(Kael's POV)
She shouldn't still smell like home.
Kael clenched his jaw, standing stiffly by the ceremonial table as the pack moved around him, laughter and conversation fading into a muted hum. His wolf, restless and alert, clawed at the edge of his control — something it hadn't done in years.
He hadn't expected her.
Not here. Not now.
Not after he'd rejected her in front of the entire pack three years ago.
And yet… Arielle Storm had walked into the hall tonight like she owned every inch of it. She hadn't bowed. She hadn't flinched. She hadn't even looked at him like he mattered.
And it shook him.
His Beta, Ronan, was still saying something at his side — something about the new border patrols or the full moon festival — but Kael didn't hear a word.
All he could hear was the sound of his own blood rushing and his wolf whispering:
She's changed.
Her scent had always been warm, soft — like early morning rain and crushed lilac. But tonight it carried something deeper. Something... distant. Sharper.
Like she didn't belong to him anymore.
His hand tightened around the glass he hadn't touched. If she'd come to stir the past, she was wasting her time. He was Alpha now. He didn't have space for ghosts.
But when she'd looked at him across the room — for just one second — something in his chest cracked.
And then she looked away.
Like he didn't exist.
Like he was nothing more than a stranger.
He should be relieved. He should be angry.
But all he could think was:
Why did her eyes look like she'd seen hell and walked out colder?
The crowd shifted. Arielle turned to leave, her dark hair swinging like a silent dare behind her. Kael took one step forward before he could stop himself.
Ronan caught the movement. "Kael?"
His voice dragged Kael back. The Alpha in him hardened again.
"No," Kael said coldly. "Nothing."
But it was a lie.
Something was very, very wrong.
And Kael Nightshade was going to find out what it was — even if it meant ripping open the past he'd tried so hard to bury.