Chapter 5

Rowan Hale didn’t often linger. His life was too carefully structured, his time parceled out into neat blocks of meetings, strategy calls, and patrols through the forest. Every choice had purpose. Every move kept his company thriving and his pack safe.

But today, his focus fractured.

He sat at the head of a long conference table in Hale Technologies’ sleek downtown office, floor-to-ceiling windows spilling light across polished wood and glass. His executives spoke in calm, practiced tones, presenting quarterly projections. Numbers, trends, growth.

Rowan heard none of it.

He kept his expression impassive, the kind that reminded people why he was both feared and respected. But beneath the mask, his thoughts drifted back to the small coffee shop. To the woman with brown hair falling over her cheek as she poured coffee, to the warmth in her eyes when she smiled at strangers. To the spark that had jolted through him like lightning when their fingers touched.

Mate. His wolf rumbled again, impatient.

Rowan tightened his grip on his pen until it nearly snapped. He had no time for this. He had responsibilities that went far beyond his own wants. As Alpha, his pack depended on his strength, his clarity. As CEO, hundreds of employees looked to him for direction. He could not afford distraction.

And yet… the bond had awakened.

He’d spent years convincing himself it might never happen—that perhaps the Moon Goddess had other plans for him. His wolf had grown restless, but he had learned to live without that missing piece. To function. To lead.

Now she was here. Human. Fragile. Completely unaware of the world she was about to be pulled into.

Rowan’s gaze flicked to the clock on the far wall. Fifteen more minutes of projections. Fifteen more minutes before he could escape the sterile air of this boardroom and breathe again.

When the meeting adjourned, his Beta, Elias, fell into step beside him as they strode toward Rowan’s office. Broad-shouldered, steady, Elias had been at his side since childhood. He didn’t miss much.

“You’re distracted,” Elias said quietly. Not a question.

Rowan shot him a sharp look. “I’m fine.”

Elias only raised a brow. “Your wolf says otherwise.”

Rowan paused at his office door, jaw tightening. His wolf had always been closest to Elias, their connection a bond forged in battle and blood. He should’ve known Elias would sense it.

Rowan exhaled slowly. “I found her.”

Elias stilled, eyes widening for a beat before his expression smoothed. “The mate bond?”

Rowan nodded once.

“Human?”

Another nod.

Elias’s silence said enough. Humans rarely survived the weight of their world—the pack politics, the violence, the secrets. Most Alphas sought strong wolf-born mates to anchor them. To lead beside them. A human mate was… complicated. Dangerous.

But Rowan felt no doubt. No hesitation.

“She’s mine,” he said firmly, his wolf’s growl echoing beneath the words.

Elias studied him for a moment, then inclined his head. “Then we’ll protect her. Whatever it takes.”

Rowan stepped into his office, the city stretching wide beyond the glass. His reflection looked back at him—tall, controlled, dangerous. But for the first time in years, a crack ran through the control.

Clara Montgomery.

Her name pulsed in his chest like a heartbeat.

He had built his life on discipline and duty. But now, all he could think about was the coffee shop on the edge of town.

And the woman who unknowingly held his future in her hands.