‘Our true destined mate, Artemis said softly.
The Alpha took one step toward her.
And Diana knew, everything was about to change.
Diana stared at the massive wolf standing only a few feet away from her, every instinct in her body caught between fight and disbelief.
He was enormous-easily the largest wolf she had ever seen. His coat was so black it swallowed the moonlight, as if shadows themselves clung to his fur. His shoulders rolled with quiet power, muscles shifting beneath sleek skin, a predator forged by battle and dominance.
And yet…
Is he wagging his tail?
The thought slipped into her mind uninvited, absurd and impossible. She blinked once, then twice, just to be sure her eyes weren’t betraying her.
The great wolf’s tail swayed slowly from side to side, not stiff or aggressive, but loose- almost eager. His ears were perked forward, golden eyes bright, curious, fixed entirely on her.
Not calculating.
Not cold.
Not threatening.
Just… focused.
‘He is cute, Artemis said softly in her mind, a note of unmistakable delight coloring her voice.
‘I like him.’
Diana didn’t take her eyes off the wolf. Her body remained tense, weight balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to move at the slightest sign of danger.
‘Artemis, she said under her breath, forcing calm into her voice, ‘we do not know anything about him. We have to be careful.’ Her jaw tightened. ‘Look what happened to our ex-mate.’
The word still tasted bitter, even after all these years.
The wolf in front of her took a single step closer, slow and deliberate, as if he understood caution just as well as she did. His head dipped slightly-not a sign of submission, but not dominance either. An acknowledgment.
‘Our ex-mate was a clueless, cowardly, power-hungry Alpha, Artemis scoffed. ‘Weak where it mattered. Blinded by ambition. Tell me-‘ she pressed, her voice sharp with certainty, ‘does this one look clueless to you?’
Diana studied him more carefully. The wolf’s presence pressed against her senses like a living storm. Power rolled off him in steady waves-ancient, controlled, unyielding. This was not the frantic hunger of an Alpha desperate to prove himself. This was confidence born of knowing exactly who-and what-he was.
‘No,’ Diana admitted quietly.
‘Does he look like a coward?’ Artemis continued.
The wolf lifted his head slightly, meeting Diana’s gaze head-on. There was no fear there. No hesitation. Only patience… and something dangerously close to warmth.
‘No,’ Diana said again.
‘Power hungry?’
Diana’s lips twitched despite herself.
‘No, she murmured. ‘He looks like a big puppy.’
Artemis laughed, a rich, satisfied sound that echoed through Diana’s soul. ‘Exactly.’
As if summoned by her words, the massive black wolf took another step forward. Then another. His movements were careful, almost reverent, like he was approaching something sacred rather than prey.
“Hey-” Diana started, lifting her hand instinctively, unsure whether she was trying to stop him or reach for him.
Too late.
The wolf closed the final distance, lowered his massive head, and licked her face.
Not a quick, territorial swipe.
A slow, deliberate, unmistakably affectionate lick.
Warm. Gentle.
Intimate.
Diana froze. Her breath hitched, shock rippling through her as the contact sent a spark straight down her spine. Her reservations cracked-not shattered, but softened, like ice beginning to melt under the sun.
‘Oh, Artemis purred, utterly pleased. ‘Ohhh. He likes us.’
The wolf pulled back just enough to look at her again, tail wagging more enthusiastically now, eyes glowing with unmistakable satisfaction.
Diana swallowed hard.
‘Ooh, Artemis continued, voice dropping into a teasing, scandalously amused tone. ‘He wants to mate with us right here, right now.’
‘What?’ Diana hissed aloud, panic flaring instantly. The image hit her all at once-fur, heat, bond, claiming, surrender. Too fast. Too sudden. Too much. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
‘Nope,’ Diana said, already stepping back. ‘Absolutely not.’
The wolf tilted his head, clearly confused by her sudden retreat.
Diana didn’t wait to explain, and she turned and ran.
Her boots pounded against the forest floor as adrenaline surged through her veins, branches whipping past her face, her breath coming fast and sharp. Behind her, she heard a startled huff, then the heavy thud of paws as the massive wolf gave chase, not aggressively, but insistently.
Artemis laughed again, wild and delighted.
‘Run all you want, Diana, she said softly. ‘Fate already found us.’
And somewhere behind her, the black wolf howled-low, amused, and full of promise.
Fenrir gave chase the moment she bolted.
The thrill hit him instantly-sharp, electric, alive. The forest blurred beneath his paws as adrenaline surged through his veins. He loved the hunt. Loved the stretch of muscle and sinew, the burn in his lungs, the way the world narrowed to nothing but instinct and pursuit.
But this was no ordinary prey.
This was his mate.
Her scent clung to the night air-wild, fierce, unmistakable. It wrapped around him like a challenge and a promise all at once. Fenrir threw his head back and howled, the sound ripping through the trees, shaking leaves from their branches.
“Mate!” he roared, voice thunderous and feral. “Don’t run from me, my mate!”
She didn’t slow.
If anything, she moved faster.
Fenrir growled, claws digging into the earth as he pushed harder, but even he had to admit it, she was fast. Faster than most wolves he had ever encountered. She weaved through the forest with impossible precision, darting between trees, leaping over fallen logs, vanishing into shadows.
Inside his mind, Talon cursed sharply.
She knows this territory, Talon realized grimly. Every ridge. Every path.
‘She’s fast,’ Talon said aloud, breath steady despite the relentless pace. ‘And she knows this land like the back of her hand.’
Fenrir snarled in frustration as she slipped downhill, disappearing over a rocky incline that forced him to slow. By the time he reached the edge, her scent was already fading-scattered deliberately, cleverly.
‘We cannot catch her, Talon continued, voice calm but firm. ‘Not like this.’
Fenrir skidded to a halt, chest heaving, eyes glowing as he scanned the darkness. His wolf paced, restless and furious, claws scraping.
‘No, Fenrir growled. ‘We chase. We find. She is ours.’
‘Not tonight, Talon replied. ‘We go back. We talk to Alpha Asher.’
Fenrir let out a low, wounded whine, an unmistakable sound of protest, but obedience won out. With one last furious look into the forest where his mate had vanished, he turned and sprinted back toward the pack grounds.
Alpha Asher and Enzo were already waiting when Fenrir returned, the tension thick enough to taste. Fenrir shifted back into Talon without hesitation, bones snapping and reforming as his wolf receded into his mind.
The night air felt cold against his skin.
Without missing a beat, Enzo stepped forward and wordlessly handed Talon a pair of shorts he’d taken from one of the pack members. Talon accepted them with a brief nod and pulled them on. He was confident in his body-he had nothing to hide-but no man, wolf, or Alpha wanted to conduct a confrontation while naked.
Talon lifted his gaze to Asher, eyes sharp, burning with barely restrained dominance.
“Where can I find my mate?” Talon demanded. “What is her name? And why is she fighting in human form?”
The question landed heavily. He’s jaw tightened. His eyes flickered-just for a moment, but Talon caught it. Recognition. Conflict.
“Mate?” Asher repeated slowly. “She is not your mate. That’s impossible.”
The growl tore out of Talon’s chest before he could stop it.
The ground beneath his feet vibrated with the force of it.
“That is my mate, Alpha Asher,” Talon said, voice low and dangerous. “No one, especially you, will ever tell me she is not.”
The air went still. Pack members nearby froze, instinctively lowering their gazes as the clash of two Alphas pressed down on them like a physical weight. Enzo stiffened beside Talon, ready but silent.
Asher exhaled slowly, as though bracing himself.
“Alpha Talon,” Asher said at last, his voice steady but strained, “it is impossible for her to be your mate…”
Talon took a step forward, dominance flaring, Fenrir roaring in his mind.
“…because she is my mate.”
The words hit like a thunderstrike.
Silence swallowed the clearing whole.
No one moved. No one breathed.
Even the forest seemed to hold its breath as the meaning of Asher’s declaration settled over them-heavy, shocking, and utterly impossible.
Talon stared at him, disbelief blazing into fury, then into something darker… something dangerous.
‘Why did you run?’ Artemis demanded, her voice sharp inside Diana’s mind, edged with hurt and disbelief.
Diana’s footsteps slowed, then stopped altogether. The forest around her was silent again, as if the land itself was holding its breath. She pressed a trembling hand against her chest, trying to calm the frantic pounding of her heart.
‘He is our mate,’ Artemis continued, softer now but no less insistent. ‘I want to meet him.’
Diana swallowed hard. “Artemis… you said he wanted to mate with me. With us. We don’t know who he is.” Her voice cracked as panic bled into every word. “And… and if we did mate… I wouldn’t know what to do. I’m not ready. I’m full of rogue blood. Why would he even want to mate now?”
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, nails biting into her palms. Every old fear she thought she had buried clawed its way back to the surface.
‘I will be there, Diana,’ Artemis said firmly. ‘I will guide you. I won’t leave you, don’t you remember that? You are not facing this alone.’ A pause, then a softer, almost teasing tone. ‘And honestly… do you think he would look at you the way he did if he were disgusted by rogue blood? Do you think he would want you if that were the case?’
Diana shook her head, though Artemis could feel the hesitation in her heart. “But our ex-mate
‘I told you already,’ Artemis snapped, her anger flaring. ‘Our ex-mate was an idiot.”
Diana flinched as memories surged forward-sharp and merciless.
‘He rejected us because he thought you were wolfless, Artemis went on, her voice shaking with fury. ‘Because he was weak and blind and chose pride over truth. Then he mated that power-hungry excuse of a Luna.’ The words were laced with bitterness. ‘Five years, Diana. Five years of pain. Five years of carrying wounds that never truly healed. And after all of that they let our parents die. They failed them.’
Diana’s chest tightened until it hurt to breathe. Images of her parents-smiling, protective, proud-flashed through her mind, followed by the sound of claws, blood, and screams she could never forget.
“We can’t leave this pack yet,” Diana whispered. “Not until we know what really happened to them. That rogue attack… there’s something wrong about it.” Her voice trembled. “Our new mate… he looks important. Powerful. Wolves like him don’t wait. He won’t stay here for us.”
She swallowed hard. “We’ll be rejected again.”
Artemis let out a low whine, the sound raw and aching. She understood-understood too well. Diana would sacrifice the mate bond without hesitation if it meant uncovering the truth about their parents’ deaths. Artemis felt that resolve, felt the iron determination beneath Diana’s fear. But understanding didn’t make it hurt any less.
‘You always choose duty over yourself, Artemis murmured. ‘Even when it breaks you’
Silence stretched between them before Artemis straightened, her voice steadier now, resolute.
‘We have to have faith in the Moon Goddess, she said, ‘She led our mate to us. She did not do that by accident. And she will guide us through this journey too-every step of it.’
Diana let out a shaky breath. “Just like how she led our ex-mate to us?” she asked quietly, bitterness threading through the words.
Artemis snorted. ‘As I’ve said, stupid ex-mate does not count.’
Despite everything, a small, fragile smile tugged at Diana’s lips. For the first time since she ran, her heart slowed just enough to breathe.
They weren’t ready yet, but they wouldn’t run forever.
Fenrir surged forward inside him, a tidal wave of fury and possession.
‘Lies, his wolf snarled, teeth bared, voice echoing like thunder through Talon’s bones. ‘She is ours.’
The bond pulsed-hot, violent, undeniable. It wasn’t a whisper. It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a claim carved into Talon’s soul.
Talon’s hands clenched slowly at his sides as he lifted his gaze to Asher. Two Alphas stood mere steps apart, the air between them thick with dominance, challenge, and the promise of bloodshed. The ground itself seemed to tremble beneath the pressure of their auras, warriors nearby instinctively backing away.
This was not a misunderstanding.
This was a reckoning.
The bond had been claimed.
“What did you say?” Talon’s voice was calm-too calm, the kind that came before slaughter.”
You say she is your mate?” His blue eyes burned as Fenrir pushed closer to the surface.
“When I arrived, I met your Luna. And I can tell you this-” Talon took a single step forward, forcing Asher to hold his ground. “Even in total darkness, even blind and bleeding, I would never mistake your Luna for the wolf who fought earlier.”
Asher’s jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists.
“No,” Asher said, his voice strained but firm. “Hazel is not my fated mate. She is my chosen mate.” He hesitated, then forced the words out like a confession long overdue. “But Diana…
Diana is my fated.”
The world snapped.
Before anyone could breathe-before guards could react, Talon moved.
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