Andrew's POV
The weight of the evening rested on my shoulders, the celebration all around me only tending to burden the weight in my chest. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by it. The laughter, the voices, the music—all of it, too much, too loud. I was supposed to be enjoying the marriage of my sister, celebrating her happiness that she shared with me, but all I could do was be overcome by the unbearable tug in my chest.
Jamie.
His scent remained in my senses, that heady blend of earth and sugar that took my wolf to the brink of madness. I hadn't yet discovered his name, but my wolf recognised. My wolf recognized long before me. It made itself known when I laid eyes on him—the bond, the connection, that undeniable knowledge this was my mate.
But he wasn't what I had imagined. He wasn't the strong, powerful Luna that I always imagined. He was a boy. No, he wasn't even a boy—he was a stranger. He wasn't ready for this, and neither was I.
I stood there, immobile, looking at him from across the room. He was standing next to Ann, laughing at what she'd just said, his eyes light but faraway. He was completely unaware of what was going on around him, how all my life had changed the instant our eyes had locked.
I had to talk to him. I had to know. But my feet were stuck to the floor. How was I going to tell him when I couldn't even figure it out for myself?
"Andrew?"
I turned to see Caroline standing next to me, her forehead creased with worry as she followed the line of my gaze. She knew. She had to. She always knew when something was wrong.
Something's wrong?" she said softly, her voice knowing. She knew me better than anyone did.
I took a hand and ran it over my hair, trying to brush aside the tension that held me in a tight grip. "It's nothing. I just. I don't know what to do here."
She raised an eyebrow. "Handle what?
I stalled, the words caught in my throat. How could I tell her this when I wasn't even certain I comprehended it myself? But I had to. I couldn't hold it in.
"Caroline, I think. I think I've found my mate," I stated, the words feeling odd syllables on my tongue. It was not supposed to turn out like this. I had imagined something magnificent, something more appropriate to the daughter of Furstone. But all that could fill my mind now was doubt, terror, and an anguishing uncertainty. "But he's not. He's not what I thought he would be."
Caroline looked over at Jamie, releasing a sigh of tension. "It's him, isn't it?"
I nodded, unable to put words to it. The reality was too much, too complicated to put into a few words. It was more than the connection—it was everything that came with it. The obligation, the presuppositions, the future I had dreamed of for so long were now uncertain.
"He's a stranger. I don't know him. And he's not like me. He doesn't belong in this world."
Caroline's eyes softened with understanding. "I can see how that's hard. But Andrew, you can't fight it. You know the connection is there, even if it doesn't make sense. Fate doesn't make mistakes."
I gritted my teeth, the anger rising again. "But what am I to do? He doesn't even know. He doesn't even know where he stands in this world yet."
As I spoke, my gaze flitted back to Jamie. He'd caught my glance, and for an instant, time froze. His expression was one of confusion, his eyes snapping to mine wide with it. The connection hit me again, the strongest it had ever been. It was like a magnet, an invisible force that drew us together, holding us tighter than anything I'd ever known.
Before I could move, Caroline placed a hand on my arm, her tone gentle. "You have to talk to him. Not because of the connection, but because he's experiencing this too, just not yet realising what it is."
I nodded, trying to quiet the maelstrom of emotions inside me. It wasn't going to be simple, but it was the only option.
I started to walk towards Jamie, but when I moved, the room seemed to shrink around me. The voices withdrew, becoming muffled and indistinct, the pack members nothing more than a blur of talking faces. I couldn't see anything except him—the way his eyes were darting back and forth restlessly, the way he was attempting to pretend that everything was okay. But everything was not okay.
Everything had changed.
He glanced at Caroline as I reached them, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude on the. Whatever this is. I didn't mean to make it uncomfortable."
Caroline laughed quietly, clearly sensing his tension. "It's alright, Jamie. Andrew's just a little. intense sometimes."
I scowled at her, but she was right. I was intense. My wolf was insistent, stubborn, and none of this came easily.
"I have to speak with you," I told him, my tone even but with an air of finality. There was no avoiding it. "Alone."
Jamie's eyes widened slightly, and for the briefest moment, I saw the uncertainty there. He hesitated, standing as though he was calculating whether he should run or face whatever this was. But then he nodded, following me out of the crowd.
We walked together in silence for a few moments, the pressure of it all hanging between us. The connection hummed within me, urging me to speak, to act, to do anything at all to bridge the gap between us.
Jamie snapped the silence, his voice shaking. "I don't know what is happening. But I can feel it. I can sense something. But I don't understand."
I stiffened, turning to him. His eyes were bewildered, but there was something more in them—something raw, something honest. And I couldn't let it be dismissed.
"It's the bond," I breathed. "You're my mate, Jamie. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but it's real. We're meant to be together."
Jamie took a step back, his face pale. "No. That can't be. You. You can't be serious."
"I am," I stated firmly, my voice charged with the power of the truth. "This isn't a choice, Jamie. This is fate. You and I. Whether you're ready or not."
There was silence, the quiet thick between us. Then Jamie's voice broke the silence, his words laced with fear.
"I don't know if I'm ready for this."
And like that, the pent-up pressure in me burst out. He was not ready. I wasn't sure if I was either. But going back now was not a possibility.
"Neither of us is," I whispered, "But we don't have a choice."