-Adrian-
I stand in the center of my bedroom—our bedroom—staring at the door Ember just walked through. My lungs burn as I pull in ragged breaths, the beast inside me clawing at its cage, demanding release. The room feels like a prison, walls closing in as my control slips by the second.
Nox is a hurricane inside me, battering against my restraint with a ferocity I've rarely felt from him.
"LET ME OUT!" he roars, the force of his fury vibrating through every cell in my body. "FIND HER. BRING HER BACK. SHE IS OURS! MY MATE!"
"I can't," I growl, my fingers crushing the edge of the dresser until wood splinters beneath my grip. "She asked for space. We need to respect that."
"FUCK SPACE!" Nox snarls, his rage pounding behind my eyes like war drums. "SHE BELONGS WITH US. HERE. NOW."
"Calm the fuck down," I command, my voice barely human as Nox pushes against my consciousness. "She's just down the hall. Still in our territory. Still safe."
Nox paces like a caged predator, his anger merging with mine until I can barely tell where he ends and I begin. After a moment, he retreats to the darkest corner of my mind, throwing up a block between us. Clearly, my wolf thinks I'm a fucking idiot for letting her walk away.
My gaze drops to the bed where Jasmine had sprawled herself out. The sight of it—her lingering presence in a space meant for my mate—makes my vision flash crimson. I stalk over to the bed and rip the comforter from the mattress with a snarl of disgust, shredding it like tissue paper. The sheets follow, then the pillows, stuffing raining down like snow as I systematically destroy every trace of her scent from our space.
"Fuck!" I roar, driving my fist through the mattress with enough force to crack the frame beneath. The satisfying sound of splintering wood does nothing to soothe the violent storm churning inside me.
Jasmine is not to leave her house under any circumstances until further notice, I mind-link to Jax, my tone promising violence if I'm disobeyed. And I fucking mean it, Jax. If she so much as steps one toe outside, I want to know about it.
I drag my hands through my hair, pulling at the roots as I battle for control.
What did she do? Jax's voice comes back instantly, clearly recognizing the deadly edge in my tone.
My mate walked in to find her in our bed. Wearing nothing but crotchless panties and a fucking smile. The words taste like acid.
A beat of silence before Jax responds, his voice heavy with understanding. Fuck. That's... fuck. Where's your mate now?
With her friend, I reply, unable to keep the possessive rage from bleeding into even my thoughts. The knowledge that Ember is spending her first night in Dark Pine away from me is a knife twisting in my gut.
I'll handle Jasmine, Jax promises, his tone grim. And Adrian? I'm sorry. Hell of a welcome for your mate.
I mind-link some omegas to prepare one of the guest rooms in my wing. No way in hell am I sleeping in this bed tonight—not with Jasmine's stench lingering in every fiber. I throw open the balcony doors, desperate for the clean mountain air to purge any trace of her presence from our space.
"Welcome home," I mutter, the words bitter as ash on my tongue. "Welcome fucking home."
The sound of footsteps in the hall has me at the door in an instant, heart surging with the hope that Ember has changed her mind. My shoulders drop when I see it's not her, but Carter lurking outside Oaklynn's room, his back pressed against the wall opposite her door. I retreat before he notices me watching.
Time to deal with whatever the fuck is going on with Carter. His behavior toward Ember's friend has been erratic at best, hostile at worst, and it's a complication I don't need right now.
My room, I mind-link to him.
I hear a resigned sigh, and moments later, Carter pushes through the door. I motion for him to close it behind him, then wrinkle my nose at the lingering stench of Jasmine and guide him out onto the balcony.
"Holy shit," Carter says, taking in the destruction of my bedroom. "Did a tornado hit, or was that all you?"
"What do you think?" I snap, not in the mood for his weak attempt at humor.
"I think you're about five seconds away from shifting and tearing through the forest," he observes dryly.
"You do realize it's almost one in the fucking morning?" I brace my hands against the railing, the metal groaning under my grip as I stare out at the vast expanse of my territory. The moon hangs low and bright, mocking me with its serenity when everything inside me is chaos.
"Yeah," Carter drops his head in acknowledgment, his shoulders slumped. "Not like I was sleeping anyway."
"Where's Iris?" I ask. "I thought you'd be with her."
"She's with Callie," he replies, his eyes fixed on the moon. "Probably for the best. I'm not exactly stellar company right now."
I study his profile, noting the tension in his jaw, the shadows under his eyes. "Want to tell me what the fuck is going on with you? Because the way you've been treating Ember's friend is starting to make my life a hell of a lot harder than it needs to be."
Carter's jaw flexes as he turns to look at me. "Not really."
I raise an eyebrow, my expression making it clear that's not an acceptable answer. "Try again."
He releases a long, slow breath, like a man preparing for execution. "She's my mate," he finally admits, the words sounding like they're being ripped from him.
"Second chance?" I ask, referring to the rare phenomenon where a wolf finds a second mate after losing their first.
Carter shakes his head, not meeting my eyes. "No."
"Wasn't Lilianna your fated mate?" I press, confused. Carter and his mate had been inseparable before her death. "You two were together for years."
"No," he says, his voice raw with pain. "She... she was my chosen mate."
The revelation hits like a physical blow. "I thought you were fated mates. You guys marked each other when she turned eighteen."
"She got pregnant with Iris," Carter explains, agitated fingers dragging through his hair. "Neither of us found our fated mates in the pack, and we had no plans to leave looking for them. So we chose each other."
"And you never told me?" I can't keep the edge from my voice. Carter and I have been like brothers since we were pups.
"What was I supposed to say?" Carter's voice rises slightly. "'Hey, Adrian, just so you know, I settled for Lilianna because I never found my true mate'? That would've gone over really well."
I cross my arms over my chest, processing this revelation. "I need to know if you're planning on rejecting Oaklynn. My Luna has a right to be prepared for what that would do to her friend."
Carter drops his head and releases a sound so full of anguish it's barely recognizable as human. "I don't know. Lil's only been gone nine months."
"And now fate's dropped your true mate in your lap," I say, understanding his conflict with unwelcome clarity. "Timing's a bitch."
"You have no fucking idea," he mutters. "I look at her and I feel... everything. And then I feel like I'm betraying Lil just by breathing the same air as her."
"Listen, I don't know Oaklynn," I say carefully, noticing how Carter tenses at the mere mention of her name, "but what I do know is that your behavior is making her feel like shit for something she has no control over."
"You think I don't know that?" Carter's voice cracks. "You think I enjoy being an asshole to her? Every time I see her hurt, it's like someone's ripping my heart out. But I can't... I'm not ready to..."
"To let go of Lilianna," I finish for him.
Carter nods silently. I turn back to lean on the railing, giving him space to collect himself. We both stand in silent solidarity, the cool night air carrying the scent of pine and earth.
"So why are you here talking to me instead of spending time with your Luna?" Carter finally asks, breaking the silence. "First night home and you're out here with me instead of in there with her?"
All my rage comes rushing back at the reminder. "Jasmine was waiting in my bed when we got here. Ember's first experience in our room was seeing a she-wolf wearing lingerie in her mate's bed."
"For fuck's sake," Carter says with disgust. "That desperate bitch has been after you since high school. I told you not to fuck her."
"Thanks for the reminder," I growl. "Really fucking helpful."
"Hey, I'm just saying—"
"I know what you're saying," I cut him off. "And you're right. I regret giving in to Jasmine. I should have never slept with a member of my pack."
I've always kept my sex life away from my territory, preferring visiting she-wolves or females from packs I visited. Jasmine had been persistent, and I'd been weak. A mistake I'm still paying for.
"Sex," I mutter. "Casual sex, and now she thinks she has some claim on me."
"Women," Carter says with a shake of his head. "Can't live with them, can't live without them."
"Speak for yourself," I retort. "I know exactly which woman I want to live with."
"Look, Adrian," Carter says, dropping the formal Alpha address with the ease of old friendship, "we've known each other since pupcare. And even though you were gone for some years, there's one thing that never changed about you."
"What's that?" I ask, genuinely curious.
"You have never let anything stand in your way when you want something," he says, already heading toward the door. He pauses and turns back to me, his expression suddenly serious. "Go get your Luna, Alpha. Grovel if you have to. Hell, beg on your fucking knees if that's what it takes. Just don't let her first night here be her last."
With that, he disappears, his words hanging in the air like a challenge.
Carter's right. I've never backed down from anything I wanted, and I'm not about to start now—not when what I want is the other half of my soul.
"Finally, some sense," Nox rumbles with approval, emerging from his sulk. "Take back what's ours."
Determined, I stride into my closet and grab fresh clothes, then leave the wreckage of my bedroom behind. In the hallway, omegas are exiting one of the spare rooms. The head Night Omega, Rose, stops when she sees me.
"The room is ready for you, Alpha," she says with a respectful nod.
"Thank you," I reply, already moving past her, my mind fixed on one goal.
I toss my clothes into the guest room, barely breaking stride as I continue down the hall toward Oaklynn's room. My knuckles rap against her door with a force that leaves no room for argument. After a moment, I hear movement on the other side, and the door cracks open to reveal Oaklynn's wary face in the gap.
"She needs space, Alpha," she says firmly, trying to block my view.
"No," I correct her, my voice low and unyielding. "What she needs is to hear me out."
"Look, I get that you're the big bad Alpha and all," Oaklynn says with surprising boldness, "but she's been crying for the last hour because of what happened. So maybe—just maybe—you could respect her wishes."
I ignore her completely, pushing the door open with enough force to make her stumble back. My eyes immediately find Ember curled in a chair by the window, a blanket wrapped around her, her face tear-stained but achingly beautiful. The sight of those tears—tears I caused, however unintentionally—makes something primal and protective rear up inside me.
"Adrian!" she gasps, her eyes widening with a mixture of surprise and lingering anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Claiming what's ours," Nox growls, pushing forward with enough force that I feel my eyes flash gold.
Without hesitation, I cross the room in three long strides, toss the blanket to the floor, and scoop Ember up, throwing her over my shoulder in one fluid motion.
"Put me down!" she demands, her small fists pounding against my back. "You can't just—"
I land a firm smack on her perfect ass, cutting off her protest. "You've had enough space, little wolf," I declare, my voice leaving no room for argument. "Time to come to bed."
"Mine," Nox purrs with savage satisfaction. "OURS."