chapter 2

Derick’s POV

I slammed the door behind me before I even realized how hard I’d hit it.

My chest rose and fell like I’d just run miles. The air in the hallway felt too thin, too heavy, too… her.

That scent , soft, warm, and unfamiliar clung to my skin, winding through my senses like smoke I couldn’t escape.

It was human, but not just human. There was something else hidden beneath it. Something that made my wolf, Jasper, restless inside me.

I pressed a hand against the cold wall, forcing my breathing to steady.

She was human.

She should’ve been just human.

So why the hell did my wolf react like that?

“Because she’s your mate “ my wolf said

“No,” I muttered under my breath. “You’re wrong.”

You felt it, Derick. I know what she is. The bond snapped into place the second we saw her.

I shook my head, jaw clenching. “She’s human. A fragile one at that. The Moon wouldn’t”

The Moon already did, jasper said

I shut my eyes, trying to drown him out, but Jasper growled low, the sound vibrating inside my chest. He never sounded like that — desperate, protective.

“She can’t be my mate,” I whispered. “She doesn’t belong in our world.”

She belongs to you, Jasper rumbled. You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me.

A door opened down the hall my father’s footsteps, measured and heavy, followed by my mother’s softer ones. I straightened immediately, locking down every trace of emotion before they reached me.

“Derick,” my father said, his tone calm but probing. “What happened in there?”

“Nothing,” I replied too quickly. “She’s human. Frightened, injured — that’s all.”

My mother’s eyes narrowed. “You’re pale,” she said quietly. “Your aura’s shifting. What aren’t you telling us?”

I forced a breath, steadying myself. “Her scent… it’s strange. Not fully human.”

Andrew nodded. “You’re right. When I brought her in, I sensed it too. There’s something else mixed in her blood faint, ancient. The kind of magic that shouldn’t exist in a mortal.”

That didn’t help. It only made Jasper stir again.

See? She’s not ordinary. The bond doesn’t lie. Shut up, I snapped internally, but it only made him growl louder.

“She could be from one of the old lines,” my mother said softly. “Those who once carried wolf blood generations ago. It lies dormant… until something awakens it.”

I stared at the floor, jaw tight. “She doesn’t look like someone with power. She looks like someone who would break the second she saw blood.”

“Even the weak have purpose,” my father said. “Jordan didn’t attack her for nothing. He wanted her dead.”

That name Jordan sent a sharp burn through my chest.

The rogue alpha. The one who’d torn through half our borders. The one I’d sworn to end.

“If she’s tied to him in any way,” I said, voice hardening, “we can’t keep her here.”

“She’s staying until we know more,” Andrew said firmly. “Under my protection.”

My teeth clenched. “That’s a mistake.”

Jasper growled again, louder this time — not with anger, but warning.

You’re pushing too hard. You’re scaring her already.

“She doesn’t need me,” I muttered under my breath.

She does. You’re her mate.

“She’s human,” I snapped quietly. “Humans die in our world.”

Then protect her.

I froze, my throat tight, my pulse pounding in my ears.

My mother looked at me with quiet concern, mistaking my silence for guilt. “Derick,” she said gently, “you’ve been restless for days. Is something wrong?”

I forced a small, controlled breath. “No,” I lied. “I’m fine.”

Andrew studied me for a long moment too long but didn’t press further.

“Get some rest,” he said finally. “We’ll talk again in the morning.”

They left, and I was alone again. Alone except for the voice that wouldn’t stop whispering inside me.

You can’t hide her from fate, Derick. The Moon chose her whether you want her or not.

I pressed my palms to my temples, eyes burning gold.

“I don’t want her,” I hissed. “She’ll only suffer.”

She’ll suffer without you.

I turned toward the window, staring out at the dark forest, the silver light of the moon spilling across the trees. My reflection stared back the same eyes that had met hers.

And even as I told myself I didn’t care, even as I built walls of denial around my heart, my wolf whispered her name again and again.

I headed to my room, hoping to sleep her out of my mind. But it was useless. The moment I closed my eyes, all I saw was her bruised, fragile, terrified… yet beautiful, too beautiful.

And that alone made her dangerous. She didn’t belong in my world.

She was too innocent, too breakable. If I accepted her, she’d only end up dead.

I couldn’t let that happen.

Still… her heartbeat haunted me the wild rhythm of fear and life that pulsed against the silence of the pack house. And that sweet scent, warm, and maddening clung to me like sin.

I needed to get her out of my head.

Without a second thought, I grabbed my jacket and stormed out of the house, letting the cold night slap some sense into me. My wolf, Jasper, prowled restlessly in the back of my mind.

“What the hell are you doing?” he growled.

“To do what I always do,” I muttered.

“We have a mate now, Derick.”

“Get that thought out of your damn head,” I snapped. “I’m never going to have anything to do with her. The Moon Goddess made a mistake giving me a human for a mate.”

Jasper snarled low, but I shut him out.

If I didn’t, I’d lose control.

By the time I reached the club on the edge of town, the bass was pounding so loud it rattled through my chest. The air was thick — smoke, sweat, and cheap perfume exactly what I needed.

A place where I could pretend I didn’t care.

Eyes turned the second I walked in. They always did. The title of upcoming Alpha had its privileges. Women wanted power, and I had plenty to give… usually.

A few drifted close, all perfume and fake smiles. I didn’t even bother remembering their faces. I just needed one ,anyone to drown the storm inside me.

A blonde with sharp eyes and a too-confident smirk slid her hand down my arm.

“You look tense,” she purred. “Want me to help with that, daddy?”

I didn’t answer.

I just grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward one of the back rooms, dark, quiet, far from the crowd.

Her laughter echoed behind me, soft and seductive, but it only grated on my nerves. The second the door shut, she turned, already peeling off her tiny dress.

I didn’t even look at her face. I pressed her against the wall, rougher than I meant to — not from lust, but frustration. Her perfume was thick and choking, nothing like the soft natural scent that still lingered in my memory.

She moaned as I ran my hands over her body, but the sound didn’t stir me.

It felt… wrong and empty.

I tried to feel something , desire, hunger, anything but all I felt was anger.

Her breath didn’t make my pulse quicken.

It was like touching a ghost.

Jasper growled inside me.

“You can’t do this. She’s not her.”

“Shut up,” I hissed.

I reached for the blonde’s panties, my hands shaking with rage I didn’t understand.

Then I froze.

Nothing. No fire, No pull, Just cold disgust.

“Get out,” I said, voice low.

She blinked, confused. “What? Did I do something wrong".

“I said get out,” I snapped, my tone sharp enough to make her flinch.

Tears welled in her eyes as she scrambled to grab her dress and ran out, the door slamming behind her.

I leaned against the wall, dragging a hand through my hair, breathing hard.

The room reeked of alcohol and lust but beneath it all, I could still smell her.

Jasper’s voice was quieter now, but heavy with truth.

“You can fight it all you want, Derick… but you’ll never touch another and feel alive again.”