Raine couldn't sleep.
The room was warm, luxurious, and utterly silent—but it suffocated her.
The fire crackled softly in the corner, casting shadows on the stone walls. The sheets beneath her were softer than anything she'd ever known. But none of it could calm the storm inside her chest.
Not when her shoulder still burned with that crescent-shaped mark.
Not when his words kept echoing in her mind.
"You are my fated mate. And if I don't claim you soon… I'll lose control."
She sat up, heart racing. No. She wasn't going to stay here and be someone's… mate. Whatever that meant. Her life was hers, and no man—Alpha or billionaire—was going to take it away.
Raine slipped off the bed, quietly approaching the door.
She didn't know where she'd go.
She just knew she had to get away from him.
Her fingers barely brushed the doorknob when—
"Going somewhere?"
The voice wasn't loud.
But it slid over her skin like a blade.
Raine spun around.
Kael stood in the doorway, barefoot, wearing only black sweatpants. His chest was bare—broad, scarred, and gleaming under the moonlight. But it wasn't his body that made her breath catch.
It was his eyes.
They weren't silver anymore.
They glowed a soft, burning gold.
Just like before.
The Alpha was awake.
She swallowed hard. "I'm not your prisoner."
"No," Kael said calmly. "You're something much more dangerous than that."
She narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"
He stepped into the room, slow and unhurried. Like a predator in no rush because he already knew he'd win.
"My control is thin, Raine. And you walking around my house in the middle of the night doesn't help."
"You're blaming me for your lack of self-control?" she snapped.
Kael stopped a breath away from her. His gaze dropped to her lips, then rose again—hungrier.
"No," he said. "I'm blaming the bond."
She froze. "What bond?"
He reached out—not touching her, just hovering inches from her cheek.
"The one you pretend you don't feel."
Her pulse spiked. Her breath hitched.
Because she did feel it.
Every time he was near, her skin burned. Her body remembered something ancient. Her blood hummed. It wasn't attraction. It was something… older.
"Stop it," she whispered.
Kael's voice dropped, rough like gravel.
"Then stop looking at me like you want me to lose control."
She stepped back, heart racing.
He didn't follow.
Instead, he turned to the window. His jaw clenched. His hands balled into fists.
"I've waited years. Endured rituals. Blood oaths. War," he said, voice tight. "And now the moon finally gives me a mate… one who would rather run."
Silence fell.
Then softly, like the sound of a breaking dam—
"I don't know who I am," Raine whispered.
Kael turned slowly.
"You're mine," he said, voice deadly soft. "That's all you need to know."
The situation was so intense until a loud crack echoed in the distance—followed by a howl.
Kael's head snapped toward the window.
His voice turned sharp.
"They found us."
Raine stepped back, startled. "Who?"
Kael's eyes glowed brighter than ever now. His bones tensed like they were about to shift.
"Hunters."
"And they're not here for me.
They're here for you."