Chapter 8

Joss

I couldn’t move.

The woman was walking toward me, and with every step she took, the pull between us became stronger.

My wolf was practically beside itself.

Mate.

I wanted to silence it.

I wanted to deny what was happening.

But I couldn’t.

The bond was real.

There was no mistaking it.

The Moon Goddess had marked this woman as my second fated mate.

And somehow, that was even worse than if she had been my only mate.

Because I already had Arielle.

My first mate.

My wife in everything that mattered.

The woman I loved.

The woman who had stood beside me for four years.

The woman who had built a life with me.

Nothing about finding a second mate changed that.

That was one of the cruelest parts of the mate bond.

Finding a second mate didn’t erase the first.

It didn’t break the existing bond.

It didn’t make the first mate any less important.

A wolf could have more than one fated mate, although it was incredibly rare.

And when it happened, the bonds existed separately.

Both mates could be felt.

Both could trigger the instincts of the wolf.

Both could create the powerful pull that made walking away almost impossible.

But that didn’t mean a wolf had to love both mates equally.

Nor did it mean the first mate stopped being the first.

The problem was that the Moon Goddess had given me something I had never asked for.

Something I didn’t want.

Something that could destroy the life I had spent years building.

The woman stopped in front of me.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

Up close, her scent was even more intoxicating.

I forced myself to breathe slowly.

“Alpha Joss. You are Alpha Joss, right? I’m Clare,” she said.

“Clare?” I clarified.

She nodded.

“Yes.”

Her voice was softer than I expected.

A small, almost humourless smile touched her lips.

I swallowed.

Of course she knew who I was.

Everyone here knew who I was.

I was the Alpha.

And apparently, I was also her mate.

My stomach twisted.

“I’m sorry.”

She frowned.

“For what?”

I looked toward Arielle.

She was still talking to Tori.

Still smiling.

Still completely unaware.

“For this. I already have a mate, Clare.”

I told her as I looked towards Arielle.

Clare followed my gaze.

The moment she saw Arielle, something changed in her expression.

Understanding.

Pain.

Maybe even anger.

“You love her.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

The word came immediately.

There was no hesitation.

I loved Arielle.

I had never doubted that.

Clare looked back at me.

“Then why can I feel this?”

“I don’t know.”

My voice cracked with frustration.

“I don’t understand it either.”

She folded her arms.

“So what happens now?”

I stared at her.

“I don’t know.”

“That’s comforting.”

There was a sharp edge to her voice.

I couldn’t blame her.

None of this was fair to her either.

“You didn’t choose this,” I said.

“Neither did you.”

“No.”

I glanced toward Arielle again.

“But she didn’t choose it either.”

Clare’s expression softened slightly.

“She doesn’t know, does she?”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

I closed my eyes briefly.

The thought of looking Arielle in the eyes and telling her that another woman had just been given the title of my mate made my chest ache.

“I have to.”

Clare sighed.

“I suppose you do.”

I looked at her.

“I’m sorry.”

She gave me a frustrated look.

“You keep saying that.”

“Because I don’t know what else to say.”

“Neither do I.”

For a moment, we simply stood there.

Two strangers connected by something neither of us had asked for.

Something neither of us understood.

Something that had the power to change all of our lives.

Then Clare spoke again.

“Does she know about second mates?”

“She knows the rules.”

“And?”

“She knows it can happen.”

Clare raised an eyebrow.

“But she’s never had to experience it.”

“No.”

I looked at Arielle again.

“Neither have I.”

Clare was quiet.

Then she whispered, “I don’t want to hurt her.”

The words surprised me.

I looked at her.

“Neither do I.”

“But you know this bond isn’t going to disappear.”

My jaw tightened.

“I know.”

“And neither is mine.”

“No.”

She looked down at the floor.

“So we’re both trapped.”

I didn’t answer.

Because that was exactly how I felt.

Trapped between a love I had chosen and a bond I had never asked for.

Then I heard Arielle laugh again.

The sound cut through me.

I looked at her.

She was beautiful.

Happy.

Completely unaware that everything she believed about her future was about to change.

And guilt consumed me.

Clare

I had spent my entire life hearing stories about fated mates.

About the moment the Moon Goddess brought two people together.

About the instant you knew.

About the overwhelming pull.

I’d always imagined my first meeting with my mate would be romantic.

Something special.

Something that would make my heart race for all the right reasons.

I had never imagined meeting him and discovering he already belonged to someone else.

I hated it.

I hated the bond.

I hated the situation.

And most of all, I hated that the moment I saw Joss, my wolf had immediately recognized him.

Mate.

I wanted to scream at her.

He wasn’t available.

He wasn’t mine.

He loved someone else.

I’d watched the way he looked at Arielle.

There was no mistaking it.

That man loved her.

And somehow, the Moon Goddess had decided that wasn’t enough.

I looked at Arielle again.

She was laughing with her friends, completely oblivious.

She looked happy.

She looked like someone who believed she had her happily-ever-after.

I felt a stab of guilt.

This wasn’t her fault.

Neither was it mine.

But knowing that didn’t make the situation any easier.

I turned back to Joss.

“Does she know what happens when a wolf rejects a second mate?”

His expression hardened.

“Yes.”

“And will you reject me?”

He went silent.

That silence told me more than words could have.

My heart sank.

I had expected an answer.

Instead, I got uncertainty.

And somehow, that frightened me more.

Because if he truly intended to reject me, he would have said so.

Joss looked torn.

Guilty.

Confused.

And underneath it all, I could see the battle raging inside him.

He loved Arielle.

But his wolf had chosen me too.

I hated that I could feel the same pull.

I hated that some part of me wanted to step closer.

I hated that when I looked into his eyes, my heart reacted before my mind could stop it.

This was not how my life was supposed to go.

I had wanted one mate.

One love.

One future.

Instead, I had been handed a man who already had everything I could never have.

And the worst part?

Somewhere deep inside me, I knew the bond wasn’t going to let me simply walk away.

Joss

Clare took a small step backward.

“I think I need some air.”

I nodded.

“Of course.”

She turned away.

Then stopped.

Without looking back, she said quietly,

“Joss?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to be the woman who destroys another woman’s happiness.”

My chest tightened.

“You aren’t.”

She finally looked back at me.

“Then who is?”

I didn’t have an answer.

Because as I watched her walk away, I knew the truth.

Nobody had chosen this.

Not Clare.

Not Arielle.

Not me.

But someone was going to get hurt.

And as I looked across the ballroom at the woman I loved, I realized something that terrified me more than the bond itself.

Soon, I would have to tell Arielle.

And when I did…

There would be no going back.