Chapter 2 Gravitating!

Jamie's POV

The evening was charged with magic, the kind that had been created by ancient rituals-roots long entrenched in history, in blood. The Furstone Pack's celebrations were always fantastic, but tonight was special. Laurette had found her mate, and the pack had come to witness the union, to honor the agreement that had bound them for so long. An agreement born of fate, of something much older than us.

I wasn't here.

I didn't belong in a place like this. I wasn't one of them. I wasn't even a wolf, not truly-not the way they were. But here I was, on the edge of the great hall, the music and laughter swirling around me like I was just another guest.

But I was different. I was the outsider.

The pack observed me, whispers behind me like a buzz of sound, but no one had bothered to introduce themselves properly. No one cared that the kid was there only because Ann had brought him along. I didn't belong in their world, and I never would.

And yet, in the shadows, I felt the burden of their eyes on me. The burden of tradition, of expectation. I was not supposed to be here, but something-something in the air, around me-spoke to me that I belonged to something much greater than this music, this laughter, this joy of the night.

Ann's arm encircled mine, grounding me. Her energy was a force of nature-unbridled, unencumbered, and alive. She was not like the others, not so weighed down by history or duty. She laughed louder than anyone else, and when she spoke, people listened.

"Ay, Jamie," she said with a grin. "You're not going to sit back there all night long. There is dancing to do, and you're not sitting this one out."

I lagged behind her, dazed, barely noting the people around us. I wasn't interested in them. Something had shifted in the mood. The scent that had intoxicated my senses beforehand was stronger now, enticing. It clung to me like a promise, something I'd been craving for, without knowing it myself.

I shifted my gaze involuntarily. There he was.

Andrew.

The next Furstone Pack Alpha, poised at the top of the stairs like a deity among mortals, looked down upon the tide of faces. His eyes scoured the room with the kind of intensity one who was born to lead had. I felt an unbalanced jolt of recognition, low in my breast. The kind you never think twice about because it's already woven into the fabric of your soul.

He then looked at me.

Our eyes met. His were so dark, so intense, a storm that had been building for years. They pierced my soul. I felt the fullness of his look, a heaviness and impassibility, as if he was searching for something. I didn't know what it was, but I could feel the surge of power between us, a spark that had been lit, a fuse unseen but which I knew would burn brightly.

I tore my eyes away, my heart pounding in my chest like a maddening drumbeat that I couldn't escape. What the hell was that? It was something I'd never felt before. A searing pressure, pulling me in, drawing me closer in spite of all my instincts screaming at me to step back, to stay away.

Are you okay?" Ann asked, her voice tinged with worry. I hadn't noticed how rigid I'd become until she spoke.

"Yeah, fine," I said, trying to sound much farther away than I'd intended. I couldn't quite form the words, couldn't clear the storm that had just passed over me. "Just. overwhelmed, I guess.".

She gave me a sidelong look but didn't follow through. Instead, she released a dramatic sigh and tugged me further into the crowd.

"You're not the only one who's had their fill tonight," she joked with a smile. "The whole pack's been buzzing with Laurette and her mate, And if you think that's crazy, wait until the next ceremony.".

I forced myself to smile, no longer listening to her. I was still in my head on the stairs, on Andrew. The way he'd looked at me, as if he'd heard everything-every barricade, every wall I'd ever built around myself. It didn't make sense. I didn't get it; I didn't know what it meant. But I couldn't deny it. It was there, between us, real and palpable.

Ann pulled me onto the dance floor, and I let her. But all I could do was think of Andrew. Every movement felt wrong, as if I were out of sync with the world around me. The music played, but it seemed distant. Nothing felt right. The only thing that felt real, that pulled at me with an inexorable force, was the feeling of Andrew's presence, of his eyes still burning into me.

And then the room shifted again.

I heard it-a low growl, a rumble of air vibrating the air. The kind of thing you make for a wolf.

I turned, and at last that night, I saw him shift. Andrew.

He was walking towards me, his back straight, his face impassive. The air was heavy now with tension, the kind you felt before the storm. I did not know what to do, what to think. I just knew that he was moving closer, and I felt this strand of nowhere drawing me towards him, tighter with every step he took.

The pack around us seemed to fall away, their calls distant whispers as the space between us closed. I had no notion of what was going to happen next, but I felt as if I stood at the threshold of something much larger than either of us could ever comprehend.

And then, just as he reached me, he stopped. His eyes flashed into mine once again, and this time, there was something hard in them, something menacing. And I knew that the moment we'd shared previously was far from over. It was only just beginning.