Kade POV
Kade was at the northern border when the world exploded.
He'd been there for maybe ten minutes, questioning the patrol wolves about what they'd been sensing, when the scent hit him. It wasn't gradual. It wasn't something that built up slowly. It was like someone had opened a door and let loose something that had been locked away since the beginning of time.
His entire body went numb.
This scent. This was what the old stories talked about. This was what mates were supposed to smell like. Not just any omega either. His omega. The one his instincts had been searching for his whole life without even knowing it. The pull was physical and overwhelming and it made every cell in his body scream that he needed to find her right now or he would actually lose his mind.
Kade shifted into his wolf form without thinking.
He was moving through the forest before his human brain could catch up with what his wolf was doing. The scent was a trail he could follow. It was pulling him north, deeper into the woods, away from pack territory. Every breath he took made him crazier. Every step forward made his heart pound harder.
He had to find her. Had to make sure she was alive. Had to make sure nothing had happened to her.
The trees blurred past. His paws barely touched the ground. Other patrol wolves were following him but he'd lost them already. He was too fast. Too focused. Too desperate to get to the source of that scent.
He found her in a clearing near a creek.
She was half-shifted, caught between human and wolf form, her body flickering back and forth between shapes like she couldn't decide what she was. She was soaked in sweat and her eyes were absolutely terrified. The moment she saw him, she tried to back away but she was too weak, too scared, too new to this.
Kade shifted back to human form.
"Hey," he said, trying to make his voice gentle even though everything inside him was roaring. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe now."
She stared at him like he was a monster. Maybe he looked like one. His skin was flushed. His breathing was heavy. His eyes were probably still dark from the shift. Every instinct he had was screaming at him to pull her close and keep her there forever.
"What are you?" she whispered.
"Someone who's going to help you. What's your name?"
"Rose."
The name hit him like a punch. Rose. He already loved that name. He already loved her. This wasn't rational. This wasn't something he could control. This was instinct and biology and something older than reason telling him that this girl was his entire world.
"Okay Rose, we need to get you to the compound. You're not safe out here. There are other packs that would hurt you just to hurt us. Can you walk?"
She shook her head.
Kade scooped her up and carried her, her small body fitting against his chest like she was made for him. And maybe she was. Her scent surrounded him, made him dizzy, made him think about things he shouldn't be thinking about. Like keeping her. Like mating with her. Like choosing her over everything else in his life.
Including the Alpha.
The thought came to him suddenly and it made his stomach drop. Chase would want her too. Chase could smell her. Chase had first claim as the Alpha. That was the way pack law worked. The strongest male got the best mate. The Beta got what was left over.
But Kade was smelling her like she was his. His mate. His choice. His everything.
What was he supposed to do with that?
The compound came into view. Kade made his way through the gates with Rose still in his arms. He could already smell other wolves picking up her scent. Could already feel the pack's reaction to her presence. Could already imagine what was going to happen when Chase smelled what he was smelling.
He took her to the Alpha's office because that's what pack law said. The Alpha must know. The Alpha must be told immediately. The Alpha must decide what happens next.
This was the right thing to do. This was loyalty. This was what a Beta was supposed to do.
Kade knocked and pushed the door open and the moment he stepped inside, he knew he'd made the biggest mistake of his life.
Chase was standing by the window. The Alpha's eyes went to Rose and Kade watched it happen. Watched his best friend's entire body go rigid. Watched his nostrils flare. Watched the Alpha instinct wake up in Chase's eyes like a predator opening its eyes for the first time.
Chase was smelling her.
And the bond between them was trying to form. Kade could feel it. Could feel the Alpha magic wrapping around Rose, pulling her toward Chase, marking her as his. Kade's Beta instincts wanted to submit to that. Wanted to bow and accept that this was the way things worked.
But his new mate instincts wanted to fight.
They wanted to tear Chase apart. They wanted to run with Rose and never look back. They wanted to challenge everything Kade had believed in his entire life. Seven years of service. Seven years of loyalty. Seven years of being second to his Alpha. And suddenly all of that meant nothing compared to what he was feeling right now.
Rose was looking between them, confused.
Chase was looking at Kade with an expression that said he knew exactly what was happening. That he could feel the war inside his Beta. That he could sense the shift in their relationship.
"Welcome to the pack," Chase said coldly, his eyes still locked on Kade's. "You're safe here now."
But he wasn't talking to Rose. He was talking to Kade. He was reminding him of the hierarchy. Reminding him of his place. Reminding him that the Alpha always got what he wanted.
Kade took a step toward Rose.
Just one step, but he felt Chase's entire body tense. Felt the Alpha's power spike like a warning. Like Chase was saying "back off, she's mine."
This was it. This was the moment everything changed.
Kade had spent seven years being the loyal Beta. Seven years letting Chase make all the decisions. Seven years accepting his place in the hierarchy without question. And he'd been okay with that. He'd been content. He'd been everything Chase needed him to be.
But looking at Rose, smelling her, feeling the bond trying to pull him toward her, Kade understood something that made his blood run cold.
He couldn't choose Chase anymore. Not now. Not after this.
"I brought her here like you asked," Kade said carefully, setting Rose down but not letting go of her hand. "I found her on the border. She's new. She doesn't know anything about the pack."
Chase's jaw tightened.
"Take her to a room in the west wing. Lock the door. No one goes in except me."
It was an order. A command from the Alpha to his Beta. Something Kade had obeyed without question for seven years.
This time, Kade didn't move.
He stood there with Rose's hand in his, feeling her confusion, feeling Chase's anger, feeling his own world crashing down around him. Because in that moment, Kade understood what he was about to do. He was about to choose her over his Alpha. He was about to betray the one person he'd been loyal to since the day Chase became Alpha.
And he was going to do it anyway.
"Kade," Chase said quietly, and his voice was dangerous. "What are you doing?"
Kade looked at Rose. Looked at the terrified girl who had somehow become his entire reason for existing in the last ten minutes. And then he looked back at Chase.
"I'm about to lose everything," Kade said. "And I don't care."
Chase's eyes went completely black.