Rowan’s POV
I stared down at him, his long lashes casting faint shadows across his flushed cheeks. My wolf paced inside me, restless, snarling, the word repeating like a drumbeat in my skull. Mate. Mate. Mate.
It didn’t make sense. None of it did. Ash was a boy. Same gender bonds were rare, almost mythical, whispered about in old pack legends but never seen in living memory.
And even if they existed, where was the bond? I felt nothing pull between us, no golden thread snapping into place, no sudden rush of knowing.
My wolf recognized him, called to him with desperate certainty, but Ash didn’t react. Not even a flicker. He didn’t scent me as mate, didn’t lean in, didn’t show any sign that the same wildfire burned in his blood. If he felt anything at all, he hid it so well I might as w
