Page 18 of Fated
He wasn’t prepared for this, for the storm that was about to hit him. The morning with Ava felt like a distant dream now, replaced by a reality he’d spent years trying to avoid.
Kai’s muscles locked, body rebelling against itself as Orion pushed toward their mate while his human half retreated. He took a hesitant step back. He couldn’t let fate win—not after fighting so hard against it.
“Father,” Kai said, but the older alpha barely glanced at him, still engaged in conversation with another leader. “I’ll be right back,” Kai muttered, voice strained as he tried to hold back the growing panic.
Orion was frantic, clawing against the edges of his control, urging him to go to her.“She’s our mate, Kai. She’sours!”
With a deep breath, Kai forced himself to move, but his legs betrayed him with a step towards her scent instead of the exit. His body was drawn to her—to his mate—even as his mind screamed to turn the other way, to escape before she might recognize him, might realize who he was.
Too late.
LENA
Lena stood at the entrance of the banquet hall, excitement thrumming through her veins. She’d been wavering between anxiety and anticipation for weeks, preparing herself for the politics, the alliances, the dance of power between packs. Tonight felt different. There was a palpable charge in the air, something more fundamental than pack politics.
And then she felt it.
That unmistakable pull, drawing her toward something she couldn’t see but knew was there. Everything inside her stilled. She could smell him—her mate.
It was a familiar, intoxicating scent. Orange and nutmeg—warm with a touch of spice, like the smell of winter mornings and sweet treats baking in the oven. But it wasn’t just a fragrance. It was the feeling that came with it. The way it made her body hum in anticipation, like a piece of her was waking up from a long sleep.
Elara thrashed beneath Lena’s skin, claws scraping along the inside of her veins as she surged toward the surface.“He’s here.”
The instinct was immediate, urgent, and absolute. All her earlier fears about leaving Moonshadow, about losing her place, faded against the certainty of this moment.
Lena drew in a breath to speak to Cian, but he was already watching her with that intuitive awareness only twins possessed. “Go, Lena.” His knowing smile matched his warm, understanding tone. “Find him.”
Lena’s pulse quickened as she nodded, barely able to contain the excitement bubbling up inside her. She stepped further into the banquet hall, each step drawing her closer to that tantalizing scent of orange and nutmeg. Her spine straightened, each vertebra stacking with a confidence that spread through her limbs like liquid fire—a surety more profound than any she’d found in training sessions, pack meetings, or even running wild beneath the moon.
As Lena moved through the crowd, her anticipation only grew. She could feel Elara’s elation, raw energy pulsing in her chest like a second heartbeat. The primal knowing made her blood run hot.Thisis what she’d spent years waiting for. What the elders spoke of when they told stories of Selene’s greatest gift to Her children.
Lena’s pulse raced as she scanned the room, eyes darting from face to face.
And then she saw him.
He stood tall and imposing, broad shoulders radiating a quiet power that drew her in like a magnet. Her gaze locked onto his, and for a moment, the room melted away.
His piercing green eyes burned with an intensity that left her breathless. Fitted gray pants hugged powerful thighs, his tailored navy jacket highlighting the chiseled planes visible through his V-neck shirt.
Lena felt the heat of his brooding stare like a physical touch, sending shivers down her spine and a flood of warmth to her core. His presence dominated the room, even as he stood motionless, trying to fade into the shadows. The air around him vibrated with power, making her instincts scream to submit,to bare her throat and present herself to him in a deep, surrendering arch.
She sucked in a breath.
“Him.”
The pull was instant, undeniable, but it wasn’t just physical attraction. There was something else in the air—a power, a charge she hadn’t expected. Selene Herself seemed present, Her divine energy woven into the very bond drawing Lena forward.
“Mate.”
His energy rippled as though his wolf—his soul—was already beginning to recognize hers.
Elara gave a soft whine of approval.“Hurry, Lena. He’s waiting for us.”
Without thinking, Lena’s feet moved of their own accord. Her heart pounded, the rhythm growing more insistent with every breath. The energy in the room vibrated with anticipation, her cells humming with the promise of connection.
Sheneededto touch him. Everything else—the summit, the politics, even her fears about leaving Moonshadow—was background noise against the symphony of their bond flaring to life.
KAI
