as his lips hit mine, I felt some sort of shift taking place.
It was hard to explain at first, but I just knew that something was changing.
Suddenly, I could no longer feel my other mates anymore… not the way that I had felt them before, anyway. I just knew that I was no longer connected to them.
Another realization that hit me was that I was no longer Alpha of Darken.
Before I even had time to fully process what was happening, I could feel myself growing lightheaded.
Oh no. I was about to faint, and I knew exactly what that meant.
Kane was my fifth mate.
And that wasn’t all. The reason I was no longer Alpha was because he was.
As my eyes were about to flutter shut, I realized something else, too.
Kane was more than just Alpha of the Darken pack.
A powerful energy, a different vibration, had filled the air around me. I could feel it deep in my gut; it was a feeling I couldn’t shake.
Everything had shifted, and it was all because I had kissed him. Something in the universe had completely shifted when our lips had met for the first time.
I didn’t know how or why, but somehow, I just knew. Kane was the third missing piece of the puzzle Milos and Iris had been trying to complete all summer.
He was the third part of the Triangle.
There was a knock on my bedroom door then, which brought me back to reality.
I glanced up to find Theo standing in my doorway.
His light blue eyes locked on mine. “Are you okay? Your heart is beating like a hummingbird right now.”
I swallowed hard. I tried to hide the emotions that were flowing through me from him, but I knew it was no use. The look in his eyes told me he could feel everything I was feeling.
“I’m okay. I was just remembering things that happened over the summer,” I explained to him.
“I see.” He stared at me, a look of worry in his eyes. “Do you want to talk to about it?”
I shook my head.
“What triggered the memory?” Theo asked.
“They come and go. I guess that’s to be expected with PTSD. I’ve been having memories more overall, ever since Iris came by.” I swallowed hard. Even though I didn’t want to talk about it, I knew that I couldn’t keep this information to myself. “But this time, it was because Kane called.”
“Yeah?” Theo asked.
I nodded. “He calls sometimes, but this time was different.”
“Different how?”
“He left a voicemail this time. He wants me to call him back. It’s the first time he’s left a voicemail since he dropped me off here.” That had been in July. He had dropped me off at the Darken house with the promise that I would see him again really soon. It was December now. Not only hadn’t I seen him yet, but it was also the first time I had even heard his voice since July.
Even though he may have been there at two critical moments of my lifetime, both times when I needed someone the most, he didn’t seem to be the most reliable. It was sort of disappointing.
“I see.” Theo sat down on the bed next to me. “Well, are you going to call him back?”
“I’m not sure.” Every part of my being knew that calling him back was a risk. I had been avoiding him for so long now, and he knew it.
But I also couldn’t ignore the fact that I owed him. Or that my heart actually wanted to call him back, that I actually longed to hear my mate’s voice. Because even though I was well aware that Kane wasn’t good for me or for the pack—or for the entire world, for that matter—I also couldn’t ignore the fact that a part of me actually cared about him.
Every hour of every day that had passed since the last time I had seen Kane, it felt like my body was experiencing withdrawals from him.
“I would really prefer if you didn’t call him,” Theo said finally, interrupting the awkward silence that hung in the air between us.
“Yeah, I know how you feel about him,” I replied quietly.
“It’s more than just the way I feel about him, Raven. I’m afraid that he’ll try to hurt you.”
“He won’t hurt me,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m his mate, Theo. Remember? It’s painful for us to lose our mates. You said so yourself.”
“Yeah, I know, but do you think Kane cares? He’s merciless, Raven. The guy faked his