Chapter 5: The Mate I Never Expected

For several seconds, I forgot how to breathe.

Mate.

The word echoed inside my head while my wolf paced excitedly beneath my skin.

I had imagined finding my fated mate before. Every young werewolf did.

But never like this.

Never in the arms of the stranger my boyfriend had secretly handed me off to.

The man holding me seemed equally frozen.

His light blue eyes stared down at me, widening slowly as his grip around my waist tightened.

Then his pupils flashed silver.

"Mate," he whispered.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

So he felt it too.

I immediately stepped backward.

His hand remained suspended in the air where my waist had been.

"You felt that, right?" he asked.

"Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?"

He looked genuinely wounded.

I hugged the roses closer to my chest. "I found out yesterday that my boyfriend transferred me to a stranger because he thought I was fat. Then I flew here and discovered that stranger is apparently my mate. Forgive me if I'm not celebrating yet."

His expression changed instantly.

The nervous excitement disappeared.

"You know?"

"I know enough."

His jaw tightened.

For the first time since meeting him, something dangerous flickered behind those gentle blue eyes.

"Knox," he muttered.

The way he said the name made me pause.

"You know his real name?"

He went silent.

I narrowed my eyes.

"That's the thing you wanted to tell me, isn't it?"

He exhaled slowly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Part of it."

"Then start talking."

He glanced around the crowded terminal. "Can we get somewhere quieter first? I'll explain everything. I promise."

"Your promises aren't exactly worth much to me right now."

Pain flashed across his face.

"Fair."

That simple answer surprised me.

No excuses.

No attempt to make me feel guilty.

He simply reached for my suitcase.

"May I?"

I hesitated before releasing the handle.

He took it without another word.

Outside the terminal, a black SUV waited at the curb.

The driver immediately stepped out when he saw us.

"Young Master-"

"I've got it," my mysterious boyfriend interrupted quickly.

Young Master?

I looked at him.

He suddenly became fascinated by my suitcase.

Interesting.

He opened the passenger door for me himself.

"Get in?"

"Are you kidnapping me?"

"Would a kidnapper bring raspberry ginger tea?"

I stared at him.

He blinked innocently.

Against my better judgment, I laughed.

His entire face lit up.

That reaction made my chest tighten strangely.

I climbed inside.

The moment he entered from the other side, the mate bond struck again.

His scent filled the enclosed space.

Cedarwood.

Citrus.

Warmth.

My wolf practically rolled over in happiness.

Traitor.

He placed a thermal bottle into my hands.

"Still warm."

I looked down.

Raspberry ginger tea.

He really had brought it.

"You remembered."

"I remember everything you tell me."

The words were simple.

Yet something inside me softened.

I immediately hardened it again.

"Name."

"What?"

"Your real name. Unless you're planning to make me call you Fox Nick forever."

His ears turned red.

"Rowan."

"Rowan what?"

A pause.

"Rowan Vale."

Something about the name felt familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Okay, Rowan Vale. Explain Knox."

He leaned back and stared through the windshield.

"Three months ago, Knox messaged me."

"Why you?"

"We know each other."

"Friends?"

Rowan's mouth twisted.

"Not exactly."

"Enemies?"

"Closer."

I stared at him.

He sighed.

"Our families move in the same circles."

"And he offered you his girlfriend?"

"He posted that stupid transfer thread first. I messaged him because I thought he was being disgusting."

My brows lifted.

"You were the person who DMed him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"At first? I wanted to figure out who you were and warn you."

"Instead you started dating me."

He winced.

"That part got complicated."

"How complicated can pretending to be someone's boyfriend be?"

"Very, apparently."

Despite myself, I almost smiled again.

Rowan continued, "Knox gave me the login information for the new account. He told me what games you played, what you liked, and enough details to make the switch believable."

"And you thought this was normal?"

"No."

His voice became quieter.

"The first night I logged in, I planned to tell you everything."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because you messaged first."

I remembered that night.

I had been miserable after Knox tried breaking up with me.

The new account had appeared online.

I had sent a long message apologizing for being clingy.

Rowan looked down at his hands.

"You said you were sorry for making him tired of you. You said you'd try harder to be someone he could love."

Embarrassment burned across my face.

"Forget that."

"I can't."

His expression was unusually serious.

"You sounded like you genuinely believed you had done something wrong."

His jaw tightened.

"I hated him for making you feel that way."

"So you lied instead?"

"Yes."

He didn't defend himself.

"I told myself I'd comfort you for one night and explain everything the next morning."

"And?"

"The next morning you sent me a picture of your breakfast and complained that your oatmeal tasted like cardboard."

I blinked.

"You remembered that?"

"You added twelve crying emojis."

"It was terrible oatmeal."

"I know. You complained for twenty minutes."

A laugh escaped him.

Then his gaze softened.

"One day became two. Two became a week. Somewhere along the way, I stopped logging in because of Knox."

He looked directly at me.

"I logged in because I wanted to talk to you."

My fingers tightened around the thermal bottle.

"You knew I was fat."

"Yes."

"Before I sent that photo?"

"Yes."

"And it didn't bother you?"

His brows drew together.

"Why would it?"

The answer came so naturally that I couldn't speak.

Rowan leaned slightly closer.

"Nessa, I didn't fall for a photograph."

"You barely knew me."

"Three months of hearing you complain about professors, games, your parents, bad coffee, training injuries, romance novels, and Tessa's terrible driving feels like knowing you pretty well."

"Tessa isn't that bad."

"You told me she reversed into the same mailbox twice."

"The mailbox was badly positioned."

Rowan laughed.

I stared at him.

Something uncomfortable settled inside my chest.

Not discomfort exactly.

Warmth.

The tenderness I had thought belonged to Knox had actually belonged to Rowan.

Every late-night call.

Every message.

Every surprise.

Every time someone had made me feel safe during the last three months.

It had been him.

The SUV stopped outside a hotel near Hollowcrest.

Rowan stepped out first and opened my door.

Before I could leave, I caught his sleeve.

"One more question."

He immediately looked down at me.

"Anything."

"Why did you agree to meet me?"

His expression softened.

"Because I was going to tell you the truth."

"Only that?"

He hesitated.

Then smiled faintly.

"And because I wanted to know whether the girl I'd fallen for online would like me in person."

My heart skipped.

"You fell for me?"

"Long before today."

The mate bond hummed warmly between us.

I released his sleeve quickly.

"Don't get excited. I'm still angry."

"You can be angry as long as you want."

He retrieved my suitcase.

"I'll wait."

As he walked toward the hotel entrance, my phone vibrated.

A notification from the freshman channel appeared.

Knox had posted another picture with Elodie.

Underneath it, he had written:

[Tomorrow's freshman party. Bringing my beautiful girlfriend. Some people should probably stay home if they don't want to embarrass themselves.]

My eyes narrowed.

Rowan noticed.

"What's wrong?"

I turned the screen toward him.

His expression went cold.

"Want me to handle him?"

"No."

I locked my phone.

"I'm going to the party."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"Why?"

Rowan's lips curved.

"Because apparently someone needs to introduce your ex-boyfriend to the consequences of his own stupidity."