Chapter 3
Daniel
The conference room melted away, replaced by a different time, a different place, and a different omega—one with amber eyes.
Bright sunlight had made the lighter strands of Matthew’s hair look like spun gold.
Daniel couldn’t look away. Was it as soft as it looked?
His fingers had itched to touch it. He’d wondered what Matthew would do if he reached out and swept the strands back from his face.
Would he knock his hand away? Or turn and run?
Getting unsanctioned attention from an alpha from another pack was frowned upon—even if that alpha was a star jock, captain of the college football team, and class president. The fact that Daniel was a bear and Matthew a jackal was reason enough for him to shy away.
But Daniel had seen him around campus, watching when he thought no one noticed.
As if Daniel wouldn’t notice a stunning omega like him.
He would’ve had to be blind—and even then, there was no mistaking Matthew’s scent.
One sniff, and Daniel was a goner. His bear had wanted to rub all over him, marking him as his.
Every spare moment when Daniel wasn’t studying or on the field, he was thinking of Matthew. The day Matthew joined his chemistry class and asked to be lab partners was the best—and worst—day of his life. As soon as their eyes met, Daniel knew his life would never be the same.
And he’d been right.
He went from being a rule-following, mindful member of the sleuth to one who broke curfew just to meet up with an omega from a rival pack.
Not just any pack—Golden Jackals. He’d reasoned with himself: why bother trying to sleep when he’d just lie awake thinking of Matthew?
The way his sweet smile curved his full lips.
The way his amber eyes sparkled with mirth and mischief. The graceful way he walked.
His brain had happily replayed every detail.
It became harder to control his body’s reaction to Matthew’s closeness. He’d rubbed one off so many times in the shower that he got hard in the rain. That year, it seemed to rain a lot. He was amazed he hadn’t ended up with more than just arm ache and calluses.
Well, that’s what he told himself. The truth was far different.
Daniel had learned fast that an alpha didn’t always get what they wanted. Not when the Council and pack elders colluded to arrange political marriages of alliance. Omegas didn’t get a say—not omegas like Carson, and certainly not omegas like Matthew.
That was why when Daniel set up his legal firm, he specialized in pack law. So that one day, things would change.
A familiar tingle raced down his spine—the same one he used to get whenever Matthew was nearby.
But he couldn’t be here. He wouldn’t be here.
Then the conference room door burst open, and the man Daniel had hoped never to see again barged through it.
“Daniel. I need your help!”
Daniel swiveled so fast he felt a twinge in his neck. “Matthew?”
For a moment, he still thought he was lost in memory. That voice—it still had the power to send a rush of heat down his spine and pool in his belly.
But what was he doing here?