Chapter 4
The rain never stopped that night.
It poured endlessly beyond the glass windows while the penthouse glowed softly beneath golden lights.
Danny sat cross-legged on the enormous bed, staring at Lucas with narrowed sleepy eyes.
Lucas stood near the window, trying very hard to maintain control over both himself and the possessive wolf inside him.
His mate smelled too sweet.
Too warm.
Every second near Danny weakened the century-long restraint he had perfected.
And Danny-
Danny kept making it worse.
“You’re seriously not gonna do anything?” Danny asked dramatically.
Lucas exhaled slowly.
“You’re drunk.”
“I’m not that drunk.”
“You tried putting your phone inside the mini fridge five minutes ago.”
Danny looked offended.
“…That happened once.”
Lucas almost smiled again.
Almost.
The Alpha King had never imagined his mate like this.
Not elegant.
Not graceful.
Not seductive in the way others usually tried to be around him.
Danny was simply…
Danny.
Sleepy. Lazy. Honest.
And somehow that made Lucas want him even more.
Danny suddenly scooted closer on the bed.
“Come here.”
Lucas didn’t move.
“Danny-“
“You keep saying my name like we’re married already.”
Lucas’s wolf liked that thought far too much.
Danny patted the empty spot beside him impatiently.
“I don’t bite.”
Lucas walked over slowly.
The mattress dipped beneath his weight as he sat at the edge of the bed.
Danny immediately leaned against his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Lucas froze.
Warm.
His mate was warm.
Danny yawned softly.
“You know… you smell really nice.”
Lucas looked down at him carefully.
“You said that already.”
“Still true.”
Danny rubbed his cheek against Lucas’s shoulder unconsciously.
The Alpha King nearly lost all rational thought.
Mate.
Mine.
Touch him.
Claim him.
Lucas clenched his fists tightly.
“You shouldn’t trust strangers this easily.”
Danny looked up lazily.
“You don’t feel dangerous.”
Every werewolf in the world would faint hearing that sentence.
Lucas let out a quiet laugh.
A real one.
Low and soft.
Danny blinked slowly at him.
“Oh.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“You look prettier when you smile.”
Lucas stared at him silently.
No one had ever called him pretty before.
Handsome.
Terrifying.
Powerful.
But pretty?
Danny smiled sleepily.
“See? There it is again.”
Lucas’s chest ached strangely.
This human was destroying him without even trying.
Danny suddenly reached out and touched Lucas’s face carefully.
His fingertips brushed against Lucas’s jaw.
Electric warmth spread through both of them instantly.
The mate bond pulsed violently beneath their skin.
Danny gasped softly.
“What was that?”
Lucas grabbed his wrist gently before Danny could pull away.
Dangerous.
This was becoming dangerous.
Because if Danny kept touching him like this-
Lucas didn’t know how much longer he could stop himself.
“Danny,” he said quietly, “go to sleep.”
But Danny only moved closer.
Their faces were inches apart now.
“You keep looking at me like I’m something precious.”
Because you are.
Lucas swallowed hard.
“You deserve to be treated carefully.”
Danny’s expression softened unexpectedly.
No teasing.
No laziness.
Just quiet surprise.
“…No one says things like that to me.”
Lucas’s heart tightened.
Before he could answer, Danny suddenly kissed him.
Soft.
Clumsy.
Sweet with strawberry alcohol.
And Lucas broke.
One hundred years of loneliness shattered in an instant.
His hand slid carefully against Danny’s waist as he kissed him back gently at first, like he was afraid Danny would disappear.
Danny made a small sound against his lips.
Lucas’s wolf nearly purred itself unconscious.
Mate.
Finally.
The kiss deepened slowly, warmth spreading between them beneath the sound of rain.
Lucas tried desperately to remain gentle.
Tried to hold back.
But Danny kept pulling him closer.
Kept whispering his name softly against his mouth.
“Lucas…”
It sounded like magic.
Like temptation.
Like home.
And eventually-
Lucas gave in.
–
The city slept beneath silver rain while the Alpha King held his mate for the first time.
Danny eventually fell asleep curled against Lucas’s chest afterward, breathing softly.
Lucas remained awake.
Watching him.
Memorizing every detail.
The soft rise and fall of his breathing.
The messy dark hair across his forehead.
The tiny pout on his lips even while asleep.
Beautiful.
Lucas brushed his fingers carefully against Danny’s cheek.
“My mate,” he whispered quietly.
For the first time in a century-
The Alpha King felt complete.
Outside, the storm finally calmed.
Moonlight spilled gently through the windows, silver and soft, wrapping around them like a blessing from fate itself.
Lucas closed his eyes briefly.
Tomorrow, he would tell Danny everything carefully.
About mates.
About werewolves.
About them.
He would court him properly.
Protect him.
Love him.
No matter how long it took.
And for the first time in a hundred lonely years-
Lucas fell asleep smiling.
–
Morning arrived peacefully.
Warm sunlight spread across the bed.
Lucas woke slowly.
For one beautiful second, he expected warmth beside him.
Expected Danny’s scent.
Expected his mate smiling sleepily at him.
Instead-
The bed was empty.
Lucas sat up instantly.
The room felt cold.
Wrong.
“Danny?”
Silence.
His wolf panicked immediately.
Mate?
Lucas stood quickly and searched the suite.
Bathroom.
Living room.
Balcony.
Nothing.
Then his eyes landed on the bedside table.
Cash.
Several neat stacks of money.
And beneath them-
A small note written messily.
> “Thanks for last night.
You were really good :)”
Lucas stared silently.
The air around him became terrifyingly still.
The Alpha King of werewolves-
The most feared creature alive-
Had just been mistaken for an escort.
His wolf looked homicidal.
But Lucas only picked up the note slowly.
And laughed.
A soft, disbelieving laugh.
Because somehow-
Even this felt absurdly like Danny.
Cute.
Ridiculous.
Unbelievable.
Lucas lifted the note carefully, staring at the smiling face drawn beside the message.
Then his expression softened.
“You ran away from me, little mate?”
Outside the windows, Bayleaf City sparkled beneath the morning sun.
And somewhere in that massive city-
His mate was living completely unaware that he had just stolen the heart of the Wolf King.
