Chapter 2 LONG AWAITED MATE

Kael’s POV

I felt it the second his shoulder brushed mine.

A bump, a muttered “sorry,” and then—thud. Not against my body, but against my heart.

For years, I’d waited. I’d smiled through the jokes of my pack when they teased me for not having a mate yet, brushed off the whispers that the Moon Goddess might’ve overlooked me. Some alphas marked their territory the instant they turned eighteen, some a year, perhaps two later. But me? Twenty-four and still alone at every party, every ceremony. My people respected me, yes. But under the respect, always this question. When will the Alpha claim his Luna at last?

And now—this pull, this brutal, nearly painful pulling in my chest.

Mate.

The word ripped through me like lightning.

I spun around, already short on patience for another look, but he was fleeing, hoodie over his head, hands in pockets. Just a boy, human by all outward appearances. But the connection was screaming at me.

I inhaled deeply, hoping for that deep, rich scent of wolf.

Nothing.

My heart jolted. Human? My mate was. human?

For a moment, confusion fought with instinct, but instinct won out, running through my veins like fire. Goddess or not, She did not err. My partner had been given to me, and I would protect him.

I grasped after him, not realizing I was, my feet light, senses heightened. "Hello—please, excuse me," I whispered.

He came to a halt, turning to look at me. And the sight nearly caused my knees to buckle.

Gods.

He was handsome. Not in some refined, flawless way, but the little, human one that caused my wolf to rumble inside my ribcage. Dark hair fell across his face, gray eyes ringed with fatigue. His hoodie hung open on a lean, almost gaunt frame. Bruises—faint but real—peaked through under the fabric at his collar. His lips were a straight line, like smiling had been beaten out of him.

All of him was screaming fragile and breakable. And every cell in my body was screaming mine.

"What do you want?" His tone was level, with a whine of annoyance, as though he couldn't be bothered with me.

I gulped hard, feeling unbearably embarrassed for the first time in my life. I was an Alpha, pack leader of one of the strongest packs in the region—and here I was, limping like a puppy. "Nothing, I was just—" My tongue clogged, my wolf telling me to just own up. You're ours. The Moon Goddess gifted you to us.

"You are…" I floundered, then blurted out the first thing I thought. "Do you… know anything about the Moon Goddess?"

He stared at me, eyes wide. "What?"

"The… connection," I tried again, heat rising to my face. "Do you feel—?"

"Fuck off, man." His words cut sharp, contemptuous, and he turned on his heel.

My wolf growled inside me. We irritated him!

I know! I snapped back mentally. What could I say?

"Please," I tried again, rushing to catch up to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just—you're—can I… may I get your number?"

He stared at me like he'd frozen fire with his gaze. Raw disgust, as if I was some creep on the street harassing him.

"Don't bother me any more. Just fucking leave me alone," he growled, moving faster.

I allowed my strides to slacken, my chest tightening.

Shit. I'd ruined it for him. My destined mate. My mate. The one I'd been waiting my entire life for—and the first thing I'd done was frighten him away.

Good job, my wolf growled in rage. You've got our mate hating us already.

Quiet, I muttered to myself, my throat sore. We'll fix it. We have to. We can't lose him.

I walked behind him at a distance, cautious this time, my senses riveted on him like a lifeline. His scent was softer now, blended with sorrow that weighed heavier than the weariness on his face. Who was he? Why did he look so sad?

I needed to know.

So I tailed him.

By the time the sun sank low, he was hiking up a broken path to a little house. Thin light spilled out from inside. He thrust his hands deeper into his hoodie pocket and disappeared through the door.

I stood outside, crouching low in the bushes by the window, my heart thrumming faster than it should. An Alpha shouldn't spy. An Alpha shouldn't loiter like some pup in the night. But I wasn't just an Alpha right now. I was a mate.

I glimpsed him through the thin drapes, pacing in the interior. His hood fell away, loose dark hair spilling. He unslung his pack onto a creaking sofa, his shoulders sagging as if they had the weight of the world.

And a shadow stood behind him.

A man. Older, heavier, a cruel set to his mouth. Father, maybe. The resemblance was minimal at best.

My ears snapped into point, wolf hearing acuity focusing across the glass.

".lucky we took you in in the first place," the growling man growled. "Ungrateful kid."

My mate—Adam, I heard second, as the man spat out his name—gave a shocked, stiff freeze, lips pinched together.

"Brian's scholarship comes first. He's family. You're not. Don't you ever forget it."

Adam's fists clenched, his gray eyes hot with anger. "It was mine."

The man's hand cracked against his face before I had time to even blink.

I leapt up, my wolf growling, claws screaming to burst from my hands.

They're hurting our mate!

I ached to shatter the window, to tear the man's throat out, to clutch Adam tight to me and promise he'd never suffer again. My muscles convulsed with the strength it took to stay where I was, hidden, watching, raging.

Adam stumbled but didn’t cry. He just stood there, eyes burning, cheek already red.

“You’ll take your medicine and you’ll shut your mouth. That’s all you’re good for,” the man hissed, shoving a bottle toward him.

Medicine. My nose caught the faint, bitter tang as Adam unscrewed the cap and swallowed two pills without complaint. Routine. Practiced. Like he’d done this a thousand times.

Suppressants. My wolf uttered the word in the depths of my mind, even though I still didn't understand what it meant. Only that the odor of the pills was all wrong. Silencing.

Pressure pounded at my chest. He was so small in that kitchen, standing up to a man who loomed over him like a specter. And he wasn't fighting anymore.

He's ours, my wolf growled. He's broken. He's breaking. We have to keep him safe.

I clenched my teeth, bracing a hand against the trunk of the tree beside me until my nails bit into the wood. "I will," I breathed to the night. "I'll keep him safe. No matter what the price."

The vow shook me.

Inside, Adam rushed by the man and returned to a small, dimly lit room. He sat on the edge of a thin bed, shoulders hunched, head down. He just sat there for what seemed like forever. Quiet. Broken.

And I stood there, my own chest ripped wide with a pain I'd never experienced.

He didn't know yet. Maybe he wouldn't even desire it. But he was mine. And I was his. The Moon Goddess had decreed it.

And I would never allow him to endure such again.