Pre-glow or Pre-doom

Lucas's pov.

Kael leaned against the tiled wall, twirling the hoe between his fingers as he helped me uproot the dead flowers.

"You know," he said, smirking, "one day you're going to push Cross too far and he's going to be a more irritating bitch."

I shrugged.

"That's exactly what I want. Watching Bennet lose his cool satisfies me, a lot."

Still, as I glanced at the restroom where Bennett was hunched over, scrubbing with all the rage in his tiny, angry heart, a smile stretched on my lips. It was too easy to set him off. It was almost boring at this point.

Almost.

"Come on," Kael nudged my side. "Before Trent finds another chore for your sorry ass."

I was about to follow him when I caught Bennett's eyes again.

Grey and cold. Burning holes into me like he wished he could erase me from existence.

I gave him a slow, mocking wink just to see that vein on his forehead pop, just how I liked it

His gloved hands clenched the sink like he was about to uproot it.

Perfect.

"Lucas," Kael hissed under his breath. "We have to get back home soon."

With one last grin, I turned on my heel and strolled after Kael, my hands shoved deep into my pockets.

~

We were on our way home to the pack, shirts untucked, buttons undone, and hair frizzled.

I had made a quick stop at Brittney's house, she was one of my casuals, the major one, and after hearing of my fight with Bennett again, she was ready to......relieve my stress.

Kael shot me a look, though,

"Dude, what?"

He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, flicking off the women who also threw glances his way.

"I know I'm just your Beta, and I have no right to tell you what to do with your body. But you recently turned eighteen, you might find your mate sooner or later. Why haven't you disengaged from your 'casuals' since?"

I shake my head and laugh, a brief laugh.

"C'mon, Kael, not this again. I can't cut off my casuals when I haven't even seen my mate yet."

"Well, aren't you planning to meet her soon? You have been glowing these days, maybe it isn't the casual sex, maybe it's the pre-bond."

"Pre-bonds aren't a thing, Kael, I am glowing from treating myself right."

He rolled his eyes and didn't respond to me.

Kael was one of those people that believed in having low body counts, throughout his life he had just been intimate with one person.

Layla, my cousin.

But Layla found her mate two years ago, and Kael had taken it with tight smiles and silent grins.

I was the only person who watched him almost send himself to self destruction mode. He really wanted Layla to be his mate, but unfortunately the moon goddess had other plans.

"Kael, Layla wasn't the one. I can see that face you make every time you talk about a pre-glow."

He turned to me and ducked his head.

"It was the way she couldn't look me in the fucking eye and tell me that she found her mate."

"Mahn.... Layla loved you, it's just the complexities with the mate bond.", I patted his back.

"Luckily for me, I am in no rush whatsoever to meet my mate."

"Don't say that, Lucas, you might jinx it."

I chuckled and shook my head as we kept on strolling.

I knew Kael was only trying to look out for me, but the truth was simple: I wasn't in a rush to meet my mate.

Mates complicated things.

They clipped your freedom, they tied you to someone else's emotions, and made you vulnerable.

And I didn't like being vulnerable.

"I'll deal with it when it happens," I muttered, kicking a loose stone across the road.

Kael didn’t push further; he just continued nodding and talking about random stuff.

~

We reached the pack's front gates, massive iron structures etched with our family crests.

Storm territory.

Two sentries standing guard morphed into formality as we approached.

"Alpha Storm," one of them greeted stiffly.

I nodded, not slowing down.

Technically, I wasn’t Alpha yet, not until my official coronation at the next full moon.

But in practice, I'd been low-key running things for months now.

We walked through the courtyard, the familiar scent of pine and damp earth greeting me like an old friend.

I always liked this scent.

Inside, the estate was buzzing with preparations, the upcoming Alpha coronation wasn't just a local pack event. Wolves from neighboring territories would come to witness the transition.

That meant politics.

That meant......appearances.

I hated appearances.

We barely made it up the stairs before my father's Beta, a stiff but strong-aging man named Grayson, caught sight of me.

"Beta Grayson." Kael greeted, bowing his head. Kael was the closest to him, obviously because he would be getting the Beta title from Grayson, and he had to learn a whole lot of things.

Secondly,

Grayson was a pretty chill person, a tad bit of a hopeless romantic. Like Kael.

"Lucas," he called out after I simultaneously acknowledged him. "Your father wants to see you."

Kael gave me a sideways glance.

We both knew what that meant.

Another lecture about responsibility. About 'keeping the Storm name clean as I was about to ascend the Alpha seat.'

About 'wasting important time getting involved with problematic conflict' like the ones with Bennett Cross.

I sighed.

"Tell him I'll be there in ten."

Grayson frowned but didn’t argue. He knew better by now.

As he walked away, Kael clapped my shoulder.

"I’ll head out," he said. "Don’t get yourself disowned or shii like that."

I smiled. "No promises."

He shook his head and disappeared down the hall, leaving me alone in the wide space.

Aside from preparing to meet my father, another thought had creeped into my mind, subconsciously.

Kael's conversation with me earlier,

I had noticed a few changes, even Brittney did, too. I never believed in the pre-glow.

But something.... something was pulsing beneath my skin.

Maybe I was glowing for a reason.

Maybe my mate was closer than I thought.

But whoever she was, she had better be ready.

Because Lucas Storm wasn't changing for anyone.

Not even her.