CHAPTER 2
The world tilted on its axis the instant the scent hit him, sharp and electrifying as a lightning strike in the dead of night.
Daniel paused mid-step, the chatter of wolves fading into silence in his ears.
His Lycan clawed at the surface of his skin, demanding, growling, hungering.
The air was thick with the fragrance, a sweet and pure vanilla scent.
It wrapped around him like silk, intoxicating, pulling him forward with a force that defied logic.
His jaw clenched. His heart, a thing he had long thought untouchable, beat harder. He had smelled power, fear, blood, desire—but never this. This was different. This was absolute.
The truth crashed over him, a tidal wave of destiny threatening to drown all sense of reason.
For the first time in years, Daniel felt his legendary control splinter.
Alpha of Alphas, the Lycan King, his name was spoken in whispers, terror and respect entwined.
None challenged him. None dared. Yet here, camouflaged amongst the trembling masses, stood the one soul who could unravel him utterly.
He hated the thought. He hungered for it.
His eyes swept the crowd, cold and sharp, searching for the source. Wolves quivered under his gaze, their heads bowed so low their foreheads nearly touched the floor. Cowards. Sheep. None dared meet his eyes.
Then he saw her.
At the far end of the hall, half-hidden in the shadows, she stood. Her head was lowered, her shoulders tense, her hands clasped like a servant awaiting punishment. Her hair fell like a curtain, shielding her face, but it didn't matter. He knew. His Lycan knew.
The scent poured off her skin, delicate yet potent, a contrast so violent it left him staggered. A servant? The daughter of some low wolf? No. His instincts snarled the truth. She was his.
Daniel's lips curled into a dangerous smile, though his eyes burned with something far darker.
Fate was cruel, binding him to someone who seemed weak, fragile, breakable.
He had expected a mate who could stand at his side, bear his weight, challenge his fury.
Instead, the Moon Goddess had given him this trembling creature.
The Lycan within him growled its disapproval at his hesitation. Ours. The beast's voice thundered inside him. Claim her.
Daniel inhaled again, letting the vanilla seep into him, binding itself to his bones. He took a step forward, slow and deliberate, savoring the way her shoulders flinched though she hadn't even looked up. She hadn't seen him, yet already she feared him.
Good. She should.
For he would not be gentle.
He had taken countless women to his bed, broken them, discarded them, and left them wanting. But this was different. This was not a game. She was his mate, his destined other half, the one soul the universe dared to tie to him. He would own her, body and spirit.
But first, he would watch.
He folded his hands behind his back, his expression unreadable to the trembling pack.
Inside, the storm raged. His beast demanded to tear through the crowd and seize her, to sink teeth into her neck and mark her so every wolf would know she belonged to him.
His human side, which is cruel and calculating, wanted to play a slower game.
His eyes lingered on her bowed head. She smelled of vanilla and hidden fire, but she moved like a shadow afraid of its own existence. He wondered what had so thoroughly crushed her spirit. He wondered how long it would take for him to break through it... or hurt her further.
The corner of his mouth lifted, a promise of ruin and possession.
Daniel Hussel had found his mate. And nothing in the five packs would stop him from taking her.