Page 82 of Fated
The wolf preened under her praise, tail swishing behind him in a display that was both regal and endearing. She rubbed behind his ears, eliciting a pleased rumble from deep in his chest that she could feel through her fingertips.
“There’s someone who can’t wait to meet you.” She stepped back as Elara’s presence surged forward, eager and insistent.
Lena let the familiar warmth of the shift wash over her, human form melting into the amber-coated wolf. Bones reshaped with barely a whisper of discomfort, skin yielding to fur in a cascade that felt more like slipping into water than the usual burn of change—her wolf’s eagerness erasing the boundary between forms. She shook herself to full height, her sleek, glowing coat catching the faint light that filtered through the trees.
Orion’s ears perked as Elara padded forward, amber fur glistening like firelight against his darker frame. The two wolves locked eyes, gazes searching, tentative, yet drawn to each other like lodestones finding true north. They inched toward one another, the forest quiet except for soft paw-steps and steady heartbeats.
Orion broke the distance first, nuzzling Elara’s neck. His large frame lowered in submission—a gesture that spoke volumes from such a powerful wolf. Elara purred, golden eyes shining asshe licked the underside of his muzzle. Orion nipped at her ear playfully, massive tail wagging.
A sweet pain radiated through Lena as she witnessed the affection in Orion’s nuzzle and Elara’s delighted purrs. The tender interaction between the wolves was immediate, instinctual, and beautiful. It felt like watching a prophecy unfold, a promise of what could be.
As Orion nuzzled Elara again, Lena felt a pang of longing. This perfect harmony between their wolves only highlighted what remained unresolved between their human selves. Until the claiming rite, their wolves would remain partly unreachable to each other—connected yet separate—just like her and Kai circling one another from opposite ends of their bond.
Elara yipped, as if sensing her melancholy and determined to chase it away. She stepped back and lowered her body in a playful crouch, muscles coiled with anticipation. Her tail wagged as she spun around and darted into the forest, movements light and teasing. She glanced back, letting out a sharp bark that clearly translated to“Catch me if you can.”
Orion’s emerald eyes lit with amusement and determination. He sprang after her. Powerful legs propelled him through the trees with ease.
The chase was on.
Elara darted ahead. Weaving. Dodging. Like liquid fire between ancient trunks.
Orion followed. Powerful. Determined. His deeper frame moving with surprising grace as he closed the distance.
Lena felt Elara’s heart race with exhilaration, her wolf’s joy infectious as they played their game of chase.
The wind rushed through their fur.
Pine needles.
Damp earth.
The wild freedom that belonged only to wolves.
She glanced back. Orion’s eyes gleamed as he surged forward, closing the gap.
Together, they disappeared deeper into the trees, steps falling into a rhythm that felt like the first notes of a melody neither of them had dared to hope for. And for the first time since feeling the mate bond snap into place, Lena didn’t fear what morning would bring. Whatever walls still stood between them, tonight had proven one truth: beneath the hurt and hesitation, something real was growing—something even stronger than destiny’s pull. The night stretched ahead, and Lena surrendered to it, one pawprint at a time.
CHAPTER FORTY
KAI
The forest pulsed with ancient magic, every breath seeming to vibrate through the earth beneath Orion’s paws. Energy pulsed between their wolves as they wove through the trees, paws striking earth in perfect rhythm, as though following the memory of an ancient dance. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, painting the forest floor with silver patches that their fur captured and reflected like liquid starlight.
Kai’s consciousness merged with Orion’s, making it impossible to tell where the wolf ended and the male began. The weight of duty, of choices unmade and promises unkept, melted away with each stride. There was only this—paws against loamyearth, wind whispering through pine needles, and Elara’s playful yips echoing like music.
The trees began to thin, branches giving way to reveal a lake that mirrored the moon above, its surface dancing with pale, ghostly light. Orion’s massive frame parted the underbrush at the water’s edge, muscles rippling beneath his silver-streaked coat as he lowered his muzzle to the glassy surface. The cool water lapped against his tongue, carrying the mineral-rich taste of deep springs and ancient stone.
Elara joined him, her amber coat bathed in celestial light, as though she’d captured fragments of stars in her fur, movements delicate yet sure beside Orion’s commanding presence.
His chest expanded beyond its normal capacity, muscles tensing with the urge to howl his claim to the stars. His skin prickled with hyper-awareness of every movement near his mate, ready to place himself between her and any threat. Something ancient and possessive flowed through his veins, demanding that he mark, shield, cherish. These weren’t just his wolf’s instincts anymore—they were echoes of his own heart, stripped bare under the watching moon.
When Elara pressed closer, nudging her muzzle against Orion’s thick ruff, the larger wolf responded by curling his body around her smaller frame. Kai felt the rightness of it settle into his bones as his mind began to drift, surrendering to the peace of the moment.
He let Orion take control completely, their shared consciousness fading into the simple pleasure of being. The night sounds grew distant—the soft splash of water against the shore, the rustle of nocturnal creatures, the whisper of wind through leaves—until all that remained was the steady thump of Orion’s heart beating in time with Elara’s quiet breaths. Kai drifted into dreamless sleep, his consciousness ebbing away.
Awareness returned gradually, brought on by a different kind of warmth. Not the sun’s gentle touch or his wolf’s protective heat, but something far more intimate—something that made Kai’s lungs seize. His senses awakened one by one: the silken slide of skin against his chest, the tickle of soft hair beneath his chin, the faint trace of cranberry and rosemary that was uniquelyher.
Kai’s eyes fluttered open, and his heart stumbled over itself.
