The Night That Changed Everything

Chapter Two

Elena's POV

Three months before Adrian Blackwood rejected me, I believed that the worst thing that could happen to me was spending the rest of my life alone.

I was wrong.

The worst thing was discovering that the man destined to love me could look into my eyes and tell me I was nothing to him.

But before that night, there was another night. A night of rain, secrets, and a promise neither of us understood.

It began on a cold evening in October, when the Silver Moon Pack celebrated the Alpha's twenty-eighth birthday.

As a wolfless member of the pack, I wasn't invited to celebrate. I was expected to serve. Wearing a plain blue dress beneath my work apron, I spent the evening helping the kitchen staff prepare food for hundreds of guests.

"Elena!"

I turned to find Maya standing in the doorway in a beautiful emerald-green dress.

"Come outside with me for five minutes," she urged.

"I can't. The head cook will skin me alive if I leave these dishes."

Maya rolled her eyes. "The Alpha has arrived. At least come and look at a handsome man instead of staring at dirty plates all evening."

I laughed and shook my head.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"One day, Elena, something good will happen to you. I just know it."

I smiled, but I had stopped expecting good things a long time ago.

Just after eight o'clock, a storm began.

The head cook sent me to the western storage room to collect another crate of wine.

When I opened the door, I heard a low growl.

"Who's there?" I called.

"Don't come any closer."

A man's strained voice emerged from the darkness.

I found him leaning against the wall, one hand pressed against his side. His white shirt was stained with blood.

Then I recognized him.

"Alpha Adrian?"

His eyes narrowed. "Who sent you?"

"Nobody. I came for the wine. You're bleeding. You need a healer."

"I said leave!"

Before I could respond, his knees weakened. I rushed forward and caught his arm.

His scent surrounded me, a mixture of cedarwood, rain, and something wild that made my pulse quicken.

Adrian's fingers tightened around my wrist.

"What is your name?" he whispered.

"Elena Rose."

He stared at me almost fearfully.

Then he whispered a word that made my heart stop.

"Mate."

I pulled back in disbelief.

"No. But I'm wolfless!"

He said nothing.

For the first time, the powerful Alpha looked like a man who had stumbled upon something he couldn't control.

I found the first-aid cabinet and cleaned his wound. While I worked, he watched me silently.

"Why are you helping me?" he eventually asked.

"Because you're hurt."

"You know who I am?"

"Yes."

"And you're not afraid?"

"Of course I am."

Something resembling amusement touched his face.

"At least you're honest."

When I finished dressing his wound, the storm had grown worse. Adrian tried to stand, but his face tightened with pain.

"You're not going anywhere," I told him.

One eyebrow rose. "Excuse me?"

"You've lost blood. You should wait for the healer."

To my astonishment, he laughed.

"Nobody talks to me like that."

"Perhaps they should."

He looked at me for a long moment before holding out his hand.

"Help me to the chair."

While we waited for the healer, he told me that a rogue wolf had attacked him during a patrol beyond the northern border.

I told him about my work in the kitchens, my mother's death, and the way the pack treated me because I had never developed a wolf.

He listened without interrupting.

"Have you ever wondered why the Moon Goddess made you this way?" he asked.

"Every day."

"And what do you think the answer is?"

I looked at the rain beyond the window.

"I think some people are born to be loved, and some people are born to watch others receive it."

His expression darkened.

"That's a terrible thing to believe."

"It's easier than hoping for something that will never happen."

He reached for my hand.

"Perhaps life has been wrong about you."

The warmth of his fingers made my heart race. For the first time, I didn't feel invisible.

I felt seen.

When the healer arrived, he examined Adrian and confirmed that he would recover. Before leaving, I gathered the medical supplies and prepared to return to the kitchen.

"Elena."

I turned.

Adrian stood near the doorway.

"Will I see you again?"

"You're the Alpha. You can see anyone you want."

"That's not what I asked."

I lowered my eyes.

"I don't know."

He stepped closer.

"Would you have dinner with me tomorrow evening?"

I stared at him, certain I had misunderstood.

"With you? But why?"

"Because I want to know you."

Those words followed me long after I left the storage room.

That night, I barely slept. I kept remembering his voice, the warmth of his hand, and the way he had looked at me when I told him about my life.

I knew better than to dream.

But sometimes, even the smallest kindness can make a lonely heart imagine an impossible future.

And mine had begun to dream of Adrian Blackwood.

The following evening, I found a note waiting for me.

Seven o'clock. The eastern garden.

I nearly threw it away, but at six fifty-five, I stood before the garden entrance wearing the only other dress I owned.

Adrian waited beside a table set for two.

When he saw me, he smiled.

"You came."

"You invited me."

He pulled out a chair for me, and we shared a simple dinner beneath the moonlight.

For the first time, I sat across from an Alpha and felt like his equal.

We talked for hours. He told me about the pressure of ruling the Northern Territories and the council's expectations concerning his future mate.

I told him about my dream of leaving the Silver Moon Pack and opening a small flower shop.

He listened as though my dreams mattered.

Then he reached across the table and took my hand.

"Elena, I haven't stopped thinking about you since last night."

My breath caught.

"I don't understand what I feel when I'm near you," he continued. "But I want to find out."

For the first time, I allowed myself to believe that perhaps my life was about to change.

I had no idea how much that belief would cost me.

End of Chapter Two.