Ch. 4 Second Chances

Finley

Two years. That's how long it's been since I felt a mate bond tear my world apart. Seven hundred and thirty days of carefully crafted excuses for why I couldn't attend pack gatherings at Glass Lake. Twenty-four months of throwing myself into training until my muscles screamed louder than my heart.

Now, watching the female warriors I've trained spar in the morning sun, I almost believe I'm past it all. Almost.

"Your stance is too wide, Tara!" I call out, circling the training ring. "Remember, speed over power. Let the bigger wolves underestimate you – that's your advantage."

The young she-wolf adjusts, then lands a perfect combination that sends her opponent stumbling backward. Pride swells in my chest. Two years ago, female warriors were rare in Forest Trails. Now we have an entire unit, thanks to Dad finally listening to my suggestions.

"Looking good out there, Bennett." Bradley calls from the sidelines, earning an internal eye roll from me. But I pointedly ignore him. 

Tara approaches as I finish the training session, still flushed from her sparring match. She's become more than just my best student - she's the closest friend I've allowed myself since everything happened with Liam.

"You're going to knock them dead at the demonstration tomorrow," I tell her, proud of how far she's come.

She gives me a knowing look. "If I can keep my nerves in check. Unlike someone else I know who's practically vibrating with tension."

I force my shoulders to relax. "I'm fine."

"Right." She lowers her voice. "It has nothing to do with a certain Glass Lake Beta being here for the first time since..."

"Don't." The word comes out sharper than I intend. "That was two years ago. Ancient history."

"History that you never properly closed the door on," she points out gently. She's the only one I've told about the rejected mate bond, during one particularly rough full moon run. "You never formally accepted his rejection."

"What difference would it make?" I busy myself adjusting training equipment. "We're both too proud to face each other for that conversation now. Besides, the distance usually makes it bearable. Just occasional twinges that I'm sure he feels too. Sometimes I think the bond has died on its own."

The lie tastes bitter, but I've had plenty of practice telling it. Even to myself.

"Just be careful," Tara says. "You've worked too hard to let this shake you. Especially now, with everything else going on."

She's right. It's been less than a month since my brother formally declined the Alpha position that should have been his birthright, shocking everyone except maybe me. I've seen how unhappy he's been, trying to fit himself into a role he never wanted. But his decision left our pack in upheaval, and my name has been whispered as a possible successor.

The first female Alpha of Forest Trails. The very idea makes some of the older council members break out in hives.

"I can't afford any mistakes," I say quietly. "Not if I want them to take me seriously as a candidate. This summit has to go perfectly."

"Then it will." Tara squeezes my arm. "You've earned this, Fin. Don't let anyone make you doubt that."

Bradley approaches then, his enforcer uniform impeccable as always. He's been a steady presence on the council, though I've never been able to read which way he'll vote regarding my potential leadership.

"Just doing my job," I say in response to his earlier comment, but can't help smiling. Small steps. That's how change happens.

"The delegates from the other packs are arriving," he says, his expression turning serious. "Including Glass Lake's Beta. Your father wants you at the welcoming ceremony."

My smile freezes. Of course Liam would be here – he's the one who developed the training program we're all gathering to learn. I've known this was coming for weeks.

"Mountain Ridge's Alpha son is here too. Dane Parker. He's... impressive." He tacks on, oblivious to my internal dialogue.

Something in his tone makes me look at him sharply, but he's already turning away. "The ceremony starts in ten minutes. Don't be late."

I dismiss the training session and head to my quarters to change. The formal uniform of Forest Trails – dark green and silver – fits me like armor. I've earned my place here, built something meaningful. I refuse to let Liam Stone's presence shake that.

The great hall is already crowded when I arrive. Representatives from five different packs mill about, the air thick with competing scents. I scan the room automatically, and of course, my gaze finds him immediately.

Liam stands near the front, looking every inch the Beta in Glass Lake's blue and silver. The past two years have been good to him – he carries himself with an authority that was only potential before, and of course he’s as handsome as ever. I force myself to look away, determined not to let his presence shake me even as his words of rejection – too much, but yet never enough – echo through me.

Nova stirs restlessly, but I force her back. The remnants of my bond with Liam have been quiet lately, just occasional whispers of sensation that are easy to ignore when we're territories apart. Sometimes I wonder if my cowardice in never formally accepting his rejection has kept it alive, or if it's slowly dying on its own. Either way, it seems irrelevant now.

"Finley." My father's voice pulls my attention away. "Come meet Alpha Parker's son."

I turn, and the world stops.

He's tall, powerfully built, with dark auburn hair and sharp grey eyes that lock onto mine with predatory focus. The scent of pine and winter wind and mine slams into me with devastating force. Nova surges forward before I can stop her, recognizing what I desperately want to deny.

No, I think frantically. Not again. I can't do this again.

But my wolf isn't listening. Neither is his. In the split second before it happens, I see his eyes bleed to Alpha gold, see his control shatter.

Then he's moving, too fast for anyone to stop him. His hand cups the back of my neck, pulling me to him. Sharp teeth graze my throat.

"Mine," he growls, and bites down.

The mate bond explodes between us like lightning. And suddenly I realize how wrong I was about my bond with Liam being dead – because across the room, I feel his shock ripple through our connection like a thunderclap. The marking isn't just affecting me and Dane – it's pulling at that unresolved first bond too, binding all three of us together in ways I don't understand.

The last thing I think before the world goes dark is that Liam was right all along, the Moon Goddess does have a cruel sense of humor.