☠️𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑨𝑳𝑷𝑯𝑨’𝑺
𝑭𝑰𝑬𝑹𝒀 𝑭𝑨𝑻𝑬🔥
{𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒚 𝑭𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔}
Written By, 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧_𝐀𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞
𖣘𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏𖣘𝒚𝒐�
{𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑶𝒇 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒆}
─━━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━─
𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐂
I should keep walking.
I tell myself that the moment I catch her scent—warm strawberries and something sharper underneath, like cinnamon and lightning. The kind of smell that makes my wolf stir, lifting his head for the first time in weeks.
I slow down, steps light, blending into the crowd. I have no business being here. No mission. No blood to spill.
And yet… there she is.
Standing in front of a fruit stall, arguing with a vendor like the world isn’t full of monsters in human skin. Her coat hangs off one shoulder, a stray strand of hair falling into her face as she waves a coin in the air, clearly unimpressed with the price.
Something about her posture—the fire in her stance, the curve of her mouth when she smirks—shifts the air.
Mine.
The word shoots through me before I can strangle it.
What the hell?
My wolf huffs, tail twitching like a pup. The bastard’s excited. Over her?
I step closer, not realizing how near I’ve gotten until she stiffens and turns around.
Brown eyes. No—dazzling brown eyes. Bright, like they already know too much.
“You lost or just stalking me for fun?” she asks, her voice sweet with a sharp edge.
I blink.
Damn.
I’ve been caught red-handed, and I don’t even care.
“Would it kill you to believe I just happened to be passing by?” I say, letting my mouth curve into a smirk.
She scoffs. “You’ve been standing there for, like, two minutes. That’s commitment, stalker.”
I tilt my head, studying her like a puzzle I suddenly want to spend hours solving.
“Maybe I was hypnotized.”
“By fruit?” she arches a brow.
“No.” I let my eyes trail lazily over her. “By you.”
Her lips part for just a second—not enough to count as shock, but enough to tell me I’ve rattled her composure. She covers it well.
“Wow. That’s the best you’ve got?” she asks. “You follow girls around and throw lines at them like you’re starring in some cheesy romance novel?”
“I don’t follow girls around.”
“Right. Just me.”
She crosses her arms, and I swear it’s not just the attitude—it’s the heat radiating off her skin. Her pulse thuds in the air between us, and my damn wolf is pacing now.
She’s human. Ordinary. Mortal. I can smell it.
And yet—my fingers itch to brush that curl behind her ear. My wolf growls when she turns her back to me for even a second.
“Are you always this charming with strangers?” she asks, glancing back over her shoulder.
“Only the ones who smell like trouble.”
She laughs—a soft, surprised kind of laugh, the kind I haven’t heard in years.
“I don’t even know your name, stalker.”
“Eldric.”
She looks at me for a beat, then smiles.
“Sounds like a fake name, but fine. I’m Ruby. And this is the part where I say goodbye.”
Ruby.
Of course her name would be something rich, bold, and dangerous.
I watch her walk off—heels clicking, hips swaying like a challenge—and I don’t move. Not for a long time.
My wolf is still pacing.
Mate? he whispers, voice ragged with hope.
I clench my jaw.
That’s impossible.
She’s human. She can’t be my mate.
But my soul already knows the truth.
And it’s laughing.
𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐄
I’m elbow-deep in reports when the door bursts open like it’s got a personal vendetta against peace. Only one wolf in the realm dares enter my house like that—and still lives to brag about it.
Eldric.
He struts in like he owns the place—messy hair, cocky grin, and that familiar glint in his eyes that usually means trouble or heartbreak… usually both. His energy buzzes, more restless than usual.
“Evening, Alpha” he says, dropping into the armchair across from mine without waiting for permission.
“Do you ever knock?” I mutter without looking up.
“Only when I’m in a mood to be ignored” he replies.
My jaw ticks. “You have five minutes.”
He laughs, leans forward, and rubs his hands together like a boy about to confess a crime.
“I think I found her” he announces.
“Found who?” I raise a brow.
“My mate.”
I stare at him.
He stares back, dead serious.
Then I laugh—loud and unfiltered.
“No, you didn’t.”
“You don’t even know the story yet” his face twitches.
“Don’t need to. You say that every time a girl looks in your direction for more than three seconds.”
“This one is different, Kane” he says, almost reverently. “Human. Bold. Smells like strawberries and thunder. And her mouth—gods, Kane, she talks back. Called me a stalker to my face.”
“Sounds about right.”
“No, I mean it” he insists, leaning in like he’s about to reveal a prophecy. “She’s… literally something else. She’s got this fire about her. I swear—my wolf was pacing. Agitated. He’s never reacted like that to anyone before.”
I swirl the whiskey in my glass. “You’re known for mistaking lust for fate.”
“I know the difference” he snaps, more defensive than usual. “I’ve had lust. I swam in it. This? This is like getting punched in the soul.”
That draws a pause from me.
But I still don’t buy it.
“Your wolf’s been bored and half-feral for months. He’d react the same way to a well-cooked steak if it blinked at you.”
“You think this is a joke?” Eldric scowls.
“I think you’re impulsive” I reply coolly. “And romantic when it suits your appetite.”
His jaw works, like he wants to argue. Then he sinks back into his chair and sighs.
“Her name’s Ruby” he says after a beat. “Met her at the market. I don’t know why I followed her, but I did. Talked for barely five minutes. And ever since, I can’t stop thinking about her.”
The name stirs nothing in me.
But his sincerity? That’s new.
Still, I don’t indulge him.
“You think the Moon Goddess tied your soul to a human?” I ask dryly. “That would be a cruel twist—even for her.”
“I don’t know what I think. But if you’d seen her—felt what I felt—”
Before he can finish, footsteps pad softly down the staircase behind us. I don’t need to turn to know who it is. I feel her presence the way a blind man feels the sun.
Nevaeh.
She appears in the entryway of the parlor, wrapped in a hoodie, her hair in a messy bun, cheeks kissed pink by sleep. Her eyes, still half-lidded, scan the room before landing on Eldric. He straightens like he’s just been hit with a jolt of lightning.
“Well, well” Eldric murmurs. “Now this is a beauty worth keeping.”
My eyes snap to him, and my voice turns razor-sharp.
“Watch it.”
“Uh… am I interrupting something?” Nevaeh blinks.
“Just my evening peace” I retort.
“Friend of yours?” she asks, nodding toward Eldric.
“Cousin, unfortunately” I reply flatly.
Eldric stands and offers her a hand with that roguish grin I’ve seen melt hearts and destroy logic.
“Eldric. Former Beta. Current threat to sanity.”
Nevaeh laughs softly as she shakes his hand.
“Nevaeh. Not a threat, but I do bite” she responds.
His smile widens. “Noted.”
“Don’t test her” I warn, already regretting not locking the damn door.
They chat for a moment—light stuff. Weather. The packhouse. How I’m allegedly “a lot more charming when I’m not in Alpha mode.” Eldric looks way too entertained.
I stay silent, watching. There’s no spark between them—at least, not the one he claims to feel for Ruby. Just mutual curiosity and respect.
Good.
Eldric eventually flops back into the armchair and shoots me a knowing smirk.
“At least now I know the goddess gave you taste.”
I ignore him.
Nevaeh yawns. “I’ll let you two get back to brooding and bonding or whatever this is.”
She vanishes up the stairs, leaving behind the faint scent of lavender and warmth.
Eldric sighs, long and low.
“She’s something else” he murmurs.
“I know” I utter. “Which is why I don’t need you sniffing around like a dog with a death wish.”
“Relax. I’ve already got my storm to chase” he grins.
I look at him. His eyes are distant, fixed on something I can’t see.
“Ruby” he whispers.
This time… he doesn’t sound like a fool.
He sounds like a wolf who’s finally caught the scent of fate.
