Chapter 1: Tamsin's POV

"Anytime now, you'll find a prince charming," Elara says to me as she pauses her chores, looking up at me with a grin, then she shrugs. "Well, he might look like an undercooked pizza, but a mate is always charming in the eyes of a mate, right?"

I roll my eyes at her as I continue wiping the windows. I still can’t believe I’m eighteen. It doesn’t feel any different. I thought it would.

Maybe I would have the shimmer of a wolf that has reached the ripe age for mating.

But no. I feel the same way I felt at seventeen... sixteen... fifteen... fourteen...and so on.

Nothing much changes save for the body developments.

I woke up to the same scratchy sheets, the same creaky bed, and the same whisper of dust hanging in the air.

But technically, I’m an adult now. Not that it changes anything in the pack house. I still have chores. Still have rules. Still have to keep my head down.

"I can't wait till I turn eighteen though. Just three months left." Elara sighs dreamily.

"Shut up and clean," I tell her and she pouts, but she listens.

After a while, when my hands already begin to feel sore and it doesn't seem like the cleaning is going somewhere, I let out a long sigh.

“Urgh,” I call out softly, dragging my rag along the windowsill. “I swear this dust multiplies overnight.”

Elara snorts from where she’s crouched, wiping down the baseboards.

“That’s because nobody else cleans like we do. You and me, the unstoppable dream team of grime.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “That’s sad.”

“But true,” she says with a dramatic sigh. Then, lowering her voice and glancing around, she leans closer. “So... did you see them this morning?”

I don’t need to ask who she means. There’s only one couple worth gossiping about in this pack.

“Elara—” I warn, though the thoughts of them has me already smiling.

“Alpha Nox and Zara,” she says in a dreamy whisper, like she’s saying the names of royalty. “They passed me by the east corridor. I nearly dropped my mop. Zara looked gorgeous—that red dress, her hair all done up like a queen…”

“She always looks gorgeous,” I say, shaking my head. “She’s Zara.”

I can't help but feel a little pang of jealousy. Some people just have it easy in life. Beauty, strength, fame, family name...Zara was one of those people.

Daughter to the Beta. Why wouldn't Alpha Nox look her way?

“She’s perfect,” Elara continues reverently. “She’s everything a Luna should be. Powerful, graceful, and have you seen how Alpha Nox looks at her? Like she’s the moon and he’s the tide.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Pretty sure he just looks like he wants to growl at everything.”

“Oh please,” she huffs, flinging a damp rag at me. It slaps against my arm and I yelp. “That man is hot, and you know it. If this year passes by and he still doesn't find his fated mate, I swear he’s going to choose Zara. She’s the obvious pick.”

Truth. Valid truth. It has reached the point where everyone is just sitting and waiting for their mating ceremony to happen.

They've been together three years, and as it is, it's a clear fact that Alpha Nox must have never been assigned a fated mate.

Sad, not sad.

“You’re too far gone,” I tell Elara, flicking the rag back at her head.

She dodges it and grins. “Can you imagine? Being chosen by Alpha Nox. I’d faint on the spot.”

“Yeah,” I say quietly, pressing the rag against the wooden frame of the door. “I bet.”

He's the dream man for every single lady. He's so fucking scary, but still, every lady wants him in their pants.

Me included. Which is why I feel a little jealous about his relationship with Eden. It makes me wish that he'd be mated to me before he can go ahead to mate with Zara.

If only...

My train of thoughts gets interrupted when something strange coils deep in my chest. It’s like… a string, tugging. Gentle but persistent. I freeze.

It’s warmth. Pressure. A presence.

“Elara…” I whisper, clutching my chest.

“What?” she says, noticing the change in my tone. “You okay?”

I don’t hear what she says after and I'm too focused on the feeling that's building up in my chest.

My heart’s hammering too fast, too sudden. The pull is growing stronger by the second, wrapping around me like vines. I glance over my shoulder, eyes wide.

There’s no one in the hall save for Elara and I.

But I feel the presence of a third person in me, and the heavy sweet scent of citrus fogs my brain. My eyes cloud over, but it still feels like I can see the colours around me brighter.

Strange...

Someone rounds the corner and the heavy footfalls become louder in my ears. The air shifts with dominance, the kind of dominance that only one man in the pack possesses.

Alpha Nox.

Even with the scowl etched into his face like stone, he’s breathtaking. All sharp lines and rough edges, dark hair slightly tousled, hazel eyes like storms waiting to break.

He glances around and his eyes find Elara. She bows and he nods, then his eyes shift and find mine for a split second.

Everything in my world stops.

My wolf howls in recognition, and the overwhelming need to be near him flows through my body like a feverish dream.

Him.

My mate?

My knees nearly give out and I clutch the windowsill to stay standing, blood rushing in my ears.

He doesn’t stop walking though. Not at first. He’s still striding forward with that cold, effortless confidence.

But then… he hesitates. His eyes narrow slightly as they turn back to me. His pupils dilate and he slows.

He knows.

Elara nudges me. “Tamsin, what the hell is going on? You’re pale. Are you okay?”

What is going on? Alpha Nox is my fated mate.

Am I okay? Of course not. I can't even breathe at the current moment.

Alpha Nox stops right in front of me, and for one long second, he stares at me like he’s seeing me—really seeing me—for the first time.

He growls, low and commanding. It doesn't make sense what he's saying at first, but my wolf begins to resonate with his growls. And the words form in my head.

"Mate. Mate. Mate."

My heart lurches as he takes one step closer. Then another.

He raises a hand—his fingers inches from my face, like he’s about to touch me, cradle me, confirm what we both already know.

But then… something changes and his expression shutters. Gone is the surprise, the softness and back is the cold Alpha I'm used to.

His hands drop back to his sides as he straightens up, then he tucks them into his pockets.

He turns abruptly and resumes his walk down the hall like nothing happened, leaving behind his sweet scent of citrus.

I stand there frozen, watching his back disappear around the corner like nothing just happened. Like the most important moment of my life didn’t even register for him.

“What… was that?” Elara’s voice is low, stunned.

I blink back tears, biting my lip so hard I taste blood.

“Tamsin,” she breathes, “he was looking right at you. Like… like he felt something.”

I shake my head. “It’s nothing. Just—maybe he was just confused. Maybe I was wrong.”

She gives me a look. “Girl, his hand was practically on your face.”

I say nothing to that.

She steps closer, and her eyes widen as she realises what just happened. “Shit. You’re mated to Alpha Nox?”

I close my eyes. "Yeah."

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" She panics, dropping her rag to the ground and pacing a bit before coming to stand in front of me.

"You don't look so happy," she comments. "It's a fucking dream come true!"

It is a dream come true. But something about the way his eyes left mine, the way he hesitated, the way he walked away... something about it feels like the slow unraveling of me.

Like a nightmare.