Chapter 157
Kyle's Pov
Being the Pack Commander came with challenges I'd never faced in my life, but I overcame them all, fought through everything like a maniac and made sure our territory remained intact and secure. But nothing....absolutely nothing....broke me more than seeing Zenevieva getting pregnant. It was then that I knew I had lost her completely, that she was never mine from the beginning and I had been fighting a battle that was already over before it started.
It broke me way too fucking much because I loved that woman with everything I had. She was the strongest person I'd ever known, fierce and independent and beautiful in ways that made my chest ache just thinking about her. And now she was carrying another man's child, building a life that would never include me.
So what the hell was I doing here? What did my wolf want from me?
I had been running through the forest, trying to clear my head and prepare for tomorrow's training exercises, when suddenly I caught a scent that led me straight back to the fucking Mudiville Pack territory. My legs had carried me here without conscious thought, following some instinct that I didn't understand and couldn't control.
My wolf growled at me, a sound of desperate longing that made my chest tighten with confusion and anticipation.
"What do you want?" I asked him silently, but the only response I got was another growl and the overwhelming urge to keep moving forward.
It was fucking midnight, the time when I was supposed to be running and training, preparing myself mentally and physically for whatever challenges tomorrow would bring. Instead, my legs took me directly to the maids' quarters, a part of the pack house that I had no business being in at this hour.
I swear this was wrong. I wasn't supposed to disturb anyone, especially not the staff who worked hard during the day and deserved their rest. But my legs kept moving, carrying me forward despite my rational mind screaming that this was inappropriate and potentially dangerous for my reputation as a Pack Commander.
The guards on standby bowed respectfully when they saw me, but they didn't question my presence or try to stop me from entering the residential area. They probably assumed I was conducting some kind of security check or responding to a reported problem.
The maids' quarters were organized into individual rooms, each marked with a number on the door. I followed the scent that had drawn me here, that sweet, intoxicating fragrance that made my wolf pace restlessly in my chest.
"Stop spiraling," I told him silently. "We're almost there. Whatever this is, we'll figure it out."
I passed several doors, the scent growing stronger with each step, until I reached a door that had a key hanging outside on a small hook. The moment I stopped in front of it, the scent disappeared completely, as if it had been absorbed into the wood itself.
My wolf growled in agony, a sound of such desperate need that it made my hands shake.
"She's here," I whispered, though I wasn't entirely sure who 'she' was supposed to be.
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding with anticipation and nervousness, then raised my hand and knocked softly on the door. I was hoping....praying..that it would be that one person who had been trying to get my attention lately, the red-haired maid who always seemed to find excuses to be wherever I was.
When no one answered immediately, I knocked again, a little louder this time.
The door opened to reveal a very sleepy Lexa, her red hair tousled from sleep and her green eyes heavy with drowsiness. She was wearing nothing but a thin nightgown that did absolutely nothing to hide the curves of her breasts or the outline of her body underneath the sheer fabric.
The moment I saw her, my wolf howled one word that changed everything: "Mate."
My senses flew completely out the window. All rational thought, all concern about propriety or professional boundaries, all awareness of the consequences of my actions...everything disappeared in the face of that single, overwhelming realization.
She gasped in shock when she saw me standing in her doorway, immediately dropping into a respectful bow despite her state of undress.
"Pack Commander," she said, her voice husky with sleep and confusion. "Is everything alright? Is there an emergency?"
Instead of answering her questions, I pushed her gently but firmly back inside her room, my body moving on pure instinct. I reached for the key that had been hanging outside her door, brought it inside with us, and locked the door behind me.
The click of the lock seemed to echo in the small space, final and decisive.
"Kyle?" she whispered, using my first name instead of my title, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear.
I stood there for a moment, just breathing in her scent, letting the reality of what had just happened wash over me. After months of believing that Zenevieva was my destined mate, after all the heartbreak and disappointment of watching her choose someone else, the Moon Goddess had finally revealed my true mate.
And she had been right here all along, working in the pack house, trying to catch my attention while I was too blind and too focused on the wrong woman to notice.
"Lexa," I said, her name feeling right on my tongue in a way that Zenevieva's never had.
"Yes?" she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We need to talk.”