003| MATES AND SECRETS

~KARL~

The moment I saw Damon put his hand on her, something inside me snapped.

The feeling was out of the ordinary. It wasn’t just anger; it was something darker and heavier.

I could barely contain it. I could feel my wolf, King, prowling beneath my skin, demanding blood. His blood.

Her eyes were cold, like she had decided I wasn’t worth her time, as if she was sure I was the evil one.

That was enough to break my heart terribly, enough to make me want to do something crazy, like ripping Damon’s throat out in front of half the Academy.

By the time I reached my quarters, my pulse was still pounding, and the fury burned hotter than fire.

I ignored the voices that called after me as I walked through the halls, ignored the giggling girls and the ones who tossed their hair about, desperate for my attention.

None of it mattered. None of them mattered.

There was only one face that haunted me. It was hers.

“Alright, spill it.” Jace, the taller of my two best friends, lounged against the doorway, blocking my path.

His dark eyes gleamed with curiosity. “I saw how you stormed out of there like you’re about to start a war. What’s going on with you, Alpha?”

Good question. What’s going on with me?

I ignored him and turned to leave, but a voice followed.

“C’mon Alpha, don’t act like we didn’t see you,” Ryder added, smirking as he followed in.

“I saw it in your eyes when Damon called that girl his girlfriend. You actually looked ready to kill him. Then again, you were already pissed when she spilled coffee on you. Twice now, bro.”

I didn’t respond.

He continued. “For all I know, you didn’t know that girl before now, but yet you seem all territorial about her. You even told Damon to let go of her that day.”

“Am even more surprised he didn’t want revenge on her for humiliating him like that. That’s so unlike you, Alpha.” Jace threw in.

I turned my back to them, heading straight towards my fireplace.

Silence was the best way to keep back the restless growl, clawing at my throat.

Of course, they’d notice the shift. They weren’t stupid. These were the two who knew me better than anyone else.

Jace my Beta, and Ryder, my Gamma.

Jace gasped suddenly, drawing my attention back to them. His eyes were wide as saucers, as though he had just discovered a terrifying secret.

“Don’t tell me...” Jace’s voice lowered, sharp with realization. “Karl. Don’t tell me she’s—”

Even though he didn’t complete that statement, I knew more than anyone else what he was trying to say.

My throat burned as I nodded.

“She is.” My fist clenched at my sides as the words tore out of me before I could rethink it.

“She is my mate.”

Silence followed. Deep, scary.

Then, both of them erupted at once.

“Holy shit!” Ryder shot up from his seat, grinning like a maniac. “The new girl? The clumsy witch who dumped coffee on you? That’s the one? Someone, tell me I am hearing this right.”

Jace let out a low whistle, shaking his head.

“Damn. No wonder you’ve been acting like a rabid wolf since the hallway. That explains everything. Well, it’s about time.”

Their excitement only grated against me, but even I couldn’t deny the truth.

The moment her coffee spilled across my shirt, the bond slammed into me with the force of a hurricane. very moment her coffee had spilled across my shirt,

Everything about her, her scent, her eyes, even her terrified little frown, they all branded me.

And I hated it.

I hated the inability to control my own emotions and feelings when it came to her.

“You guys should relax. She doesn’t know,” I muttered, jaw tight, “and I’d like to keep it that way.”

The guys exchanged glances. “What?”

“She’s with Damon. If she wants to throw herself at him, then she can do whatever she wants. I’ll just find the right moment, and then—” My voice dropped, I forced myself to say the final words.

“I’ll reject her.”

My wolf, king, growled angrily. Ever since he caught her scent, it had been almost impossible to keep him in check.

He moved, trying to force himself out, but I pushed him back down, even though it hurt us both.

Even if she weren’t his girlfriend, we still couldn’t accept her. I can’t pull her into the trouble associated with my world.

No sarcasm would save her there.

It was only then that I noticed how silent the room was.

“You are kidding, right?”

“You can’t be serious,” Jace’s eyes widened. “Reject your fated mate? Alpha, do you have any idea what that means?”

“I know exactly what it means.” My voice came out like a growl.

“I won’t be tied to someone who chooses him. Damon is my enemy. She wants him? Fine. She can have him for all I care. But not me.”

In the heat of tension, Ryder barked out a laugh, running his hand through his dark hair.

“Damn, Karl. You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself more than us. You really think you can walk away from a bond like that?”

The silence that followed stretched too long. I didn’t answer, because deep down, I wasn’t sure.

Even the thought of rejecting her alone made my heart twist painfully.

“Listen,” Jace leaned forward, his voice calm but firm. “You’ve got two choices, Alpha. It’s either you tell her the truth and have a chance to be with her, or you fight Damon every day for her. But don’t you dare pretend she means nothing.”

He sighed and continued. “We both saw your face back there. She matters to you. More than you want to admit.”

Ryder joined in, smirking with a teasing tone. “Besides, she’s already humiliated you with granny's panties, bro. If that doesn’t make her perfect, I don’t know what does.”

“Shut up, Ryder,” I snapped, though a reluctant growl of amusement threatened to break through my fury.

Even if it was a very embarrassing moment for me, it was kinda cute.

Those damned guys didn’t let me hide, not tonight. Even as the fire cracked in the hearth, I could still feel her scent lingering in my lungs.

My mate. My enemy’s so-called girlfriend.

The universe had a sick sense of humor.

But one thing was certain. If it was Damon she wanted, then she’d get him.

And one day soon, I would tear this bond apart with my own claws. Even if it killed me.

Ryder and Jace kept throwing jokes around, until the room felt too small for the heat rattling behind my ribs.

I paced the floor like a caged animal, trying to breathe slowly, trying to calm the wolf scratching under my skin.

“Don’t give us that look, Alpha. We are just telling you the truth.”

“That’s enough, both of you.”

Ryder, however, folded his arms stubbornly. “You say you’ll reject her, but mate bonds don’t work like that.”

I almost rolled my eyes.

Says the one who has never found his mate.

Before I could respond, a sudden knock came on my door.

It wasn’t the knock that made us freeze, but the intensity of those 3 knocks.

I walked straight to the door and yanked it open, and then I saw the figure.

His face was hidden behind a hood, so low that I could barely see anything.

There was a strange scent to him. Dark, dangerous like death, but somehow familiar.

He handed me a sealed envelope before I could speak. It was stamped with an emblem I hadn’t seen in years.

The sight of it made my blood run cold.

His voice came. “It’s time.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but he spoke again.

“She’s here,” that was the last thing he said, before he disappeared into the shadows, followed by two others I hadn’t noticed until now.

Behind me, Jace’s voice came hard, resounding with that of his wolf’s.

“Alpha, who was that?”

I stared at the mark on the wax, my pulse a hammer in my ear.

I couldn’t respond. Only the whisper in my chest.

The Pact is moving.

“The hunters are coming, and they’re not here for me this time,” I replied, and their eyes widened.