"How dare you," I growled and it was a real dangerous wolf growl that startled even myself, my body shaking with barely controlled rage. "She’s mine. The Goddess chose her for me and you’re telling me to throw that away?"

"I’m telling you to think practically—" Marcus started but I slammed my hand on the table.

"I won’t reject her! I don’t care if she’s human, I don’t care if the pack doesn’t like it, I don’t care about any of it!" My voice was rising, my wolf pushing forward. "She’s my mate and that’s final!"

"Jude, Marcus, please—" Elena rushed between us, looking frantically between father and son as dominance charged the air, neither of us backing down from each other. She went to her husband and held his arm, rubbing it as she released her calming scent but Marcus’s jaw was clenched tight.

Marcus looked at me with disdain and hissed before storming out of the dining room, his footsteps heavy and angry.

So much for being a father.

I stood there shaking with rage and adrenaline, my wolf still snarling in my head demanding we go after Marcus and make him take it back, making him apologize for even suggesting we abandon our mate.

"Jude, honey," Elena said softly while touching my arm and I flinched. "He doesn’t mean it, he’s just—"

"He meant every word," I said roughly while pulling away. "I have to go, Mom. I’m sorry."

I kissed my mother’s cheek quickly and walked out of the house before I did something I’d regret, got on my bike, and drove straight to Rosie’s cottage. My body was still shaking with anger from my father suggesting I reject my mate because she was human, because she wasn’t what Marcus wanted for the pack.

I couldn’t think at all, I just needed to see my mate, see that she was okay and safe and real, the thought of rejecting her made my stomach churn and nausea came in waves. When I got to her cottage I revved the engine off and removed my helmet, shook my head trying to clear the rage, and inhaled deeply. Her scent assaulted me immediately and I felt the tension leaving my shoulders, my wolf settling just from knowing she was near.

I came here without thinking and now what would I say? It was already late, wouldn’t she be asleep? Wouldn’t I creep her out if I knocked on the door? But I needed to see her, breathe her in, and know she was real.

And what?

I took steps to the porch and knocked on the door twice, then craned my ear to hear any sounds coming from inside. As I was about to turn back, thinking this was a stupid idea, I heard shuffling sounds and my chest started to race.

Mate! Mate! 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

My wolf howled happily and I could feel the air around me getting scarce as the sounds came closer. The second she opened the door I breathed in sharply, her scent nearly turning me feral as I clenched my teeth. Was this the feeling my father wanted me to reject? This overwhelming rightness?

Rosie stood there in pajama pants and an oversized sweater, her hair messy from bed and her eyes widening when she saw me. "Jude?" she asked softly while her gaze took in my state, the tension in my shoulders, the wildness still in my eyes.

As if Rosie knew what was happening to me without me having to say it, she opened the door wider without asking anything and quietly stepped aside to let me enter. The way her gaze softened while looking at me almost unraveled me right there on her doorstep.

"Come in," she whispered and I did, stepping into her space and immediately feeling my wolf settle from just being surrounded by her scent.

I plopped on the couch and did my best not to look around too much, taking in my mate’s house even though my wolf wanted to memorize every detail. Rosie padded her way to the kitchen and I heard her moving around before she came back with a mug of hot tea and offered it to me with gentle hands.

"Thank you," I said roughly while taking the mug and she sat beside me on the couch, close but not touching, just there.

She didn’t ask anything or say anything, didn’t demand to know why I showed up at her door late at night looking wild and desperate. Just her being near me made everything easier and I felt happy, grounded, and real.

I stared at her while a strand of hair fell across her face and she was beautiful, so beautiful it hurt.

"My father demanded perfection from me," I didn’t know when I started spilling everything but the words kept coming. About my family pressure, about being the alpha’s son, and having my future planned out before I was even born. I didn’t pray to be the alpha’s son, I just wanted to be myself and do everything I wanted to do. Ride my bike on the mountain with Rosie at my back and be free.

And Rosie listened quietly without interrupting me, just sitting there with her hands folded in her lap while I talked about Marcus and the pack and the weight of expectations that crushed me sometimes yet left out the supernatural element.

When I finally stopped talking, she smiled sadly and rubbed her arm while looking at the fireplace, looking distant. "I know and I understand more than you think," she said softly. "My own parents valued their image over me. They wanted me to be perfect but they forgot I’m just human."

The word human echoed in the space between us and my chest tightened because she didn’t even know, didn’t know that I wasn’t just human, that she was mated to something other.

Rosie placed a hand on my arm and my wolf practically melted, purring so loudly that my chest vibrated with it. She didn’t pull away even when she must have felt the vibration, just kept her hand there warm and grounding.

We sat like that side by side, exhausted and close and safe, until I felt my eyes getting heavy. The last thing I remembered was Rosie’s scent surrounding me and the warmth of her beside me before sleep pulled me under.