8

She did not know why disappointment touched her. She barely knew him. Yet something about his presence had felt grounding in a way she could not explain.

“Will I see you again?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Jake’s expression shifted. Something warm. Something pained. Something she did not understand.

“I hope so,” he said.

He stepped back, giving her space. For a moment she thought he might say something else, but instead he offered her a gentle smile and turned away. He walked through the bar with the same quiet confidence she had noticed earlier. When he reached the door, he paused. His shoulders lifted slightly, as though he were taking a breath.

Then he left.

Amelia stood alone beside the four chairs, her pulse steadying at last. She should have gone home immediately. Instead she found herself staring at the door he had just walked through. She did not know his surname. She did not know anything about him. Yet she felt as though something significant had just happened. Something she could not name.

She gathered her handbag and walked towards the exit. The evening air greeted her with a warm breeze that softened the lingering tension in her chest. Birmingham’s streets glowed beneath the fading light, familiar and comforting. She crossed the road and began the short walk home, her thoughts drifting back to Jake with every step.

She replayed the moment he had approached her. The warmth of his arm around her shoulders. The calm certainty in his voice. The way he had looked at her as though he already knew her. It had felt strange, yet not unwelcome. She had leaned into him without thinking, drawn to the safety he offered.

She reached her building and climbed the stairs to her flat. The quiet space greeted her with the familiar scent of lavender from the candle she had extinguished that morning. She set her handbag down, kicked off her shoes and sank onto the sofa.

Her mind refused to settle.

Jake.

She whispered his name under her breath, testing the sound of it. It felt warm. It felt steady. It felt like the beginning of something she could not yet understand.

She closed her eyes and let the memory wash over her. The way he had looked at Daniel. The way Daniel had backed off without a word. The way Jake had guided her to safety without making her feel foolish or dramatic.

She had never met anyone like him.

Her phone buzzed. A message from Lucy.

Lucy:  

Still alive?

Amelia smiled faintly.

Amelia:  

Barely. I will explain tomorrow.

Lucy:  

Drama?

Amelia:  

Something like that.

Lucy:  

You attract chaos.

Amelia:  

I really do not.

Lucy:  

Tell me everything tomorrow.

Amelia:  

I will.

She set her phone aside and leaned back against the cushions. The room felt quiet, yet her thoughts still refused to settle. She tried to read, but the words blurred. She tried to watch television, but nothing held her attention.

Her mind kept drifting back to Jake.

She wondered where he had gone. She wondered why he had left so quickly. She wondered why she felt disappointed when she barely knew him.

She wondered if she would see him again.

---

Outside, Jake stepped into the warm evening air. The scent of the city wrapped around him, familiar and unremarkable. Yet beneath it lingered something else. Something that made his breath catch.

Her.

He closed his eyes for a moment, steadying himself. The mate bond pulsed through him with a force he had never imagined. It was impossible. It was undeniable. It was everything he had been raised to expect and everything he had feared.

Amelia was human.

He opened his eyes again, the weight of the truth settling heavily in his chest. He had recognised the bond the moment his arm touched her shoulders. The shock of it had nearly stolen his breath. The warmth of her leaning into him had made every instinct inside him surge forward. His wolf, Kade, had pushed against every ounce of Jake's control.

He had wanted to stay. He had wanted to protect her. He had wanted to tell her everything.

But she was human.

And humans did not know his world existed.

Jake walked away from the bar, each step measured and controlled. He did not look back. He could not. Not yet.

But he knew one thing with absolute certainty.

He would see her again.