Chapter 3

Alessia POV:

I drove until the Pack House was just a speck in my rearview mirror. I ended up at "The Rusty Claw," a neutral bar on the edge of the territory. It was a place where wolves from different packs, and even humans, mingled.

I went into the bathroom and changed. I had a bag in my trunk-an emergency bag I had packed months ago, though I had hoped never to use it. I pulled out a dress. It was red, tight, and cut high on the thigh.

It was not a dress for a submissive Luna. It was a dress for a woman on the hunt.

I walked into the bar and ordered a whiskey. Neat.

The burning liquid felt good. It matched the fire starting to ignite in my blood. Without the pill, my senses were exploding. The music was louder, the lights brighter. I could smell the sweat, the cheap beer, the lust, and the fear of everyone in the room.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in three years.

"Damien," I said when the line connected.

"Princess?" The voice on the other end was deep, rough, and instantly alert. "Is everything okay? Your vitals... the trackers show your heart rate is elevated."

"I'm at The Rusty Claw. Come get me."

"I'm five minutes away. Stay put."

I hung up. I shouldn't have been surprised he was close. The Royal Guard never truly left me; they just stayed in the shadows, respecting my wish for a 'normal' life.

The door to the bar opened.

The wind blew in, carrying the scent of rain, damp earth, and... cedar. Fresh, sharp cedar wood.

My breath hitched. The glass slipped from my fingers and shattered on the counter.

I spun around on the barstool.

A man stood in the doorway. He was tall, towering over everyone else. He wore a black tactical shirt that strained against his chest muscles. His dark hair was messy, as if he had run his hands through it a thousand times.

But it was his eyes that locked onto mine. They were the color of molten gold.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

My heart didn't just beat; it hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. The air in the room seemed to vanish, leaving only him.

A jolt of electricity zapped down my spine, making my toes curl. My inner wolf, who had been growling in anger all morning, suddenly threw her head back and howled.

MINE! she roared. MATE!

It was Damien.

I had known Damien my whole life. He was my father's Gamma, the head of the Royal Guard. He had been my shadow, my protector, my annoying big brother figure.

But I had never smelled this. I had never felt this.

"Alessia?" Damien breathed. He took a step toward me, his nostrils flaring.

He smelled it too. The Recognition. It hit us both like a freight train. The suppression pills... they hadn't just hidden my wolf. They had dampened my ability to recognize my Fated Mate.

Damien closed the distance between us in two strides. He stopped inches from me. His hand reached out, trembling slightly, to cup my cheek.

"Sparks," I whispered.

As his skin touched mine, it wasn't just warm. It was electric. A pleasant, addictive tingling sensation rushed from his fingertips into my skin, healing the cracks in my soul instantly.

"I found you," he growled, his voice thick with emotion. "Moon Goddess, it's you. It's always been you."

He leaned in, his nose brushing against my neck, inhaling deeply. "You smell like winter and vanilla. You smell like home."

For a moment, the world was perfect.

Then, the door banged open again.

"Get your hands off my wife!"

The spell broke. I pulled back, gasping.

Santino stood there, his chest heaving. He must have tracked my scent. Behind him were two of his enforcers.

Damien didn't step back. He stepped in front of me. His posture shifted instantly from lover to lethal weapon. A low, menacing growl rumbled in his chest, vibrating through the floorboards.

"She is not your wife," Damien said, his voice deadly calm. "Not anymore."

"She wears my mark!" Santino shouted, pointing at the faint bite scar on my neck-a mark that was fading because the love was gone. "Alessia, get in the car. Now."

"No," I said, stepping out from behind Damien.

Santino looked at Damien, then at me. He sneered. "So this is it? You leave me and run to your... bodyguard? Are you sleeping with him?"

"He is my Fated Mate," I said.

Santino froze. Then he laughed. "Him? A Gamma? Don't be ridiculous. You are a Luna. You belong to an Alpha."

He lunged for me.

It happened fast. Damien moved to intercept, his claws already extending to tear Santino's throat out. But Santino wasn't aiming for a fight. He was aiming to claim. He grabbed my arm, his claws extending.

"You are mine!" Santino roared.

His claws dug into my flesh. Pain shot up my arm.

Damien roared, a sound of pure fury, grabbing Santino by the collar and slamming him into the bar counter. Wood splintered under the impact.

"I will kill you where you stand," Damien snarled, his eyes shifting to wolf-gold.

"Damien, stop!" I commanded, placing a hand on his tense bicep.

"He hurt you," Damien growled, not letting go.

"If you kill an Alpha on neutral ground without a formal challenge, you start a war my father doesn't need right now," I said, my voice steady despite the blood trickling down my arm. "Let him go."

Damien hesitated, his chest heaving, but he shoved Santino back.

"I'm taking her home," Santino spat, straightening his jacket. "Pack Law, Gamma. She's still legally under my jurisdiction until the divorce papers are signed."

Damien stepped forward again, radiating murder. "Touch her again, and I won't care about the law."

I looked at Santino, then at my arm. Then I remembered. My mother's necklace. It was still in the guest room. If I left now, Valentina would steal it or sell it.

"I'm going back," I said.

"Alessia, no," Damien argued immediately.

"I need my mother's necklace, Damien. I left it on the dresser. I am not leaving my legacy in that house with that woman."

I walked past a stunned Santino.

"Follow us," I mind-linked Damien. "But stay outside the perimeter. I'll get my things and walk out the front door."

Damien's jaw worked, his golden eyes burning with conflict, but he nodded once. "I'll be watching. One scream, Alessia. Just one, and I level the place."

Santino shoved me toward his car. "Get in."

I climbed into the passenger seat. I looked at my arm. Three deep gouges.

But then, I watched.

Usually, a wound like this would take days to heal. But now, without the pills, and having been close to my Fated Mate, the magic was surging.

Before my eyes, the skin began to knit together. The bleeding stopped.

My wolf was fully awake now. And she was hungry for blood.