Chapter 2 2

Nikky Lumpo

Dew clung to my skin, the cool night air doing little to ease the fire raging beneath my flesh. My heart pounded, a war drum in my chest, each beat a reminder of how much my life had changed in a single night.

Tobias had rejected me. The mate bond, something meant to be eternal, had been ripped apart with a few cruel words. But here, in the depths of the forest, another force called to me- one I didn't understand, one I wasn't sure I wanted to.

Julio Irving still stood before me, his golden eyes gleaming with something dark and unrelenting.

"You don't get to claim me," I spat, stepping back. Distance. I needed distance before whatever this was swallowed me whole.

His lips curled, amusement flickering across his face. "You think this is something I chose?" He closed the gap between us in a single stride, heat radiating from his massive frame. "Fate does not ask, Nikky. It takes."

A shiver ran through me, but I refused to cower. "The mate bond doesn't work that way. I already had a mate." My throat tightened, the words tasting like ash.

His expression hardened. "No. You had a coward who turned his back on what was given to him. Fate does not tolerate weakness." His gaze dropped to my trembling hands. "Neither should you."

Fury and heartbreak twisted inside me, a volatile storm I couldn't control. "You don't know me. You don't know what I should or shouldn't do."

Julio studied me in silence, his unreadable expression only adding to my frustration.

A sharp breeze cut through the trees, rustling the branches overhead. My wolf stirred, unsettled, instincts screaming that nothing about this moment was normal. The mate bond had been severed, yet my body responded to Julio's presence in a way I couldn't explain.

"You can feel it, can't you?" he murmured. "The pull?"

Denial sat heavy on my tongue, but I couldn't force the lie past my lips. Every nerve in my body was attuned to him, drawn in by something deeper than reason.

"This isn't real," I whispered, more to myself than him. "It can't be."

Julio exhaled slowly, his patience worn thin. "Fate does not make mistakes, Nikky. If I were not meant to find you, I wouldn't have." His fingers twitched at his sides like he was restraining himself from reaching for me. "Your pain called to me."

A sharp ache twisted inside me. Tobias's rejection had left me raw, open, vulnerable. But Julio's words stirred something deeper, something far more dangerous.

Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. My body screamed for me to run, to flee from whatever this was before it consumed me completely. But my feet refused to move.

Julio's gaze remained steady, unwavering. "You don't have to accept it tonight," he said, voice quieter now. "But the truth doesn't change just because you refuse to see it."

Turning away, he stepped back into the shadows, his presence lingering long after he disappeared into the trees.

Alone once more, I wrapped my arms around myself, staring at the path he had taken.

The truth?

The truth was that my world had already changed. And I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to go back.

Tobias Mattheus

The scent of her pain still clung to the air, a bitter sting against my senses.

Standing at the edge of the forest, I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to chase after her. Nikky was gone. She had run, just like I knew she would, just like I had made her.

Jaw tightening, I forced myself to ignore the ache in my chest. Weakness had no place in an Alpha's heart. The pack needed a Luna who could stand at my side without faltering. Nikky- no matter how much my wolf had craved her- wasn't strong enough.

The whispers of my pack still echoed in my ears.

He rejected her?

She was his fated mate, and he cast her aside?

What kind of Alpha does that?

Every word was a blade to my pride, but I refused to show it. Nikky would understand one day. She would see that I had done what was necessary.

Turning on my heel, I strode toward the pack house, blocking out the dull throb in my chest. The bond was severed. She meant nothing to me now. So why did it feel like I had just made the worst mistake of my life?

Nikky Lumpo

Dawn broke over the horizon, golden light filtering through the dense canopy of trees. Sleep had evaded me, my mind trapped in an endless loop of the night before.

Julio's words. Tobias's rejection. The pull of something new, something terrifying.

Stomach twisting, I dragged myself to my feet, brushing dirt from my arms. The forest had been my refuge, a place to hide from the weight of my shattered heart, but I couldn't stay here forever.

A sharp snap of a twig jerked me from my thoughts. My body went rigid. Not a wolf. Something else. The scent hit me first-sharp, metallic. Blood. A low growl rumbled through the trees, and then they emerged. Rogues.

Filthy, unkempt, eyes gleaming with hunger. Three of them. Their bodies tensed, poised to attack, lips curling over yellowed fangs.

My pulse slammed against my ribs. Alone, wounded from rejection, I was an easy target. My wolf snarled, but she was weakened, her strength drained by Tobias's cruel words. One of the rogues lunged.

Muscle memory took over. I dodged, twisting away, but pain flared through my chest. A second rogue swiped at me, claws raking across my arm. A choked cry left my lips. I wouldn't survive this. The third rogue advanced, teeth bared. My vision blurred. Then everything exploded.

A force barreled into the rogue before he reached me, a monstrous blur of movement. The sound of bones snapping filled the air, followed by a scream that was cut short. My breath hitched.

Julio.

He moved like a storm, all power and fury, tearing through the rogues like they were nothing more than leaves in the wind. Blood splattered across the ground, bodies falling, torn apart with brutal efficiency. Silence followed, thick and suffocating.

Julio stood over the lifeless bodies, chest heaving, golden eyes burning with something raw and dangerous. I stared, my breath shallow. "You followed me."

He didn't answer. Didn't move. Just watched me like he was waiting for something. Something inside me cracked.

This man- this beast- had found me twice now. Had pulled me from the edge of destruction without hesitation. Tobias had rejected me. Julio had saved me.

A shuddering breath left my lips. "What are you?"

His lips curled, but the smile never reached his eyes. "Your second chance.