Chapter 2 Scented Shadows

ELIAS’ POV

“Impossible.”

I stood frozen by the bonfire with flames licking the night air and heat pressing against my skin like a living thing. Kai’s word echoed in my head as the word ‘impossible’ hung there heavily and unexplained as he turned on his heel and stalked off into the crowd without another glance.

My heart pounded hard in my chest and I’d waited for the punchline with the usual shove or sneer that always followed his attention. But nothing ever came, instead he had just vanished into the throng of bodies leaving me blinking in confusion and a strange fear twisting in my gut.

Why did he walk away today of all days when he never missed a chance to grind me down? What made this moment impossible? And why did his eyes widen like that with nostrils flaring as if he caught a scent that shouldn’t exist?

The wind whipped through carrying laughter and moans from the ritual grounds and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other trying to make sense of it all. A shoulder slammed into mine hard and suddenly spun me sideways with a grunt escaping my lips.

“Watch it, freak,” Jerome, Kai’s beta, growled without stopping.

That jolt yanked me back to the present with the crowd swirling around me like a storm.

I rubbed my arm and glanced at the entrance where lights pulsed and music thumped drawing everyone deeper into the chaos. Part of me screamed to bolt home and hide under the covers away from whatever this night promised but home meant Father’s disappointment and Lydia’s sharp tongue waiting to slice me open again. No, and staying invisible here might be better with the full moon pulling at something primal inside me even if I lacked a wolf to answer its call.

I pushed forward through the gates with bodies brushing against mine and scents assaulting my nose thick with musk and arousal that made my cheeks burn. The grounds sprawled wide under the stars with bonfires casting flickering shadows and groups clustered everywhere lost in the heat season’s grip.

Couples tangled on blankets with hands roaming under clothes and lips crashing together in hungry kisses while others formed threesomes laughing and grinding in rhythm to the beat. A girl arched her back against a tree as her mate—maybe—nipped at her neck drawing a gasp that carried on the air, and nearby two betas wrestled playfully before one pinned the other down with a triumphant growl.

The air hummed with energy and moans mixed with the crackle of fire making my skin tingle and my pulse quicken despite myself. I weaved through it all feeling like an intruder in this world of fur and fangs where everyone else shifted effortlessly under the moon’s pull.

At nineteen I should have joined them with a wolf stirring inside me ready to hunt or submit but mine never came and the pack whispered about my human blood tainting the line. Father only kept me after the DNA test proved his seed made me and not some stray affair from my mother’s side but that didn’t stop the stares or the isolation.

What was worse than the isolation was the fact that I didn’t have a mate. No mate for a wolf-less omega like me and no place in this frenzy for me so I headed to the drink table piled high with bottles and cups seeking numbness in liquid fire. I grabbed a red solo cup and filled it with whatever burned strongest, splashing whiskey over ice as it clinked softly.

The first sip scorched my throat and warmed my belly chasing away the chill as I found a spot against a log away from the thick of it watching the scene unfold like a forbidden dream.

Bodies moved in waves with wolves claiming their she-wolves in heated embraces and scents blooming like flowers in spring but darker and more urgent. A pair nearby stripped down without shame with the guy lifting his partner against him and thrusting slowly at first then faster, drawing cries that echoed.

I averted my eyes but the sounds wormed into my ears and stirred something low in me making my jeans tighten uncomfortably. Even without a wolf the heat tugged at me insistent and needy, whispering promises of release I couldn’t chase alone.

Another gulp of whiskey helped blur the edges as I poured a second cup letting the alcohol loosen my limbs and fog my thoughts.

Laughter bubbled up from a group across the way where friends shared a bottle passing it hand to hand before pairing off in the shadows with eager touches and whispered words.

But then a prickle ran down my spine and I glanced up catching eyes locked on me from the far side of the fire. Kai stood there tall and unyielding, with his jacket slung over one shoulder and his amber gaze piercing through the smoke straight at me.

My breath hitched and I froze mid-sip wondering what fresh hell this was after his earlier escape. He didn’t move closer but his stare held me steadily, intensely and unblinking as if dissecting every inch of me from afar.

The crowd parted around him naturally giving space to the future Alpha but he ignored them all with his focus pinned solely on my spot.

What the hell did he want now and why was he staring like that after muttering impossible and bolting?

I shifted uncomfortably and took another swig trying to ignore him but his gaze followed when I stood and paced a few steps pretending to stretch.

The whiskey hit harder now, warning my veins and amplifying the heat season’s pull, as it made my skin flush, and my thoughts wander to what it might feel like to have someone claim me like the others.

But no one approached me, the half-breed outcast and Kai’s relentless watch only heightened the unease twisting in my chest.

Minutes stretched into what felt like hours with music pounding and bodies writhing around us but his eyes never wavered tracking my every fidget and sip.

Sweat beaded on my forehead mixing with the night’s chill and I decided enough was enough before the alcohol made me bold, stupid, and maybe extra vulnerable.

Home might suck but staying here under Kai’s relentless stare risked worse like a drunken bullying I couldn’t win.

I set the cup down with a clatter, slipping into the crowd aiming for the exit as I weaved through entangled pairs and dodged wandering hands.

The path narrowed into a dimly lit hallway leading out from the main grounds with some walls echoing my footsteps and shadows pooling in corners where no one lingered.

Relief washed over me as the noise faded behind but then a hand clamped over my wrist yanking me sideways into the dark with force that stole my breath.

I stumbled against the wall, as my heart slammed wild, and I opened my mouth to make an attempt at yelling.

Just then a rough voice hissed close to my ear.

“Don’t make a fucking sound.”