Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Mating a Stranger

Kenzo didn’t expect to end his night like this.

One minute he was drinking with his packmates. The next, a gorgeous, wild she-wolf was telling him to mate with her.

It was insane.

And yet looking at Victoria, he saw everything he had never had.

Wealth. Privilege. A life untouched by hardship.

And yet here she was, running — like him.

In the darkened streets, they can drive through, her fingers grip his as her body presses against his inside the slumped seat.

“My family’s filled with rich assholes,” she said, looking out the window.

Kenzo smirked. “Rich assholes, huh? Now you sound like Caleb.”

She huffed. “Caleb was my best friend’s cousin. “But come home she’s not so I’m making dumb choices without her.”

He studied her for a moment. Her smell was dizzying — wild, unsaddled, but beneath it … fractured.

“Then we’ll see how bad you regret it,” he said.

Her eyes sparkling, she turned to him.

“Let’s mate. Tonight.”

His muscles tensed. “You’re serious.”

She nodded, her fingers curling into his shirt. “There’s a church nearby.”

His wolf stirred.

She was insane.

But so was he.

Marked in Moonlight

The car stopped in a rough, crowded neighborhood far from the city of lights she was used to.

Victoria didn’t hesitate. And she stepped out, heels clacking on the pavement, a goddess among the damned.

Kenzo trailed behind, studying her closely. “You sure about this, little wolf?”

She grabbed his hand. “Yes.”

No second thoughts. No hesitation.

Kenzo smirked. He liked her.

They made their way through darkened streets, under shivering streetlights, to an ancient, long-deserted church.

“Kenzo!”

A gray-haired, worn but kind man in priest robes looked up in shock.

“Father,” Kenzo said, adjusting the bag of food under his arm. “This is Jaya Victoria. My mate. We want your blessing.”

The priest’s brows lifted. “Mate?”

Victoria stepped forward. “Tonight.”

The priest smiled and shook his head. “You were always a reckless one, Kenzo. But … if it’s love, who am I to get in the way of it?”

Kenzo stiffened. Love? No.

This wasn’t love.

Was it?

Victoria squeezed his hand. “We will sign whatever you need of us tomorrow. But for now… we just need this.’

It was her desperation that made Kenzo’s chest tighten.

The priest sighed, picked up his bible. “Alright. Let’s make it official.”

A Wolf Claims His Own

Inside, the church had the smell of dust and time. The shattered stained glass windows let in moonlight, which cast eerie patterns on the floor.

Victoria shivered.

Kenzo quickly wrapped his arms around her.

Her scent enveloped him — heady, hazardous.

She tilted her gaze up at him, green eyes ablaze. “I don’t have a ring.”

He smirked. “Doesn’t matter.”

She nodded, exhaling softly.

The priest began to speak.

Kenzo barely heard the words. His pulse was too loud.

Something deep inside him — something old and primal — told him this moment mattered more than anything.

Not because of the ritual.

But because he wanted her.

When the priest was done, Victoria faced him.

Her mouth opened, ready for more.

Kenzo lifted her chin, his thumb grazing her skin.

Then—he kissed her.

The bond ignited.

His wolf snapped, wanting more.

Victoria wrapped herself around him, fingers clutching his coat. She wanted him, too.

The priest was looking at them with an amused smile when they drove off.

“Go before you two get out of control in my church.”

Kenzo laughed.

Victoria smirked. “No promises.”

The Reality of the Streets

As soon as they stepped outside, reality set in.

Victoria surveyed the narrow alleyways, the pockmarked doors, the smell of hopelessness in the air.

“This is where you live?” she asked, voice careful.

Kenzo stuffed his hands in the pockets. “Yeah.”

No judgment. No reaction.

Just acceptance.

She trailed him up a narrow staircase, into a small, single-room apartment. The walls cracked, the ceiling stained with water.

Victoria walked in, kicking off her heels. “It’s clean.”

He huffed a laugh. “That you’re expecting a rat-infested dump?”

In its way, it was a terribly soft smile. “No. I just… expected less.”

Kenzo froze.

She wasn’t mocking him. She meant it.

She found value in what little he had.

Something in his chest ached.

He laid the food on the little table. “Sit. Eat.”

She shook her head, moved closer. “You eat first.”

Kenzo frowned. “Victoria—”

“I know you don’t eat a lot,” she said. “I can tell.”

His jaw clenched. Nobody had ever noticed that before.

But he sighed and picked up a sandwich.

They ate standing, in silence.

Victoria took a sip of water. “You don’t use the fan.”

He looked at the fan wrapped in plastic in the corner. “Electricity’s expensive.”

She nodded. “You can use mine.”

Kenzo stared. “What?”

“My house,” she said. “It’s big enough here for both of us.”

There was a dangerous sensation winding up in his gut.

He had nothing to give her.

But she wanted to take him in?

Kenzo set his sandwich down. “Victoria—”

She placed a finger over his lips. “Shhh.”

His breath hitched.

She smirked. “Don’t overthink.”

Kenzo huffed. “You’re impossible.”

She grinned. “And you love it.”

Sleeping Next to a Wolf

Victoria took a shirt out of his drawer.

“I don’t want to sleep in this dress,” she pouted, pouring herself into the bathroom.

Kenzo ran a hand through his hair. This woman was going to make him insane.

By the time she emerged, his enormous shirt swallowed her figure.

His wolf liked it. Too much.

Victoria got into bed, stretched out.

Arms crossed, Kenzo just stood there. “You sleep. I’ll take the floor.”

She rolled her eyes. “Get in bed, Kenzo.”

He hesitated.

Then — she caught his wrist and pulled.

He staggered and caught himself on one hand over her head.

She giggled. “Kiss me.”

Kenzo groaned. “Victoria—”

She took his face in her hands and kissed him.

His self-control snapped.

He pressed her down, kissing her harder.

Her nails, clawing into his back, her heady scent.

She inhaled, angling her head — her neck bare, a pulse racing just under the surface of her skin.

Kenzo’s vision blurred. The wolf within raged forward, hunger tearing at him from the insides, instincts roaring to stake her as theirs. His muscles tightened, breath trembling. Just one bite. One taste.

His fangs grazed her skin—

At the last moment, he caught himself, his fists bunching into the mattress.

Not yet.

He pulled himself away, sucking in a breath as he regained control of his trembling limbs. His wolf growled in protest, but he didn’t listen. Not like this. Not when she didn’t know what she was asking for.

“Sleep,” he commanded, his voice hoarse, nearly a growl.

Victoria blinked at him, her dancing eyes suddenly full of mischief. “Coward.”

Kenzo let out a high, sharp laugh and shook his head. “Brat.”

She smiled triumphantly and curled into his chest, heat saturating his skin. His tension gradually released as her breathing lightened and

found its way into sleep.

His arms locked around her, his wolf purring in discontented approval.

For the first time in years, Kenzo felt at home. That he wasn’t just an animal, scratching for control — but a human being who had finally found his home.