CHAPTER THREE

Talon's POV

"I am completely done searching, Kara," I said, standing outside the grand doors of the royal house.

"You cannot just give up, Talon," my sister replied, crossing her arms.

"You are thirty years old," Kara said, stepping in front of me to block my path. "Our pack needs a Luna to lead alongside you. The elders are getting impatient. I am getting impatient. You cannot just stop looking."

"The elders can wait," I told her, keeping my voice calm. "And you can mind your own business. I will not force a bond just to make the pack happy."

"I am your sister," she argued. "Your happiness is my business."

"Then let me be happy alone," I said flatly. "I am going back to the hotel."

I turned around to leave. Then, a scent hit me.

It hit me so hard my knees almost buckled. It smelled like fresh rain and sweet vanilla. I stopped walking immediately. I breathed in deeply.

"Talon," Kara whispered, grabbing my arm tightly. "You smell that too, do you not?"

"I do," I answered, my voice rough.

I looked toward the garden doors ahead of us. A woman walked out. She had soft curves and quiet eyes. She moved carefully, like she was trying hard not to be noticed by anyone.

My wolf woke up inside me for the very first time in a long decade.

"Mate," my wolf growled loudly in my head. "She is ours."

"Who is she?" Kara asked, staring directly at the beautiful woman.

"I do not know," I said. "But I am going to find out right now."

I left my sister behind and walked straight into the main banquet hall. I searched the large room until I found the Alpha of this specific pack. Ezra Cross. The Crescent Moon Alpha King invited me here as an honored guest, and Ezra was the official host for the night.

"Alpha Ezra," I called out loudly, approaching him near the busy bar area.

Ezra turned around and smiled widely at me. "Alpha Talon. It is a great honor to have you at my pack banquet tonight."

"Thank you," I said, keeping my face completely blank and serious. "I have a very quick question for you."

"Ask me anything," Ezra replied happily, holding his drink.

"A woman just walked in from the garden," I said, pointing my finger toward the large doors. "She is wearing a blue dress. Who is she?"

Ezra looked over. He stared at her for a brief second. Then, he laughed.

"Do not tell me you are interested in that disgusting thing, Alpha," Ezra said loudly.

I did not laugh with him. I stared at him with very cold eyes. Ezra stopped laughing immediately. He straightened his posture quickly and cleared his throat.

"She is a daughter of the pack," Ezra explained quickly. "She works as a nurse at our local hospital. She is completely obsessed with being my Luna, if you can believe it."

"Obsessed?" I asked quietly.

"Yes," Ezra said, shrugging his broad shoulders like she meant absolutely nothing to him. "She is incredibly annoying. I will probably reject her tonight if she pushes it."

Something ugly twisted deep inside my stomach. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to break his jaw for speaking about my true mate that way. But I forced my face to stay completely still. I gave absolutely nothing away.

"I see," I said simply. "Excuse me."

I walked away from him instantly and found Kara waiting patiently near the stairs.

"What did he say?" Kara asked immediately. "Is she from this pack?"

"She is a nurse here," I told her. "Ezra called her disgusting. He said she is obsessed with him and he plans to reject her tonight."

"He said that about your mate?" Kara asked, her eyes going very wide. "Are you going to rip his head off right now?"

"No," I answered simply.

"Are you going to claim her right now?" she asked.

"No," I repeated. "I am going to wait."

"Wait?" Kara practically yelled at me. "Why would you wait? You have been looking for her for ten full years."

"Do you remember the last time I thought I found my mate?" I asked her, keeping my voice very low.

Kara closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Yes. I remember."

"That woman smelled exactly like my mate," I explained quietly. "But it was a total lie. She used black magic to plant the scent on herself. She only wanted my Alpha title. She never actually wanted me."

"I know, Talon," Kara said softly. "But this is different."

"I do not know if it is different," I argued. "I rejected that woman the exact moment I found out the ugly truth. But that huge mistake cost me my trust. It cost me my certainty. I cannot simply follow my own nose anymore without doubting it completely."

"So what are you going to do?" Kara asked.

"I am going to watch her tonight," I said. "If this woman really is mine, I need to know it for the absolute right reasons. I cannot claim her just because my wolf wants her and no one else will."

Kara nodded slowly. "Okay. We wait and watch."

We walked into the main banquet hall together. The music played loudly. People danced and drank. Less than an hour later, the music suddenly stopped. A voice came directly through the large hall speakers.

"I want to be your wife, Ezra. Will you marry me?"

It was her voice.

"What is happening?" Kara asked, looking up at the black speakers.

"Someone left a microphone on," I said, scanning the large room quickly.

Then, Ezra's harsh voice boomed through the speakers. "How bold of you, fat pig."

The entire room went completely silent. Everyone listened closely.

"Did you really think I was gonna marry you?" Ezra mocked loudly through the speakers. "I never loved you, Ondina. I never even liked you."

"He is humiliating her," Kara said, her voice shaking heavily with anger.

"He is a dead man," I growled. My blood boiled hotter than anything had in many years. I listened to Ezra call her disgusting. I listened to him claim her own sister instead.

"We need to find her," Kara said, pulling my arm.

I did not wait for another word. I walked out of the hall rapidly and headed straight toward the back corridors. I needed to get to her immediately. I needed to see her beautiful face.

I walked quickly down the empty stone hallway. Suddenly, a figure came flying around the corner. She ran way too fast. She did not look where she was going at all.

She slammed straight into my hard chest.

I reached out my hands instantly. I caught her soft arms before she could fall to the hard floor. Catching her felt like catching something I had been reaching for my entire life.

She looked up at me to apologize. Her beautiful face was covered in tears. Her entire body shook violently.

I looked directly into her eyes. My normal brown eyes shifted. I felt the burning gold take over my vision entirely. I locked my eyes directly on her. She was the absolute only person left in the entire world.

"Mine," my wolf roared loudly in my head. "Claim her right now."

I wanted to pull her incredibly close. I wanted to scent her sweet neck. I wanted to tell her she was completely safe with me.

But I did not.

I remembered the dark black magic. I remembered the painful betrayal. I needed to be smart. I could not let my wild wolf control me.

I slowly let go of her arm. I stepped back carefully. I forced my voice to stay completely flat and totally even. I said the absolutely only word I trusted myself to say at that exact moment.

"Careful," I said.

She just stared at me, frozen completely in place.

I turned around and walked away quickly before I did something I could not take back.