A Warrior’s Fate (Wolves of Morai #1)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

T his should've been a good thing.

It was much easier to follow a plan when the biggest wrench in it had disappeared. But Isla’s curious heart would not rest. As much as she didn’t want the answer, she needed confirmation.

She had to know if Fate—that fickle, fickle bitch—had really brought her mate to her at the worst possible time.

“Can you give me a moment?” She stepped back from Eli. “Ladies’ room.”

The general put his hands behind his back, the muscle in his jaw tensing. “Of course.”

“Great,” Isla said, hoping she hadn’t weaseled into the poor graces of her future commander before spinning on her heels and descending into the crowd.

In the middle of the room, she paused, trying to pull on her keener senses. They were much better when she shifted, but her going full wolf in the middle of a dancefloor would likely cause concern. So, instead, she sought out that tether again.

Come on, where the hell are you?

She couldn’t feel him at all. Of course, when she wanted to.

Isla weaved her way through the bodies, trying to keep her pace and heartbeat even. This room was full of the most powerful wolves on the continent, and if she presented any remote threat, all would erupt into chaos. There would be no hesitation to neutralize her.

But her steady steps transformed into a run as she turned to head down the hallway she’d walked just hours before, her dress billowing behind her. She threw herself against the heavy door to the terrace, the glass rattling and creaking as it flew open, her heels clicking against the patio as she crossed outside. She was keen on the shadows, but the darkness was barren.

“Where are you?” she whispered through gritted teeth, taking a few more steps along the stones before coming to a stop.

She felt him now.

Isla rushed to the furthest side of the banister and found Kai down in the gardens, pacing. He’d removed his coat and thrown it on one of the stairs. Now, he was only in his fitted tunic, his sleeves rolled up high to reveal the muscles of his arms, the black ink of tattoos snaking along one of them. She could see him tense, shadows dancing with the moonlight on his amber skin as he ran a hand agitatedly over his hair—some of the pieces now curled towards his forehead.

She gulped, gathering her gall before calling out to him, “Alpha Kai.”

It was the first time she’d said his name. It felt strange coming from her mouth.

Kai didn’t answer. Didn’t even flinch or look in her direction.

She moved from her spot and took to the stairs, going down them so quickly that she nearly fell over.

When her feet hit the grass, he glanced at her and then away again. Up at the sky, then forward. A mix of emotions tumbled in his eyes—anger and some type of bitterness laced with that coolness he’d had when they’d first met.

Isla stayed silent, the thought of turning around and forgetting her mission creeping into her mind, but she pushed it away. She couldn’t hold back. Not anymore.

“What are you doing out here?” A simple start. Easier than blurting, I think you’re my mate.

She choked on her inhale when Kai stopped and turned to her fully. He was so…focused, his eyes drinking in every drop of her. Like he was stripping her down where she stood .

Isla struggled to temper the spark that his stare ignited, threatening to raise wildfire again.

Before she’d reached the point of impatience to repeat her question, Kai went back to his pacing. His fists clenched at his sides. “If I was in that ballroom for one more second, I was going to lose my mind and kill that general and every man who has so much as looked at you tonight.”

Isla felt that throbbing deep at her core again.

Mine .

Maybe.

She was caught between being inexplicably aroused, terrified, and overwhelmed.

She hesitated before asking, “So…you feel it, too?”

Kai laughed, but it didn’t sound happy; it was more of disbelief and aggravation. “It’s burning me alive.”

Isla took that as her confirmation, and it nearly took the wind out of her. He’d experienced the fire, the hunger, the draw. It was mutual. They were…

“So, this is it?” Isla’s voice had gone high in surprise, her composure dwindling. “Us. We’re…mates? You and me.”

It was as if everything made sense but absolutely nothing did at the same time.

Just yesterday, she and the other members of her pack had made the long journey from Io to Callisto. Through the countless hours of travel, her mind had danced with visions of the Hunt, the celebrations after her victory, receiving the crescent lumerosi tattoo and her blessing from the Goddess, and her future journeys through the continent with her fellow warriors. She had it all figured out. But now, this man, this alpha who had come into her life out of nowhere, could easily destroy all of it.

With one bite, one mark, one laid claim, her mind would be lost, and for the rest of time, including tomorrow, she’d be fighting for two lives. Have her own in someone else’s hands. A complete stranger.

She had to hold back her own laugh at the absurdity of it all. What were the goddesses thinking?

Now, Isla herself began to pace agitated circles on the greenery.

“My mate. I actually found my destined mate , and it’s an alpha.” Isla threw her arms out in exasperation. “You’re my mate, and you—you don’t even know my name , forget knowing me , and I barely know anything about you. How—how does this…”

In her peripheral, she realized Kai had stopped moving, so she slowed to a halt. She turned to find that same lazy smirk of amusement that she hadn’t been sure if she wanted to slap off his face or kiss earlier.

She was thrilled to provide some entertainment.

“What?” Isla snapped, all rules of proper engagement vanished.

His half-smile became a full-on grin. “You should know your family and pack members speak very highly of you, Isla . Especially the Imperial Heir.”

Isla blinked, ignoring how hearing her name off his lips sent a shiver down her spine. “You spoke to my family about me?”

“As you said, I don’t know you, and I wanted to learn something about the woman who was meant to become my mate,” he explained. “They’re very proud of you and what you’re about to accomplish.”

She didn’t have the capacity to absorb the inspiring words. “You didn’t tell them, did you?”

Kai shook his head.

She let out a sigh of relief, but as she replayed what he’d said, she caught onto the past tense—the woman who was meant to become his mate.

Looking from her feet to his, hers then his, it dawned that he was equally keeping his distance as she was.

She scowled.

She’d heard all the stories of alphas who’d laid their claims on their mates, chosen or by fate, without a second thought, bestowing that fateful bite without consent. A mark that deterred all other wolves and potential suitors because no one would dare challenge them. The chauvinistic action made her want to punch them in the throat.

But still, here she was—and there she had been earlier—right in front of Kai, neck open and exposed, his legitimate destiny, yet he made no reach. Not an attempt.

As hypocritical as it may have been, she was pissed.

“Why haven’t you done anything yet?” she asked before she could stop herself. “Is that why you didn’t tell me you were an alpha when we met? Were you vetting me somehow? I know you don’t know me well , but…am I not good enough for you or something? Because certainly, Alpha , I can assure you—”

Kai had clearly been building up to a chuckle as she went on her rant but eventually cut her off.

“You’re going in the Hunt tomorrow,” he said. It was a statement, not a question, but an answer was expected.

“Yes?”

“You want to be a warrior.”

“Yes, but what does that—”

“Tell me.” Kai took a few steps forward. “How can you be a warrior and a queen?”

The question lingered in the air as Kai began pacing a languid circle around her, arms behind his back. Regal but also almost predatory. The movement was even; he didn’t dare inch any closer. His voice was low, and his speech smooth. It reverberated deep into those untapped parts of her being.

“You and I both know the second I touch you, we’re not going to make it back to our rooms or even back inside that building. We’re going to seal our fate right here on this grass, on those stairs, probably even amongst those orchids—again and again and again—until we don’t know where one of us ends and the other begins. And then we’re entwined, we’re bound . No others. No choices . You leave your family, become my luna, bound to my pack, to me , forever. Is that what you want?”

It took a second for Isla to register his question, her mind drunk on his words, on the picture he’d painted. On the thought of her naked body against his, his lips on every inch of her skin as he ravaged her and had her crying out under the moonlight. It would be more than just mind-blowing sex with a man she barely knew. There would be something else lurking there. A connection, an intensity, a burn so deep and divine despite being completely loveless.

She would never know the wonders of that bond with any other person. Never. This was her other half.

She could take him, she naively thought for a moment, blinded by the lust. Maybe after she’d gotten to know him, in time, at his simplest…

But there was no “simple” when it came to an alpha.

He’d said it himself: She would be bound not only to him but also to his kingdom and his people. She’d have to leave her home and family forever. And she would be a queen.

A queen.

She may have been able to convey the poise of a lady and had the spirit of a warrior, but not the true grace of a luna. She’d seen what the role demanded, and that wasn’t even what lurked behind closed doors. She didn’t fit the mold. She didn’t want to be tied down and confined within walls and strict rules. Not like that.

Kai stopped in her eye-line and stared down at her, still wearing his sly smile. She wondered if he could sense what he’d aroused. “You’re allowed to say no.”

Isla took a deep breath and shook her head to clear it. Was he giving her an option to reject him? Was that even allowed with an alpha? Or was he rejecting her?

“Why…why give me an option?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “There’s a reason we’re destined. Having a mate, me as your mate, will make you a stronger alpha, and your legacy…”

Our legacy…

“Why would I give her any satisfaction?”

It took Isla a beat to figure out who he was referring to.

“You’re spiting Fate?” She nearly laughed. All of this was some grand scheme against a goddess? “I’m some kind of pawn in your vendetta against a deity?”

Isla regretted her question as Kai’s face became dark, his smile faltering.

“She’s taken nearly everything from me,” he said, venom lacing his words. “And if I have any duty to you as your mate, I won’t let her do the same to you. Consider it my gift.”

“So, you’re rejecting me to save me?”

Kai’s grin returned, though more faint. “There’s no rejection. There’s been no acknowledgment.” He put out his hands, presenting, “We’re free.”

Isla’s eyebrows shot up.

If they did not touch, she could not touch them. They were relieved of the pain of turning away Fate’s will. It made sense, in theory.

Kai continued while moving to grab his coat and go back inside, “When this Hunt ends, you will go back to your territory, and I will lead mine.”

“And we forget,” Isla finished for him despite feeling like there was a punchline here that she was missing. It all felt too easy.

“And we forget,” Kai repeated, approaching her again, daring to move so he was only a foot away. “Hopefully, your warrior travels never take you to me in Deimos. I don’t know if I’ll have as much self-control a second time.” His eyes drew long lines over her body as they had earlier. “You should thank that liaison of yours. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Isla squirmed, fighting temptation under his close gaze. “Did he say something?”

“If he hadn’t shown up out here when he did,” Kai leaned down until he was just inches away as if taunting Fate—and testing Isla’s willpower—as he whispered, “you and I weren’t making it to dinner.”

With that, he turned on a heel to walk back up the stairs to the party. He stopped partway up and spun back around, shoving a hand in his pants pocket. “If I can make one request. A favor.”

“Yes?”

“Turn in for the night. If I have to watch that general put his hands on you one more time, I may no longer be able to guarantee that I won’t kill him.”

Isla laughed, a true laugh that had been difficult for her to find lately. Considering that whenever that passion of his shone through, she felt the nearly irrepressible urge to jump him, it was easy to heed. “Consider it a gift.”

Kai snickered at her mocking and nodded in what was likely a thank you, then continued up the stairs.

Isla watched him disappear, slightly mesmerized by the way his body moved, while an amalgamation of thoughts ran through her head. Within the span of a few hours, she’d found her destined mate, learned that he was an alpha—an alpha, need she not forget, she’d speculated was a murderer not too much earlier in the night— and conspired with him to work a loophole into a sacred wolf tradition to continue unhindered with their lives.

Maybe they were perfect for each other, equally insane enough to believe this would work. They were trying to make Fate their bitch, and Isla couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling that the goddess wouldn’t go down without a fight.