CHAPTER TWO
YALE'S POV
Fate doesn't ask.
It takes.
I felt her before I saw her.
That was the first problem.
The second—
Was that my wolf recognized her instantly?
The gathering was nothing more than politics wrapped in celebration. Two packs under one roof, alliances being strengthened, futures being decided.
Including mine.
Kate stood beside me, her hand resting lightly on my arm, her posture perfect, her smile carefully practiced.
My chosen mate.
Handpicked.
Approved.
Everything a Luna should be.
And yet—
My attention drifted.
Pulled.
Unwilling.
"What is it?" Kate asked quietly, sensing the shift.
"Nothing."
A lie.
A dangerous one.
Because the moment I lifted my gaze—
I saw her.
Kamil.
She stood across the room, half-hidden in shadow, like she didn't belong in the same world as everyone else.
But my wolf—
My wolf surged forward like it had found something it had been searching for its entire life.
Mine.
The word hit hard.
Immediate.
Unforgiving.
I stiffened.
No.
That wasn't possible.
It couldn't be.
Because if it was—
Everything would fall apart.
"Kamil," Kate said suddenly, following my line of sight. "My sister."
Her voice was warm. Proud.
Unaware.
"She's… different," she added.
That was one way to put it.
Kamil's gaze lifted.
And locked onto mine.
The world stilled.
Sounds faded.
Time fractured into something slow… heavy… inevitable.
Her expression didn't change.
But I felt it.
The pull.
Sharp. Electric. Wrong.
She looked away first.
That should've ended it.
It didn't.
I moved before I could stop myself.
A mistake.
Every instinct screamed at me to stay where I was—to ignore it, bury it, kill it before it grew into something uncontrollable.
But my body had already made the choice.
And my wolf—
My wolf wasn't asking permission.
"Yale?"
Kate's voice followed me, confused.
I didn't answer.
The hallway was quieter.
Darker.
Safer.
Or so I thought.
She was there.
Of course she was.
Standing by the open window, the night wind slipping through her hair, carrying her scent straight to me.
And that was it.
That was the moment control became irrelevant.
"You shouldn't be here," I said.
My voice came out colder than I intended.
Her head turned slowly.
"And where should I be?"
There was something in her tone.
Not fear.
Not innocent.
Something steadier.
Stronger.
"Not alone," I replied.
Her lips curved slightly.
"Funny. I was just thinking the same about you."
Dangerous.
She was dangerous.
Not because she tried to be—
But because she didn't.
I stepped closer.
Each step measured.
Each breath is heavier than the last.
"You're Kate's sister."
A statement.
A warning.
A line drawn.
"I know who I am," she said quietly.
Her eyes didn't leave mine.
"And you're her mate."
The word landed harder than it should have.
Silence stretched between us.
Tight.
Unforgiving.
"You should stay away from me," I said.
There it was again.
A warning I had no intention of following.
"Why?" she asked.
The same question.
The same dangerous curiosity.
I stopped in front of her.
Close enough to feel the heat of her skin.
Close enough to lose perspective.
"Because this—" I gestured between us, my voice lowering "—doesn't end well."
Her breath hitched.
Just slightly.
But I noticed.
I noticed everything.
"Maybe I'm not afraid of how it ends," she whispered.
That—
That was a problem.
My hand lifted before I could stop it.
Fingers brushing lightly against her jaw.
Testing.
Confirming.
Real.
The contact snapped something inside me.
A pull so deep it felt ancient.
Unavoidable.
"You should be," I said softly.
But my hand didn't move away.
Her eyes flickered.
To my lips.
Then back up.
And just like that—
The tension shifted.
I leaned in—
Not touching.
Not yet.
Giving her time to pull away.
To stop this.
To save us both.
She didn't.
The air between us burned.
Heavy with everything we weren't supposed to feel.
Everything we weren't supposed to want.
Footsteps echoed down the hall.
Voices.
Close.
Too close.
I stepped back instantly.
The moment shattered.
But the damage—
It was already done.
"Stay away from me," I said again, more firmly this time.
Not a suggestion.
An order.
Her expression hardened slightly.
"Make me."
That almost made me lose control.
I turned away before I could answer.
Before I could prove exactly why that was a mistake.
Because the truth was—
I didn't want to stay away.
I wanted to claim her.
And that—
Would destroy everything.