The night was drunk on noise.
Music throbbed through the Alpha house, heavy bass vibrating through ancient stone walls that had stood long before I was born. Laughter clashed with shouted toasts, glasses clinked, and wolves crowded every corner of the grand hall, celebrating like tomorrow didn't exist.
It was Kael Blackridge's birthday.
The Alpha heir.
The future ruler of Blackridge Pack.
The man every unmated wolf watched with open hunger.
I stayed far away from all of it.
My feet carried me down the west corridor, away from the golden lights and reckless joy, until the air grew quieter and cooler. This wing of the mansion was rarely used during gatherings—too far, too still, too removed from the pulse of pack life. Exactly what I needed.
I slipped into an empty room and closed the door behind me.
Silence wrapped around me instantly, broken only by the distant echo of music. A single lamp illuminated the space, soft light spilling over a neatly made bed and tall windows framed by dark curtains. Moonlight bled through the glass, pale and full, pressing against my skin like a living thing.
I exhaled shakily.
I shouldn't have come tonight. Every instinct had warned me not to. Omegas weren't meant to linger around Alpha celebrations, not when emotions ran high and control ran low. But something had pulled me here, stronger than fear, stronger than sense.
The moon.
And him.
I'd wanted Kael for years, in a quiet, humiliating way I never spoke aloud. From the sidelines. From behind bowed lashes and careful steps. He never looked at me the way he looked at others—not that it mattered. I was an Omega. Invisible. Forgettable.
That was safer.
I folded my arms around myself and paced once, twice, trying to calm the tight knot in my chest. The scent of alcohol drifted faintly through the door, mixing with the sharper undertone of wolf—dominance, power, heat. My wolf stirred uneasily under my skin.
Then the door creaked.
I froze.
Footsteps crossed the threshold—slow, heavy, unmistakable. The door closed with a soft click that echoed far too loudly in the quiet room.
I turned.
Kael stood there.
The first thing I noticed was his scent—whiskey and smoke layered over pure Alpha dominance. It hit me like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs. His dark hair was slightly tousled, shirt open at the collar, sleeves rolled up as if he'd already grown tired of pretending to be composed.
His sharp gaze lifted—and locked onto mine.
Surprise flickered across his face. Then something darker followed, something assessing.
"I didn't expect anyone to be in here," he said, voice low and rough, like gravel warmed by fire.
"I was just leaving," I blurted, stepping back instinctively.
He didn't move out of my way.
Instead, he studied me in silence, eyes slowly dropping to my throat before lifting again. The tension shifted—subtle but unmistakable. My skin prickled, heat blooming beneath it as my Omega instincts reacted without permission.
"You don't have to," he said after a moment. "It's unbearable out there."
The words were casual, but the way he said them wasn't.
My heart pounded. "It's your party."
A faint smirk tugged at his mouth. "Exactly."
Another silence stretched between us, thick and charged. The music outside swelled, then dipped again, but it felt distant, unreal. The room seemed to shrink, the space between us tightening with every second.
His gaze dropped again.
This time, his jaw clenched.
I felt it too—the sudden warmth along my neck, the pulse of awareness blooming into something dangerous. The moonlight pressed harder, igniting instincts I had spent my whole life suppressing.
Kael took a step closer.
"What's your name?" he asked.
I hesitated. "You know it."
His brows knit briefly, then recognition sparked in his eyes. "Elara."
Hearing my name on his lips sent a shiver straight through me.
"You're one of the Omegas from the lower houses," he said slowly, as if placing a puzzle piece.
I nodded, unable to speak.
His gaze softened for half a second—then sharpened again, confusion flickering beneath the surface. He inhaled deeply.
And everything changed.
His pupils dilated, Alpha instincts roaring to life. I gasped softly as the air between us thickened, electric and suffocating. My wolf surged forward, responding to his in a way that left me dizzy.
"Fuck," he muttered under his breath.
I should have run.
Instead, I stood rooted to the spot as he closed the distance between us. His hand brushed mine—barely a touch—but sparks exploded through my body, lighting every nerve on fire.
He stilled instantly.
"Tell me to stop," he said, voice strained, control fraying at the edges.
I opened my mouth.
No sound came out.
The moon hung heavy and unyielding outside the window, bearing witness as restraint shattered. His hand rose to my jaw, thumb brushing my skin with reverent slowness, as if he didn't quite understand what he was doing but couldn't stop.
The kiss was inevitable.
When it came, it was desperate and consuming, driven by instinct more than thought. My back hit the wall as his body pressed against mine, heat and power overwhelming my senses. I clutched at his shirt, heart racing, every warning screaming too late.
This was wrong.
This was reckless.
This would ruin me.
But the night didn't care.
Time blurred, moments bleeding into one another as the world narrowed to breath and touch and the unbearable pull between us. When the moon finally dipped lower in the sky, reality returned too quickly, too cruelly.
By morning, Kael was gone.
I woke alone in the quiet room, sheets cold beside me, his scent already fading. Panic settled deep in my chest as memory crashed down in painful fragments. I dressed quickly and slipped out before anyone could see me, before anyone could ask questions I couldn't answer.
The next day, the truth revealed itself.
The mate bond snapped into place like a blade through my chest.
And when Kael realized what I was to him—what he had done—his eyes filled not with relief… but with horror.
By nightfall, his warmth had turned to ice.
And my fate was sealed.