The city pulsed around me, neon lights flickering like false promises in the darkness. The skyscrapers stood tall and indifferent, their steel-and-glass faces reflecting a world that had shattered before my eyes. I moved through the crowded streets, my heels clicking against the pavement with a rhythm that matched the racing beat of my heart.
This was my city. My father’s city. He had ruled in this place, not just as a business mogul but as the Alpha of the most powerful werewolf pack—The Mooncrest Pack—to walk these streets. And William had stolen it all by fooling me.
I tightened my grip on the bag at my side. Fury burned through me, igniting every nerve in my body. William would pay. But I couldn’t do it alone. I needed help from one of his enemies.
Yes, I was about to meet the one who would help me bring William down.
I made my way to the nightclub, slipping past the bouncer with a nod. Inside, the air was thick with smoke and whiskey, the thudding bass vibrating through the floor. Werewolves mingled among humans, their scents masked but unmistakable to me. Predators hiding in plain sight. Just like William.
My nails dug into my palms as I scanned the room, my eyes locked on the man I’d come to find. He sat at the back, lounging in a leather booth like he owned the place. And in a way, he did. His presence dominated the room, his aura crackling with power and authority.
Mason Holloway. The true Alpha of the Northern Pack. William’s uncle. The one William had tried to kill to secure his claim. But I learned from some investigator I hired to find William’s weaknesses that Mason was very much alive, and from the way his emerald eyes gleamed as they met mine, he’d been expecting me.
The world shifted. My heart stopped, then slammed back to life as it thundered in my chest. A shock of electricity raced through me, awakening every nerve, every cell, every part of me. Lorraine stirred, howling in recognition.
“Mate!”
The realization crashed over me, dizzying and absolute. Mason was my mate. Not William. Not the man I had promised myself to. But his uncle. The man whose mere presence commanded the room, whose power hummed in the air like a living thing.
His gaze didn’t waver, his eyes cold and calculating, as if he hadn’t felt the earth-shattering pull that had just ripped through me. But his jaw tightened, a flicker of something raw flashing in his eyes before his expression hardened.
“Did he feel it too?” I asked Lorraine.
My heart raced with Lorraine’s reaction. She’s clawing beneath my skin, desperate to get closer to him. A part of me wanted to say it, to scream it, to throw the truth in his face.
‘You’re my mate.’
‘We’re meant to be.’
‘Help me. Protect me. Fight with me.’
But the words died on my lips as his expression grew colder, his eyes hardening to steel.
He leaned back, his arm draping over the back of the booth with lazy confidence, every inch the king in his den. “Lana Harrison. Didn’t think you had it in you to come here.” His voice was low, a velvet rasp that sent a shiver down my spine.
I steadied myself by keeping my chin high and hiding the surprise that he knows my name. “I need your help.”
He arched a brow, amusement flickering across his face. “My help? You’re marrying William. Shouldn’t he be the one handling your problems?”
The words were like a slap, but I refused to flinch. “William is the problem. He killed my father. He fooled me. And he’s using me to—”
“And you think I care because…?” Mason’s expression didn’t change, his eyes cold and detached.
I took a shaky breath with the truth burning in my throat.
‘Because you’re my mate. Because you’re supposed to protect me.’
But his gaze was so distant, so uncaring. I felt that the words would be foolish and childish if I told him now.
Would he laugh? Would he push me away?
No. I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t bear the thought of my mate rejecting me. And the pain.
Not now. Not when I needed him the most.
Frustration boiled up inside me. “He tried to kill you, too. He betrayed you, took your pack, and exiled you. Aren’t you angry?”
“Angry?” He laughed, a dark, mocking sound. “I was impressed. Didn’t think the pup had it in him. But that’s old news, love. I’ve moved on.”
I blinked, disbelief tightening my chest. “You don’t care that he stole everything from you?”
Mason leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with something sharp, dangerous. “The pack? The title? All that responsibility? I’d rather burn it all down than be chained to it. William did me a favor.”
I stared at him, stunned. He meant it. Every word. He didn’t want revenge. He didn’t want justice. He wanted nothing to do with any of it.
And… he didn’t want me.
The realization shattered something inside me, a cold ache spreading through my chest. I wanted to scream, to shake him, to make him feel what I felt. To make him understand that he’s my only ace to win. Because our mate bond was real. That we were meant to be together. And that we should give ourselves a chance to be one as we are fated to be.
But his eyes were cold and his face a mask of indifference.
He leaned back, his lips curving into a lazy, arrogant smirk. “I like the shadows, sweetheart. They keep me free. And freedom is the only thing I care about.” His eyes darkened, his voice lowering to a dangerous whisper.
I tightened my fists. “I thought you were the rightful Alpha of Northern Pack.”
“Rightful Alpha?” He laughed again, his shoulders shaking with amusement. “Let William have it. Let him rot with responsibility.” He stood, his gaze piercing, unwavering. “I’m done playing hero. Find someone else to fight your battles.”
I watched him walk away, my heart breaking, my wolf howling in pain.
‘Why won’t you… fight for me?’
