As Kai busied himself with preparing breakfast, his mind refused to stay in the present. His hands moved on autopilot, cracking eggs and mixing batter, but his thoughts kept circling back to earlier that morning.
The moment he opened his eyes, he found Cassie staring at him, a faint hint of purple ringed her silver irises. Something electric surged through him and settled like heat in his chest.
He didn't remember much about the day his maternal grandfather, Jarek Therion, brought them both into the human realm…
But he remembered the first time he noticed her…he was ten and she was nine…
The orphanage next door had a small yard, fenced in with rusted iron rails, and he used to watch from the hotel window while doing his homework. Most of the kids blurred together: running, laughing, chasing old soccer balls across patchy grass.
But not her.
She was always alone.
She stood out from the beginning.
It wasn't just the black hair that framed her pale, almost porcelain face. It was her eyes…silver, just like his own hair.
At school, he was popular because of it, and always seeing her alone made him wonder if her reality was the opposite of his.
Kai had always wanted to meet her, but since he couldn't, he settled for catching glimpses of her from his bedroom window.
So when Jarek pulled some strings and got her a full scholarship at the college he was attending, Kai had been over the moon. And when asked to keep an eye on her, saying she might be in danger, Kai didn't hesitate.
The plan had been simple: watch from a distance, stay out of sight.
But that changed the moment he saw her roommates throwing her out, calling her a silver-eyed freak.
Before he could stop himself, he was stepping in, offering her a room at Jarek's hotel.
Over the years, they became close. Cassie was kind, thoughtful, always putting others before herself.
He'd wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but not wanting to risk their friendship stopped him.
Until this morning.
Because today, there was something new in her scent. A magnetic blend of jasmine and amber that curled around him, sinking into his lungs.
And for the first time, he didn't want to keep his distance anymore. He felt as though a light switch had been turned on inside of him.
And a new feeling emerged: possession
The simple attraction he'd felt for her morphed into pure, raw desire. And, if he wasn't mistaken he had seen the same fire dance in her eyes.
But something else had struck him…something stranger. As he zeroed in on her heartbeat, it multiplied. One rhythm became seven.
Impossible.
Werewolf hearts didn't do that. And to his knowledge that was what he knew Cassie to be. A werewolf. Since Jarek was her steward.
But what if she wasn't?
Even in the oldest werewolf legends, nothing like having seven hearts ever existed.
If she wasn't a werewolf, then what was she?
Last night's chaos surged back, ripping his focus away.
Shoving everything down, except his need to know if she felt okay, he refocused on her. But, her silence said it all, she was holding something back.
She always told the truth, and that was something he admired. But at times she went quiet to protect his feelings or how he may perceive her if she said the wrong thing.
Not only that, she hadn't remembered anything. For that he felt relieved.
When she mentioned the Primordia Moon, it shook him. He had never told her about it. When she said he had, he could only assume her wolf had awakened. And in the confusion, it had spoken to her, something Cassie wouldn't recognize for what it was.
Luckily, even in the human realm, Jarek had never hidden their heritage from him. The Primordia Moon was legendary, its halo of fire and ancient symbols a sign only the Ancients and the chosen bearer could see. It was said to force ancestral power to the surface.
And now Cassie had seen it.
Jarek once told him that a Primordia Moon always marked a major shift across the Seven Realms. And he knew without a doubt the shift had begun with Cassie.
Kai was grateful Jarek had enchanted the top two floors of the hotel. No sound entered or left those floors, and they were reserved for werewolves visiting the human realm, whether on business or just passing through.
But even in the safety of that silence, hearing Cassie scream as her bones twisted and shifted under her skin, begging him to stop the pain had torn him apart inside.
"W-what's happening to me," she choked out, her tears streaming down her face."Make it stop...please…"
All he could do was stay by her side, cooling her burning skin with a damp cloth, whispering reassurances, until her cries faded and she finally drifted off to sleep.
Only after she'd fallen asleep did the guilt creep in. What if he was the reason she couldn't shift?
Then, his thoughts turned inward.
Maybe that was why his wolf hadn't emerged yet.
He was an anomaly. An omen unto himself.
Kai was the first werewolf ever born with moonlight silver hair.
That wasn't the only thing that baffled the healers. The sigil pressed to his skin refused to mark him. His parents were happy, ecstatic even. They thought he was chosen, blessed.
But then came the plagues: stillbirths, infertility, sudden deaths. And worst of all, the strongest wolves in their bloodline were unable to shift beneath the full moon.
Fear began to rise and superstition became consensus. The pack leaders stated that Kai was the root of the rot.
By the time Kai turned one, the elders of his father's bloodline held a secret meeting. Jarek had found out about it and refused to leave. They believed he was cursed. That destroying him was the only way to lift the plagues haunting their pack.
But Jarek refused to accept that the Ancients would bestow a rare gift only to demand the child's death.
"If he's truly a danger," Jarek said, "I'll take him to the human realm. If nothing changes there, then we'll revisit this."
The moment Kai left the pack, prosperity returned. Sadly, he never heard from his parents again.
Jarek had saved his life. For that, Kai would do anything for him, no questions asked. He was more than family; he was Kai's other best friend.
Kai considered calling him while he made breakfast, wanting to talk about Cassie, about what he felt, what was changing. But the chaos of last night and this morning left him too shaken to form the words.
Especially after that kiss to Cassie's forehead. His lips on her skin...
His heart skipped a beat.
Hell! He wanted to pull her in his arms, press his lips against hers and kiss the hell out of her. It had taken every ounce of restraint to let her go and walk away.
Suddenly, anxiety rippled through him, as he poured the pancake batter into the pan. But, he chalked it up to emotional exhaustion.
So, he took a deep breath trying to shove it to the side. But, the anxiety became impossible to ignore. Feeling the urge to check in on Cassie, he shut off the stove and hurried to her room.
The bed was empty.
"Cassie?" He walked further into the room and knocked on the bathroom door.
No answer.
He opened it.
Nothing.
Her scent clung to the air, drifting toward the open window. His stomach dropped. He rushed over and looked down, praying he wouldn't see her sprawled on the pavement.
She wasn't there.
His pulse spiked. There was no fire escape outside her room, only one by the living room.
Kai ran a hand through his hair, trying to steady his breath.
How the hell did she get out the window?
And where the hell had she gone?
Then it hit him.
What if a vision came to her after he left, and she went looking for answers on her own?
Something had changed in her. Something strong enough to let her climb down from the sixth floor without a scratch. Something with wings, claws or super speed.
Whatever had happened, there was no way he was letting her face it alone.
Without hesitation, Kai bolted from the apartment.