Chapter Two

MARIA*

I swallowed another glass of vodka in one burning gulp, the liquid scraping down my throat like fire.

Tears slipped down my cheeks in stubborn, uncontrollable waves.

His words… those cruel, slicing words… kept looping in my mind like a curse I couldn’t break free from. I clenched the glass so tightly my knuckles ached, vision tilting slightly as dizziness washed over me.

Fuck…

I shouldn’t let him get to me.

I shouldn’t—

But my hand moved anyway, pouring another drink like it was the only thing keeping me upright.

I barely lifted it when—

A hand stopped me.

His fingers wrapped gently around mine, grounding me in a way I didn’t expect. Heat curled up my arm at the contact, and before I could even process it, a low, velvet voice brushed against my ear.

“Don’t hurt yourself like that.”

Something about the way he said it. In that dangerously calm way made my breath catch.

My heart betrayed me instantly, slamming against my ribs for no logical reason at all.

And then I felt it.

My wolf, Anna stirring awake in my mind like she had just smelled a storm she wanted to run straight into.

I blinked slowly, trying to focus through the alcohol haze.

“May I sit here?” he asked.

Only then did I look at him properly.

And… oh.

He wasn’t just attractive.

Tall—towering, really—built with that raw, undeniable strength of an Alpha who didn’t need to announce what he was. His shoulders were broad, sculpted under a fitted dark shirt that clung to his muscular frame.

Tattoo ink curled up his forearm, disappearing beneath his sleeve.

His face… dangerously handsome. Sharp jawline, slightly stubbled, lips set in a calm, almost unreadable line. But it was his eyes that held me still—dark, steady, like he could see straight through the alcohol, straight through me.

And worst of all?

He looked like he already knew I was going to say yes.

My throat went dry.

“…Yeah,” I whispered, barely recognizing my own voice.

Anna purred in my mind like she was already settling in beside him.

And I hated how my body agreed with her.

He chuckled softly as he lowered himself onto the stool beside me, the sound deep and smooth enough to send an annoying little shiver down my spine.

“You look pretty wasted,” he said, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. “Care to share what has you throwing back glass after glass of vodka?”

“It’s none of your business,” I snapped immediately, though the slur in my words ruined any intimidation I was aiming for.

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

The man only smirked wider, and that was when I noticed the tiny silver piercing at the corner of his lower lip.

God.

That should honestly be illegal on a man his age.

“It’s very much my business,” he replied lazily, leaning back in his seat. “Considering you’re our mate.”

I stared at him like he had completely lost his mind.

Mate?

I barked out a laugh.

“Hah! Mate? Don’t make me laugh.” I waved my hand dramatically, nearly knocking over my drink in the process. “At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if my mate died in a ditch somewhere years ago. I’m too old for all that destiny nonsense, please.”

A bitter chuckle escaped me.

“I just came here to drink my sorrows away.”

The room tilted slightly after that sentence.

Oh no.

My vision blurred for a second before stabilizing again.

Fantastic.

I had officially crossed the line from tipsy into disaster.

“My stupid boyfr—” I hiccuped, correcting myself with a painful laugh. “Ex-boyfriend cheated on me today. With my younger sister, at that.”

The words burned coming out.

The vodka in my system wasn’t numbing the pain anymore. If anything, it was dragging every ugly emotion straight to the surface.

“We were together for four years because neither of us found our mates,” I continued quietly. “I was thirty-two when we met, and things just… worked.”

I swallowed hard.

“But today, that bastard called me old.” My fingers tightened around the glass. “Then he called me loose down there.”

The second the words left my mouth, humiliation flooded through me so fast I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

Back then, I had laughed it off in front of Kelvin.

Mocked him.

Pretended his words didn’t matter.

But now?

Now they sat in my chest.

What if he was right?

What if I really was? That was half the reason I’d dragged myself to this bar—to drink until I was brave enough to test the theory with any man who looked halfway decent. I was single now. Free. But courage had failed me, and no one here had sparked even a flicker of interest.

Except him.

I slowly lifted my gaze toward the stranger beside me, my drunken brain struggling to focus on his face.

Still unfairly handsome.

Still sitting there looking like a sinful fantasy tailored specifically for emotionally unstable women.

I really needed water.

Or sleep.

Or both.

“Damn it, Viktor,” another deep voice suddenly cut through the noise of the bar. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

I blinked slowly and looked up.

Then blinked again.

Wait.

What the hell?

Another man stood beside us now—and for one horrifying second, my drunk brain genuinely thought the stranger had duplicated himself.

Same tall frame.

Same dangerously handsome face.

Same dark, commanding aura.

Only this one looked slightly, sharper around the edges, with tattoos disappearing beneath the rolled sleeves of a black shirt.

I squinted at them both in confusion.

Then pointed weakly.

“Nope,” I muttered. “I’m officially drunk.”

The two men looked at me curiously while I stared in absolute betrayal.

“You just doubled in front of me.” I frowned deeply. “Why the heck are there two sexy men now?”