The night air was heavy with the scent of the forest, damp after a summer rain. I had only lingered near the clearing to keep an eye on the pack’s young wolves. Those experiencing their first shift tonight were full of energy—and just as likely to lose control.

And then she stepped out of the shadows.

Mona.

At first, I only caught her shape in the moonlight, her green eyes wide, her breath uneven. And then it happened.

A jolt. No sound, no warning—just that pull, like an invisible chain snapping into place around my heart, yanking it toward her with brutal force. My throat went dry. My wolf roared inside me, wild and demanding. Mate.

I clenched my hands into fists. No. Not her. Of all people, not her. The delicate girl who barely seemed old enough to grasp this world, let alone carry the weight of standing at my side. But the bond did not lie. Every breath she took burned in my lungs, every heartbeat echoed inside my chest.

She stumbled a step closer, her gaze locking on mine, and I saw it in her eyes: she felt it too. That recognition, that inescapable pull between us. For her, it was new, overwhelming. For me… it was a punch to the gut.

My wolf wanted her. To pull her against me, to protect her, to never let her go. But my mind fought it with every ounce of will I had. Isla had been safe. Familiar. Comfortable. A life without risk, without demands I couldn’t meet. With her, there was no fire, no threat of being consumed.

Mona was different. She was everything I had denied myself: empathy, tenderness, the possibility of feeling. And that was the danger. Because feelings meant weakness, and weakness was something I could never afford.

“Alpha…” she whispered, and the bond twisted tighter, branding itself into me.

I forced my expression to stay cold. “You know what this means.” My voice came out low, rough, almost a warning. “But don’t think it changes anything.”