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D AMIAN

I woke to sunlight pouring through the windows, a warmth lingering on the sheets beside me that didn’t belong to me. For a second, I thought it might have been a dream—her scent, the way her skin felt under my hands, the fire in her eyes. Then I turned and found her note on the pillow.

“It was a good time. Call me.”

Her handwriting was neat but playful, and beneath it, was her number. A smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it. My wolf growled low in my chest, with equal parts satisfaction and frustration.

She left, it snapped, pacing inside me like a caged animal.

“She left her number,” I countered, but even I felt the hollowness in the argument. She was gone, and the bed already felt cold without her.

I couldn’t blame her. I hadn’t exactly prepared for this.

My world had always been about duty first, and emotions second.

The pack came before everything. I became Alpha of the Blackwood pack when I was barely twenty-three, taking the mantle from my father after his death.

I didn’t have the luxury of finding time for love.

By the time I hit thirty, I’d convinced myself that mates were a fairy tale meant for other wolves.

Sure, I’d had flings here and there, but they were like passing storms. Intense, fleeting, and leaving nothing behind but an empty ache. I’d resigned myself to that being enough. Until last night.

Until her.

The memory of her crashing into me was burned into my mind. She was a storm, chaotic and impossible to ignore. My wolf had snapped to attention the moment she entered the room. Restless. Hungry. It had never reacted that way to anyone, not once in all my years.

At first, I thought it was the usual Alpha instincts—danger, a threat. But this wasn’t fear or warning. This was...need. My wolf recognized her before my brain could catch up. Fated. Mate. The words hit me like a thunderclap, and everything else faded into the background.

The party, the investors, the carefully planned evening—all of it vanished the moment I caught her scent. It wasn’t just her looks, though those were enough to steal the air from my lungs. It was her presence. It was like the universe had bent its rules to bring her here, right now, into my world.

My wolf had howled, clawing at me, demanding I get closer. When I finally touched her—skin brushing against skin—it felt like stepping into fire. I’d kissed her without thinking, without hesitation, and nothing had ever tasted as perfect.

And now, she was gone.

I ran my fingers through my hair, glancing back at the note. A small comfort. At least she hadn’t vanished without a trace.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand where I had dumped it last night, pulling me out of my thoughts. I grabbed it and saw Dylan’s name flashing on the screen. Dylan was the Beta of my pack and one of my trusted allies.

“What?” My voice came out rough, more growl than greeting.

“We’ve got a problem,” Dylan said, his tone all business. “There’s been a leak. Last night during the party, a security breach from inside the hall. Intel is pointing to a spy in our operations.”

Of course. Duty called. I swung my legs out of bed, shaking off the lingering haze of last night. “Details?”

“It’s connected to the Moonlight Clan. I’ve been avoiding direct confrontation with their Alpha, but this might force our hand. They had a spy who was gathering details on all our guests and hacking our server. The spy must have been one of the guests.”

I bit back a curse. The Moonlight Clan had been a thorn in my side for years, a rivalry inherited from my father. Their Alpha was as stubborn as he was ruthless, and neither of us had any interest in peace.

“What’s the risk?” I asked, already pulling on my clothes.

“If the leak spreads, it could compromise our supply lines. Maybe more than that as well.” Dylan hesitated. “We need to act fast, Damian. This isn’t just a minor breach.”

I tightened my jaw. Confronting the Moonlight Alpha directly was a gamble, but letting this fester was worse.

“Set up a meeting,” I said. “I’ll handle it.”

Dylan didn’t argue, which told me just how serious the situation was.

Hanging up, I glanced at the note one more time, before tucking it into my wallet and dressing in a hurry. There wasn’t time to linger on what last night meant—not with the pack at risk. But even as I tried to focus, her scent lingered on my nose, distracting me.

“Damn it, Sienna,” I muttered under my breath.

Even her name felt like a secret I didn’t deserve to know.

As I headed out, my mind kept circling back to her. Who was she? What was her story? Her confidence, her fire—it wasn’t just attractive. It was magnetic. I wanted more than her number. I wanted her.

The wolf growled again, a low, possessive rumble.

She’s ours, it reminded me.

“I know,” I muttered.

But knowing didn’t make this any easier. Fated mates weren’t just about chemistry or attraction. They were a bond, raw and unbreakable. The kind of connection that changed everything.

I’d spent my life building walls, focusing on responsibilities, shutting out the part of me that longed for something more. And now, in one night, she’d torn through all of that like it was nothing.

Dylan called again as I reached the car. “The meeting’s set,” he said. “Moonlight grounds. One hour.”

“Good.” I ended the call and started the engine, but my thoughts weren’t on the Moonlight Alpha or the risk to the pack. They were on Sienna—on the way she looked at me like I was the most amazing man alive.

For the first time in years, I wasn’t just thinking about what was good for the pack. I was thinking about what was good for me.

And I wasn’t letting her slip away that easily.

The gates of the Moonlight pack house loomed in front of me, cold and unwelcoming, just like the wolves guarding it. Their eyes darted to me, to my car, and back to each other, as if calculating how much of a threat I was. I stepped out, my jaw tight, my wolf bristling beneath my skin.

“Alpha Damian,” one of the guards began, his voice carefully polite. “You need to wait here while we inform Alpha Darius of your arrival.”

I didn’t have time for protocol. I crossed my arms, meeting his gaze head-on. “I’m not here for your pleasantries. Step aside, or I’ll make this quick and unpleasant.”

The guard stiffened but didn’t budge. “Alpha Darius doesn’t take unannounced visits lightly, especially ones booked on short notice.”

“I don’t care how he takes them. I came to talk, but if this is how you want to play it, I’ve got fifty men ready to tear through your gates on my command.” My voice was calm, but the threat hung heavy in the air.

The guard faltered, his eyes flickering to his comrades for support.

The Beta of the Moonlight Clan appeared from inside, his posture stiff but his tone neutral. “Stand down,” he ordered his men. Then he turned to me, his expression unreadable. “You’re free to enter, Alpha Damian.”

I nodded once, my stride steady as I walked past the guards. Inside, the air was just as tense, thick with hostility. My wolf growled low in my chest, but I pushed it down. This wasn’t the time to lose control.

The grand doors opened into a room that oozed power and wealth. But none of it mattered the moment my eyes landed on her.

Sienna.

She stood beside Alpha Darius, her expression mirroring my shock.

Was she in trouble?

Was he holding her hostage? I clenched my fist, ready to shift to my wolf form.

The air seemed to shift, the weight of her presence hitting me like a freight train. My wolf was on high alert, ready to claim what was his, then surged forward, torn between anger and longing.

Sienna blinked, her lips parting in surprise. “Damian?”

Hearing her say my name was like a punch to the gut. All the warmth from last night was gone, replaced by a cold, hard reality I wasn’t prepared for.

I forced myself to focus, but my mind was racing. What was she doing here? Why was she standing with him?

Darius smirked, his tone dripping with satisfaction. “Nice for you to join us, Blackwood, Ah, I see. You’re here to confirm the rumors, aren’t you?”

“What rumors?” My voice came out sharper than I intended.

“The rumor,” Darius drawled, stepping closer, “that I now have an heir. Sienna, my daughter.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. My chest tightened, my wolf clawing at me, desperate for clarity. Sienna? His daughter?

I looked at her, searching her face for some sign that this wasn’t real, that she wasn’t connected to him. She looked back at me, her confusion matching mine, but it wasn’t enough to quell the storm inside me.

Darius chuckled, clearly enjoying my discomfort. “With her here, you’ll never touch my empire. Whatever plans you had been dead in the water.”

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to breathe. I hadn’t come here for this. I hadn’t come to uncover some twisted familial bond between Sienna and my greatest rival.

Sienna turned to me, her voice hesitant. “Damian, what are you doing here?”

The question snapped something inside me. My hurt twisted into anger, sharp and bitter. “What am I doing here? That’s rich coming from you.”

Her brow furrowed. Her confusion only stoked my fury.Was she trying to play the innocent?

Darius placed a hand on her shoulder, his expression darkening.

“Sienna, do you know who this is? This man and his bloodline instigated the war that killed hundreds of our pack members. The one who forced your mother to leave all those years back. This is the man who has been a plague on us for years.”

Her eyes widened, darting between me and her father. “What?”

Darius continued, his voice cold. “Alpha Damian and his lineage have caused more ruin than you can imagine. He is from a bloodline of tyrants. The blood of our wolves is on his hands.”

She turned to me, hurt flashing across her face. “Is that true?”

I couldn’t breathe. The accusations hung heavy in the room, and for a moment, I wanted to defend myself.

The problem was that she was also not being truthful, and my mind began to piece the dots together.

She was the spy who had been sent to infiltrate my pack.

It had to be her. It explained the years of rivalry, the battles fought in self-defense, the losses on my own side.

But the anger and betrayal in her eyes cut deeper than I expected.

“If that’s what he told you,” I said, my voice hollow, “then, sure, it’s true.”

Her face fell, and something inside me broke.

Darius stepped closer, his smirk returning. “See, Sienna? He’s nothing but a monster like the rest of his bloodline. If you knew him before now, it was all a facade. This is who he really is. You are better off here.”

I turned to her, my fury bubbling over. “You’re better off with them, huh? Is that what this is? Were you just some spy, sent to gather information?”

Her eyes blazed with indignation. “How dare you? You think I—”

“I don’t know what to think anymore,” I cut her off, my voice rising. “You waltz into my life, turn everything upside down, and now I find you here, standing with him. What am I supposed to believe?”

Her father smirked, his triumph palpable. My wolf snarled, but I shoved it down, focusing on the woman in front of me.

Sienna’s voice wavered, but her anger was clear. “You don’t know me at all if you think I would do that.”

“And yet here you are,” I shot back. “Standing with him. Listening to him. What a coincidence. What do you take me for? A fool?”

Her jaw tightened, tears glistening in her eyes. “You have no idea what kind of day I’ve had.”

“I don’t need to in order to be shocked by this,” I snapped. “But congratulations, Sienna. You’re exactly where you belong.”

My chest felt heavy, my mind racing trying to steady my breathing, but her face—her eyes—were burned into mine.

She was my mate. And now she was my enemy.