Kael’s POV

I sat at the corner of my bed, the morning light streaming softly into the room. Everything looked calm,but my mind was anything but.

I kept replaying last night.

The way she ran the moment our eyes met.

Why?

Was it fear? Shock? Recognition?

And that voice, someone had mindlinked me, crying for help. Soft. Desperate. Familiar in a way that disturbed me.

“Could it have been her?” I muttered.

Then quickly shook my head. “No. It can’t be.”

She’s my father’s mate. That’s the end of it. Period.

But the thoughts wouldn’t stop circling. Something about her felt… off. Too off to ignore.

I remembered asking one of my father’s guards to tell him I wanted to speak with him. The man nodded but never came back. Hours passed. Silence.

Then I wandered the halls, hoping to clear my head. That’s when I found her. In the kitchen. Alone. Whispering. Eating.

She was calling out to someone, maybe herself, maybe not. I froze in the doorway, hidden by shadows, watching the way her lips moved and eaten aggressively.

She hadn’t noticed me. Not until I stepped forward.

And then, she turned. Her eyes met mine. And she ran.

Like I was the monster.

What the hell was happening?

“What did he call her?” I muttered, frowning. My father’s voice echoed in my head, cold and dismissive.

Then iI remembered .

“Orphan,” I said aloud, the word bitter on my tongue.

That’s what he called her. Just… orphan.

No name. No respect. Like she didn’t matter.

I stared down at the floor, a strange weight pressing on my chest. There was something wrong here. Something I hadn’t seen yet.

A knock on the door snapped me back to reality.

“Who is it?” I called out.

Before the words had fully left my lips, the door creaked open.

Gracie walked in, balancing a tray of food, her hips swaying with intention. The silk dress she wore clung to her like second skin, short, tight, and designed to distract.

Damn.

She looked hot.

Too hot.

I shifted, clearing my throat and forcing my eyes up to meet hers.

“Good morning, Kael,” she said, voice dripping with honey. “You didn’t come down for breakfast, so I thought I’d bring it to you.”

She set the tray down slowly, deliberately, letting me watch her every move.

“And I hope you had a wonderful night’s rest,” she added, glancing over her shoulder with a playful smirk.

I nodded awkwardly. “Thanks.”

“You seem… distracted.” She turned to face me fully. “Everything okay?”

“Y-yeah.” I stammered, her presence suddenly overwhelming.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I needed to snap out of it. Now.

She stepped closer, too close. Her finger reached out, gently tracing my bottom lip before sliding down to my chest. Her touch sent a jolt of electricity down my spine.

“Do you remember the days by the pool?” she whispered.

“What?”

Her eyes narrowed, her lips curving into something softer… darker.

“You’ve forgotten our memories already?” she asked, voice low, seductive.

I swallowed hard. Memories?

I wasn’t good at remembering things. The only real memory of this pack I clung to was my mother’s picture, burned into my heart. Everything else? Blurred.

Especially after my father shipped me off to the North when I was barely old enough to shift. Like I was a burden.

“I… don’t remember,” I said quietly. And then her hand drifted lower.

Too low.

Down to my hard cock.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice finally steadying.

She looked up at me through her lashes, like this was some kind of game.

I stepped back.

“Stop,” I said firmly.

That smirk faltered for a split second. Just a second.

Then she took a slow step back, biting her lip.

“I can feel you want me. Why are you acting cold?” she said.

Yeah, my body was reacting. But I had to control myself. I barely just got back yesterday after a whole year away, and she was already trying to seduce me?

No. Not happening.

“I can’t do that,” I muttered under my breath, making sure she didn’t hear.

“Suit yourself,” she said, turning away, her voice still laced with sultry frustration.

I watched her leave, the door clicking softly behind her.

I turned to the food she’d placed on the table, the same meal she brought yesterday. My favorite.

As I was about to take a bite, a voice whispered through my heart.

Mindlinking.

“Save me.” I froze.

“What the—?”

Who is mindlinking me?

That’s a very rare occurrence.

I don’t mindlink. My wolf stirred restlessly.

“Don’t you feel anything?” I asked him, trying to stay calm even though my heartbeat was anything but.

“I felt a connection,” he said, voice low and cautious. “But I don’t know the exact person. It’s faint… scared. But familiar.”

My jaw clenched. That whisper had come from deep inside my soul. Not just some stranger. Someone tethered to me.

And then it hit me.

Tracking.

I was a born tracker. My abilities hadn’t been used in a long time, but they were still mine, sharp, honed, precise.

“Let’s find her,” I muttered.

My wolf growled in agreement, already pacing in my mind. I didn’t need to speak twice.

The shift came violently. Bones cracked. Muscles tore and reformed. I gritted my teeth against the searing pain, falling to my knees as fur erupted from my skin. My hands twisted into paws, claws scraping the wooden floor.

My jaw dislocated before reforming into a long snout. Sharp canines. Heavy breaths. And the fire in my veins surged like lightning. In seconds, I was fully shifted, black, lean, fast. My wolf howled silently through my chest.

I sniffed the air.

Nothing.

I stepped forward, nose to the floor, tail rigid with focus.

Then, there. A faint trail. Pine. Rain. And something sweeter beneath it all.

Tears.

Her scent was laced with despair.

“This way,” my wolf said, pushing us toward the hallway.

We stalked forward,quiet but urgent. My paws padded softly across the cool floor, tracking her through twists of corridors, broken paths of scent, hints of fear. We were getting close. So close.

The mindlink flickered again.

“Save me,” she whispered, more desperate now.

My ears perked. My legs tensed to leap forward,

KNOCK.

I froze.

The sound jolted me like cold water poured down my spine.

“Kael.” A voice followed.

No. Not just any voice.

My father.

I whipped around as the door creaked open. Standing there, in his towering presence, was Alpha Lucien.

Still. Calm. And watching me shift back, bare and vulnerable as the remnants of my wolf retreated into my skin.

The look in his eyes wasn’t surprising. It was calculated. Controlled. Knowing.

His lips curled slightly.