Chapter 2: Hate at First Sight

I blink rapidly as I look into his green eyes. I focus on the specks of gold in them, and not the fact that he is shirtless and only wearing a pair of blue denim jeans, his tan skin glowing under the moon.

He stares back at me, waiting for my response, and I see the urgency in his eyes.

“I-I, uh, yeah,” I stutter, clearing my throat in the hopes I’ll be able to get some air into my lungs. “I’m okay.”

The corner of his lips turns up into a smile. “I’m so glad I was passing by,” he says. “If not, we may never have met.”

A small smile graces my lips as I stare back at him, mesmerized by his strong jawline, the black stubble on his chin and cheeks, and the shaggy brown locks falling into his eyes.

Whoever this man is, he is the definition of tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious.

My heart is still racing as I stand before him, not knowing what to say. All I want is to get closer to this stranger, to touch his smooth-looking skin. The look on his face tells me he wants to as well.

“Yeah,” I breathe, blinking rapidly at him. “Very lucky.”

The man takes a step forward until we’re an arm’s length apart. He’s staring deeply into my eyes as we stand in silence.

I hold my breath when he lifts his hand to my face. It seems like he’s investigating me. A bead of sweat trickles down his forehead telling me that he’s either nervous or enraptured by the intimate moment.

I can see the hesitation in his eyes as his fingers linger inches away from my burning cheek. I desperately want him to touch me, but his gaze tells me he doesn’t know if he can or not.

“I feel like I know you,” he breathes, his warm breath fanning against my face as he towers over me. “Who are you?”

I want to tell him who I am—but not yet.

I’m an alpha’s daughter—a person of high status in my pack. But right now, I don’t want to be. I just want to be an ordinary girl finding her mate. No propriety, no politics. Just us.

A cheeky smile graces his lips as he finally takes the plunge and rests his rough, calloused fingertips against my skin.

“I have this strong, crippling urge to kiss you right now, and I don’t know why. My body is screaming at me to do it, but I don’t even know who you are. Please tell me you feel the same way.”

I nod gingerly, closing my eyes as he moves his hand to get a better grip on my cheek.

“I feel it too,” I say. Smiling, I add, “And I don’t think it’s because you just saved me from a bear.”

“You’re right, it’s more than that,” he mutters, his eyes never leaving mine. “It feels as though there is a string –”

“Pulling us together,” I finish for him.

My heart flutters and screams in my chest when a grin spreads across his face.

“Exactly,” he says, tilting his head slightly before dropping his hand from my cheek. The absence of his warmth makes me want to grab his hand and return it to its previous spot, but I hold myself back.

Before I can say anything else, he wraps his slender fingers around my wrist and begins pulling me in the direction of town. I don’t tell him we’re going in the opposite direction of my compound, because I don’t want to leave his side.

“Where are we going?” I ask as leaves and twigs crunch under my shoes.

“To town,” he simply responds, turning his head to look over his shoulder. My heart jumps when our eyes connect.

When we step out from the woods and onto the street, there aren’t many people around. As we walk the almost empty streets, it feels as though we’re the only two people on the planet.

“You’re not going to kill me, are you?” I find myself asking as we walk in the direction of the lake located in the middle of the town.

The man chuckles. The deep vibrations stab at my heart, and I find myself wanting to hear the sound again.

“No, I’m not going to kill you. I wanted to get out of the woods in case another bear found us.”

We walk silently down the dirt path that leads to the lake. Once the path opens up to reveal the shoreline, I find myself mesmerized by the moonlight reflecting off the surface of the water.

“Stunning, right?” the man asks, reading my mind.

I nod in response and follow him to the edge where we quietly sit on the grass, watching the water ripple against the bank.

We’re both silent for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say.

I know for a fact this man is my mate, but how do I bring it up to him? I nervously fiddle with the hem of my shirt, trying to keep my eyes focused ahead of me instead of gazing at the mysterious man beside me.

“I think you’re my mate.” The man’s deep voice echoes across the surface of the lake, all the way the dense trees opposite us. “As soon as I saw you… I just knew.”

I swallow hard, trying to ease the nervousness in my stomach. “I feel the same way.”

He snaps his head to look at me, breaking out into a warm smile. “I thought I was crazy because I know nothing about you. I don’t even know your name.”

“Isn’t that the best part?” I quiz, gauging his reaction. “We don’t have to pretend or force anything. The natural pull between us is doing all the work.”

“It’s working overtime right now,” he chuckles, scooting closer to me until our shoulders are touching.

I inhale quickly at the feeling of his warm skin against mine.

He still has no shirt on from when he shifted earlier. Until now, I’ve done a damn good job not looking too much, but at this moment, I feel weak as I turn my eyes downward to the glorious six-pack on his abdomen.

My eyes widen when I feel a warm hand on the small of my back and another hand on my chin, guiding me to turn my head. I hold my breath as I stare into the green eyes that now own my heart.

His breath is warm against my lips as he lowers his face toward mine.

When he presses his lips against mine, I melt under his touch and wrap my arms around his neck. He takes it as his chance to deepen the kiss, his tongue now begging for permission to enter my mouth. When it does, it feels as though fireworks are exploding in my stomach, and my mind goes numb.

We fit together like the last two pieces of a puzzle.

He pulls away to catch his breath. His eyes shimmer under the moonlight as he stares deep into my soul.

“Who are you?” he breathes again, resting his forehead against mine.

—

*Present*

“It’s you,” I breathe as I look into the same piercing green eyes of the man who saved my life.

But, this time, something’s different.

When he opened the door, there was a moment when I could see the familiar excitement and happiness behind them. But that all changed in the blink of an eye when he saw my father.

Now his face twists in pain, and he can barely keep his eyes on me, as if it’s painful to even be in my presence.

“Why are you here?” the man asks.

He blinks rapidly before turning to my father, confusion spread across his features.

“This is my daughter, Alicia, whom you’ll be marrying,” my father responds plainly with a raised brow. He then turns to me with a look of regret behind his eyes. “This is Adrian Silva. Your future husband, and the Alpha of the Greenwood pack.”

Adrian swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he continues to investigate me like I’m some specimen.

“I didn’t know this was your daughter.”

His voice sounds pained and cool as he speaks and his expression darkens.

My heart sinks.

This isn’t the man I met that night two weeks ago. He isn’t kind, warm, and sweet like I remember him.

Adrian shakes his head, his hands tugging at the wavy strands of dark hair on his head. His face is twisted in pain as he tugs on the roots, his knuckles turning white from the force.

“This is just my f*cking luck.”

His words stab me like a knife to the heart. There is a sinking feeling in my stomach because it’s clear whatever we felt on that fateful night two weeks ago has been erased in the blink of an eye when he saw me.

“At least give her a chance, Adrian,” my father suggests firmly.

“Just because I have to marry your daughter, doesn’t mean I have to get to know her. I know everything I need to,” Adrian counters.

I don’t understand why he’s acting this way toward me. Whatever bad blood exists between our packs, he still agreed to a political marriage with a stranger. Shouldn’t he be happy that that stranger is his fated mate?

Without saying another word, Adrian turns to walk back inside the house, slamming the door behind him with a gush of wind.

This was what rejection felt like.

Ugh. Married life is going to be a b*tch.