Chapter 1 THE LAST MIDNIGHT

Elena The countdown hit five minutes to midnight and I was already lying to myself. "Sixty seconds, baby girl!" Reyna called out, lifting her glass high across the VIP booth. The music was so loud it shook my chest. Colored lights flashed over everyone dancing like crazy. I forced a smile and tapped my glass against hers. "I can't believe I'm finally twenty-one." Reyna leaned in close so I could hear her. "You look nervous. Stop it. Cole is watching you from the bar. He's been staring all night." My heart did a little flip. I turned my head and there he was - Cole Hartley. Tall, golden hair, amber eyes that always made me feel safe. He caught me looking and gave me that slow smile I had loved for years. I smiled back, but something felt off tonight. My wolf, Selene, moved inside me. Not the warm, happy way she usually did when Cole smiled. This time she felt restless. Relax, I told her in my head. She did not answer. Cole and I had been promised to each other since I was seventeen. We grew up together. We ate at the same table, laughed at the same jokes, and kissed for the first time under the big oak tree at the pack border when I was sixteen. I loved him. It was steady love. The kind you don't have to think too hard about. Tonight was the night everything would be clear. The old wolves always said the mate bond wakes up at midnight on your twenty-first birthday. If Cole was my true mate, I would feel it the second the clock turned. If he wasn't... I didn't want to think about that. I touched the pretty crescent moon pendant around my neck. Cole gave it to me for my birthday. It felt warm against my skin. "Don't panic before it happens," I whispered to myself. "Or after," Selene said inside my head. Her voice sounded strange. Worried. Reyna was already pouring more drink into my glass before I could even say no. She filled it almost to the top. "You don't have to keep filling it," I said with a small laugh. "I'm already feeling it." "It's your birthday, Elena! Enjoy yourself," she said, smiling big. For once, the smile actually reached her eyes. "Come on, one more. For me?" I drank. The sweet liquid burned a little going down. The music started to sound fuzzy. The lights looked too bright. My legs felt warm and heavy, like they didn't want to listen to me anymore. Selene pushed hard against my skin. Elena. Something is wrong. I tried to stand up. The floor tilted under me. "Reyna-" Her seat was empty. I turned around fast. Everything spun. Someone grabbed me from behind - hard hands on my arms. I tried to pull away but my body felt slow and weak. "Reyna? Cole?" I called out. My voice sounded small. The loud music swallowed it up. They pulled me backward through the crowd. I grabbed at a table, a stranger's sleeve, anything. My fingers slipped. A cold door opened. Night air hit my face. Then I was inside a small dark room that smelled like dust, cigarettes, and something wild. I fell onto a dirty mattress. My arms shook as I tried to push myself up. A man stood over me. He smelled like a rogue - no pack scent, just anger and hunger. I didn't know his face. "Please," I whispered. "Don't-" He grabbed my wrist and pushed me back down. "No!" I cried. The door exploded. Wood flew everywhere. A loud roar filled the room - deep, angry, full of power. The rogue ripped me like he weighed nothing. I heard fists hitting flesh. Grunts. A bone cracked. Then everything went quiet. Heavy footsteps came toward the bed. I crawled back until my back hit the headboard. My heart was beating so fast I thought it would break. Selene had gone completely still inside me. A tall man stepped into the weak light coming from the broken door. He had to duck his head to come in. Dark hair. Strong jaw. Storm-grey eyes that looked right into me. Blood was on the cuff of his dark suit. He looked at me like he had been searching for me his whole life. For a second, neither of us spoke. He bent down slowly and picked up my shoes from the floor. Then he placed them gently on the edge of the mattress. He didn't touch me. He just waited, watching me with those intense eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said. His voice was deep and rough, like gravel and honey mixed together. "Can you stand?" I stared at him. My body still felt weak from whatever Reyna put in my drink, but something else was happening now. Something bigger. The clock on the dirty wall started to chime. One... two... three... Twelve. Midnight. Selene exploded inside me. MATE! The word hit me like a lightning bolt. A warm, golden pull burst open in my chest. It felt like the Moon Goddess herself reached inside me and tied my soul to his. I made a small sound I couldn't hold back. My hand moved on its own and grabbed the front of his suit. He froze completely. His grey eyes dropped to my fingers holding his jacket, then slowly came back up to my face. Something wild and scared and happy all at once moved across his expression. "Your name," he said, his voice rougher now. "Tell me your real name." "Elena," I whispered. My voice shook. "Elena Vasquez." He closed his eyes tight for a second, like my name hurt him in a good way. When he opened them again, they looked like a storm about to break. "Zane," he said. "Zane Cole." He let out a long breath. "We've got a serious problem." I didn't let go of his jacket. I couldn't. The bond was singing so loud between us that everything else felt far away. "You feel it too?" I asked softly. "Like fire in my blood," he answered. His hand came up slowly and touched my cheek. His thumb brushed my skin so gently it made me shiver. "I've waited my whole life to feel this. And it had to be tonight." I laughed a little, even though tears were filling my eyes. "I was supposed to find out if my betrothed was my mate tonight. Instead I found you." Zane's jaw tightened. "You're promised to someone else?" I nodded. "Cole Hartley. Alpha heir of Silver Crest." He didn't pull away. If anything, he moved closer. "The bond doesn't lie, Elena. You're mine. And I'm yours." His words sent heat rushing through me. I should have been scared. I should have run. But all I wanted was to stay right here with this stranger who felt like home. "Zane," I said, tasting his name. "What do we do now?" He looked at my lips. "Right now? I want to kiss you so you never forget this night." My heart raced. "Then kiss me." He didn't need to be told twice. Zane leaned in slowly, giving me time to pull away. I didn't. His lips met mine - and the world stopped. It wasn't gentle. It wasn't soft. It was like finally breathing after being underwater for years. The bond roared between us, golden and loud and real. Then Cole's face crossed my mind. I pulled back hard. Zane let me go instantly. No resistance. No argument. We were both breathing fast. "You don't have to explain," he said quietly. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I can't. Not like this." He nodded once. Sat back. Gave me space. That single act of restraint did more to me than the kiss did. I looked around the room properly for the first time. The rogue was unconscious in the corner - but he hadn't fought like a random attacker. His grip had been too practiced. Too deliberate. Like someone who had done this before and expected no consequences. Someone sent him, Selene said quietly. I filed that away. His jaw tightened when my fingers touched his arm. Something flickered in his eyes - not anger. Something older than anger. "Sorry," I said, pulling my hand back. "Don't be," he said. But he didn't explain. Then I slipped out the broken door and ran into the night. By the time I reached the pack house, the sun was starting to rise. I stood under the hot shower, crying hard. The mating mark on my neck was still there - fresh and beautiful. A clear sign that Zane was mine. But I knew I had to face Cole in a few hours. I had no idea that by the time the bonding ceremony started, that beautiful mark would be completely gone. And my whole world was about to burn down around me.