Mate?

Draven’s POV

“I’m… I’m sorry, Mr. Gionatti. I swear, it wasn’t…” Juan’s voice quivered so badly that every word stumbled over the next.

I crossed the room at an unhurried pace, lazily twirling the knife between my fingers. I didn’t need to threaten him. The terror in his eyes told me he’d already convinced himself of how this meeting would end.

“Where’s my shipment?”

Juan swallowed so hard I could hear it. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Darren let out a quiet laugh from the wall where he’d been standing with his arms folded. “For the love of God, Draven, one of these days you’re going to have to start handing out diapers before meetings.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

The room reeked of fear. It always did. I stopped directly in front of Jose until only inches separated us. His breathing turned shallow as he stared anywhere but my face. “You’ve got one chance to stop lying to me.”

“I swear…” His voice cracked. “I don’t know.”

A disappointed sigh escaped me. “Juan…” I slowly shook my head. “You’ve made a terrible decision.”

Darren pushed away from the wall without waiting for another instruction. We’d worked together long enough that we rarely needed words.

Juan noticed immediately. His composure shattered. “No… please… don’t.”

I caught the knife by the handle and looked at him without the slightest hint of emotion. “Last chance.”

Silence settled over the room. Then he broke. “I was following orders!” he blurted. “It wasn’t my idea!”

“Whose?” I asked as I twirled my knife around my fingers.

“I don’t know his name,” he stuttered.

I studied him for another heartbeat before giving a slow nod. “Wrong answer.”

I bring my knife to his finger. Then I press down cutting into the skin until I see a thin line of blood. I looked at him for a minute. I didn’t say a word more. Then I place my knife down harder on his finger.

“It got shipped in the other direction. It went to an abandoned warehouse away from here. It will then be transported out from there again." He cries out as I slice through his bone and sever his finger. He screams bloody murder. That fucking high pitched squealing, man I can't take that.

"He screams like a little bitch, my king,” Darren laughs as he shakes his head.

By the time Jose finally gave us something useful, sweat soaked through his shirt and defeat hung from every inch of him.

“It was diverted,” he said between shaky breaths. “Forty-five minutes east. An abandoned warehouse. They’re moving everything across the border tonight.”

I shifted my attention to Darren. He already had his phone in his hand, pulling up a map. “I know exactly where that is,” he said. “Nobody goes out there unless they’re looking for trouble.”

“They found it.”

His grin was immediate. “They won’t keep it.”

I nodded my head once. “Take Byron. Move now.”

He slipped the phone into his pocket. “I’ll have the warriors rolling in two minutes.”

Without another word, he disappeared into the hallway, barking orders before the office door even finished closing behind him.

If those weapons disappeared before sunrise, we’d lose millions. More importantly… They’d end up in the wrong hands. That wasn’t happening. Not while I still drew breath.

I crossed the office and stopped in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass overlooking Ringside. The club had become one of the city’s busiest places. Humans saw an exclusive underground fight venue where they could gamble, drink, and forget about the world for a few hours. That illusion suited me just fine.

Above us, Lime Light catered to politicians, executives, celebrities, and anyone else wealthy enough to buy their way behind velvet ropes. Crystal chandeliers, expensive liquor, live music, and private lounges gave them exactly the atmosphere they expected.

They believed I owned a successful chain of nightclubs. Nothing more. No one questioned the businessman. No one suspected the Lycan King.

My office overlooked the arena through reinforced two-way glass, allowing me to watch every fight without anyone realizing I was there. Every unfamiliar face. Every suspicious movement. Every opportunity. Nothing escaped my notice.

The office door opened again. “The teams are moving,” Darren said as he stepped back inside.

“Good,” I nodded my head.

He wandered over beside me, following my line of sight toward the ring below. “You usually don’t spend this much time watching the fights.”

“I’m making sure my investment stays profitable,” I shrugged my shoulders.

He chuckled under his breath. “If that’s what you want to call it.”

I ignored him. Something shifted deep inside me. Ash. He’d been unusually quiet all evening, content to remain in the back of my mind while I dealt with business. Now he stirred.

“Do you smell that?” He sniffs the air.

I frowned. “Fear,” I chuckled out.

“No.” Ash’s response came with absolute certainty. “Her.”

I drew another slow breath. At first I caught nothing but sweat, liquor, blood, and cigarette smoke. Then… There it was. Fresh rain. Wildflowers. Clean air after a summer storm. The scent shouldn’t have reached me through reinforced glass. Yet somehow… It had.

My attention drifted toward the ring. The announcer stepped beneath the spotlight. “Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight’s main event!”

The crowd erupted. Hugo Warner climbed through the ropes first, his broad shoulders drawing cheers from nearly everyone in attendance. Then she appeared. Tiny compared to him. She ducked beneath the ropes without the slightest hesitation before straightening to her full height.

Long brown hair framed a face that should have looked nervous. Instead… She looked amused. Hazel eyes swept across the arena as though she owned the place.

Ash’s voice rumbled quietly. “Her.”

I narrowed my eyes. “The human?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.

Below us, some drunken idiot yelled something at her from the crowd. She rolled her eyes. The woman beside her caught her arm before she could march across the arena and educate him herself. A grin spread across the fighter’s face.

Ash sounded almost pleased. “She doesn’t know fear.”

The bell rang. Hugo attacked immediately, throwing everything behind his opening punch. She leaned back just enough for it to miss before sweeping his legs clean out from under him. The arena exploded.

Beside me, Darren let out a low whistle. “Well… I wasn’t expecting that.”

Neither was I. She wasn’t trying to overpower him. She knew she couldn’t. Instead… She outthought him. Every movement flowed effortlessly into the next. No hesitation. No wasted energy. No panic. Years of discipline had turned every instinct into muscle memory.

Ash remained silent as he watched her dismantle a man nearly twice her size. When she swept Hugo’s legs out from under him for the second time, he finally spoke. “Mate.”

The word settled over me with impossible certainty. “No.” The denial remained inside my head. Ash ignored it.

She spun, driving her heel into Hugo’s jaw before wrapping herself around him and locking in a chokehold so precise that even several members of my Royal Guard would have struggled to escape it.

Darren folded his arms, unable to hide his grin. “I almost feel sorry for him.”

I glanced sideways. “Almost?”

He laughed. “Not even a little.”

Our attention returned to the fight. Hugo battled the hold with everything he had, driving elbow after elbow into her ribs. She never loosened her grip. Seconds later, his hand slapped the mat.

The arena erupted into deafening cheers.

Ash’s voice softened. “The Moon chose well.”

For the first time in years… I couldn’t find a single argument.

Darren slowly looked from the woman celebrating in the ring to me. Understanding dawned across his face. “So… that’s what this is.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I shook my head.

“Maybe.” His smile only widened. “You want me to find out who she is?”

Ash answered before I could. “Yes.”

I never took my eyes off the woman below. “Find out everything.”

Darren nodded once before quietly leaving the office. I remained where I was, watching her disappear into the crowd with an envelope tucked beneath her arm and a smile spread across her face.

She was human. Ash insisted she was our mate. Those two should have never been put together.

Yet through every battle we’d fought, every challenge we’d survived, and every year we’d shared the same soul… Ash had never been wrong. Not once.