Chapter 2: Taste of Regret

The council chamber still stank of smoke and fear-sweat. Nathaniel's hand closed around Stella's wrist, fingers like iron bands digging into skin still tacky with her own blood. She let him pull her. Fighting now would only feed the watching eyes.

His touch sent the mate bond screaming through her veins. Heat pooled low in her belly, vicious and unwanted. The scar over her heart flared hot as fresh fire. Copper coated her tongue though the cut on her palm had slowed to a sluggish ooze.

"Everyone out." His voice scraped like gravel, the Spanish edge thickening every word. Pack members scattered. Chairs scraped back. Elias lingered by the door, that false smile curling his lips before he slipped away.

Nathaniel didn't release her as he steered her through the side door. The walls pressed close. Stone. Old wood. Their footsteps echoed too loud. Stella's breath shortened. She forced her free hand to stay at her side instead of rising to her throat.

He shoved open the door to his private study with one shoulder. Books lined the walls in careful rows. First editions. The Alpha had always hidden his softness. Now it mocked her. He finally let go and she stumbled forward, rubbing the marks his fingers left behind.

"Talk." He slammed the door. The crack ripped through her. "What the fuck was that thing and why did your magic call its name?"

Stella turned slowly. He filled the room, tall frame vibrating with barely leashed power. Amber eyes flashed gold at the edges. His chest rose and fell too fast, the rhythm matching the frantic beat of her own heart through their cursed bond. She could smell him—cedar and storm and the sharp tang of guilt seeping through his pores.

She twirled the obsidian dagger between her fingers. The silver charms in her braid clinked softly. "You think I planned this? I came to watch you lose everything, Nathaniel. Not summon your nightmares."

His jaw worked. That low growl built in his chest, the one that made her thighs tighten despite herself. He rubbed the spot over his heart where the rejection scar burned. She wondered if it felt like hers—like acid and longing twisted into one unbearable pull.

Before she could stop herself, Stella stepped closer. The bond yanked her forward like a chain. His heat rolled against her front. She reached up, fingers brushing the fresh claw marks across his collarbone from the fight. Blood welled there, dark and rich against his deep brown skin.

He didn't pull away. His breath caught. Those amber eyes dropped to her mouth.

Stella pressed her thumb to the wound. Blood coated her skin, warm and slick. She brought it to her lips without breaking eye contact. The taste exploded across her tongue. Not just copper. Flashes slammed into her—his wolf howling in triumph as he cast her out, the raw surge of power that had made him feel like a god for one cruel second.

Her stomach clenched hard. She staggered back, spitting onto the stone floor. The bond fed her more. The memory of relief. Of sending her away.

"You bastard," she rasped. Her voice cracked on the words. "You liked it. You liked breaking me."

Nathaniel's face lost color. He reached for her but she slapped his hand away. The bond howled at the rejection of his touch. Her magic whispered approval. Hurt him. Make him bleed like you bled.

"It wasn't like that," he said. His deep voice came out rough. "Stella, there was more to it. Your bloodline. The shadows. I thought if I sent you away—"

She laughed. The sound scraped ugly from her throat. The room felt too small. His scent wrapped around her. Her body still wanted to press against him and never let go.

The study door creaked open. Liora Voss slipped inside, cropped auburn hair messy, knuckles already cracking in that old habit. She carried the faint scent of night air and pine.

"Well, shit," Liora said. Her eyes flicked between them. "If you two don't stop eye-fucking and snarling, the whole pack's gonna tear itself apart before Elias even gets his claws in."

Stella's shoulders eased at the sight of her oldest friend. The only one who'd never believed the official lies. But something sharper flickered across Liora's face—worry edged with fear. Ten years of silence between them. Stella had never risked contact. Not even with her.

Nathaniel rounded on her with a snarl. "This is private, warrior. Get out before I throw you out."

Liora didn't flinch. She planted her feet, muscular arms crossing over her chest. "Like hell. Stella's my friend. She's here now. Deal with it, Alpha."

The title dripped with sarcasm. Stella watched Nathaniel's hands flex. He counted under his breath in Spanish. Uno. Dos. Tres. The control tic. It almost tugged at something soft inside her. Almost.

"Liora," Stella said, voice low and rasping. "It's alright. For now."

Her friend shot her a look full of too many things. Worry. That old fierce loyalty. And beneath it, the fear that the woman who'd returned wasn't the girl who'd left.

Nathaniel paced to the window. Moonlight cut across his face, highlighting the corded muscle in his neck. His wolf pressed close to the surface. She could feel it pushing against the bond, demanding he pin her, claim her, fix this with teeth and heat and dominance.

Her own body answered with a flush of heat that tightened her skin. The magic in her blood purred, offering power if she'd only taste him again. Read him deeper. Break him open.

She gripped the edge of his desk until the wood bit into her palm. The nearness of him was torture. Every breath dragged his scent into her lungs. Every heartbeat echoed in her own chest. The bond wasn't just desire. It was fate's cruel joke.

"Fine," Nathaniel said at last. He didn't turn around. His shoulders bunched tight. "You want answers about your family? The records are in the archives. Help me stop these shadows and I'll give you access. All of it."

Stella's pulse jumped. This was what she'd come for. The why behind her mother's screams that night. The way her father's eyes had gone blank before the enforcers dragged them away. But the bond twisted the victory, flooding her with the urge to protect him. To protect what was his.

"Temporary," she said, tone cutting and precise. "I help with your shadows. You give me the records. Then I decide if I burn this place down or walk away again."

He turned then. The look in his eyes nearly undid her. Raw. Possessive. Terrified. His wolf bled through until his irises glowed solid gold. He crossed the room in two strides. Too close. His breath fanned across her face. Heat rolled off his body in waves.

Liora cleared her throat loudly from the corner. "I'll just... wait outside. Try not to kill each other while I'm gone."

The door clicked shut behind her. They were alone.

Nathaniel's hand rose. Not to her face. To her throat. Fingers wrapped around the slender column, thumb pressing just under her jaw where her pulse hammered. Not choking. Claiming. The bond exploded between them. Desire so sharp it stole her breath.

His mouth crashed down on hers. No tenderness. Just teeth and tongue and the copper tang of his blood. Stella bit back. Hard. She tasted the storm inside him, the guilt and want and that ugly thread of relief from ten years ago. It made her sick. It made her burn.

He growled into her mouth. The sound vibrated down her spine. One big hand slid down her back, yanking her flush against the hard line of his body. The bond screamed yes. Mine. Finally.

Stella shoved him back with a burst of magic. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to create space. They stared at each other, chests heaving. Her lips throbbed. Blood smeared across both their mouths. His eyes were wild. Hers, she knew, glowed with forbidden power.

"Don't," she whispered. The word cracked. "Don't you dare make me want you again."

Nathaniel dragged a hand down his face. The growl in his chest wouldn't stop. Low. Constant. Spanish curses spilled from him under his breath. He counted again. One to ten. Then twenty. The nervous habit exposed like a raw nerve.

"You think I don't fight it every second?" His voice dropped, dangerous. "My wolf wants to throw you on that desk and never let you up. But you're poison now, Stella. That magic. It's changing you. I can smell it."

She lifted her chin. Let him see the ice. The steel forged in exile. "Good. Maybe I'll change you too."

The silence stretched, thick with everything they wouldn't say. The journal hidden in her pack with ten years of unsent letters. His hidden books. The way they'd both been broken by that night and kept the pieces sharp enough to cut each other again.

Liora knocked once before pushing the door open. Her face was tight. "Shadows sighted near the eastern border. Two of them this time. Pack's waiting on you, Alpha."

Nathaniel nodded once. All business now. But his gaze lingered on Stella. Possessive. Guilty. Hungry. "Come with me. See what your magic woke up."

Stella followed them out into the night. The fog had thickened. Moonlight barely pierced it. Her skin drank in the open air like water after drought. The bond didn't ease. It pulled her toward Nathaniel's broad back with every step.

They reached the border treeline. Nathaniel shifted without warning. Clothes shredded. Massive black wolf took his place, amber eyes glowing. The bond flared so strong Stella's knees nearly buckled. His wolf's thoughts pushed through. Protect. Mate. Kill the dark.

The shadows came then. Two of them. Smoke and teeth and eyes like dying stars. They moved wrong. Too fast. Too coordinated. One of them peeled away from the other. Its form twisted. Solidified.

It wore Elias's face.

Stella's magic roared to life unbidden. Blue-white fire licked up her arms. The corruption whispered in her ear, ancient and sweet. Use me. Burn them all. Start with the Alpha who broke you.

Nathaniel's wolf howled. The sound tore through her chest.

She didn't know if she would answer the magic or the bond first. Only that either choice would cost her everything she'd spent ten years becoming.

And as the shadow wearing Elias's smile lunged straight for her throat, Stella realized with sick horror that she no longer cared which one won.