Elara POV
I slipped into the dark hallway, the thrumming in my carotid artery growing so rapid it became a dull ache, a low hum that vibrated deep behind my eardrums. The old cloak hung from a hook, its rough wool smelling of woodsmoke and a time before he was Alpha, a time when we had nothing but the space between us.
My fingers, strangely numb, fumbled inside the deep inner pocket. They brushed against a thin, crisp fold of paper. I pulled it out. It was a receipt from a luxury human boutique, creased as if from a clenched fist.
I did not breathe as I smoothed it out on the narrow hall table.
The latest purchase, dated yesterday, was for a designer handbag. The price was listed in stark, black ink—a figure that could have fed our entire pack through the winter.
I turned off the light and retreated into the darkness of the living room.
I stood by the large window, concealing myself in the heavy folds of the curtains.
Outside, the rain fell in sheets against the Packhouse gates.
Headlights cut through the darkness as a massive, armored SUV pulled into the driveway.
The engine died, and the driver's side door opened.
It was Kael.
He did not look drunk. He moved with the fluid, powerful grace of an Alpha.
Then, the passenger door opened.
A petite woman stepped out into the rain.
It was Selene, a high-ranking Beta female from our allied Pack.
Before the rain could touch her, Kael reached out and drew her into the small, dry circle of his umbrella, his motion practiced and sure.
He wrapped his strong arm around her waist.
I watched as Selene tilted her head up and pressed her lips against Kael's jaw.
My hands balled into fists.
A wolf's inner spirit is fiercely territorial.
If a female who is not his mate gets too close, an Alpha's inner wolf should release a warning growl to push her away.
But Kael's inner wolf did nothing. He accepted her touch.
Do you see the shape of it now? the voice of my future self echoed in my mind.
I did not answer. I could not speak.
I heard the key turn in the front door.
I quickly moved away from the window and stood near the hallway.
Kael stepped inside, shaking the water from his hair.
He was deliberately suppressing his Alpha aura, attempting a posture of weakness and instability.
"Elara?" he called out, his words slightly slurred. "Why are you still awake?"
He leaned against the wall, making a great show of struggling with his heavy combat boots.
He was trying so hard to maintain the image of a loving, hardworking mate.
I forced myself to walk toward him.
Every step was a battle against the physical pull of my mate bond.
My body wanted to comfort him, to seek the soul's peace only a mate can provide.
But my mind was screaming.
I reached out and grabbed his arm to steady him.
The moment our skin touched, I felt the electric current, the spark that always leaped between fated mates.
But tonight, it felt like a brand.
"Let me help you," I said quietly.
Kael smiled, a sloppy, manufactured grin.
He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a small, brightly wrapped box.
"I didn't forget our anniversary," he said, holding it out to me like a trophy.
As he leaned closer, the smell hit me.
Wolves have incredibly sharp senses, and the scent of a mate is supposed to be pure.
But beneath the smell of the rain and his natural pine scent, there was something else.
It was a pungent, sweet floral perfume.
It was the scent of another female wolf, an unmistakable claim that had been pressed into his very skin. And my inner wolf went very, very still.
