*Ryland’s POV*

The blessing concludes, and Silas signals for the wait staff to bring out trays of dessert for everyone to celebrate the coronation of his son. Lyn sits at a table with the head family, her face stricken with worry.

'Lyn?' I reach out to her through our pack link, making sure Ronnie and Kai can hear. 'What's the matter?' Lyn chews on her bottom lip nervously, seeming hesitant to answer. 'Come on, you can trust us. What's going on?'

'Leon says he senses a wolf hunting in the area,' she reluctantly answers. 'He says he smells blood, most likely deer.'

'Does he know who is it?' Ronnie asks.

Lyn discreetly shakes her head. 'He says the scent is familiar, but he can't place it. It might be a rogue. He wants to scope it out, but I really don't want him leaving his own coronation. This is his day. He shouldn't have to be the one to do this.'

'I can go,' Ronnie offers. 'I'm one of the strongest wolves in our pack, I should be fine.'

Lyn's relief floods our link. 'Thank you so much, Ronnie. Keep me updated.'

Ronnie nods her head and turns back to us. She freezes in her slot, eyes going wide.

"What?" I ask aloud.

"Uhh..." Ronnie's eyes are focused on the spot next to me. "Where's Kai?"

My head whips around to the empty seat beside me, and I mentally curse. Shit! We were too focused on Lyn that we weren't paying close enough attention to Kai!

"Dammit!" I growl, jumping out of my seat and rushing towards the stairs with Ronnie close behind. I follow his scent and groan when I realize he headed into the woods.

'Kai!' I mentally snap at him. 'What the fuck do you think you're doing?'

'You guys always say I can't handle myself, that I can't do anything on my own!' He responds, sounding way too worked up. 'I'll prove to you that I'm not just a weak omega!'

'Dammit, Kai!' I growl, finding his articles of clothing strewn across the ground. He must've thrown his clothes off as he was running. 'This isn't a game! You can't just run after rogue wolves, especially in unknown territory!'

'We'll be fine,' the voice of Kieran speaks up, indicating Kai just shifted and gave control to his wolf. Kieran's voice is similar to Kai's, only slightly deeper. Still, not as deep or intimidating as the average wolf.

"I'll get him back," Ronnie promises, already slipping out of her clothing, letting her dress pool at her feet. I gather up her clothes along with Kai's, not even flinching at the sight of her naked body. Ronnie may be one of the two most gorgeous girls I've ever seen, but she's my best friend. Practically my sister. I don't see her that way.

Plus, in case I haven't already mentioned, I'm gay as hell.

The chilling sound of bones cracking fills my ears, making me wince. As it's been five years since I've shifted, I'm no longer used to the sounds of others shifting. The sound, which used to feel normal to me, now makes my stomach feel queasy.

Luckily for me, Ronnie shifts a lot and is able to do it fairly quickly. Valeria stands before me now, dark grey fur blowing in the cool night breeze. She looks at me and nods, which I return, before taking off into the woods. I run after her, although I'm not nearly as fast. I lose sight of her and have to rely on tracking her scent. Snarls and growls encourage me to run faster until I'm finally able to catch up. As I get closer, I notice that invisible pull from before has returned and is growing in strength.

Valeria is standing in front of Kai, who is currently in the light brown wolf form of Kieran. She's staring down an unknown wolf, giving him a warning growl. My brother is on the ground, and panic constricts my chest.

"Kai!" I call out frantically. All three heads snap in my direction, but my focus locks on the unknown wolf with gorgeous silver fur, reflecting the light of the moon above.

My eyes meet his glowing blue ones, and I nearly fall to my knees. He does though, as his knees buckle and he stumbles to the ground. That invisible rope is tethered straight to him, tugging forcefully at my heart. River whimpers, which is much more than the animalistic growls I usually get. He still can't speak, but he doesn't need to for me to know what's going through his head.

Mate.

This is.... my mate.

A choked sob escapes me, and I cover my mouth with a shaking hand. Kai shifts back, rushing to my side with a worried expression. Ronnie stays in her wolf form as Valeria, standing between us and the silver wolf, but she continues to glance back at me in concern.

The wolf releases a pained howl, his bones cracking agonizingly slowly as he shifts back. Hot tears fall freely down my cheeks as I watch him, his pain hurting me as well. I desperately want to scoop him in my arms and protect him from the pain, but I hold myself back. I don't know him, I can't just rush over to him. I don't want to scare him off. Once he's fully shifted back into his human form and Valeria has decided he's no longer a threat, she shifts back and Ronnie comes to stand by my side. She bends over to pick her clothing off the ground; clothing I didn't even realize had slipped out of my hands.

The silver wolf has shifted into a man — a stunningly gorgeous man — and he's cowering on the ground in fear and disbelief. His wide eyes are no longer glowing, but they're still a striking blue that makes my heart yearn to hold him in my arms.

His hair is dirty blonde and messy, sticking up in every direction. I recognize him as the man who left the coronation during the blessing, and it becomes clear why I felt such a strong connection to him.

My feet move on their own, carrying me closer to him as the worried words of my friend and brother go in one ear and out the other. The man trembles as I approach him, so I move slowly. I reach down, gently grabbing his upper arms and pulling him up to his feet. The contact makes my skin tingle with pleasure, and sends goosebumps over his skin. I can't seem to tear my gaze away from his oceanic blue eyes, feeling completely lost in their endless depth. He stares back at me, searching my eyes in the same way.

His scent hits me — pine and lavender — and it's overwhelming because I haven't experienced a scent this strong since Roman.

Roman.

But...

Roman is— was my mate.

How... how is this possible?

This isn't supposed to be possible. I already had a mate. I was rejected. If Roman wasn't truly my mate, River wouldn't have gone feral. But... my connection to the man in front of me in undeniable. Whatever the Moon Goddess mixed up, this man is without a doubt my mate.

I step closer to him, drawing my nose closer to the crook of his neck, where his intoxicating scent is the strongest. Closing my eyes, I breathe him in. Everything wrong suddenly feels right now that I'm holding him close. He trembles in my arms, his breath hitching as my nose brushes his bare skin. When my eyes reopen, I catch something that makes me freeze in my spot.

Is that....?

"You're marked," I blurt out, looking back up at his piercing blue eyes. This seems to snap him out of his trance as his eyes harden and he roughly shoves me away. The action hurts more emotionally than it does physically.

"I already have a mate," he growls sharply. The wind gets knocked out of me, and I can only stare back at him with wide eyes, my body shaking as River switches back and forth between growling and whimpering.

What the hell is happening to me?