3. SHE SAID YES

  

      “ Sir, Miss Blake has been delivered safely to her apartment.”

      

      “And?”

      

      Kai didn’t turn to look back at his driver. He stood at the door to the ceiling window with his hands clasped behind his back. He stared blankly at the city lights that shone and twinkled like shattered stars … he couldn’t make anything of them. In fact, he couldn’t make anything of whatever he was feeling at the moment. 

      

      The faint scar on his wrist – the perfect twin to the one he’d left on her skin hadn’t stopped aching from the time she left. Not even for a second. 

      

      “ Sir?”

      

      “ What?”

      

      “ I said a guy was waiting outside when we got there.”

      

      Shoot. He’d spaced out. He was having a hard time focusing because he couldn’t stop thinking about her. However, Jovan’s info had jolted him back to reality. He felt the room getting colder and colder. His jaw locked as he quickly turned to face his driver. 

      

      “ What do you mean you saw a man waiting outside? Who was he?” 

      

      Jovan cleared his throat. “ Uhh, sir… her boyfriend. Well, they’re technically engaged because he went down on his knee to propose. She … said yes.”

      

      “And then?”

      

      “ They kissed … hugged. Then went inside.”

      

      Kai nodded, inhaling a sharp breath as he tried to take in everything he’d heard at once. “ You can go now, Jovan. Thank you.”

      

      The door clicked shut. 

      

      For a long moment, Kai couldn’t move. His head kept playing tricks on him, he could vividly see images of Ariana in the arms of another man, accepting a ring that wasn’t his, kissing lips that weren’t his. His wolf howled furious and heartbroken at once. 

      

      Maybe it was the scar that was heightening his emotions

      

      … or maybe he didn’t like the thought of her with someone else. Either way, it was hard to pinpoint what he actually felt for her. 

      

      He’d waited for the moment he’d finally be in her life. He’d grown tired of spying and watching over her. Of course, he knew she’d been with that jerk for years. He knew everything. He’d thought if he made her see the truth, she’d have left for good. He hadn’t expected her to run into the woods though, into Viktor’s danger zone. Good thing he’d been there on time to save her from him. 

      

      And just when he thought he’d be seeing her again, she’d stubbornly decided to run into the arms of that self-centered jerk. 

      

      She said yes.

      

      The words echoed over and over, landing like claws in his gut. At least he’d looked for her. He could clearly remember the prophecy from the rival pack's ancient seer. It seemed like it was just yesterday. “Your true mate walks the human world. A woman marked by the crescent. She will come when the pack stands on the edge of ruin.”

      

      From that day, he’d searched tirelessly. He took his time to build his empire in the human world, moved his company to the quarters of this city with the hopes that she’d soon be pulled into his orbit. 

      

      When he finally found her… Ariana Blake, laughing with her best friend at a downtown coffee shop, he’d known instantly that their bond was real. It awakened inside him like a wild fire, fierce and undeniable. But she belonged to another man. He’d done his research. Jake. A stupid bloke who had been lying to her face about being busy when all he’d been doing was screwing a blonde daily in guest houses and hotels. 

      

      He wanted to jump in so bad but the mark hadn’t appeared on her skin. She wasn’t ready. The prophecy wasn’t ready. So he simply watched from a distance. 

      

      Not stalking; never that close. Just enough to be sure she was safe. A quiet donation to the women’s shelter where she volunteered. An anonymous scholarship that paid off her student loans the year she graduated. A word in the right ear when her apartment building’s shady landlord tried to raise rent illegally. Even though he hated that she was living with the jerk, he wanted to make sure she was as comfortable as she would ever be. 

      

      After all, she was his.

      

      He knew her favorite coffee order: Oat milk latte with a dash of cinnamon. Knew she sang off-key in the shower when she thought no one could hear her. Of course, the way she lit up when she landed a big freelance client never failed to amuse him… and the way she cried the night Jake forgot her birthday upset him so much. 

      

      He knew every time that fool hurt her … every lie, every late night, every dismissive comment … it had taken every ounce of Alpha power in him not to tear that man apart. 

      

      So he came up with a better solution. That evening in his office, he’d closed his eyes and held on to the burning mark on his wrist… a way to reach out to her… to warn her. 

      

      A silent urging. 

      

      Go home. Don’t call him to come help you out with the groceries. Just pick a cab and go home. He’ll be there… waiting.

      

      He’d told himself it was harmless, after all it was just a mere spiritual nudge through the unfinished mate bond. He thought she’d have walked away when she found out. 

      

      That fate would have cleared the path. 

      

      Wrong.

      

      The silly girl just ran into the woods, straight into Viktor’s territory. It was a good thing the bond had flared up, warning him just in time to get her out of his enemy’s claws. 

      

      Well, it all didn’t matter anymore. 

      

      The time she spent here hadn’t mattered to her at all. She’d been so quick to go back to him when all he’d done was to sit and wait for her for years. 

      

      “ You’re going to crack that crystal if you squeeze any harder, boy.”

      

      Kai exhaled slowly. “ Fine… I’ll put it down, Nana.”

      

      Samara eased into the armchair by the fire as she folded her arms in her lap. “Good. I like that set.”

      

      He turned, leaning against the window frame. His eyes were filled with despair but the silver of hope in them hadn’t faded yet. “She’s engaged, Nana. She’s getting married to that jerk.”

      

      Samara watched him with a slight, composed smile. He’d never outgrown his impatience. To her, he was still the angry little boy who couldn’t wait till it was his turn to get whatever he wanted. 

      

      “ Nana. You’re not saying anything.”

      

      “ I’m listening, boy.”

      

      “ She didn’t even look back. Or hesitate. I mean, who runs back to a cheating ex and agrees to marry him? That’s insane. And the mark… it only amplified things. Made her feel attached when she was around me… made her cry in my arms but as soon as she got home, it all wore off. It wasn’t real.”

      

      “ Was it real to you?” Samara asked softly. 

      

      He paused for a moment. He could still remember the way Ariana had stepped into his arms without much thought. How she clung to him with her face buried in his chest, whispering that she didn’t want to leave like it hurt to say it out loud. The salt of her tears on his shirt.

      

      His throat tightened. “ It was.”

      

      “ Then real it is.”

      

      He laughed, rough and humorless.“Not real enough. She agreed to marry him so quickly.”

      

      Samara’s voice stayed gentle.“ She’s human, Kai. She’s been through hell. The bond is only half awake. She chose what felt safe to her.”

      

      “ Safe? In the arms of that womanizing asshole?” He spat the words out bitterly. What was safe about a girl going back to a man who constantly treated her like shit?

      

      “ Be patient, love. She’ll come back. Just not yet.”

      

      He dragged both hands through his hair in frustration. “ There’s no time for ‘not yet.’ Viktor’s already moving fast. That attack wasn’t random, he sensed the mark awakening. He knows what a true mate means for the pack. For me.”

      

      Samara’s expression darkened. “ Then focus on the war.”

      

      “ Arggh,” he groaned.“How can I? How’s that possible when she’s out there with him? Wearing his ring. The bond keeps pulling harder and harder and all I do is sit here and wait. Doing nothing.”

      

      “ You’re keeping her alive by doing nothing, Kai,” Samara chipped in firmly. “ Charging in now would only terrify her. Drive her further away from you.”

      

      Kai stared into the fire. “ So then I wait. Let her live her human life… with him.”

      

      “ Yes, boy. You wait,” Samara agreed. “ Then you end this war and keep her safe from Viktor’s chaos.”

      

      He looked at her, silver still gleaming in his eyes.“ And then?”

      

      She laughed at the puppy face he gave her. “ Then you go get what’s yours.”

      

      Kai’s chest ached. “ And if she never wants it?”

      

      Samara stood up, reaching to pat his cheek and plant a kiss on his forehead like he was still the grieving boy she’d raised after his mother died. “ Fate is very stubborn, love. And so is she. She’ll come around.”

      

      He nodded, squeezing her hand tight as he felt an instant feeling of calmness rush through his body. 

      

      He believed his Nana. 

      

      If staying calm was what he had to do to get fate on his side…

      

      … then that was exactly what he was going to do.