Back in middle school, Kael would always hit the field after class to play soccer. His teammates would drag him off for ice cream, and I’d squat on the sidelines with my backpack, waiting so long that my stomach would start growling.
He’d grumble and yank me up by the arm. “Talia, are you glued to me or something?”
But he’d still break his strawberry popsicle in half and give me the bigger piece.
As I remembered, he hated when people said he “hung out with girls.”
One time I went looking for him, and his buddies started teasing, “Look, Kael brought his little mate!”
He got so pissed he chucked his whole bag of marbles down the storm drain.
But when I missed school the next day with a fever, he skipped class, climbed the fence, and showed up outside my
window.
He tossed crumpled notes through the screen, each one scrawled with a messy little joke meant to make me laugh.
B
By high school, I caught him staring at me more times than I could count–when I was chewing on a pen while solving
equations; when I tucked my hair behind my ear; even when I dozed off on my desk.
His gaze would land softly on me like the brush of a summer breeze–barely there, but impossible to ignore.
One morning, I turned around suddenly and caught him in the act.
“Kael,” I said, locking eyes with him, “how do you solve this problem?”
His pen slipped right out of his hand.
Sunlight poured in through the windows, lighting up the tips of his ears until they looked like they were glowing.
“I, uh…” He scrambled to pick up his pen, his bangs brushing my fingers. “It’s just… I mean…”
His voice trailed off into a mumble.
I rested my chin on my hand and just watched him.
Turned out, the same boy who once punched another kid for bullying me–would tremble just from being near me.
Outside the window, moonflower petals drifted down like snow onto his open textbook.
On the night I turned eighteen, under the glow of the full moon, our wolves finally recognized each other.
My wolf had no doubt: he’s the one. He’s our mate.
Our parents were overjoyed and immediately proposed a union between the packs.
And Kael? He pulled me into the fire escape and slammed the door behind us.
The motion–sensor lights flickered overhead. His palm was clammy; but his grip on my fingers was so tight it almost hurt.
“Think this through,” he said hoarsely. “You’re still young. What if… What if someone better comes along someday?”
I reached up on tiptoe and pressed my fingers over his lips.
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“There’s no one better than you, Kael.”
He flinched like I’d shocked him–then kissed me like he was finally letting go of every hesitation he’d ever had.
In the dark, I touched the scar on the back of his neck–the one he got in eighth grade, shielding me from falling debris.
That night, moonlight filtered through the iron grates, casting broken shadows over us both.
And his amber eyes shimmered like something out of a dream.
After college, I joined the Ashveil Enterprises–a company long controlled by Kael’s family, and ended up working under
Kael.
Everything was perfect.
Right up until we were about to get engaged.
That’s when she showed up.
Riley.
An Omega transfer. Kael’s new Beta.
”
From day one, she played the sweet girl card hard–handing out coffees with a megawatt smile.
“Nice to meet you all! I’m looking forward to working with you!”
But when she reached my desk, she froze.
“Oh my god…” she covered her mouth with a giggle. “Are people still using Hello Kitty thermoses?”
I didn’t say anything.
She bit her lip. “Oops, I didn’t mean it in a bad way! I just say what’s on my mind. No offense, okay?” She leaned closer. “But seriously… aren’t you a little old for all this cutesy stuff? I thought women in the workplace were supposed to be, like, elegant and put–together.”
It felt like the whole office turned to stare at me at once.
My Hello Kitty keyboard, the figurines on my desk, the pink dust covers around my monitor..
Kael used to call these things “Talia’s fortress.”
Now, under those judgmental eyes, they felt like a childish display begging to be laughed at.
My ears rang like someone had poured acid into my skull.
Riley’s constant laugh drilled straight through me, loud and shrill, like a jackhammer cracking open the little world I’d built for myself–cute, safe, and stupidly naive.
“Geez, relax. It’s just a joke, grandma. Don’t tell me you can’t even take a little teasing?”
My knuckles went white, fingers digging into the hem of my skirt.
“Enough.”
Kael’s voice rang out behind me.
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I turned and saw his mouth curled in a sharp, dangerous smile–his signature tell when he was pissed.
The sun backlit him from the floor–to–ceiling windows, giving his profile a golden edge.
For a second, he looked just like the boy who once beat up a classmate for gluing gum in my hair.
Riley pouted. “Sorry, I was just joking. You’re not really going to overreact like this, are you?”
“This isn’t a coffee shop. If you want to gossip, Riley, then maybe you should quit and go start a podcast.”
She slunk back to her desk, face stiff with barely concealed rage.
