Zodiak Rises

Alyssa

Gripping her umbrella until her knuckles were white and her fingers going numb, Alyssa Hart tried to walk at a normal pace, acting as if nothing was wrong. However, through the pattering of the rain drops above her head, she swore she could hear the light thrum of footsteps behind her. She was sure they were coming for her. They knew her secret and wanted her dead because of it.

To be sure, she quickened her pace slightly, just enough to make it seem like she was trying to escape the rain and not alert the person behind her that she was on to him. She paled even more as she heard the footsteps quicken as well.

It was 11pm on a Thursday night. Because of the rain, the streets were empty, which was a rarity for Los Angeles. She glanced frantically ahead: should she continue on the open street or sneak into the adjacent alley and hope to encounter some homeless people who may serve as her protection?

Aware that time was running out, Alyssa veered sharply into the next alley. Her breath came faster as she feverishly scanned her surroundings, desperate to spot anyone, any sign of life that might offer safety.

But the alley was empty.

The sickening realization hit her like a blow to the gut. No witnesses. No help.

Only her, the darkness, and the footsteps growing louder behind her.

Cole

Cole Donovan stepped out onto his balcony, the rain misting against his skin. He barely noticed. The city stretched out before him in a blur of lights and shadows, but to Cole, it all felt empty and meaningless. He looked down at the marbled flooring of the balcony at his reflection. His dark brown eyes lost their golden liner years ago and his brown hair lost its shein. When you go too long without a mate, you start to lose your essence, everything that gives you substance.

Life had begun to lose its flavor long ago, and now, even the routine of running his security empire, a business he had built after two centuries of dabbling in countless other dealings, felt hollow to him. He took over the company when it was small and technology was just starting out. His father left it to him when he passed away, and he had turned it into a multi-million-dollar empire. He had been waiting a lifetime for his mate, and the longer he waited, the more he withered inside.

His wolf, Zodiak, had gone silent years ago, retreating deep within him, refusing to speak. Cole could still feel him there, a dormant presence buried beneath layers of resignation. But neither of them had the strength or hope to search anymore. Sure, he had dated women, but nothing ever panned out, nothing ever felt right.

The longer Cole stood, leaning over the railing, the stronger the scent became, the wind brought to him a rich, sweet, almost sinful, like vanilla warmed by honey smell. It invaded his senses, igniting something primal in him.

Zodiac stirred, a low growl rumbling through Cole’s chest as his head jerked from side to side, hunting for the source.

Then in the shadows he saw her.

She moved down the slick, empty street like a vision pulled from his deepest, most desperate dreams, radiant even under the cold drizzle, fragile yet fierce. His mate.

The mate he had waited a lifetime to find.

For one breathless second, the world narrowed to only her, every light, every sound, every thought fading into nothing.

Then a nightmare shattered the dream.

A shadow followed her, creeping closer, and in the dim light, Cole caught the gleam of a blade, a long, wicked knife, nearly a machete, gripped in the stalker's hand.

She turned into an alley and vanished from sight.

Fear exploded inside him, fierce and wild. Zodiak roared for freedom, and Cole didn't fight him. He finally found the person he had waited his whole existence for and was not about to let anything happen to her.

With a snarl that ripped from the depths of his soul, he let the wolf rise, bones cracked, muscles stretched, skin rippled as Zodiak surged free, a massive wolf with jet-black fur and burning gold eyes.

The pain was nothing compared to the terror slicing through him, the desperate need to reach her, his mate.

Nothing, not rain, not darkness, not death itself, would keep him from reaching her.

With a powerful leap, Zodiak vaulted over the balcony railing, landing silently in the soaked alley below. Rain sheeted off his thick coat as he sniffed the air, locking onto her scent, vanilla and honey, now tainted with fear.

He raced after it, paws pounding the slick pavement, a silent ghost in the night.