Maya’s eyes widened as she took in the man who had just interrupted her cousin.

  He was… breathtaking.

  It wasn’t only his build or the way he carried himself with quiet, dangerous confidence. It was the scent. Rich, wild, intoxicating. It crashed into her senses like a tidal wave, sending warmth flooding through her veins.

  Inside her, Sia let out a resounding howl of triumph.

  She had found her mate.

  The realization stole her breath. Awe and disbelief tangled together in her chest as her heart pounded wildly. She was no longer mateless. Finally.

  Joy—pure, overwhelming joy—bloomed within her.

  Without even meaning to, her feet carried her forward in small, careful steps toward the man standing beside Derek.

  They were talking, but she couldn’t tell what about. The world around her blurred until only one thing existed.

  Him.

  Her mate.

  Her thoughts drifted to her mother and the way her face would light up when she heard the news. The happiness would soften the worry lines that had lived on her mother’s face for years.

  When she had turned eighteen and finally shifted for the first time, everyone had expected her mate to reveal himself within weeks.

  It hadn’t happened. They had decided to let her be for a month or two.

  But months had turned into a year, and still nothing had happened.

  Her father had made it worse by threatening to disown her if she didn’t find a mate as the months passed. He had also barred her from attending the very important conference meetings, letting only Curtis stay.

  Only her mother had stood by her. Her only brother had not.

  Although he was jovial and playful, he could be a devil when angered or provoked. He had sometimes thrown jabs at her for being mateless.

  She had also lost her best friend then—Zoe was her name.

  She and Zoe had been best friends since childhood, even while they were still part of the Black Moon’s Pack. Their birthdays were only two weeks apart. They had the same blonde hair, the same youthful glow—so similar that strangers often mistook them for twins. They attended the same school, shared clothes, secrets, and laughter.

  The only difference between them was their nature.

  Where she was quiet, Zoe was highly extroverted.

  While she trained or stayed within the pack walls, Zoe chased human boys and adventure with equal enthusiasm.

  There had been no issues, until one of Zoe’s male friends developed a huge crush on her. He was a human.

  Normally, she and Zoe joked about the silly humans who fell head over heels in love with them, but this had been different for her best friend.

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  The human, Zeke, had become her favorite plaything. And although Maya had turned him down many times—out of respect for the girls’ code and because she wasn’t interested—he persisted, eventually stealing her first kiss forcefully during prom night in an empty classroom.

  Zoe had seen it.

  She had slapped Zeke then, in front of her best friend, before explaining in private, how the human had tricked her into coming to the classroom alone; and why she hadn’t used her wolf-strength to prevent rumors or pique the human’s curiosity, which would have certainly landed her in her father’s trouble.

  But Zoe hadn’t listened then—or for months afterward.

  It had been their first big fight.

  Although it had amused Maya at the time that they had argued over a human who could never be their mate, she had missed Zoe as the days went and consistently tried to reconcile.

  It had worked out after a while—or so she thought—until she remained mateless for a year after letting her wolf out.

  Rumors began circulating among her peers that she had rejected her true mate in favor of a human.

  The gossip spread across the pack’s environs. Pack members snorted in her presence, disregarding the fact that she was the Alpha’s daughter. Her father had almost disowned her when he heard the news—he would have if her mother hadn’t intervened.

  After an investigation, it was discovered that her best friend had been the architect of her misfortune.

  But Zoe had shown no remorse, even calling her a “mateless ho,” despite not having found her own mate either.

  Maya had been devastated emotionally by how their friendship had deteriorated, but she had let it go on her mother’s advice. It wasn’t worth keeping a friend who could become a devil over a slight misunderstanding.

  It had made her wonder how she had never recognized her best friend’s true nature, or when she had changed into this bitter and wicked personality.

  They had never spoken since, until three days ago, when it became known that Maya would be going with some of their pack warriors to the Black Moon’s Pack.

  She had been surprised when she saw her ex-best friend step into her room for the first time since their separation, during her packing. She still remembered their conversation.

  “Hi…” Zoe had said, stepping in tentatively.

  Maya had replied with a simple “Hi,” watching her old friend carefully.

  “I need a favor from you.”

  “Okay. Go on. I’m listening,” Maya had stated, standing up to pick some clothes from the wardrobe.

  “I want you to take this scarf and give it to a guy named Leo,” Zoe had said, with a pleading look, bringing out a yellow-and-red dotted scarf from her pocket.

  Maya remembered that the scarf had always been one of Zoe’s prized possessions since they were sixteen. She had never known why; Zoe had never told her, even when asked. This seemed like the perfect occasion to find out.

  “Who’s Leo, and why the scarf?” She had asked, determined not to grant the favor if her ex-best friend didn’t answer her questions.

  “Leo is my boyfriend. He’s a wolf too. He gave me this scarf two years ago.”

  “Your boyfriend?” She had been surprised. “Is he your mate?”

  “I don’t know. He was a rogue who saved me when I was attacked by other rogues. You remember when I was lost, right?”

  “Yes,” She had replied, not feeling it necessary to mention that Zoe hadn’t told her about being saved by a knight in shining armor. “But why are you giving me the scarf?”

  “We began meeting secretly after that. But two weeks later, he decided to leave for a neighboring pack, one he heard was friendly to rogues interested in joining them,” Zoe had said before Maya interrupted.

  “And let me guess—the pack is Black Moon’s Pack.”

  “Yes. Could you give it to him? Tell him I’m still mateless and waiting,” Zoe had requested.

  Maya hadn’t thought it necessary to point out that Leo might have already found his mate. She had simply nodded, took the scarf, and told her friend to leave.

  “Maya!!!!”

  Maya jerked out of her reverie as she heard Louis’s voice through their mindpath.

  “Your cousin has been trying to get your attention for a while now.”

  Maya tapped her nose twice—an action she always did when nervous—as she met her cousin’s eyes, still trying to control her wolf, which was begging to get closer to the fine man beside him.

  “Seems you were deep in thought,” he said, and she nodded, tongue-tied for no reason at all.

  “Well then, meet the head of my pack warriors,” he said. “His name is Leo.”