The voice is smooth, cultured, and completely unexpected. A shadow falls across my face, blocking the sunlight. I open my eyes and look up to find a man standing before me.
The moment our gazes meet, electricity shoots through my entire body. My wolf springs to life with a suddenness that steals my breath, recognition flooding through every cell.
Oh, crap. What is he doing here?
Dark, wavy hair. Chocolate brown eyes. Strong jaw and aristocratic features that belong on a painting rather than a person. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in luxurious clothes that mark him as nobility. But it’s not his looks that make my heart slam against my ribs—it’s the way my wolf is practically howling with joy at the sight of him.
“Y–you’ve got the wrong person,” I stammer, already starting to rise from the bench despite my wolf’s protests. “I think you’re confused.”
But the moment I stand up, the man’s hand closes gently around my arm. Not painfully, not restraining me exactly, but firm enough to keep mefrom fleeing.
“No,” he says, his voice carrying absolute certainty with a hint of amusement. “I know I’ve got the right person because my wolf happens to be getting a little too excited.”
I sink back down onto the bench, my legs suddenly too weak to support me. “Wha–What do you want?”
“Your name, for one,” he asks, taking a seat beside me, close enough that I can smell his cologne—something expensive and masculine that makes my wolf stir restlessly.
“Selene,” I whisper, the word barely audible.
“Selene.” He repeats it like he’s tasting something sweet. “I’m Zane. Zane Radrick.”
He’s handsome. Not like Seth, who has a rugged air to him. This man is good looking in a groomed yet rakish manner.
“I wanted to thank you,” he says simply. “For saving my life.”
His fingers have wrapped around a strand of my hair, and for the life of me, I can’t stop my heart from beating so hard that it feels like it’s about ready to burst out of my chest.
I shake my head, trying to collect myself. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
When I move to leave again, he speaks in a low voice that stops me cold.
“I also wanted to get to know my fated mate.”
I stop halfway to my feet, then slowly turn to look at him over my shoulder. The expression in his dark eyes makes my breath hitch. There’s no disgust there, no anger, no resentment. Just gentle acceptance, as if being here with me is all he wants.
It’s so different from how Seth always looked at me—like I was a burden, a mistake, something to be endured rather than embraced.
“I’m no one remarkable,” I murmur, the words tumbling out before I can stop them.
His hand finds mine, warm and steady. “You’re my fated mate,” he says with a dazzling smile. “You’re the most remarkable woman in the world to me.”
The simple honesty in his voice makes me freeze completely. No one has ever said anything like that to me before.
He pats the spot beside him. “Would you like to sit with me?”
I slowly perch on the bench, maintaining a careful distance between us. My wolf is restless now, pacing in my mind with an energy I’m not sure I’m ready to feel.
“You seem troubled,” he observes, studying my face with gentle concern. “What’s wrong?”
Everything, I think. This whole situation is wrong. Fated mates are supposed to be rare, special, once-in-a-lifetime connections. You don’t get two of them. It’s impossible. It’s almost like my connection to Seth has been swapped with this one to Zane. Has that ever happened before? Wouldn’t Seth have said something about it? He should have felt it if our connection severed.
My confusion doesn’t bother my wolf. She’s practically purring at Zane’s proximity, responding to him with the same intensity she once felt for Seth. Maybe even more.
His presence washes over me like a warm blanket, erasing every worry that was spinning through my mind just moments ago. My confusion about having two fated mates, the impossibility of it all—none of that seems to matter when I’m looking into his chocolate brown eyes.
“I understand this may be overwhelming,” Zane says softly, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “But I’d very much like to get to know you, if you’ll allow me to.”
The gentleness in his voice is such a stark contrast to Seth’s harsh words in the forest. No one has ever asked for my permission like this, never treated my feelings as something that mattered.
