The white-golden wolf

A Chance Encounter

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur.

I answered emails.

Reviewed reports.

Organised tomorrow's meeting schedule.

Then reorganised it because apparently I had scheduled Richard for two meetings at the same time.

Anything to keep my mind occupied.

It didn't work.

Every few minutes, my attention drifted towards the executive offices.

The doors remained closed.

Kael and the other Shadowfang wolves had been inside with Richard for nearly three hours.

Not that I was keeping track.

"Three hours and seventeen minutes," Clarissa supplied.

I stopped typing.

"Why do you know that?"

"I have an excellent sense of time."

"You absolutely do not."

"Fine. I've been counting."

"That's worse."

She ignored me.

"He's still here."

"I noticed."

"Obviously."

I resumed typing.

Or tried to.

"And you're pretending not to care."

"I don't care."

"Liar."

"I don't know him."

"Exactly."

I frowned at my computer screen.

"How does that support your argument?"

"Because you want to know him."

My fingers stopped over the keyboard.

"...Maybe."

Clarissa laughed softly.

"I knew it."

I leaned back in my chair and glanced towards Richard's office again.

The door was still closed.

I hated admitting Clarissa was right.

There was something about Kael that had lodged itself beneath my thoughts.

Yes, the mate bond was part of it.

How could it not be?

But it wasn't only that.

I'd spent years hearing stories about powerful Alphas.

Some ruled through fear.

Others through violence.

A few seemed to believe the title itself made them worthy of respect.

Kael hadn't seemed like any of them.

He'd barely spoken during the short time I'd seen him, yet everyone around him had reacted to his presence.

Not because he demanded it.

Because they recognised something in him.

Strength, perhaps.

Or certainty.

And then there was the way he'd looked at me.

As though I were a question he hadn't expected to find.

My hand drifted towards my pendant.

It had remained cold since the strange moment earlier.

No burning.

No warmth.

Nothing.

Which somehow made me more uneasy.

"You're doing it again," Clarissa said.

"Doing what?"

"Thinking about him."

"I'm thinking about the pendant."

"While looking at his office."

I looked down.

"Coincidence."

"Of course."

I could practically hear her smirking.

Having another consciousness permanently sharing my head had disadvantages.

Mostly that I could never lie to myself in peace.

By five o'clock, the office had begun to empty.

The constant ringing of phones faded.

Computers shut down one after another.

Employees gathered coats and bags, discussing dinner plans, children who needed collecting and weekend errands they'd been putting off.

Normal things.

Ordinary things.

Things I suddenly found myself envying.

Sarah appeared beside my desk already wearing her jacket.

"You're still here."

"So are you."

"Yes, but I'm leaving."

She pointed towards my computer.

"You should try it sometime."

"I'm going."

"That's what you said yesterday."

"And eventually I did."

"At seven-thirty."

"Still counts."

She shook her head.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Unless I decide to disappear into the mountains."

Sarah grinned.

"If you do, text me first."

"I'll try to remember."

"And Lara?"

I looked up.

She hesitated.

For once, the teasing disappeared from her expression.

"Are you actually okay?"

The question caught me off guard.

I could have told her about the nightmare.

The strange presence.

The pendant.

Kael.

The impossible certainty inside me that my carefully constructed life had shifted somehow in the space of a single day.

Instead, I smiled.

"Just tired."

Sarah studied me.

I knew she didn't believe me.

Thankfully, she didn't push.

"Get some sleep tonight."

"I'll try."

"That's not reassuring."

"It's the best you're getting."

She laughed and waved as she headed towards the elevators.

"Tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow."

The elevator doors closed behind her.

Silence slowly settled over the floor.

I waited another fifteen minutes before shutting down my computer.

Richard's office door was still closed.

I told myself I wasn't disappointed.

Clarissa wisely said nothing.

I collected my bag and headed towards the lifts.

The underground parking garage was quieter than usual.

My heels clicked against the concrete as I crossed towards my car.

The evening air drifting in through the open sides of the structure was cool against my skin.

Beyond the building, clouds moved across the setting sun, painting the sky in shades of gold and violet.

For the first time all day, I took a slow breath.

Nothing happened.

No strange burning from my pendant.

No mysterious presence.

No ominous howls.

No absurdly attractive Alpha staring across an office at me.

Just quiet.

Maybe Clarissa had been wrong.

Maybe everything had only felt unusual because of the unexpected visitors.

Maybe the thing we'd sensed earlier had been another wolf passing nearby.

Maybe my pendant was simply old silver warming against my skin.

Maybe tomorrow everything would return to normal.

"You don't believe that."

I sighed.

"No."

"Neither do I."

I reached into my bag for my car keys.

That was when the wind changed.

A cool gust swept through the garage.

And with it came a scent I already knew far too well.

Fresh rain.

Ancient pine.

Wild mountain air.

My entire body reacted before my mind caught up.

I froze.

Clarissa instantly became alert.

"Mate."

"Please don't start."

"I only said one word."

"One very distracting word."

Footsteps echoed across the concrete behind me.

Slow.

Measured.

Confident.

I turned.

Kael Nightshade stood several metres away.

He had removed his suit jacket and carried it over one arm. His tie had been loosened slightly, the top button of his shirt undone.

It should have made him appear less intimidating.

It didn't.

If anything, without the immaculate formality of the meeting upstairs, he seemed more like what he truly was.

An Alpha.

His gaze met mine.

And for a second, neither of us moved.

Something flickered behind his eyes.

His wolf.

I felt Clarissa respond instantly.

Warmth unfurled through my chest.

Not fear.

Not exactly attraction either.

Recognition.

Deep and instinctive.

Kael stopped a respectful distance away.

"I hope I didn't startle you."

His voice was gentler than I'd expected.

I shook my head.

"No."

"You almost jumped out of your shoes," Clarissa said.

"Quiet."

"Terrible liar."

Kael's mouth twitched.

I narrowed my eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're smiling."

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"Then perhaps I don't believe you."

"About what?"

"Not being startled."

I stared at him.

Clarissa laughed.

"I like him."

"You're easily impressed."

"Only by handsome Alphas."

I ignored her.

Kael shifted his jacket to his other arm.

"I don't believe we've actually been introduced."

"Lara."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"Lara."

He repeated my name slowly.

Not flirtatiously.

Almost thoughtfully.

As though committing it to memory.

Something about the way he said it made my stomach flutter.

"I'm Kael Nightshade."

"I know."

One corner of his mouth lifted.

"So my reputation arrived before I did."

"A little."

"Should I be concerned?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"Which stories are true."

That earned me a real smile.

It changed his entire face.

The intimidating Alpha vanished for half a second, replaced by a man who suddenly looked younger.

"Now I'm curious," he said.

"Probably safer not to be."

"That bad?"

"Mostly impressive."

"Mostly?"

I shrugged.

"I like leaving room for disappointment."

Kael laughed quietly.

"I'll take mostly."

The tension between us eased.

Not completely.

Something still hummed beneath the surface.

Something neither of us seemed willing to name.

Kael studied me for a moment.

"Do you work directly for Alpha Blackwood?"

"Richard?"

His eyebrow lifted.

I realised my mistake.

Most wolves didn't casually refer to their Alpha by his first name.

"I mean—"

"No." Kael's amusement deepened. "Please continue."

I frowned.

"You're enjoying this."

"A little."

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

"Interesting."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You keep saying that."

"So do you."

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it.

Clarissa practically howled with laughter.

"I definitely like him."

Traitor.

Kael's expression softened.

"Have you worked here long?"

"Almost four years."

"And before that?"

The question was innocent.

My reaction wasn't.

My shoulders tightened.

Images flashed through my mind.

Fire.

Blood.

Smoke.

Run, Little Moon.

I looked away.

"Somewhere else."

Kael went still.

He noticed.

Of course he noticed.

But instead of asking another question, he simply nodded.

"I see."

No pressure.

No demand for an explanation.

I looked back at him.

Something inside me relaxed.

Only slightly.

But enough.

Then a faint sound broke the silence.

A groan.

Kael's head snapped towards the stairwell.

I turned.

An elderly man staggered beside one of the concrete pillars.

Two grocery bags slipped from his hands.

One split open when it struck the ground.

Apples rolled across the concrete.

Then the man collapsed.

"Sir!"

I dropped my bag and ran.

Kael reached him almost at the same time.

I knelt beside the man.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

His eyelids fluttered.

"I... I'm dizzy."

"Don't try to stand."

Kael was already pulling out his phone.

"I'll call emergency services."

I nodded.

The man's breathing was fast but steady.

"Do you know where you are?"

He swallowed.

"Parking garage."

"Good. What's your name?"

"George."

"Okay, George. Just stay with me."

Kael spoke calmly into the phone, giving the location and describing what had happened.

No panic.

No hesitation.

When he finished, he crouched beside us.

"They're on their way."

George attempted to move.

Kael immediately placed a steady hand near his shoulder.

"Easy."

"My groceries..."

"I've got them."

"It's all over the floor."

"They're apples," Kael said. "They'll survive."

George gave a weak laugh.

Good.

Laughing was good.

Kael removed his folded jacket and, after checking with George, positioned it carefully behind him for support.

I watched him.

This man was an Alpha.

One of the most powerful in the region, if Sarah was to be believed.

His suit probably cost more than my monthly rent.

And he was kneeling on a dirty parking-garage floor gathering an elderly stranger's groceries without the slightest concern for appearances.

No audience.

No pack members watching.

Nothing to gain.

It was simply who he was.

Something shifted inside my chest.

Clarissa felt it too.

She didn't tease me this time.

"He's kind."

"Yes."

"I knew the Goddess wouldn't give us someone awful."

"Your confidence in divine matchmaking is impressive."

"I've had years to think about it."

I glanced at Kael.

He was placing George's groceries back into the surviving bag.

"Apparently."

Sirens sounded faintly outside.

George looked between us.

"Your husband seems like a good man."

I nearly choked.

"My—"

Kael looked up.

There was unmistakable amusement in his eyes.

"We're not married," I said quickly.

George frowned.

"No?"

"No."

"Ah."

He looked between us again.

"Could've fooled me."

Heat flooded my face.

Clarissa was delighted.

"I love George."

"Of course you do."

Kael wisely said nothing.

But I saw the smile he was trying to hide.

"Don't."

"I haven't said anything."

"You were going to."

His eyebrow rose.

"Interesting."

"What?"

"That's exactly what my Beta said to someone earlier."

I didn't understand what he meant.

Before I could ask, the ambulance arrived.

The paramedics assured us George appeared stable but needed to be checked at the hospital.

Kael helped carry the groceries towards the ambulance while I retrieved my bag.

George caught my hand before the paramedic closed the doors.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"You don't need to thank us."

His eyes moved towards Kael.

"Take care of each other."

I didn't know what to say to that.

Kael did.

"We will."

My head snapped towards him.

He looked completely innocent.

The doors closed.

The ambulance pulled away.

I folded my arms.

"We will?"

Kael looked at me.

"Would you rather I argue with a sick elderly man?"

"You could have said nothing."

"I could have."

"But you didn't."

"No."

A smile threatened.

I fought it.

Lost.

Kael smiled too.

For a few seconds, we simply stood there.

The garage suddenly felt very quiet.

Different from before.

More intimate somehow.

Kael glanced towards the fading light outside.

"I'm glad we met under better circumstances than a boardroom."

"Technically, we met in an office."

"You're very particular."

"I've been told."

"I believe it."

I smiled.

"So do I."

His expression became more serious.

"I'll be in town for several days."

"I heard."

"News travels quickly around here."

"You walked into an office full of wolves as an unfamiliar Alpha. You were the news."

"Fair enough."

He hesitated.

For the first time since meeting him, Kael Nightshade looked almost uncertain.

It was strangely endearing.

"If you're willing..."

He met my eyes.

"...perhaps we could continue this conversation over coffee."

My heart skipped.

Clarissa erupted.

"YES."

I nearly winced.

"Could you not shout inside my skull?"

"No."

"Clarissa."

"Say yes."

I looked at Kael.

I barely knew him.

That alone should have made refusing easy.

For five years, I'd avoided complicated relationships.

Avoided questions.

Avoided anything that might force me to explain where I'd come from or why I had no photographs of my childhood displayed in my home.

People became dangerous when they got too close.

Not because they wanted to hurt me.

Because I might bring danger to them.

And Kael wasn't merely a man asking me for coffee.

He was my mate.

Whatever that meant for the life I'd spent years building.

Yet standing there, looking into those grey-blue eyes, I didn't feel trapped.

I didn't feel pressured.

Strangely...

I felt safe.

"I'd like that."

Something changed in Kael's expression.

Relief.

Brief, but unmistakable.

"Good."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Would you be comfortable giving me your number?"

The fact that he asked rather than assumed made my answer easier.

"Yes."

We exchanged numbers.

My phone buzzed almost immediately.

Kael Nightshade.

I stared at the name.

This morning he hadn't existed in my life.

Now his number was in my phone.

Fate worked quickly when it wanted to ruin someone's carefully organised existence.

Clarissa huffed.

"Very romantic."

"I'm overwhelmed."

Kael slipped his phone away.

"Tomorrow?"

"Coffee?"

"Unless you've changed your mind in the last fifteen seconds."

"Not yet."

"Encouraging."

I laughed.

"Coffee first."

"And then?"

"We'll negotiate the rest later."

His eyes sparkled with amusement.

"I think I'd like that."

He took a step backwards.

"Drive safely, Lara."

"You too."

He turned away.

Then stopped.

"Lara?"

"Yes?"

He looked at me over his shoulder.

For a moment, the warmth disappeared from his expression.

His Alpha instincts returned.

Sharp.

Watchful.

"Has anything unusual happened around you recently?"

My blood ran cold.

The nightmare.

The shadow near the trees.

The howl.

The presence in the office.

The pendant burning against my chest.

I forced my face to remain neutral.

"What do you mean?"

Kael watched me.

"Anything that made you feel as though you were being watched."

Clarissa went silent.

I tightened my grip on my bag.

"Why?"

His gaze moved towards the darker end of the garage.

"I thought I caught a scent."

"What kind?"

"I don't know."

Those words again.

I'd heard them too many times today.

"Probably nothing," he said.

Neither of us believed that.

Kael looked at me once more.

"Goodnight, Lara."

"Goodnight."

I watched him walk away.

Only when he disappeared around the corner did I breathe normally again.

"Clarissa?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still think meeting him wasn't an accident?"

"No."

I frowned.

"No?"

"I know it wasn't."

At the far end of the parking garage, darkness concealed a black sedan.

Its engine was off.

Its windows were tinted.

Inside, a man slowly lowered a pair of binoculars.

He had watched everything.

The conversation.

The old man's collapse.

The exchange of phone numbers.

Most importantly, he'd watched the way Kael Nightshade looked at Lara.

Recognition.

Possession wasn't there yet.

But protection was.

That complicated things.

He pulled out his phone.

The call connected after a single ring.

"They've met."

Silence answered him.

Then a cold voice spoke.

"Are you certain?"

"I'm looking at her now."

"And Nightshade?"

"Mate bond, from the look of it."

A pause.

Longer this time.

The man glanced towards Lara.

She stood beside her car, staring at her phone.

Completely unaware.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," the voice said.

"No."

"Does she remember?"

"I don't think so."

"Don't think?"

The man's jaw tightened.

"No. She doesn't remember."

"And the pendant?"

"Still wearing it."

Silence.

The temperature inside the car seemed to drop despite the warm evening.

"Then we still have time."

The watcher looked towards the place where Kael had disappeared.

"Nightshade could become a problem."

"Do not engage him."

"He'll protect her."

"Then make sure he doesn't learn what she is."

The man looked back towards Lara.

"What if she learns first?"

The answer came without hesitation.

"She won't."

A chill travelled down his spine.

Five years had passed.

Five years of searching.

Five years of dead ends and false sightings.

And now, completely by chance, Lara had walked directly into their reach.

Or perhaps it hadn't been chance at all.

"We've waited five years," the voice continued.

"We're not losing her again."

The call ended.

The man started the engine.

At that exact moment, Lara suddenly turned.

Her gaze swept towards the shadows.

The watcher froze.

For one impossible second, it felt as though she were looking directly at him.

Then she frowned and turned away.

The man released a slow breath.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

He shifted the car into gear.

The black sedan slipped silently from the garage and disappeared into the evening traffic.

I stood beside my car.

A strange chill prickled across the back of my neck.

"Lara?"

I stared towards the far end of the garage.

Empty.

At least, it looked empty.

"Did you feel that?"

Clarissa was silent.

Then—

"Yes."

My hand moved towards the pendant beneath my blouse.

Cold silver met my fingertips.

Nothing else happened.

No heat.

No warning.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been there.

Watching.

I climbed into my car and locked the doors.

My phone buzzed.

For one ridiculous second, my heart jumped.

I looked down.

A message from Kael.

I enjoyed meeting you properly. I'll send you the coffee details tomorrow.

A smile appeared before I could stop it.

Clarissa practically sighed.

"Mate."

I rolled my eyes.

But this time...

I didn't tell her to stop.

Five years ago, my life had ended in fire.

Since then, I'd done everything possible to make myself invisible.

Quiet.

Ordinary.

Safe.

Today, an Alpha had walked into my life and looked at me as though I were anything but ordinary.

And somewhere in the shadows, someone else had looked at me too.

The difference was simple.

One had found me.

The other had been hunting me.