Page 4

FOUR

LORELEI

T he summer sun beat down on the construction site as Lorelei studied the blueprints spread across a makeshift table. Glass panels of the new building sparkled around her, reflecting the city’s energy. A bead of sweat trickled down her neck despite the early hour.

“Mr. Shaw, these support beams need to be—“ She looked up from her conversation with the supervisor and lost her train of thought.

A man who looked like he’d stepped out of her most private fantasies walked toward her. His charcoal button-down stretched across broad shoulders, sleeves rolled to expose forearms that belonged in a fitness magazine. The way he moved reminded her of a predator – graceful yet dangerous.

“Oh, thank you, birthday gods.” The words slipped out. “I was starting to think my thirties would be all work and no play.”

He didn’t crack a smile. Not even a twitch. Instead, his intense gaze locked on her with laser focus that made her skin tingle.

“You don’t have clearance to be here,” she said, noting his lack of a hard hat or safety vest. “This is an active construction zone.”

“I am Prince Draken of the Moonshadow Pack.” His voice was deep, commanding – expecting immediate compliance. “You will return with me to become our Luna.”

Lorelei blinked. Twice. She glanced at her coffee cup, wondering if someone had spiked it. Pack? Luna? Was this some elaborate birthday prank her friends had cooked up?

“Right.” She tapped her pen against the blueprints. “And I’m the Queen of Sheba. Did Helena put you up to this? Because if she did, you can tell her nice try, but I’m not falling for?—“

“This is not a joke.” He stepped closer, and the air seemed to crackle between them. “You are meant to be my Luna.”

The supervisor cleared his throat. “Everything okay here, Ms. Chanda?”

“Just fine, Mr. Shaw.” Her voice came out steadier than she felt. “Though I think someone’s acting got a little too intense.”

The man – Draken – narrowed his blue eyes, his jaw clenching in a way that shouldn’t have been attractive but definitely was. The expensive watch on his wrist caught the sunlight as he crossed his arms, and Lorelei found herself wondering what kind of budget this prank needed.

Lorelei’s amusement soon faded as Draken’s expression remained deadly serious. The playful gleam she’d expected to see in his eyes – the telltale sign of a birthday prank – was absent. Instead, his gaze held an unsettling intensity that made her stomach flip.

“Look, this was... interesting, but I need to get back to work.” She gathered her blueprints, trying to keep her hands steady.

“You misunderstand.” He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming her personal space. “This isn’t a request. Your magical powers have awakened. The pack needs its Luna.”

A chill ran down her spine despite the summer heat. Something in the way he spoke – the absolute conviction in his voice – set off warning bells in her head. Yet beneath her unease, an inexplicable pull tugged at her core, drawing her toward him. She blamed it on his ridiculous good looks and whatever cologne he was wearing that smelled like the forest after rain.

“Lorelei!” The lead contractor’s voice carried across the construction site. “Can you come look at something?”

Relief flooded through her. “I’ll be right back,” she told Draken, already backing away.

His jaw clenched. “We’re not finished.”

“Right. Luna. Pack. Got it.” She forced a smile, clutching her blueprints to her chest like a shield. “Just... wait here.”

She hurried across the site, her boots clicking against the concrete floor. Each step put welcome distance between her and the attractive but clearly unhinged man.

Her mind raced. Should she call security? The police? Maybe he was just having some sort of episode. But that pull she felt... She shook her head. No. That was just her hormones responding to a face that belonged on a magazine cover. Nothing more.

Lorelei approached the lead contractor, her heart still racing from the strange encounter. “Bob, could you have security escort that man off the premises? The one in the charcoal shirt?”

Bob turned, scanning the area. “What man?”

Lorelei spun around. The spot where Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Delusional had stood was empty. She blinked, wondering if the heat was getting to her.

“Never mind. I must have imagined it.” She laughed, though it came out a bit shaky. “Too much birthday cake the other night, I guess.”

“Speaking of, how was the big three-oh?”

“Great until some weirdo crashed the party.” She shook her head, focusing on the blueprints. “Now, what do you need me to look at?”

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of measurements and material specifications. Lorelei lost herself in the familiar rhythm of construction supervision, the earlier encounter fading like a strange dream.

Outside, she circled the building’s perimeter, making notes about the glass paneling. The summer breeze ruffled her hair as she studied the way sunlight played across the surface, creating ever-changing patterns.

“The angular cuts catch the light perfectly,” she muttered, jotting down observations. “But we might need additional UV coating on the west-facing panels.”

Her pencil snapped mid-note. She stared at the broken tip, remembering how the strange man’s presence had made the air feel charged like the moment before a storm. What kind of person walked onto a construction site claiming to be a prince? And what the hell was a Luna?

“Get it together, Lorelei,” she whispered, pulling out a new pencil. “This is what happens when Helena convinces you to have a birthday party on a weeknight. It throws your whole balance off.”

The glass panels reflected her image as she worked – professional, composed, completely normal. No sign of whatever magical powers that guy had rambled about. Just an architect doing her job even if she couldn’t quite shake the memory of those intense blue eyes and the way they’d seemed to see right through her.

Lorelei was looking down at her notebook when rough hands grabbed her from behind. Her heart leaped into her throat as she twisted, expecting to see the self-proclaimed prince from earlier. Instead, unfamiliar dark eyes bore into hers, set in a pale face.

“Don’t scream,” he whispered.

The ground beneath them shuddered. Small at first, then growing until the vibrations rattled her teeth. The half-finished building groaned. Glass panels shattered overhead, raining crystalline destruction. Support beams twisted with metallic shrieks.

“Help!” Lorelei’s cry was lost in the chaos as workers fled the collapsing structure.

The stranger dragged her backward, his grip bruising on her arms. She kicked and thrashed, but he moved with inhuman strength. In seconds, he had her wrists bound with zip ties and was shoving her into a black sedan.

“Let me go!” She writhed against the restraints as he slid behind the wheel. “What do you want?”

“The name is Gideon.” He pulled onto the street, weaving through traffic with dangerous speed. His dark eyes flicked to her in the rearview mirror. “Been trailing that alpha of yours for days, waiting to see if you were really the one.”

Lorelei’s mind spun. Alpha? Like that crazy prince from earlier? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do, Luna.” He chuckled, the sound devoid of warmth. “Though I’ll admit, I’m surprised as hell you’re human. No wonder Draken took his sweet time claiming you. Probably hoped he was wrong about the mate bond.”

The words tumbled around her head like the debris from her construction site. Luna. Alpha. Mate bond. None of it made sense, yet something deep inside her resonated with each term.

“This is insane,” she muttered, testing the zip ties. “I design buildings. I’m not whatever you think I am.”

“Those tremors say differently.” Gideon’s smile showed too many teeth. “You’ve got power, little human. Power I’ve been waiting a very long time to harness.”

Lorelei shifted against the zip ties cutting into her wrists. The leather seat squeaked beneath her as she tried to find a more comfortable position. “Look, you’ve got this all wrong. Like I said, I’m just an architect. The most magical thing I do is turn building designs into actual buildings.”

“An architect,” Gideon scoffed. “Is that what you think you are?”

“I know what I am.” She glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, checking if maybe she’d grown horns or something equally ridiculous in the last hour. Nope. Same brown eyes, same practical brown waves, same woman who’d spent last night reorganizing her desk drawer by pen color. “And I can prove it. My wallet has about three hundred in cash. It’s yours if you let me go.”

“Money?” He swerved around a truck, the G-force pressing her into the door. “You think this is about money? You really don’t know what you are, do you?”

The disbelief in his voice made her stomach clench. This wasn’t some elaborate scam. He actually believed what he was saying. Earth manipulation powers. Luna. But these aren’t real things, at least that she knew of.

Through the window, Lorelei caught glimpses of dense forest replacing downtown’s familiar buildings. The road curved dangerously close to rocky cliffs that dropped into darkness. No one would ever find her body this far out.

“Those tremors at your construction site weren’t just random.” His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “Your powers are awakening whether you believe it or not. And once I?—“

The impact came without warning. Metal screamed against metal as a black SUV slammed into their sedan’s rear quarter panel. Lorelei’s head whipped sideways, her shoulder hitting the door.

“What the—“ Gideon swerved, tires squealing.

The SUV rammed them again.

“Friends of yours?” Lorelei asked, trying to keep her voice steady as she worked at the zip ties. Her wrists were already raw, but if there was ever a time to channel her inner escape artist, this was it.

“Draken, damn him,” Gideon spat the name like a curse. He yanked the wheel hard, sending them fishtailing across both lanes.

The SUV matched their movements with terrifying precision. Whoever was driving had definitely done this before. The thought should have frightened her, but instead, Lorelei felt an inexplicable surge of satisfaction watching Gideon’s composure crack.

“You know,” she said, bracing herself against the seat as they took another hit, “for someone who claims to be so powerful, you’re not doing great at the whole kidnapping thing.”

Gideon’s dark eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. “Shut up.”

Another impact sent them spinning toward the cliff’s edge. Through the windshield, Lorelei caught a glimpse of the sheer drop waiting for them.

At that moment, Gideon opened the driver’s door and bailed, leaving her to die alone. Yup, nobody would ever find her body.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as the car skidded over the edge.