Chapter 18
YVAINE
Ihad an odd thought about destiny. Odd, because I never wasted an ounce of mental energy on the concept.
Science was my religion, and Stephen was my god.
The only mystical force pulling the strings of puppetry in my own life was me.
Being a werewolf, a creature humans filed under myths and legends, some part of me believed in magic.
Not in a desperate, wide-eyed way. It was more like I tolerated the idea of a little sparkle in the background.
I never gave weight to certain encounters, random coincidences that tiptoed around me in silence. Maybe giggling behind my back, with a little magic dust spread all over.
But after this year—with all its tears, the heartbreak, and too many butterflies to last a lifetime or two, after him—I acknowledged, maybe even respected fate a little more.
That thread tugging my soul, pulling me closer to my mate, studded with encounters and chance—that was all destiny.
The difference between then and now?
Back then, I didn’t know it yet.
Running across the endless sea of rooftops, through a forest of chimneys, worked as my modern version of therapy when I couldn’t go for my typical run in the woods. I leaped over vents, dodged rusted pipes, and vaulted onto ledges. Thinking. Always thinking.
About recent events. And, better yet, discoveries.
Was a were-being supposed to feel this many contrasting emotions at once? Happy, anxious, restless, nauseated?
I didn’t even know if I had any stomach left. The butterflies had probably devoured it whole, as nervous as I had been since the afternoon. Since him.
Logan, known by most as the Terminator—or even the future Alpha of Dark Diamond—was my mate. Fate apparently had a sick sense of humor. The one wolf my pack despised most was the one destined to love me hardest. The irony.
And Logan wasn’t just any wolf. He was the player, on and off the field. The guy who never lost, who never backed down. And occasionally, the one who punched holes in walls.
For a microsecond, I wondered why people called him Thor. Sure, he was blond, gigantic. Sure, the hole in the wall might be comparable to what Thor’s hammer could do. But Thor was the hero, with a strong moral code. He fought for justice.
My mate looked more like an angel cast out of heaven for excessive violence and his heart-breaking skills. It was probably a nickname invented by his pack, like Highlander for my brother.
Speaking of twins, that was another werewolf with a temper!
Lachlan had gone full commander mode after dragging me away from the Dark Diamond gang earlier. Then he’d gathered his team for a pre-game discussion about the Dark Diamonds, the match approaching like a death sentence.
Meanwhile, my heart and brain were on two separate frontiers.
Heart: Find your mate. Bite the muscular tendons in his neck.
Brain: Make a pros-and-cons list.
Me: Rooftop run. Middle ground. Endorphins first.
Eventually, I plopped down on the ledge of the vet faculty building, legs swinging, wind sighing through my hair.
The small patio stretched out below, students milling around.
Laughter bounced off gray stone walls, sneakers slapped against cobblestone, and someone strummed a guitar near the bike racks. The heartbeat of the college bubble.
I pulled out my phone and called Rudolph.
Since Logan was the Alpha’s son, Lucien had to know him. My brilliant plan was to act casual and fish for intel. Maybe score his number.
My pride disliked that idea, but it would be harder for him to get my number. Plus, something in me whispered that Logan already resented me, given the fury radiating off him when he had stormed away…as well as the diameter and depth of the crater he’d punched in the wall.
My brilliant plan had to be postponed. Rudolph gave no sign of life.
Where’s Santa’s reindeer when I need him?
Third time had to be the charm, right?
Wrong. He finally picked up, so I called his name. All I heard were raspy breaths, static, then click. Call dropped. So I gave up on my plan…for the time being.
Instead, I called someone else.
Someone I could always trust. Someone who’d known me all my life, who cared enough to listen but wasn’t blinded by family loyalty like Lachlan, Dad, Tiziano, or the rest of the Comet pack, for that matter.
He wasn’t my brother by blood, but the universe had assigned him that role anyway.
Archie. The future Alpha of Black Devil, the pack everyone feared.
The one with monsters among monsters. Their wolves weren’t just wolves; they were something…
other. Primordial. Lethal. The kind of creature evolution should’ve retired, but hadn’t dared to.
They could walk on two feet in full shift—half-man, half-beast.
But much like Rudolph, the future Alpha of the most lethal pack on the planet was too busy to pick up at first.
Unlike him, however, Archie actually called me back.
“Do you remember Logan Draven?” I blurted out the second I answered.
“Chi è morto?” His voice was deep and sleep-laden, muffled by poor reception and long distance. On the screen, he lifted his head. “Yvaine? Is that you?”
“No one died. I mean, I’m sure someone did, they always do, but no one we know. Or, at least, I hope.”
Amusement swirled in his violet eyes. I had never seen a pair of eyes like that. It was as if someone had inserted two amethysts into his sockets.
Over the years, people had accused him of wearing faux contact lenses for how unnatural his eyes looked. Still, Archie was incredible. One of the kindest people I knew—and it made sense, given his awesome family and the wonderful childhood we’d shared together.
“We haven’t talked for so long!” I said. The time difference certainly didn’t help.
“Sorry I didn’t pick up earlier. My dad’s training is a nuisance to the—” He stopped and looked back, then frowned. “You know what I mean.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “He can hear everything.”
“So, how are you doing? How are things in the new world?” he asked as a blond head and gray eyes invaded my mind.
“I found my mate, Chie.”
The bomb was dropped.
I had hoped to talk more about his life first, but I’d just had to say it. I needed to share it with someone.
“Congratulations, Vy!” Archie smirked. “Has Lachlan beaten him up yet?”
I panicked and gasped. Lachlan would probably attempt murder in wereball anyway, and if he learned we were mates, that would only give him an extra excuse and further justification for his actions.
This was a catastrophe!
The smile on Archie’s face faded, and he lifted an ink-black brow.
“Did he do something wrong, Vy? Because you know, flight tickets are affordable.”
An angry Archie was the last person you wanted to cross paths with, what with him being over six foot four, with a build that needed tailored clothing, and from generations of full-blooded Alphas.
“No, he didn’t. He didn’t do anything, actually.” I blew out some air from my burning lungs. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath.
“Then why do you look so miserable?”
“It’s the future Alpha of Dark Diamond and—”
“Wait, what?” His deep laugh boomed. “That Terminator guy? Does Lach know?”
Archie seemed extremely impressed, and I frowned at his reaction.
“I met the dude once,” he admitted.
I screwed up my nose. “Really?”
“Yup.”
It seemed he didn’t want to continue.
“And…? Come on, Chie! Tell me!”
“Are you sure, Vy?”
“Yes!” I said, exasperated, but with a smile.
“Do you want my honest opinion?”
“Yes!”
He was teasing me, and I was not patient.
“Fine. He was a jerk, but I liked him a little. He had…strong opinions about everything, and lots of confidence.”
Oh.
I knew that in the world of wereball, my mate was loved and hated. However, Archie wasn’t part of it, and if he had this idea about my mate after only meeting him once…
“But why a jerk?” The corners of my mouth dropped. Archie’s opinion mattered a lot to me.
He propped one large hand under his chin. “Do you remember that summer when Mom, my sister, Uncle Marco, and I all came to visit?”
“For our sixteenth birthday?”
Fun times.
“When you and the girls went on that road trip, Lach, his friends, and I hit the town for a party.”
Oh, I remembered. Lachlan coming home smelling like a distillery. Dad’s lectures. Archie’s father’s threats over the phone from Italy.
“Well,” Archie went on, “the Terminator douche—I mean, your mate—stole the girl Lach was with that night, then ditched her to hit on the one who was with Lach’s friend. On top of that, he dumped an entire bucket of punch on Lachlan’s head.” Archie chuckled. “Gotta admit, the guy had balls.”
I gasped, remembering the sticky red stains on Lach’s clothes.
“There were strong words and a couple of punches until the owner—one of your mate’s relatives—kicked us all out.”
I huffed out a laugh. “You were all teenagers! What happened next?”
“We found another party, Lach found another girl. Fun birthday.”
I shook my head with a smile before I looked away, biting my lip.
“He was a sixteen-year-old jerk.” Archie shrugged. “We all go through that phase.”
“You didn’t, Chie.”
He scratched the back of his head. “I’m an Alpha with three younger sisters. I don’t have time for any phases.”
“You know what my family’s like. They’re crazy. Obsessed. Nosy. One of them’s bound to have a heart attack.”
“True.” His chiseled face split into laughter.
I pointed at him. “You could at least pretend not to enjoy this.”
“I could. You want me to?”
“No.”
“Did you make a pros-and-cons list when you found out?”
“Absolutely not.” I sighed. “Fine. Yes.”
“You have it with you?”
Ah, he knows me.
I pulled out the folded paper from my shirt pocket and waved it. “Right here.”
“What’s first?”
“His hair is…caressably golden.”
He nodded solemnly. “Fair point. You deserve someone caressable. Cons?”
“Dark Diamond.”
He arched a brow. “And I’m Black Devil. What’s your point?”
“He’s slept with my pack members.” Probably.
“You have a non-fated mate with benefits.”
“Lachlan hates him.”
“Valid.”
“Chie!”
Fangs peeking out, he only grinned wider, and our conversation drifted on. Old stories, dumb jokes, and the kind of quiet connection only years could build.
There was one thing I was sure of: Whoever his mate turned out to be, she’d be the luckiest girl in the world.