Page 4 of Howl About That

Behind him, Dax's confusion radiated like heat. His Beta had watched the entire spectacle unfold with the expression of someone witnessing their usually controlled Alpha lose his mind in public. The same expression Dax wore when Keiro made decisions that prioritized instinct over strategy—which happened approximately never.

Until tonight.

She was desperate for that land. I could sense her panic from across the room.

The moment her scent had reached him, every rational thought had evaporated. His wolf had recognized what his human mind was still struggling to accept—that the fierce lioness fighting for something she couldn't afford to lose was the other half of his soul. The mate he'd stopped believing he'd ever find.

So he'd done what he always did when someone he cared about faced an impossible situation. He'd thrown money at the problem.

Ten million dollars to help a woman whose name I don't even know.

The irony wasn't lost on him. Keiro Izell, who controlled every variable and planned for every contingency, had just made the most impulsive decision of his adult life based on nothing more than the scent of his fated mate and the sound of her heartbreak.

"Sir?" The auctioneer's voice cut through his internal recriminations. "Is there anything else you need this evening?"

"No." Keiro's voice came out rougher than intended. "Thank you."

He turned from the podium, scanning the ballroom for any trace of her presence, but she'd vanished as completely as if she'd never existed. Only the lingering wildflower scent and thememory of her stricken expression proved he hadn't imagined the entire encounter.

She ran. Because of me.

His wolf snarled with frustration, demanding they track her down immediately and explain. But explain what, exactly? That he'd sensed she was his mate and decided to solve her problems without consulting her? That he'd assumed throwing money at her crisis would somehow make everything better?

I've spent sixteen years learning to control every situation, and the first time I meet my mate, I make everything worse.

The ballroom's conversations had resumed their normal rhythm, but Keiro caught fragments of speculation about his unexpected bid. Most assumed he'd identified some development opportunity they'd missed. A few wondered if Izell Financial was expanding into eco-tourism. None guessed the truth—that he'd just spent ten million dollars on an impulse driven by recognition and protective instinct.

He needed to find her. Needed to explain that he'd bought the land to help, not to hurt. Needed to understand why that particular parcel had been so important to her. Needed to figure out how a lioness ended up being his fated mate.

But his wolf didn't care about the logistics. Species compatibility had never been an issue for shifter bonding, even if cross-species matings were less common. What mattered was the pull between them, the recognition that had hit him like lightning when her scent reached him. What mattered was finding her before she disappeared completely.

Keiro strode toward the ballroom's exit with the focused intensity that made board members nervous and competitors reconsider their strategies. Around him, conversations paused as people instinctively moved out of his path, recognizing predator energy when they encountered it.

The Plaza's marble lobby stretched before him, elegant and empty of the one person he needed to find. He pushed through the revolving doors onto Fifth Avenue, where Manhattan's evening energy hummed with traffic and pedestrians and the thousand small dramas that played out on city sidewalks.

But no trace of wildflowers. No hint of summer rain.

She was gone.

Keiro tilted his head back, staring at the moon that hung like a silver coin above the city's glittering skyline. The irony cut deep—he'd finally found his mate, and his first instinct had been to control the situation rather than understand it.

Sixteen years of leadership, and I still default to solving problems instead of asking what people actually need.

His wolf paced restlessly, frustrated by their mate's absence and confused by her flight response. In the animal world, recognition led to claiming, to the simple acknowledgment of what existed between them. But human complications made everything messier, especially when those complications involved financial desperation and public humiliation.

She thinks I'm the enemy now.

The thought sat like acid in his stomach. He'd sensed her strength, her determination, and the weight of responsibility she carried like armor.

I need to find out who she is. Where she lives. Why that land mattered enough for her to bet on it.

Behind him, the hotel's doors whispered open, and familiar footsteps approached with the measured pace of someone who'd learned to read his moods from a distance.

"Well," Dax said, his voice carrying careful neutrality, "that was educational."

"Don't start."

"I'm not starting anything. Just observing that you spent ten million dollars on land you don't need for reasons you haven'texplained." Dax moved to stand beside him, solid and grounding in the way that had kept Keiro sane through sixteen years of impossible decisions. "Want to tell me why?"