The girl in red

Diego’s POV

“Mate.”

The word clawed its way out of my chest before I could stop it.

I froze.

My brow furrowed, the sound still echoing in my head. I blinked once, twice, as if that would clear it.

Mate?

No. No, that couldn’t be right. It sounded… wrong. Taboo. Like something out of place in the middle of this cursed peace ceremony. Getting a mate here—of all places—was the last thing on my mind.

I let out a rough laugh, low and humorless. “I’m losing it,” I muttered under my breath. “Too much wine. That’s all.”

But my wolf wasn’t laughing.

“Mate.”

There it was again. Louder. More insistent.

I clenched my jaw, shoving the glass in my hand so hard the wine sloshed over the rim. “You’re drunk,” I hissed to myself, ignoring the pulse pounding at the base of my throat. I tossed the drink aside, the cup shattering against stone.

“Shut up,” I growled at my wolf, pacing. “You’re imagining things.”

But then…her scent hit me.

Something floral. Like wild lilacs and rain after fire. A scent so delicate it crawled under my skin, wrapped around my ribs, and refused to let go. My body went rigid. My pulse quickened. The air shifted…thickened.

My wolf stirred again, stronger now. “Mate. Ours.”

The calm I’d forced cracked wide open. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. Every part of me screamed for the source of that scent.

My feet started moving before my mind caught up. The noise of the crowd faded as I pushed through the back exit, into the dark forest. The night air was cold, cutting through the haze of wine and confusion.

Leaves crunched beneath my boots as I inhaled again. Her scent was faint but lingering, weaving through the pines like a trail meant only for me.

Each breath pulled me deeper.

I could hear the softest sound—a gasp, fragile and trembling. My wolf’s ears perked. I froze. My instincts kicked in.

Hide and seek.

I remembered the game. The good days—before blood, before war. My mother’s voice, warm with laughter. “You’ll always find what you seek, Diego. Your senses never lie.”

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. “Then let’s see if that still holds true.”

I followed the sound, moving quietly. Then I saw it—just a shred of fabric caught on a thorn bush. Red. Torn. The faintest trace of her scent clung to it.

I lifted it to my nose, breathing her in. My wolf growled low in my chest, deep and hungry. The urge to claim—to touch—rushed pulsed through my veins.

“Easy,” I muttered. “You’ll scare her off.”

The trees thinned ahead, and moonlight bathed through the branches. I inhaled deeply and figured out that she was close. I could perceive every sweat that dropped down her body.

A smile tugged by the side of my lips as I lifted up my gaze and saw her.

She stood at the cliff’s edge, back turned to me, the wind tugging gently at her gown. The fabric shimmered under the moonlight, clinging to her like the night was made just to worship her form. Her hair, dark and wild, cascaded down her back, the strands dancing in the wind.

For a second, I forgot how to breathe. She was a goddess.

Her shoulders were straight, trembling slightly as if she was fighting the cold—or maybe her own thoughts.

I took a slow step forward, voice low. “It’s in vain, you know,” I murmured. “Thinking you could run from me.”

Her head tilted slightly, but she didn’t turn.

“You made me wait too long,” I continued, a faint smile running across my lips. “I used to think the Moon hated me—giving every Alpha his Luna but leaving me with none. Maybe she was just saving the best for last.”

Still, she said nothing.

She just stood there, her eyes fixated on the woods or shrubs below the cliff.

I frowned, closing the distance between us, my tone softening. “Don’t do that,” I said quietly. “Don’t hide your face from me. Let me see you.”

She didn’t move.

I took another step, so close now that I could feel the heat from her skin. My breath brushed her neck. “Please,” I murmured, “look at me.”

And that was when she turned.

“Who’s there?!” her voice broke, raw and terrified. She stumbled back a step, her hands trembling. “Don’t take me back! Please—don’t take me back!”

I froze.

Take her back?

“I can’t,” she cried, her voice cracking as tears streaked down her cheeks. “I can’t go back there. I’m a burden to them. Let me die here. Please—let me die where they won’t have to see me again.”

Her words struck something in my heart. Something I couldn't quite name, confusion clouding my thoughts. She looked like a broken doll.

I stared at her—really looked. And the world tilted.

Kendrick’s Luna.

No. Not possible.

She looked just like her—same soft features, same trembling lips. But this woman… she looked lost. Broken. Her eyes, clouded and unfocused, didn’t meet mine.

It was obvious she couldn't see me. I watched as her gaze searched endlessly for me.

My mind spun, searching for answers to questions that wrapped me, but before I could piece it together…

She stumbled. Her foot slipped on the cliff’s edge.

“Shit—!”

My wolf roared inside me,“ Move!”

I lunged forward, grabbing her wrist before gravity could claim her. She crashed into my chest, her heartbeat thundering against mine. Her body was trembling—light, fragile, and unbearably warm.

Her breath hitched once. Then, silence.

She went limp in my arms.

I stared down at her face, pale under the moonlight, her lashes damp with tears.

The girl was still unconscious in my arms when I mind-linked Klaus.

“Meet me in the woods. Now.”

I didn’t bother explaining. He’d feel the weight in my tone and know this wasn’t one of my usual jokes.

Minutes later, the sound of boots on dry leaves reached my ears before I caught his scent. Klaus stepped out from behind a tree, his smirk already in place.

“Well, well,” he drawled, hands tucked in his pockets. “Didn’t know the great Alpha Diego went around saving damsels in distress now. What’s next? Singing her a lullaby?”

I turned my head sharply, glare cutting through the dark.

He swallowed hard. “Alright,” he muttered, raising his hands in mock surrender. “No jokes. Got it.”

He stepped closer, eyes narrowing as they fell on the woman in my arms. For a moment, even Klaus went silent.

“Diego…” he murmured, voice dropping low. “She looks—she looks like Kendrick’s Luna.”

My jaw tightened. “I thought so too,” I said quietly. “But that can’t be right. Kendrick’s Luna is alive, healthy… and last I checked, not wearing red or throwing herself off a damn cliff.”

We stared at each other, both trapped in a silence thick with confusion. The night wind hissed through the trees, making her hair flutter against my arm.

Klaus frowned, crouching slightly to study her face again. “Same eyes. Same mouth. But… weaker. Like she hasn’t seen sunlight in months.”

“I know.” My voice was rougher than I intended. “Which is why I’m not sure what the hell’s going on.”

After a while, I adjusted her weight and handed her over to him carefully. “Take her inside,” I ordered. “And tell Kendrick to wait for me in one of his private rooms. Don’t let anyone see her.”

He nodded, understanding immediately. His expression softened for a moment as he looked at the unconscious girl in his arms—then quickly hardened again.

When he started walking away, I muttered under my breath, “My wolf’s losing it… seeing a stranger and calling her mate. Just a long day.”

He disappeared into the dark, and I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. The scent of lilacs still clung to my jacket.

A few minutes later, his voice brushed through my mind.

“Informed Kendrick. He’s waiting on the last floor—balcony.”

I sighed.“ On my way.”

The manor was already alive again when I stepped inside. Music thumped through the walls.Drunken laughter echoed from the hall, but none of it reached me.

I pushed through the crowd, unfazed, until I reached the top floor. The balcony doors were open, and the night air blew in. Kendrick stood there, leaning against the railing, wine glass in hand, city lights reflecting in his eyes.

When he saw me, he grinned. “Didn’t enjoy the music? You could’ve said so. I’d have thrown the entire band out and found a better one.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not about the music, Kendrick. Everything’s fine. Just… needed to talk.”

He raised a brow, intrigued. “Then talk,” he said, pouring another glass and offering it to me.

I didn’t take it. “Does your Luna have a twin?”

The glass stopped midair.

“What?”

“Or anyone in the pack,” I continued. “Someone who looks exactly like her.”

The grin faded from his face. Slowly, his expression shifted. His hand trembled just slightly before he set the glass down.

He walked closer, the air between us heavy, his gaze sharp.

“What did you see, Diego?” he asked, voice low, controlled… but there was something in his tone that gave him away easily. He was hiding something.

“Tell me, Kendrick…” I said slowly, studying his reaction.

“…who’s the girl wandering the woods with a face that looks exactly like your Luna?”