5

Gabriella

Such luck!

My wolf, Gia howls inside of me, happy to have met our goal so damn early in the night. What are the chances that I'd run into the alpha king out here in the gardens of all places? Alone and without his guards to prevent us both from talking?

Trying to keep myself under control, I clear my throat and nod with a slight bow. "Pretty name."

He squints at me for a moment, and then laughs again. "I can't tell if you're making fun of me or not."

"I'm not." Though I'm sure from my tone, even he can tell that I'm lying.

Is it stupid of me to lie to the alpha that could have my head presented to him on a silver platter? Probably, but I'm banking on the fact that he's hopefully not as ruthless as his father was, at least according to rumor.

What intel could I get out of the pack alpha? Tons, I'm sure.

"Really? Could've fooled me." There's a slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes that has me a little shocked. Does he think I'm funny?

Elijah is...not what I expected at all.

For all the rumors that have circulated about him and his pack over the years—dominating, arrogant, imperial—he seems to act like the complete opposite, almost friendly in a way. Like he doesn't have the entire North, the biggest land mass in the world to lead and command.

I don't really know how I feel about that, other than being caught completely off guard. The entire trip up here, I'd been preparing myself over and over again on how exactly I was going to try to meet with one of his packmates.

And yet, now that he himself is standing here in front of me in the flesh, I can't seem to get my mouth open or my lips to move to say the words.

To both of our surprises, I turn on my heel and walk away from him to head deeper into the gardens. I need a minute to breathe before I can start trying to seduce him into talking before someone finds us out here together and separates us.

Or better yet, drags him back into the ball where hundreds of other girls are waiting for him to distract him.

"Hey wait—Gabriella," he calls after me, the sounds of his shoes crunching on the gravel following close behind. "Did I say something to offend you?"

Offend me?

Why would he care about that?

What in the world is going on?

I continue to walk, praying that he follows me while I try to pull myself together.

I can't help but wonder if he's only following me because he finds me interesting enough to ditch his own damn party in order to play cat-and-mouse with me in the gardens. Wouldn't that be what an alpha like him would do?

"Gabriella," Elijah calls. "Wait."

I stop as I round a corner that heads into a hedge maze. Right as I'm turning on my heel to face him, he practically barrels into me. As I fall back, his arms come out to snatch me up off my feet and slam me against his chest.

While the gesture is chivalrous, it knocks the wind out of me.

"Oof!" I grab at the lapels of his suit to keep me from tumbling back into the hedge.

"Shit. Bad move. My fault," he tells me, but doesn't put me down.

My entire body flushes with heat the moment I lay my hands on him. A full-body rush that has me sucking in a short burst of air that doesn't seem able to quite fill my lungs. I'm struck by how intense it feels while I force myself to look up into the eyes of the alpha staring at me.

"Sorry, I—" His voice cuts off, his eyes widening.

Suddenly, I feel it too.

Like a wire winding itself around my heart, over and over again until I'm tightly bound with nowhere else to go.

On the other end of the wire is a connection that spans out, making its way across what feels like the vast expanse of the universe until it finds its home within the alpha that's currently holding me.

The crack of a whip, and then my wolf howls.

The mating bond.

"You..." Elijah murmurs, his mouth falling open in shock. "It's you."

The alpha standing before me, the King of the North: Elijah Lahiz is my bonded mate.

"I—" My mouth feels numb as I try to move it. I can't believe—no, this...surely there's no way?

But it's there. The connection beats steadily in my chest, as sure as my own heartbeat.

Elijah drops me back down to my feet suddenly, stumbling away from me. A short burst of air leaves him as he continues to stare at me—in horror? Disgust? Bewilderment? I can't tell. It's too dark and I'm too much in shock to really be able to read him.

I step forward for some reason, an energy I can't even begin to comprehend compelling me to follow him. My wolf is practically clawing at me from the inside, begging me to let her free so she can finally meet her mate.

"Sorry," Elijah says again, shaking his head wildly. His own wolf must be driving him mad. "I have to go."

My heart shatters at the words.

I don't even get a chance to stop him before he's shifting and turning to sprint through the hedge maze to get away from me.

Did that...just happen?

I touch my skin where his hands held me, the lingering burning feeling still there even as I try to wipe it clean.

I don't know how long I'm out here in the gardens before I manage to stumble my way back into the ball. The lights are bright, the laughter and music are loud and suddenly grating on my ears.

I'm too overwhelmed to be here right now, but I can't just leave while Raya's still here somewhere.

Passing by a table, I spot a few glasses of wine and swipe one up before downing almost the entire thing in one go. One of the catering staff gives me a strange look before offering me another one, clearly not surprised I need something for the jitters.

Time passes slowly. I spot Raya socializing while I stick to the outskirts of the party. My chest aches from being separated so suddenly from Elijah, while my head is filled with my wolf baying in anguish.

Usually when a pair's mating bond snaps in place, they're sent off to be alone together for a while to properly let it settle. That's how it should be at least. Except apparently I'm supposed to be mated to a damn alpha king.

Who still has yet to show his face.

Eventually, I retire back to mine and Raya's room for the evening, needing the silence and the space to be alone again. I can hardly breathe, and being surrounded by that many people with their hormones flying is sending me into a deep spiral.

By the time I get my dress off of me and slip into my nightgown, I feel the familiar pinpricks of tears trying to form in my eyes.

Why? Why did this have to happen? I was just supposed to come here and pretend to seduce Elijah to make Alpha Storm happy, not be rejected by my own mate the second our mating bond snaps into place.

How am I going to be able to leave the Northern packlands while feeling like I'm dying? Is that even possible? Dying of an unclaimed bond?

Suddenly, a knock at my door has me bolting up in bed. Expecting Raya, I head over to it and unlatch the door to open it.

A deep and masculine scent hits me instantly, freezing me in place as I look up into familiar golden eyes.

"Gabriella," Elijah says, before grabbing the door and prying it out of my hand to push his way into my room.