Caelum's POV
My horse stumbled beneath me as that smell hit my nose like a lightning bolt. I grabbed the reins so hard my knuckles went white, fighting to stay in the saddle as my wolf went completely mad inside my head.
Mate. MATE. MINE.
"No," I growled out loud, making my Beta Marcus look at me with worried eyes. "Not happening."
But my animal wasn't listening. For the first time in my twenty-five years, my wolf was trying to take control. My hands were shaking, my heart was pounding, and every sense I had was screaming at me to find the source of that incredible smell.
"Alpha?" Marcus asked, riding closer. "What's wrong?"
I couldn't answer him. That smell was getting stronger as we rode into the village, and it was driving me out of my mind. Sweet like honey, wild like the forest after rain, and something else... something pure and strong that made my wolf pace back and forth like a caged animal.
"Stop the horses," I ordered, my words coming out rougher than I meant.
My pack of twenty warriors pulled their horses to a stop, looking confused. We were supposed to be passing through this tiny border town quickly. We had important business in the next area.
But I couldn't leave. Not with that smell calling to every part of me.
"Alpha Caelum," Marcus said slowly, "we need to keep moving. The meeting with the Northern Pack is tomorrow."
I ignored him and jumped off my horse. My boots hit the ground hard, and I started walking toward the smell. I couldn't help myself. My wolf was pulling me forward like I was on a leash.
The town was small and boring, just like a hundred others I'd ridden through. But somewhere in these houses was the woman who smelled like everything I'd never known I wanted.
This is stupid, I told myself. You don't do mates. You don't do love. You use women and throw them away before they can hurt you.
That had been my rule since I was eighteen. Never sleep with the same woman twice. Never let anyone get close enough to betray me like my mother betrayed my father. Keep your heart locked up tight, and nobody can break it.
But this smell was breaking down every wall I'd built.
I followed it down the main street, my pack dragging behind me like they thought I'd lost my mind. Maybe I had. I'd never acted like this before in my life.
The smell led me to a small house with a broken front door. There were other male smells here too - wolves who had come looking for the same thing I was looking for. But they were all gone now, probably scared away by my howl.
I could hear voices inside. A woman crying. Another woman tries to comfort her.
"It's okay, baby," an older voice was saying. "The Alpha scared them away. We're safe now."
Safe. They thought they were safe because I was here. They had no idea that I was the most dangerous wolf of all.
I walked up to the broken entry and looked inside.
And my entire world stopped.
She was small and scared, with tears running down her face. Her mother had her arms around her, trying to protect her. But when she looked up and saw me standing there, her eyes went wide.
They were the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. Brown like warm chocolate, with little gold bits that seemed to glow in the light. And when she looked at me, I felt something crack open in my chest that I'd kept locked away for years.
Mine, my wolf whispered. She's ours.
"Please don't hurt us," the older woman said, stepping in front of the girl. "She's just a child. She doesn't understand what's happening."
I tried to speak, but no words came out. I was looking at the girl - my mate - and feeling things I'd never felt before. Want, yes, but something deeper too. Something that made me want to get on my knees and promise to keep her safe forever.
This was not meant to happen to me.
"What's your name?" I finally managed to ask, looking straight at her.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She was shaking like a scared rabbit.
"Her name is Seraphina," her mother answered for her. "And she's under my protection."
Seraphina. Even her name was perfect.
"I'm not going to hurt her," I said, surprised by how gentle my voice sounded. I was never soft. "I just want to talk to her."
Behind me, I could hear Marcus and my other soldiers whispering. They knew something big was happening. I'd never acted like this before. The cold, heartless Alpha they knew would have already taken what he wanted and left.
But this girl was changing me, and I'd only been looking at her for two minutes.
"Seraphina," I said, trying out her name. "Will you come outside and talk to me?"
She looked at her mother, then back at me. Slowly, she nodded.
Her mother tried to stop her. "Sera, no. It's not safe."
"It's okay, Mom," Seraphina whispered, her voice soft and sweet. "He won't hurt me."
How did she know that? How could she trust me when everyone else was afraid of me?
She walked toward me on shaking legs, and with every step she took, that incredible smell got stronger. By the time she reached the doorway, my wolf was screaming with joy inside my head.
She stopped right in front of me, so close I could reach out and touch her face. But I kept my hands at my sides. I didn't want to scare her more than she already was.
"Are you really an Alpha?" she asked, looking up at me with those beautiful eyes.
"Yes," I said. "The most powerful Alpha in the region."
She bit her lip, thinking. "And you came here because of my scent?"
"Yes."
"Does that mean..." she took a deep breath, "does that mean you're my mate?"
The question hit me like a punch to the gut. Was she my mate? Everything inside me was saying yes. But I'd spent seven years making walls around my heart. I'd hurt every woman who'd ever tried to get close to me.
But looking at her sweet face, I wanted to be a different man. A better guy.
"Maybe," I said honestly.
She smiled then, the first real smile I'd seen from her. It was like the sun coming out from behind clouds.
"I've been waiting my whole life to meet my mate," she said.
And that's when Marcus rode up behind me and said the words that would destroy everything.
"Alpha Caelum, your father sent a message. Your wedding to Luna Elira Voss has been moved up. It's in two weeks."
The smile died on Seraphina's face.
And my heart broke into a thousand pieces.