CHAPTER 2

The balcony overlooked the enormous gardens behind the Hale estate.

Music drifted through the open doors behind him.

Laughter followed.

Jamie rested his hands against the railing.

The night air was cool.

He breathed deeply.

This was better.

Quiet.

Alone.

He could survive out here.

He looked through the glass doors.

Ethan was laughing with his family.

His face was bright.

Happy.

Exactly how Jamie wanted to remember him.

Jamie smiled sadly.

“You deserve this.”

He said it softly.

“You deserve to be happy.”

His chest tightened.

“And so do I.”

The lie sounded weaker this time.

Jamie looked away.

He had almost convinced himself that he could move on.

Maybe after tonight.

Maybe after Ethan's wedding.

Maybe after graduation.

Maybe when Ethan started his new life.

Jamie would find someone eventually.

Someone who looked at him the way he looked at Ethan.

Someone who chose him.

Someone who wanted him.

Someone—

The atmosphere changed.

Jamie straightened.

He didn't know what had happened.

He simply felt it.

The hairs on his arms rose.

The laughter inside the room faded slightly.

Conversations quieted.

Even the music seemed distant.

An Alpha had entered the house.

Not just any Alpha.

A powerful one.

Jamie felt the presence before he saw the person.

His wolf stirred.

Jamie froze.

That was impossible.

His wolf had been quiet for years.

Ever since his designation at sixteen, Jamie had learned to suppress it.

He had been taught that Omegas needed to be careful.

That their instincts could betray them.

That their scent could attract unwanted attention.

So he had learned control.

He had taken suppressants.

He had buried the instincts beneath layers of discipline.

He hadn't felt his wolf this strongly in years.

But now—

His pulse jumped.

A strange warmth spread through his body.

His lungs seemed to forget what they were supposed to do.

Jamie turned toward the entrance.

And saw him.

Ryan Blackwood.

For one strange second, Jamie couldn't breathe.

He knew who Ryan was.

Everyone did.

Ryan Blackwood was twenty-five.

Heir to one of the oldest Alpha bloodlines in the country.

Rich.

Powerful.

Beautiful.

Dangerous.

Jamie had seen pictures of him before.

Pictures didn't do him justice.

Ryan was tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His dark hair was swept back neatly, exposing a strong forehead and sharp features. His expression was calm.

Controlled.

Almost cold.

He entered the room surrounded by several members of his family.

But Jamie didn't see any of them.

He only saw Ryan.

And Ryan was looking directly at him.

Something exploded inside Jamie.

His wolf rose violently.

Mate.

Jamie staggered backward.

His fingers tightened around the balcony railing.

No.

His heart slammed against his ribs.

No.

The scent hit him again.

Warm cedar.

Rain against earth.

Something dark and intoxicating.

Something that made every instinct inside him scream.

Mate.

Jamie couldn't breathe.

Across the room, Ryan had stopped walking.

His expression had changed.

The cold mask was gone.

His eyes were wide.

His nostrils flared.

His entire body had gone rigid.

People around him continued talking.

Ryan heard none of them.

His wolf had awakened.

After years of silence.

And it was screaming.

Mate.

Ryan's eyes locked onto Jamie.

Jamie couldn't move.

Neither could Ryan.

The room disappeared.

There were hundreds of people around them.

Jamie knew that.

He could see their blurred movements.

He could hear the distant music.

But everything seemed muted.

There was only Ryan.

And the invisible thread pulling them toward each other.

Jamie pressed a hand against his chest.

His heart hurt.

Not emotionally.

Physically.

It felt like something was trying to tear its way out of him.

Ryan took one step forward.

Jamie instinctively stepped backward.

Ryan stopped.

His eyes narrowed.

Confusion crossed his face.

Then disbelief.

Then something far more dangerous.

Recognition.

Jamie shook his head.

“No.”

The word barely escaped his lips.

Ryan heard it anyway.

His wolf surged.

Jamie could feel it.

Some strange supernatural connection had opened between them.

He didn't understand it.

He didn't want it.

This couldn't be happening.

Not tonight.

Not here.

Not with Ethan standing somewhere behind him, celebrating his engagement.

Jamie looked toward the room.

Ethan was still there.

Laughing.

Surrounded by people who loved him.

Wearing the happiest expression Jamie had ever seen.

Jamie closed his eyes.

Maybe if he stopped looking at Ryan, this would disappear.

Maybe the bond was a mistake.

Maybe it wasn't a mate bond.

Maybe—

“Jamie?”

Ethan's voice.

Jamie opened his eyes.

Ethan was standing several feet away.

He looked confused.

Jamie forced a smile.

“I'm fine.”

Ethan glanced past him.

His eyes landed on Ryan.

Then back on Jamie.

“Do you know Ryan?”

Jamie opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

Ryan stepped closer.

The entire room seemed to hold its breath.

Ethan turned.

“Ryan?”

Ryan didn't answer.

He was staring at Jamie.

Only Jamie.

Something in his expression made Jamie's stomach twist.

It wasn't simple attraction.

It was something deeper.

Something primal.

Something that terrified him.

Ryan stopped directly in front of him.

Close enough that Jamie could feel the heat coming off his body.

Close enough that his scent became overwhelming.

Jamie instinctively stepped back.

Ryan's jaw tightened.

“What's your name?”

The question was absurd.

Ryan already knew.

Everyone knew.

But perhaps he needed to hear it from Jamie.

“Jamie.”

Ryan's eyes darkened.

“Jamie Vale.”

Jamie swallowed.

“Yes.”

For a moment, Ryan said nothing.

Then his gaze dropped to Jamie's wrist.

Something was appearing beneath Jamie's skin.

A faint, burning mark.

Jamie looked down.

His blood ran cold.

A silver crescent had formed against his skin.

He had heard stories about it.

Everyone had.

A mate mark.

Impossible.

Rare.

The kind of thing people spent entire lifetimes waiting for.

And now it was appearing on him.

At Ethan's engagement party.

With Ethan's fiancé standing in front of him.

Jamie looked up.

Ryan stepped closer.

His expression had changed completely.

There was no confusion now.

Only certainty.

His voice dropped low enough that nobody else could hear.

“Mate.”

Jamie stopped breathing.

Behind him, Ethan was still standing there.

Watching.

And Jamie suddenly understood that his life had just changed forever.