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H azel

I try to move through the mesh of bodies, desperate to escape the grip on my arm. The hold is firm but not rough, radiating heat that seeps through my sleeve and into my skin. I spin around, the air leaving my lungs as I come face-to-face with him.

Kieran.

He’s impossibly tall, at least six-foot-five, his broad frame cutting through the chaos like a storm cloud.

Up close, his piercing blue eyes are even more unsettling, like shards of ice that could freeze you in place—or pierce straight through you.

His jaw is set, the scar slicing through his left brow down his eye and stopping at his cheek, making his expression all the more intense.

For a moment, I can’t breathe. His presence is overwhelming, but unlike how I feel before my father, Jag Nightbeam, the Nightclaw Alpha, and even older warriors in my pack, I do not feel fear.

“Come with me,” he says, his voice low but commanding, like a growl waiting to break free.

I hesitate, my body rooted to the spot, but he doesn’t wait for my answer.

He tugs my arm, and my feet follow like they’re no longer under my control.

And more still, they move because I want to.

Because everything in me wants to be around him.

To breathe the same air as him. To protect him. To die for him.

My goddess, slow down. You just met him, Hazel. But I don’t stay in my head for long. The whispers start immediately, buzzing like flies in the air.

“Is she in trouble?”

“Must’ve done something to piss him off.”

The females hovering around him earlier sneer, their laughter sharp and cutting.

“That won’t end well for her,” one of them says, her voice dripping with malice.

I clench my jaw, my wolf snarling inside me. I don’t know what’s worse—their taunts or the fact that I feel their jealousy like a dagger to my chest.

He pulls me past the edge of the crowd into the shadow of a tall oak, where the noise dulls to a murmur. My pulse pounds in my ears as I yank my arm free, the sudden movement fueled by anger I don’t recognize as my own.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I snap, the words out before I can stop them. This sass would have earned me a few weeks in the dungeon if it were any other Alpha. But this is my Mate, and for some reason, I know nothing will happen to me, no matter how scary-looking he is.

Kieran doesn’t answer immediately. He studies me, his gaze sweeping over me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle with awareness.

It’s not just how he’s looking at me—it’s how he makes me feel like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall.

I watch his jaw tighten, and I swallow, a throb settling between my legs just being in his presence.

“You’re not Moonfang,” he finally says. There’s a tilt to his head, like he’s already impatient with this small talk.

His brilliant blue eyes darken with desire as I watch them sweep over me.

They rest on my full chest before coming back up, pausing at my lips.

I lick the bottom one reflexively, nervous under his gaze.

I feel exposed. Naked. Like I can’t hide from him.

And the strange thing is…I don’t want to.

I want him to look at me. The bond between us thrums rich with passionate need. There is a craving deep in my gut.

“And you are the Alpha of the Moonfang?” I breathe the words, even though I still can’t believe what is happening. My wolf is awash with glee that her mate is a formidable Alpha. More than that, other females will claw at each other just to be around him, and to try and get a piece of him.

His lips twitch. a flicker of something that could almost be amusement flashing in his eyes.

“I watched you fight,” he steps closer. “You didn’t fight like an amateur.”

“Not when I am a Nightclaw warrior. I have to prove my worth, don’t I?

” I raise my chin to meet his gaze. My heart is pounding so hard I’m sure he can hear it, but I’m already addicted to this rush.

I feel my wolf's euphoria being near him, hearing his voice, basking in his earthy scent that smells like tea and fresh water.

“You fought well,” he says, his voice softer now, though no less intense.

The compliment throws me off balance, and I blink up at him, searching for the catch, even though every fiber of my being is darting all over the place in elated validation. But his expression is unreadable, his gaze locked on mine like he’s waiting for something.

“Thank you.” My cheeks are so warm; I must look so flushed to him. I feel validated in all my years of training. He knows what to say to me, and I think my willpower to resist him slips by the second.

He steps even closer, the heat of his body seeping into mine. “Tell me,” he says, his voice dropping to a near growl. “How did you do it?”

I frown, caught off guard. “Do what?”

“Hold your own against Cain,” he says, his gaze searching mine. “He should’ve torn you apart.”

The words should sting, but there’s no malice in his tone—just curiosity. And maybe…incredulousness?

I swallow hard, the truth bubbling before I can stop it. “I don’t know,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “I just…did.” He must be expecting some elaborate explanation of how I had to train for weeks just to face him.

He studies me for a moment longer, his piercing gaze making me feel like he’s peeling back layers I didn’t know I had.

There is a smirk on his lips. It’s like he enjoys watching me react to his words.

But more than that, there is a hunger in his eyes, and I know that hunger is in mine, too.

I bite my lip again, and his wolf growls in response.

I hate the way my body reacts to him, drawn to him in spite of myself.

I can feel my slick coating me with readiness to take him.

But it’s dawning on me now that even he doesn’t want me.

He must think us weak. He must think me unworthy of being his Luna.

Even though I was skeptical initially, the possibility of his rejection aches deep in my chest.

“Let me guess,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You pulled me aside to tell me I’m not good enough to be your Luna.”

His smirk fades, his expression hardening. He leans in then, so close I can feel his breath on my skin, the heat of his body making my pulse race.

“My wolf hasn’t stopped looking at you since you stepped into that pit. I have come to claim you, Mate.”

The confession leaves me breathless, and for a moment, the world tilts.

I stare up at him, my heart pounding so loud it drowns out everything else.

The sound of a whistle cuts through the air, signaling the end of the spar. But I barely notice. My heart is a wild drumbeat in my chest, the air thick with the electric charge between Kieran and me.

He’s so close now, his towering frame casting shadows over the patches of the setting sun filtering through the branches. My back presses against a tree, rough bark biting into my shoulders as his gaze pins me in place. This is going to be disastrous. I can’t…

“N-no,” I stutter, not sure what to say.

“Why are you running from this?” His voice is low, gravelly, laced with something raw that sends a shiver down my spine. “Do you not trust the Goddess?”

“I’m not running,” I shoot back, but the words feel weak.

I am running from him, this connection, and the fire threatening to consume me whole.

How would this even work? I leave my pack and join his?

I give up everything I’ve known and loved just to be with him, even though our packs have not seen eye to eye in centuries?

“You feel it too,” he murmurs, his voice softer now, almost a plea. “Don’t tell me you don’t.”

My wolf stirs at his words, her presence filling me with heat and want.

She doesn’t just feel it; she aches for it, for him.

The tightness in my hips is growing more urgent.

I can’t look away from his face. The perfect smooth arch of his brow.

The dip of his scar. His straight nose. The bow of his lips.

The fullness of them. I bite my own lip.

I want those on my mouth. I want to leave little bites on them.

I swallow hard, my throat dry as my hands curl into fists at my sides. “It doesn’t matter what I think,” I say, though my voice trembles. “My wolf wants you.” I leave out that I, too, want to mount him like a stallion. My heart races in my chest, and not just because I’m standing before an Alpha.

Kieran growls low in his chest, a sound that vibrates through the air and straight into my core. The strong scent of desire between us is so thick and heady. All I can think about is running my hands into his luscious hair as he ravages my body.

My breasts feel heavier as if they have swollen in an instant.

My nipples harden beneath my clothes. I am too shy to think of how turned on I am.

I now understand why the other wolves will not shut up about meeting their Mate.

This is nothing short of addicting. The tension.

The awareness of mutual desire. It’s intoxicating.

His hand moves, his fingers brushing against my cheek, and the world tilts. Dissolves. Dissipates. It’s only us now, standing in the middle of the forest. Even the critters of the evening seem to pause their chirping just for this.

His breath is warm against my skin, and I lose all sense of the consequences of this.

The space between us disappears instantly, his lips crashing against mine. The kiss is fire and fury, a clash of dominance and submission that leaves me breathless. My wolf howls in triumph, her joy spilling over into every part of me .