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The plane touches down at the regional airport with a jolt, and I let out a low growl of impatience. Being confined in the metal tube for hours always sets my nerves on edge - an alpha's natural instinct is freedom, open spaces, the wind whipping through my fur. Not this unnatural human method of travel.
I step off the plane, the familiar scents of pine and mountain air instantly calming my restless wolf after being cooped up in the stale, recycled air of the cabin. As I stride through the terminal, a petite brunette who was seated beside me on the flight flashes me a coy smile, slipping a folded napkin with a phone number scrawled across it into my palm.
"In case you're ever in the city again," she purrs, giving me a lingering once-over that would make a lesser man's thoughts stray. But not mine.
I simply tuck the napkin into my pocket with a polite nod, my focus solely on getting back to my territory as quickly as possible. The city may have its... temptations for an unmated alpha like me, but it also reeks of pollution, humanity's stain tainting every breath I'm forced to take. I crave the clean, earthy scents of the deep woods surrounding Whispering Pines.
Tossing my duffel into the truck bed, I slide behind the wheel of my battered old pickup, relishing the familiar scent of worn leather and motor oil enveloping me like a comforting blanket. With a rumbling growl of the engine, I peel out of the parking lot and point my truck toward the winding road that will lead me back to the heart of my territory and the sprawling grounds of my pack's lands.
The towering pines blur past my windows as I navigate the mountain roads with practiced ease, the tension ebbing from my shoulders with each passing mile that carries me further from the city's tainted air. Yet as familiar as this drive is, an unfamiliar scent drifts through the cracked window - faint, but utterly captivating. Like a trail of sugared wildflowers leading me deeper into temptation.
My wolf perks up, instantly alert as I breathe in the intoxicating fragrance, every nerve ending tingling with primal awareness. It's rich and earthy, but with hints of sun-kissed meadows and sweet berries that make my mouth water.
My knuckles whiten on the steering wheel as I force myself to focus on the winding road ahead, my heart thundering as I try to make sense of the strange, visceral reaction this unknown scent elicits. Sweat beads on my brow, my muscles tensed like an over-taut bowstring as my wolf strains against the iron chains of my self-control.
What is this? What's happening to me?
By the time the boundaries of the pack lands loom into view, I'm practically vibrating out of my skin with a ferocious, predatory need. My wolf has never reacted with such intensity, leaving me feeling unbalanced and unmoored in a way I haven't experienced since my first transformations as an unruly adolescent.
Gravel crunches beneath my tires as I navigate the winding drive, my gaze instantly locking onto the warm glow of lights spilling from the front windows of the Thorne estate home.
And that's when I see her.
Hannah is sitting on the porch steps, deep in conversation with a stranger - a woman with tumbling waves of auburn hair haloed by the soft golden light. She turns at the sound of my approaching truck, and for the briefest moment, her hazel eyes meet mine in a soul-searing gaze that leaves me utterly disarmed.
The force of the energy that slams into me in that endless instant nearly buckles my knees. This... this woman is the source of that intoxicating, maddening scent. The one that has set my every cell ablaze and shaken the foundations of everything I am.
My mate.
The realization thunders through me, upending my carefully constructed world in a single instant. I'm dimly aware of Hannah rising to her feet, her lips moving in what I can only assume is a greeting, but all I can perceive is the raging of my wolf's roar as it surges through my veins like molten lava.
She. Is. Mine.
The possessive claim reverberates through my soul, scorching away every logical thought. My wolf’s feral instincts scream to pull her close, to bury my face in her hair and breathe deeply.
With a tremendous effort, I manage to wrestle back enough control to throw the truck into park and stagger out. Hannah rushes forward, concern etched on her face, but I can't even look at her. Every fiber of my being is utterly consumed by the vision of the woman standing before me.
"Ryan, this is Jenna. She's my best friend from college," Hannah says, her voice sounding like it's coming through a long tunnel. "Jenna, this is my brother, Ryan."
Jenna extends a hand, her lips curving into a warm, radiant smile that's like a physical caress against my flushed skin. "Hello, Ryan."
The moment our palms touch, every nerve ending in my body ignites like a lightning strike. A profound, indisputable awareness reverberates through my very soul—she's my mate, my other half, the one destined for me.
No. Not possible. She's human.
The wolf within me snarls at the denial, hackles raised, while my rational mind whirs. How can a human be my mate, my destined other half? My pack would never accept it.
"Excuse me." The words leave my lips in a gravelly rasp as I tear my gaze from Jenna's bewildered expression. Every instinct is screaming at me to yank Jenna against me, to bury my face in her throat and breathe in that intoxicating fragrance until it's seared into my psyche. To sink my teeth into that creamy expanse of skin and stake my claim in an unbreakable bond.
"I... I need to shower," I manage to grate out, my voice a harsh, guttural rasp.
Whirling on my heel, I stalk inside the manor like a man possessed, barely registering the confused glances from the household staff as I barrel my way up the stairs and into the sanctuary of my private rooms. I strip off my clothes, my skin feeling like it's about to burst into flames from the raging inferno consuming me.
The instant the scalding spray of the shower pelts my overheated flesh, a guttural groan tears from my throat as the punishing deluge does little to quell the firestorm of need raging through my veins. Bracing my palms against the sleek tile, I hang my head and allow the pounding torrent to sluice over my trembling muscles as my wolf's howling demands claw at my mind in a relentless onslaught.
Mine. Mate. Claim her. Make her ours.
The feral words reverberate through my psyche, each one lashing at my tattered restraint until the last vestiges finally shred away in a blinding haze of instinct and need. With a ragged snarl, I brace my forearm against the shower wall and reach down with my other hand to grip my punishingly hard shaft.
