket and was carrying it over one arm, his tie loose and the top button of his shirt undone. He looked less formal than he had upstairs, which somehow made him easier to look at.

"I hope I didn't startle you."

"I wasn't expecting anyone."

"You looked surprised."

"I was."

He stopped a few metres away.

"I don't think we've actually been introduced properly."

"Lara."

"Lara," he repeated.

Something about the way he said my name made me suddenly conscious of him.

"I'm Kael Nightshade."

"I know."

"So you've heard of me."

"A little."

"Should I be worried about what you've heard?"

"That depends on which stories are true."

He smiled.

"Now I'm curious."

"Probably safer if you stay that way."

"That bad?"

"Mostly impressive."

"Mostly?"

"I like leaving room for disappointment."

He laughed. "I'll take mostly."

I smiled too.

After a moment, he asked, "Do you work directly for Richard?"

"Richard?"

His eyebrow lifted.

I corrected myself. "Alpha Blackwood."

His smile grew.

"Please continue."

"You're enjoying this."

"A little."

"I work in administration. Richard doesn't insist on titles inside the company."

"How long have you worked here?"

"Almost four years."

"And before that?"

The question brought back memories I didn't want to think about. Fire, smoke, and my father's voice telling me to run.

"Somewhere else."

Kael noticed the change, but he didn't ask me to explain.

"I see."

I appreciated that.

Before we could continue, an elderly man stumbled near one of the concrete pillars. His grocery bags fell, and one split open, sending apples across the floor.

"Sir!"

I hurried over, and Kael reached him almost at the same time.

I knelt beside the man.

"Can you hear me?"

"I'm dizzy."

"Don't try to get up."

Kael called emergency services and gave them our location while I stayed with the man.

"What's your name?"

"George."

"Okay, George. Just stay with us."

When Kael finished the call, he gathered the apples.

"My groceries," George said.

"I'll get them."

Kael put the apples back into the remaining bag and stayed beside him until the ambulance arrived.

The paramedics checked George and helped him inside. Before they closed the doors, he reached for my hand.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"You don't have to thank us."

George looked at Kael.

"Take care of each other."

I didn't know what to say.

Kael answered instead.

"We will."

I looked at him once the ambulance had gone.

"You didn't have to say that."

"Would you rather I argued with an elderly man?"

"You could've said nothing."

"I could have."

"But you didn't."

"No."

I smiled despite myself.

Kael looked at me.

"I'm glad we finally got a chance to talk."

"Me too."

"I'll be here for several days."

"I heard."

He hesitated.

"Would you have coffee with me tomorrow?"

Clarissa answered before I could.

*Yes.*

I ignored her.

"Coffee?"

"If you'd like."

I considered it. I barely knew him, and knowing he was my mate made a simple invitation feel like something much bigger.

Still, he hadn't pressured me.

"I'd like that."

His expression relaxed.

"Good."

He took out his phone.

"Can I have your number?"

I gave it to him, and my phone buzzed a moment later.

His name appeared on the screen.

Kael Nightshade.

This morning, I hadn't even known he existed. Now his number was in my phone.

"Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Tomorrow."

"I'll message you."

He put his phone away, but before leaving, he became serious again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Have you noticed anything unusual lately?"

I watched him carefully.

"What kind of unusual?"

"Anything that made you feel as though someone was watching you."

My thoughts went straight to the figure near the trees.

"Why?"

"I thought I caught a scent."

"What kind?"

"I don't know."

I'd heard that answer too many times that day.

"Probably nothing," he said.

Neither of us sounded convinced.

"Drive safely, Lara."

"You too."

I watched him walk away before getting into my car.

My phone buzzed while I was putting my bag on the passenger seat.

It was a message from Kael.

*It was nice talking to you. I'll send you the details for tomorrow.*

I read it twice before putting my phone away.

"You like him," Clarissa said.

"I barely know him."

"That wasn't an answer."

I smiled and started the car.

For five years, I'd worked hard to build a quiet life. Mary and Kevin had given me a home after I'd lost my family, and I'd found a job I liked and people I trusted. I didn't have much, but I was happy with the life I'd made.

Then Kael appeared, my pendant started behaving strangely, and I'd spent most of the day feeling as though someone was watching me.

As I drove out of the garage, I glanced into the rear-view mirror.

A dark car was parked farther down the street.

I looked again a few seconds later.

It was gone.