Chapter 2 Yes to Forbidden

Alicia's POV

The next week passed in a blur of stolen moments and secret meetings. Every sunset became our signal. Every whisper of the wind against my window meant one thing— him. Every night, I snuck out to meet Ray at the cabin. Every morning, I snuck back home before dawn, exhausted but exhilarated.

We were playing with fire, and we both knew it. But neither of us could stop.

"You're glowing," Mia observed during training. "Seriously, you look happy. Happier than I've ever seen you."

I ducked my head, focusing on wrapping my hands. "Just been sleeping better."

"Bullshit. You're seeing someone." She lowered her voice. "Is it serious?"

Serious? Ray and I hadn't defined what we were doing. We just knew we couldn't stay away from each other. Every night was a dance between sin and salvation. Some nights we talked till dawn, we let silence speak through touch. He told me about the pressure of becoming Alpha, about losing his father last year. I told him about my fears of never being good enough, of failing my pack.

We shared everything except a future.

"It's complicated," I finally said.

"Complicated how? Is he mated? Married?"

"No, nothing like that." I finished wrapping my hands and stood. "Can we just drop it?"

Mia looked hurt. "We've been best friends since we were five, Ali. Since when do you keep secrets from me?"

Her words hit harder than I expected. Mia had always been my voice of reason. She was the one person who could talk me down when my heart ran wild. But this time, even she couldn’t reach me.

Since falling for my pack's enemy, I thought. But I couldn't tell her that. Mia was loyal to the pack above all else. She'd feel obligated to tell someone.

"I promise, when I can talk about it, you'll be the first to know," I said.

She didn't look happy, but she nodded. "Fine. But whoever he is better be worth all this secrecy."

He was. God help me, Ray was worth everything.

That night, I arrived at the cabin to find Ray pacing the porch, his whole body radiating tension.

"What's wrong?" I asked, fear gripping me. His wolf was restless, I could feel it from the way the air crackled between us. “Has someone found out?

He pulled me into his arms immediately, burying his face in my hair. "Nothing. Everything. I just needed to hold you."

"Ray, you're scaring me."

He pulled back, cupping my face in his hands. "The council moved up my Alpha ceremony. It's next month instead of three."

My heart sank. Once he was officially Alpha, everything would change. The casual meetings between packs would stop. He'd be expected to mate, to produce heirs. And the territory dispute would move forward.

"That's... that's good, right? It's what you've been working toward."

"Is it?" His eyes searched mine. "Because right now, all I can think about is how becoming Alpha means losing you."

"You won't lose me," I said, even though I wasn't sure it was a promise I could keep.

"Won't I? Once I challenge for the eastern territory, your father will never let you near me. And my pack..." He stepped back, running his hand through his hair. "They're already talking about potential mates for me. Strong she-wolves who can give the pack strong heirs."

Jealousy stabbed through me like claws to the chest. "And what do you tell them?"

"Nothing. I change the subject. But I can't do that forever." He looked at me with such pain in his eyes. "I don't want any of them, Alicia. I only want you."

"Then we'll figure it out," I said, moving into his arms. "After your ceremony, after things settle."

"It won't settle. It'll get worse." He held me tighter. "I've been thinking about it all day. There's only one way this works."

"What do you mean?"

He pulled back, dropping to one knee so suddenly I gasped. "Be my mate, Alicia."

"What?" I stared down at him in shock. "Ray, we can't."

"We can. Tonight. Right now. If we mate before my ceremony, no one can contest it. Mating bonds are sacred, even between rival packs."

"My father will disown me. Your pack will revolt."

"Maybe. Or maybe it will force a peace between our packs." He gripped my hands. "I know it's crazy. I know it's fast. But I also know that you're my mate, Alicia. My wolf has known since the first time I saw you. Haven't you felt it too?"

I had. Every time he touched me, my wolf sang. Every time we were apart, she whined. It was the mate bond, trying to form despite everything keeping us apart.

"This could destroy everything," I whispered.

"Or save it." He stood, pulling me against him. "I'm going to be Alpha. You're going to be Beta. Together, we could unite our packs. End this rivalry. Build something better."

"That's a pretty dream."

"Then let me make it reality." His hand went to the marking spot on my neck, and I shuddered. "Let me claim you, Alicia. Be mine completely."

I should have said no. Should have thought about the consequences, the fallout, the impossibility of it all.

Instead, I said, "Yes."

His eyes flashed gold, his wolf rising to the surface. "Say it again."

"Yes, Ray. Make me yours."

He lifted me, carrying me into the cabin with inhuman speed. This time when he laid me on the blanket, there was no rush, or secrecy between us. Just a silent reverence that felt like destiny holding its breath.

"Once we do this, there's no going back," he warned, even as his hands worked to remove my clothes.

"I don't want to go back." I pulled him down for a kiss. "I want you. Forever."

What followed was different from our previous nights together.

My breath caught when he brushed the hair away from my ear, that is what his touch does to me. Leave me breathless

His eyes, which were usually fierce, were not soft, like they worshiped me. He watched me as though I were the only miracle in the world.

His lips traced the sensitive curve under my jaw before settling on the pulse point. When he finally positioned himself, his canines extended, catching the light like tiny, deadly petals. I felt a swell of absolute trust and consuming love; I didn't think twice, I bent my head to him, exposing my neck to him in a willing and breathless offering.

"Mine," he growled.

"Yours," I agreed.

The bite was pain and pleasure combined, marking me as his for all to see. I felt the bond snap into place, a golden thread connecting our souls. My own canines extended, and I returned the mark, claiming him as he'd claimed me.

We were mates. Bonded. Inseparable.

We spent the rest of the night learning this new connection, feeling each other's emotions, sharing thoughts. It was overwhelming and perfect and terrifying.

"What do we do now?" I asked as dawn approached.

"We face them together," Ray said, pressing a kiss to my new mark. "Today, we tell them everything."

But as I drove home, I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Nothing ever was. The bite on my neck throbbed, impossible to hide. By tonight, everyone would know what I'd done.

I had crossed the line that could never be crossed.

I'd mated the enemy. And there would be hell to pay.