Chapter 2 THE RESCUE

Dmitri hated these events.

He leaned against the cold monastery wall, a cigarette burning between his fingers. The smoke curled up into the night air, disappearing into the falling snow. Inside, the gala was still going strong music, laughter, the fake pleasantries of wolves pretending they weren't here for some reason.

He'd done his duty. Showed his face. Shook hands with the right people. Represented the Volkov pack as the visiting neutral party. Now he just wanted to leave.

His father was dying and Dmitri was here, wasting time at a party, when he should be home preparing to take over as Alpha.

He took another drag from the cigarette, letting the nicotine settle his restless wolf. The beast had been on edge all night, pacing beneath his skin, searching for something Dmitri couldn't name.

Then he heard it.

A fast heartbeat,Erratic and Panicked.

Dmitri's head snapped up. His wolf surged forward so violently he nearly shifted right there. Every nerve in his body lit up like someone had set him on fire.

*Mate.*

No,that wasn't possible.

He crushed the cigarette under his boot and pushed off the wall. His legs moved before his brain caught up, carrying him away from the monastery doors, into the darker parts of the grounds.

He didn't want this. I didn't want a mate. He had too much responsibility waiting for him at home. Too many problems. A mate would be a weakness, a distraction he couldn't afford.

But his wolf didn't care about logic. It only cared about one thing.

"Find her,Protect her,Keep her."

Dmitri followed the pull, his boots crunching through the snow. His senses sharpened. He could smell her now something sweet and clean, like winter air and pine trees. And underneath that, fear.

His wolf snarled.

He moved faster, rounding the corner of an old stone building. That's when he saw them.

Three wolves young, drunk, stupid circling a woman in a silver dress. She was on her knees in the snow, trying to crawl away from them. Her ash-blond hair had fallen loose from its pins, hanging around her face in messy waves.

One of them reached for her.

Dmitri's vision went red.

He crossed the distance in three strides and grabbed the wolf by the back of his neck, throwing him into the snow like he weighed nothing. The other two spun around, startled, their eyes widening when they saw who it was.

"Alpha Volkov-" one of them started.

Dmitri didn't let him finish. He let his wolf rise to the surface, just enough. His eyes flashed golden eyes .A growl rumbled deep in his chest, dangerous, unmistakably Alpha.

The three wolves scattered like rabbits, stumbling over each other in their hurry to get away.

Dmitri didn't watch them go. He was already turning toward the woman.

She was slumped against a stone pillar at the base of the old bell tower, her head tilted back, her eyes half-closed. Her lips were blue from the cold. Snow clung to her bare shoulders and the silver fabric of her dress.

"You," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Then her eyes rolled back, and she fell unconscious..

Dmitri caught her before she hit the ground.

The moment his hands touched her skin, the mate bond snapped into place like a chain wrapping around his ribs. Everything in him screamed *mine*. His wolf roared in satisfaction, finally finding what it had been searching for.

But Dmitri forced himself to focus. She was in trouble.

He scooped her up easily, cradling her against his chest. She was so light. Too light. He could feel her heart racing against his, too fast, too irregular.

Drugged. She'd been drugged.

Rage burned through him. Who would do this? And why?

He kicked open the door to the bell tower and carried her inside. The space was dark and dusty, abandoned years ago. Moonlight streamed through the broken windows, spreading a silver light across an old wooden bed against the wall.

Dmitri laid her down gently, brushing the wet hair back from her face. Her skin is too cold.

He checked her pulse fast but steady. Then her pupils. Dilated. Uneven. Definitely drugged. Probably something mixed with alcohol to make it hit faster.

His jaw clenched. When he found out who did this, they'd regret it.

But right now, she needed help.

Dmitri straightened, looking down at her. The logical thing to do was take her back inside. Find her family. Get her a doctor.

But his wolf wouldn't let him move. Every instinct he had screamed at him to stay. To guard her. To keep her close.

"Mine to Protect ,Keep her safe ".

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.

The woman stirred. Her eyes fluttered open ice-grey, unfocused, confused. She stared up at him like she was trying to figure out if he was real.

"Where..." Her voice cracked. "Where am I?"

"You're safe," Dmitri said, keeping his voice low and calm. "I won't hurt you."

She blinked slowly, her gaze tracking across his face. Even drugged and disoriented, something in her expression shifted when she looked at him. Recognition. Not of him specifically they'd never met but of what he was to her.

The mate bond worked both ways.

"Cold," she whispered. Her whole body was trembling. "I'm so cold."

Dmitri didn't hesitate. He shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, tucking it close. She pulled it tight against her chest, her fingers clutching the fabric like a lifeline.

But she was still shivering so violently.

The drugs, combined with the freezing temperature and her wet dress, were sending her body into shock. She needed warmth but fast.

Dmitri sat down on the bed beside her and carefully pulled her against him. She came willingly, curling into his chest like she belonged there. Her head rested against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her, sharing his body heat.

Outside, the full moon rose above the treeline, spilling silver light through the tower windows. Dmitri felt its pull immediately stronger than usual and demanding.

The mate bond flared to life between them, hot and undeniable. It wrapped around his chest, pulling tighter with every breath she took.

Dmitri gritted his teeth, fighting for control. She was drugged. Vulnerable. He couldn't-

She tilted her face up toward his.

Their eyes met. Hers were clearer now, more focused. She stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time. Or maybe like she'd been searching for him her whole life.

"I know you," she whispered.

They'd never met before tonight. He was sure of that. But the matebond didn't care about logic. It recognized what it wanted.

"You don't," Dmitri said, his voice rough. "You're confused. The drugs-"

"No." She lifted one hand and pressed it against his chest, right over his heart. "I know you."

The touch burned through his shirt like fire. His wolf howled in approval.

Dmitri's control cracked.

He should move away. Should put distance between them before this went too far. But he couldn't. The pull was too strong. She was too close. And every instinct he had was screaming at him to claim her, to mark her, to make sure every wolf in the world knew she was *his*.

She shifted closer, her lips just inches from his.

"Please," she breathed.

That one word shattered him.

Dmitri's hand came up to cup her face, his thumb brushing across her cheekbone. Her skin was warming now, color returning to her lips. Her eyes were half-lidded, dark with something that wasn't just the drugs anymore.

"Tell me to stop," he growled. It was the last thread of his control, the last attempt to do the right thing.

She didn't tell him to stop.

Instead, she closed the distance between them and pressed her mouth to his.

The kiss was soft at first. Tentative. Like she wasn't sure what she was doing. But then the mate bond surged, and everything changed.

Dmitri's hand slid into her hair, tilting her head back as he deepened the kiss. She gasped against his mouth, and he took the opportunity to taste her sweet and sharp, like winter honey. His wolf roared in victory, finally, finally getting what it needed.

Her hands gripped his shirt, pulling him closer. She kissed him back with a desperation that matched his own, like she'd been waiting for this her whole life.

The full moon blazed outside the window.

And Dmitri Volkov, Alpha of the Volkov pack, gave in to the bond he'd been fighting from the moment he heard her heartbeat.

He pulled her into his lap, his coat falling away from her shoulders. She didn't seem to notice the cold anymore. She was burning up, just like him.

"Please," she whispered again, between kisses. "Don't stop."

Dmitri knew he should. I knew this was wrong. But when she looked at him with those grey eyes, full of trust and need..

He couldn't.

"I won't," he promised against her lips and he didn't.