The scent of Fate

🌒 Chapter Two: The Scent of Fate

Raven couldn’t get the scent out of her head.

It clung to her clothes, followed her into her quarters, lingered in the hallways of the compound long after she had scrubbed the blood from her hands and tossed her blade onto the table.

Sandalwood. Rain..................... Human.

She sighed to herself

Mate shadow growled.

She paced her room like a caged animal, her boots scuffing the worn wooden floor, her golden eyes glowing in the low lantern light. Outside, the moon hung heavy, pulling at her wolf, reminding her of what she had seen.

Those storm gray eyes. That lost, startled look on his face as the bond snapped into place between them.

Human. It was impossible. Unacceptable.

And yet, her wolf shadow growled low inside her every time she thought of him, demanding she seek him out, demanding she claim him.

what am I going to do she said to herself.

"Claim him" growled Shadow.

A sharp knock at the door snapped her from her spiraling thoughts. Luca stepped in, his gaze cool and assessing, leaning casually against the frame.

“You’re rattling the pack with all this pacing,” he said with a smirk.

She shot him a glare, but he only smirked, pushing off the door and stepping closer.

“You felt it, didn’t you?” Luca asked, tilting his head, dark hair falling into his sharp eyes.

"What?" she growled

“The mate bond.” he said with a curious look.

Raven clenched her jaw, turning away, staring out the window into the dark treeline beyond the compound’s walls.

“It’s nothing,” she snapped. “It’s a distraction.”

Luca snorted. “Nothing? Raven, your scent changed the moment you saw him. Every wolf within a mile knows what happened.”

She spun around, eyes glowing dangerously. “He’s human, Luca. Do you understand what that means?”

Luca’s smirk faded, replaced with concern but understanding. “The council will use it against you. The rogues will see it as weakness.............

“And I can’t afford weakness,” she finished for him, her voice low.

Silence settled between them, heavy with unspoken truths. She had faught her way to the top, fought to rule, fought to keep her pack safe. Everything she had was built on her strength, her fearlessness, her refusal to bend, and the respect she gets from her pack and surrounding packs.

And now the Goddess dared to send her a human mate.

“Raven,” Luca said carefully, “what are you going to do?”

She didn’t answer immediately, pressing her hand to the cool windowpane, the moonlight painting her scars silver. She remembered the way the bond had felt, like lightning under her skin, like something ancient and undeniable awakening inside her.

Could she reject it? Could she deny herself the mate bond, even if it meant preserving her rule?

The thought of turning away from him made something inside her ache.

She closed her eyes, forcing the feeling down.

"I’m going to do what I always do,” she said finally, her voice steady, cold. “I will protect this pack. No matter what.”

Luca sighed softly, nodding once. “Then we watch our borders. We prepare for whatever comes.”

That night, sleep refused to come.

She stood on the balcony outside her room, the cold wind whipping her hair around her face, the scent of pine and frost sharp in her lungs.

Somewhere out there, he was probably asleep, blissfully unaware of the war he had started inside her. Unaware that the bond between them was something that could shatter worlds, could tear her apart, could make her stronger or destroy everything she had built.

Raven gripped the railing, claws digging into the wood as her wolf rumbled low in her chest.

Would she claim him?

Could she allow herself to have him?

And if she did… would the world survive them?