TWO

Alaric Storm stood in the center of his private chamber, the polished stone cold beneath his boots. He ran his hands through his long hair, his green eyes following his Beta as he hurriedly left the room with a pile of documents in his hands. The same documents he had been attending to for weeks. The same documents that had interrupted his meeting with his mate.

Finally free from the pressure of urgent pack matters, he let out an exhale, took his seat and folded his arms, his eyebrows immediately furrowing. As the Alpha King of the Storm Pack he had always been burdened by responsibilities. Dozens of them. But none of them had ever felt as heavy as the one he faced the second he locked gazes with his mate.

The pack sorcerer was right. He had a mate. Stranded in another pack and deluding herself with dreams of getting married to another man. She was right when she told him to head to the woods and search for her himself. But what he didn’t expect was to find her after barely twenty-four hours of searching, soaked in the rain, looking so helpless he couldn’t stop himself. Or the unexpected pull he immediately felt.

Alaric’s chest tightened involuntarily. The memory he could not push aside rose unbidden- the stormy forest, her hair plastered to her skin, rain dripping down her bare shoulders, the warmth of her body pressed against his. The way her lips had moved on his, soft but demanding, the way her body had betrayed her fear with instinct, the raw, undeniable pull of the mate bond and the utter shock and anger that flooded his veins the following morning when he woke up to meet the space next to him empty.

His mate. His blood screamed her name, and yet she had not chosen him. She had not yet understood what had been claimed.

Instead, she escaped. Ran away. His mate had tried to leave him. No, she didn’t try. She successfully betrayed him!

The door to his chamber opened abruptly, interrupting his train of thoughts. His frown deepened and he looked up to who dared open his door without his permission, his Luna immediately walking in.

His frown dissolved a little. He had been expecting her to show up. After his return he had gotten buried with work and forbade anyone other than his Beta from seeing him. and now that he was done, it was only a matter of time before she showed up.

“Can we talk now?” her voice was sharp and controlled. “Do you have my time now?”

“Rebecca-”

“So, did you find her?” she went on, Alaric meeting her gaze. She didn’t falter, her questions coming out almost rehearsed. “Your mate. Did you find her?”

“Yes, I did,” neither of two was one to beat around the bush so he went straight to the point. “The sorcerer was right.”

Alaric did not flinch. “Our circumstances leave no other choice,” he said evenly, voice low but commanding. “You know why she had to come with me.”

Rebecca’s lips pressed into a thin line. She nodded slowly, her dark black hair falling across her shoulders in a perfect rhythm. “Then where is she?”

“I couldn’t bring her with me,” his reply was just as rehearsed. “You know I had to return to the pack immediately. I didn’t have the time to bring her back.”

He couldn’t go into details. Not to her. After all, she was still his Luna, regardless of her inability to give him an heir.

“So, when are you going to bring her back?” Rebecca continued. “What exactly are you waiting for? Until the pack elders intervene again?”

He looked at her in admiration, his tongue curling in his cheek. She was just like him in a number of ways- reasonable and smart enough to know emotions was the last thing needed when a decision was to be made. She had always been logical. Logical enough to agree to their marriage years ago so as to form an alliance between their packs and logical enough to source for other options when she realized she was infertile and would never be able to produce an heir for the Storm Pack.

He had a goal and so did she. An heir to the Storm Pack. And conveniently for them, the pack sorcerer had told them the woman he was actually mated to would be capable of giving birth to that heir.

“I’ll be leaving today,” Alaric let out an exhale as he rose to his feet. “You can start preparing yourself. I’ll be leaving today and I would return today too. With her by my side.”

“Good. Stay safe and return soon.”

He nodded in response, watching her leave the room. The moment she was out of sight, he mirrored her actions and immediately walked out of the room, calling out to his guards ready to accompany him on his trip.

During the two weeks that had passed, he had managed to find out more about her. The pack she resided in, her family dynamics and the easiest way he could get her to come with him.

He could easily use his influence as the Alpha King of the Storm Pack. After all, she was nothing but an omega in a pack as irrelevant as the Grey Pack. But she had an interesting relationship with the future Alpha. One he couldn’t wait to get rid of.

In no time he arrived at the Grey Pack, his guards lined up behind him. all it took was a glance at the guards for them to open the palace gates to him, Alaric making his way inside, his mere presence enough to summon the Alpha and Luna within moments.

Alpha Rowan Grey entered first, tall and weathered, his brows knitting together the instant his eyes landed on Alaric. Recognition struck quickly then respect laced with unease.

“Alpha Alaric Storm,” Rowan said, inclining his head. “This is unexpected.”

Beside him, Luna Iris froze for a fraction of a second longer than her mate. Her sharp eyes flicked over Alaric, lingering on the badge at his collar, the guards behind him, the unmistakable authority rolling off him in waves.

“To what do we owe this visit?” Rowan asked carefully.

Alaric wasted no time.

“You have something that belongs to me,” he said calmly, the words immediately landing heavy in the room.

Rowan blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

Alaric’s jaw tightened. “Someone,” he corrected. “Not something.”

Confusion rippled across both their faces.

“I’m here for my mate.”

Silence.

The word echoed through the hall like a thunderclap. Rowan’s eyes widened slightly, his gaze darting briefly to his Luna before returning to Alaric.

“Your… mate?” he repeated slowly. “Alpha Alaric, there must be some mistake. We would have known if-”

“There is no mistake,” Alaric cut in coolly. “She is here. In this palace.”

Luna Iris’ lips parted in surprise but only briefly. Then something else flickered through her expression. Relief. Faint. Quick. Gone before her mate noticed.

Before either of them could respond, footsteps echoed from the corridor.

Alaric sensed her before he saw her. Eliza, stepped into the living hall with Harold right beside her.

His arm rested far too casually around her shoulders, his hand brushing her upper arm as if it belonged there. As if he belonged there.

Alaric’s vision narrowed.

The room seemed to fade until there was only her- her soft hair pulled back loosely, her posture stiff with uncertainty, her scent hitting him full force now that she was closer. Familiar. Intoxicating. His.

Eliza froze the moment her eyes landed on him.

Her breath hitched audibly.

Time slowed.

Recognition flashed across her face- shock, disbelief, something dangerously close to fear. Her lips parted as if to speak, but no sound came out.

Harold followed her gaze, his expression darkening when he noticed Alaric. His arm tightened instinctively around her shoulders.

“Father, mother,” Harold began, looking away from Alaric to stare at his parents. “What’s going on-”

“That,” Alaric said, his voice cutting through the room like a blade. “is my mate.”

Every head turned toward him.

Eliza’s breath left her in a shaky exhale.

“She is the woman that belongs to me,” he continued, refusing to take his eyes off her. “She is my mate. I have marked her. And I am here to claim her.”

A stunned silence followed.

Luna Iris was the first to react.

“Well,” she said lightly, breaking the tension with a faint, almost amused scoff. “This is certainly unexpected.”

Rowan shot her a sharp look, but she ignored him, her gaze flicking between Eliza and Alaric with keen interest. “I must say, Alpha Alaric, you Storm wolves never do things quietly.”

Alaric didn’t spare her a glance. His eyes remained locked on Eliza. And hers were locked on his too.

The room blurred as memory surged forward.

Rain. Thunder. Her body trembling against his beneath the forest canopy. The taste of her lips, hesitant and hungry all at once. The way she had clutched at him as if instinct alone guided her hands. The mark he had left behind. The bond snapping into place so violently it had stolen his breath.

Then the cold fury of waking up alone.

She swallowed now, her fingers curling into the fabric of her dress, and he knew- she remembered too.

Good.

Let her remember.

Because this time, there would be no running.

And no one- no one- was taking his mate from him again.