The silence between us was unbearable.
It crackled louder than a storm, thick with things unsaid, memories buried, and pain that hadn't healed. My breath hitched as the man who shared the same blood as my ex—stood just a few inches away—watched me like I was some kind of ghost he wasn't ready to face.
"Why are you here?" I asked again, softer this time, my voice cracking like thin ice.
Kael's eyes never left mine. "You know why."
I didn't. Or maybe I did, and I just didn't want to admit it. Because it made no sense. After everything—after what his brother did to me, after the pack's silent judgment and my quiet exile—Kael was the last person I expected to see again. Especially not in this remote mountain village, far from the Silverfang territory.
"You shouldn't be here," I whispered.
Kael took a slow step forward. "Neither should you. Yet here we are."
There was something different about him. The wild, barely restrained energy radiating from him wasn't the same as before. It wasn't just his scent, which was more potent than I remembered—it was something deeper. Something primal. Unsettling.
He tilted his head slightly, sniffing the air.
And froze.
I noticed the exact moment his body tensed. His pupils dilated, and he inhaled again—this time deeper. I stepped back instinctively, my heart thudding wildly.
"You're... not marked." His voice was low, confused.
"No." My answer came too quickly.
His gaze darkened, clouded by an emotion I couldn't place. "Then why do you smell like"
Kael stopped himself, but the damage was done. He'd noticed it, the scent.
The one I'd tried so hard to suppress with masking oils and distance. The one that only an Alpha blood could detect so quickly.
His brows furrowed. "You smell like... like me."
I shook my head in denial. "That's not possible."
"It is," he growled, suddenly fierce. "I'd know my own scent. You carry it."
"No, Kael. Don't start this," I warned, my voice shaking. "Don't go there."
But he stepped closer anyway, the air around him pulsing with restrained dominance. His canines peeked slightly from under his lip. I felt my wolf stir beneath my skin—restless, confused. Drawn.
"I rejected your brother," I blurted, desperate to ground myself in reason. "I left that life. You of all people should understand."
"I do." His voice was softer now. "But I never imagined the Moon Goddess would be this cruel."
Kael's eyes flickered gold.
And in that moment, everything shattered.
Because the mate bond between two werewolves wasn't subtle. Not to those involved. It was an invisible thread—tugging, pulling, binding. Unseen but impossible to ignore. And now, it had awakened.
Right here
With him.
With Kael.
My ex's brother.
I backed away, almost stumbling over the uneven floor. "No. No, no, no. This isn't happening."
He didn't follow, but his voice pursued me. "You can feel it too, can't you? Don't lie to yourself, Elara."
"Don't call me that," I snapped, the name sounding too soft from his lips. Too intimate.
But he smirked.
That same half-smile that once made girls swoon back in the academy. But now, it looked different. Hardened. Tainted by years of war, exile, and secrets.
"You always hated your full name," he murmured, eyes gleaming. "But I like saying it. It reminds me that you're real."
"Don't," I said, my voice nearly a plea.
I wasn't ready. I'd come here to escape the past. To build a quiet life far from the chaos of pack politics and blood oaths. I didn't need another Alpha in my world. Especially not him.
"Why now?" I whispered. "Why here?"
Kael didn't answer right away. He glanced around the cabin like he was mapping it—memorizing everything. Then his eyes landed on my half-packed bag sitting by the fireplace.
"You're running again," he noted.
"You don't know that."
He arched a brow. "I know you, Elara. You disappear when things get hard. But you can't outrun this."
My fists clenched. "What do you want from me?"
He stepped forward again, slower this time, like he didn't want to spook me. "I came to warn you."
"Warn me?"
"There's something out there. Something dark. A rogue pack is hunting female wolves of pure descent. You match their profile. I tracked them as far as this region before I caught your scent... and then everything changed."
His words sent a chill down my spine.
A rogue pack? Hunting women like me?
I was many things—stubborn, hurt, independent—but I wasn't foolish. I knew rogue wolves were more dangerous when they worked together. Organized rogues meant someone was leading them. Someone with a purpose.
"You came all this way to protect me?" I asked, still suspicious.
"No," he replied honestly. "I didn't know you were here. I followed their trail. But now that I've found you... I won't let them touch you."
His tone was final.
Protective.
Possessive.
Like a true mate.
I hated how part of me warmed at the promise.
"I don't want a mate," I muttered, barely able to meet his eyes.
"Too bad," Kael said, his voice velvet and steel. "Fate doesn't care what we want."
And deep down, we both knew he was right.
The bond had chosen. Again. And this time, it was far more dangerous.