Chapter 16

Chapter 16
Kael's POV

I walked out of the gym with my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached.

Drake was waiting at the end of the corridor, straightening when he saw me. "Alpha, we heading back now?"

I shook my head. "You go. I need some air."

He didn't question it. Smart. I could feel my wolf snarling just beneath my skin, and if he'd pushed right then, I might've snapped at him.

I left through the side exit and headed for the grove behind the main building. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, and the path was empty—exactly what I needed.

My hands were still shaking slightly. From adrenaline, I told myself. From the sudden movement.

Not from the way my wolf had seized control of my body and propelled me across the gym floor before I could even think.

I'm Kael Harrington. Heir to Pinehollow Pack. One of the three most powerful wolf families in North America.

I came to this backwater town for one reason: to convince my mother to come home.

Victoria had walked away three years ago. Left the pack, left our world, because she couldn't stomach the violence anymore. Now she taught art at some high school and pretended I didn't exist.

I was here for her. Not to get distracted by some fragile Omega who couldn't even shift.

But when Sophia had lunged for that girl—for Elara—my body had moved before my brain could catch up.

Not Drake. Not my rational mind.

My wolf had taken control.

I sank onto a bench, dropping my head into my hands. This wasn't normal. Alphas didn't lose control. We were trained from childhood to master every impulse, every instinct. Control was what separated us from rogues.

But today I'd felt like a passenger in my own body.

And it wasn't the first time.

Last night. The forest.

I'd been out there dealing with rogue wolves—standard cleanup work. We'd handled it quickly, no issues. I should've gone straight back after.

Instead, I'd caught a scent on the wind that made my wolf go absolutely still.

I'd followed it. Found her crouched behind that boulder like she was trying to disappear.

An Omega. Alone in the woods at night. In territory she had no business being in.

I should've been irritated. Maybe curious about what kind of idiot wandered into rogue-infested forest after dark.

But when I'd gotten close enough to see her face—pale and exhausted, those amber eyes watching me with something that almost looked like recognition—my wolf had moved.

Not to attack.

To claim.

The urge had been so strong I'd actually stepped toward her before I managed to lock it down. Her scent had been strange—mud and herbs and exhaustion, but underneath, something that made my teeth ache.

"Christ," I muttered, scrubbing my hands over my face.

Mate.

The word kept circling back.

I rejected it instantly. No. Absolutely not.

Mate bonds were supposed to be undeniable. The scent was supposed to be overwhelming—sweet and irresistible. Every Alpha knew the stories. Your wolf goes feral. Nothing else matters except claiming them.

But this Omega's scent wasn't like that. It was just... ordinary.

Wasn't it?

And Drake's report had been even worse. Elara Grey. Seventeen. Daughter of exiled pack members living as Omegas for over a decade.

Wolfless. Couldn't shift. Probably never would.

The Moon Goddess wouldn't be that cruel. Wouldn't pair the strongest Alpha bloodline in the Northwest with a defective Omega.

It didn't make sense.

So why couldn't I stop thinking about her?

I opened my eyes, staring up at the canopy. Birds called overhead. Normal sounds.

My wolf was anything but normal right now.

Because there was something else that didn't add up.

I'd been walking past the gym when Drake stopped me. "You might want to see this, Alpha."

I'd looked through the windows. Seen the crowd. Seen Sophia squared off against someone smaller.

Seen her.

I'd told myself I was only watching because it might be interesting. That was the lie I fed myself for thirty seconds.

Then I actually paid attention to how she moved.

The footwork was wrong for someone untrained. Too deliberate. Too controlled. The way she angled her body, the way she tracked Sophia's center of mass instead of her hands—those weren't things you learned in gym class.

Those were combat instincts. Real ones.

And when she'd dropped into that sweep—timing perfect, execution flawless—I'd felt my wolf surge with something that felt like pride.

Like watching a mate prove herself.

I stood abruptly, shoving that thought away hard enough it should've left bruises.

This was insane. Maybe she'd taken self-defense classes. Maybe she was naturally athletic despite the asthma. There were rational explanations.

But then Sophia's claws had aimed for her face.

And my body had launched forward before I'd even registered the threat.

My hand closing around Sophia's wrist. Hard enough to make her gasp.

For one second, I'd wanted to do more than stop her. I'd wanted to break that wrist. Wanted to make her understand what happened to wolves who tried to hurt—

Mine.

I started walking again, faster. Trying to outpace my thoughts.

The memory of Elara's face when she'd looked up at me was burned in. Those wide amber eyes. The way her breath caught.

She'd been scared. Of course. Sophia had just tried to claw her.

But underneath the fear, there'd been something else. Something sharp. Like she was trying to figure out why I'd intervened.

Smart girl.

I should stay away from her. I was here for my mother, not to get tangled with some mysterious Omega who made my wolf act rabid.

If she was involved in something shady—her presence in those woods suggested she might be—I needed to watch from a distance. Make sure she wasn't a threat.

And if this was just my wolf having a meltdown over a girl who smelled interesting?

Simple solution: avoid her until I got Victoria home. Once I left Mist Creek, I'd never see Elara Grey again.

My wolf snarled so violently I stumbled.

I caught myself against a tree, breathing hard. My vision hazed around the edges—my wolf too close to the surface.

"Get it together," I muttered.

A couple students rounded the corner, saw me, went quiet. One Beta actually lowered his eyes.

Good. Normal. This was how things worked.

Alphas didn't lose control over random Omegas.

I forced my breathing steady. Forced my wolf down into that quiet place where it usually lived.

It went reluctantly. Still growling.

By the time I reached the main path, I'd almost convinced myself I had this handled.

I'd go back to the estate. Review business reports. Call Council members about logging contracts. Normal Alpha work.

I would not think about Elara Grey.

I would not wonder what she'd been doing in those woods.

I would not replay the moment my hand touched her wrist and felt her pulse hammering like a trapped bird.

I was Kael Harrington. I was in control.

And if my wolf wanted to argue, it could shut the hell up.