2

**Chapter 2: Cracks in the Facade**

My lungs forgot how to work.

The moon poured cold silver over everything, turning the backyard into some kind of nightmare stage. Damien’s mouth was still on Lisa’s, his fingers tangled in her platinum hair like he’d done it a thousand times. My best friend. My fiancé. The words “my real mate” kept punching holes in my skull.

Another growl rolled out of the darkness, low and hungry. It wasn’t human. The stranger’s eyes glowed an impossible gold, locked on me like he could see straight through bone. Something electric snapped across my skin, raising every hair on my arms. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t scream. Could only stand there shaking while my entire world cracked open.

Damien finally pulled away from Lisa, wiping his mouth like he hadn’t just ripped my heart out. He turned, and his gaze landed on me.

For one heartbeat, pure panic flashed across his face. Then it hardened into something ugly.

“Elena…” he started.

I didn’t wait. My heels dug into the grass as I spun and ran, the sliding door banging open under my palms. The party noise slammed into me: laughing, thumping music, clinking glasses, like nothing evil was happening ten feet away. Tears burned hot down my cheeks, smearing mascara everywhere. I shoved through bodies, not caring who I bumped into.

Jessica’s voice cut through the chaos. “Elena? Babe, what’s wrong?”

I couldn’t answer. My throat was raw. I just kept moving until I hit the grand staircase and bolted up, two steps at a time. The upstairs hallway was quieter, lined with closed doors and expensive art I didn’t give a damn about right now. I needed air. Needed to disappear.

I shoved into the first empty guest room I found and slammed the door, pressing my back against it. My chest heaved. Sobs clawed their way out, ugly and loud. The white dress felt like a joke now, clinging to my sweaty skin. I clawed at the zipper, wanting it off, wanting every reminder of tonight gone.

How long had it been going on? How many times had he kissed her while I was asleep in our bed? How many “late work nights” were really her legs wrapped around him?

A soft knock made me freeze.

“Elena? It’s me.” Jessica’s worried voice. “Open up, honey.”

I cracked the door. She slipped inside with Lori right behind her. Jessica’s eyes went wide when she saw my face. “Oh my God, what happened?”

I couldn’t even say it. The words were poison. Lori shut the door, arms crossed, waiting.

I swallowed hard. “Damien… and Lisa. Out back. He called her his real mate.”

Jessica gasped, hand flying to her mouth. Lori’s jaw clenched so tight I heard it.

“That son of a bitch,” Lori hissed. “I knew it. I fucking knew something was off with those two.”

Jessica pulled me into a hug, rocking me like I was a kid. “I’m so sorry, babe. You don’t deserve this.”

I cried harder into her shoulder, the fabric of her top soaking through. My whole body shook. Everything hurt: my chest, my head, the spot between my legs where I’d stupidly saved myself for him. Virgin. I’d waited because I thought we were forever. What a joke.

After a minute, I pulled back, wiping my face with trembling fingers. “I have to get out of here. I can’t breathe in this house.”

Jessica nodded fast. “We’ll take you home right now.”

“No.” My voice cracked. “I don’t want to go back to the apartment. That’s his place too. I just… I need to be anywhere but here.”

Lori’s dark eyes softened a fraction. “There’s a bar downtown. The Crescent. Quiet, dark, no lacrosse bros. We’ll go there. You can scream, cry, set something on fire, whatever you need.”

I managed a watery laugh. “Let’s go with crying and tequila.”

We slipped out a side door to avoid the crowd. The night air hit my wet cheeks like ice. My heels were already killing me, so I kicked them off and walked barefoot across the grass to Jessica’s Jeep. The gravel bit into my soles, but I didn’t care. Pain felt honest right now.

The drive was silent except for the low hum of the radio. I stared out the window at the moon, so full and bright it looked fake. Every time I blinked, I saw those glowing gold eyes from the woods. They hadn’t looked angry. They’d looked… hungry. Possessive. Like they knew me.

I shivered and hugged myself.

The Crescent was exactly what Lori promised: dim, half-empty, smelling like old wood and whiskey. We claimed a corner booth sticky with years of spilled drinks. Jessica ordered a round of tequila shots before we even sat down.

The first one went down like fire. The second made my eyes water again, but in a different way.

“Okay,” Jessica said gently, pushing my hair out of my face. “Talk when you’re ready. Or don’t. We’re just here.”

I stared at the empty shot glass. “He said ‘mate.’ Not girlfriend. Not even fiancée. Mate. Like I was nothing.”

Lori’s lip curled. “He and his dumbass friends are obsessed with that wolf-pack crap. Alpha, Beta, mate, like they’re actually animals. It’s creepy.”

I laughed, but it came out broken. “Maybe they are.”

Jessica frowned. “What do you mean?”

I opened my mouth to tell them about the growl, the glowing eyes, but the words stuck. It sounded insane. Instead I just shook my head and reached for the third shot.

That’s when the door to the bar opened, letting in a slice of moonlight.

He stepped inside like he owned the night.

Tall, God, so tall, broad shoulders filling out a black leather jacket. Dark hair messy in that way that looked deliberate. Sharp jaw, full lips, and those eyes. Even in the low light I could see it: molten gold, fixed on me like lasers.

My breath caught. Every nerve in my body lit up at once. Heat pooled low in my belly, sudden and shocking. I squeezed my thighs together under the table without thinking.

He didn’t look around. Didn’t hesitate. Just walked straight toward our booth, boots heavy on the worn floorboards. People moved out of his way without seeming to realize they were doing it.

Jessica noticed my stare and followed it. “Holy hell. Who is that?”

Lori leaned forward, voice low. “Trouble. Capital T.”

He stopped right in front of me, close enough that I could smell him: pine, smoke, something wild that made my mouth water. His gaze dropped to my tear-streaked face, then to the crumpled white dress, and something dark flashed in his eyes.

“Rough night, little wolf?” His voice was deep, rough, like gravel and honey. It vibrated straight through my chest.

I should’ve been scared. Should’ve told him to back off. Instead I whispered, “You… you were at the party.”

One corner of his mouth lifted, not quite a smile. “I was. And you’re not safe here.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. “What?”

Behind him, the bar door opened again. Damien stormed in, Lisa trailing like a smug shadow. His eyes locked on me, then slid to the stranger standing way too close.

Damien’s face twisted with rage. “Elena. Get away from him. Now.”

The stranger didn’t even glance at Damien. He just leaned down, voice dropping to a growl that only I could hear.

“Because the second you stepped out of that house, you stopped being his mate…”

His warm breath brushed my ear, sending shivers racing down my spine.

“…and started becoming mine.”