Episode 2

Kael

My heart beats like a war drum. My breath is heavy, my muscles tense. Instinct, that damn instinct... it roars inside me. But I'm not alone in this.

I glance to the side. Dylan is also still, eyes fixed in the same direction as mine. His jaw clenched, his fists tight. He feels it too.

"A mate..." we whisper at the same time. The word comes out raw, ancestral. It's a recognition stronger than reason. Almost sacred.

The girl with broken eyes and a fractured soul turns a corner with the slow-moving lady. The warmth emanating from her still vibrates in me.

At that moment, some random kid passes by us. Skinny, crooked glasses, backpack slung over one shoulder. And I act.

Before logic can speak louder, I grab the kid by the collar. He widens his eyes and lets out a muffled sound of terror. His smell is pure fear.

"Kael," Dylan growls beside me, his voice low, firm. "What do you think you're doing?"

I ignore him.

My head turns towards the corner where the girl is almost disappearing. I point with my chin.

"That one. Who is she? Speak."

The boy blinks, swallows hard. His glasses almost fall off.

"T-that... is Maria, sir. But I don't know her well... just by sight."

Dylan moves slightly, a step forward. Smooth, elegant, but the tension is visible in his expression, as he asks:

"How do you not know her? You seem to be the same age. Doesn't she study with you?"

The boy shakes his head, his collar still caught in my hand.

"We do, but... she never studied at school with us. Almost no one knows anything about her. Only that she's the mayor's daughter. And..."

He hesitates. He's sweating. His eyes beg me to let go.

"And...?" I encourage, with a slight tightening of my fingers.

"And... some people say that she isn't even human. That her parents hide her because she is... different. Some say they've heard screams in her house. But nobody knows if it's true. Just rumors... just rumors."

I release him slowly. The boy staggers a little, adjusts his shirt, without looking into our eyes.

"I need to go," he says quickly, almost tripping over his own feet as he walks away. "If I miss the first class, my father will kill me..."

And there he goes. Running, looking back, as if he had crossed the path of two predators. And he actually did.

But I don't see him anymore. All that remains is a name burning in the back of my mind, engraved with blood and instinct:

Maria.

Then, after this strange and powerful moment – as if the world had stopped for a second – we both get back in the car. The silence between me and Dylan is dense, almost electric.

I can still feel her trail in the air... as if her presence had marked the ground where she passed.

I close the door with a dry click, and even before the engine roars, my brother, with his eyes fixed on the horizon, lets the words escape:

"She's mine, Kael."

It's not a doubt. It's a statement. A warning.

I slowly turn my face to him. The weight of his words draws a crooked, slow smile from me. I lean my body slightly towards him and let my voice come out hoarse, full of certainty:

"Yours? Ah, dear brother... She is mine."

My eyes get lost for a second on the sidewalk where she disappeared. The echo of her name still hammers in my mind.

"The connection happened the moment my eyes met hers. It was like... ancient fire rekindling. And you can bet, Dylan – I'm not going to give up."

He laughs. A dry, sharp laugh, full of that typical arrogance of his, as if he knew exactly the game that is starting. He pulls away with the car firmly and throws:

"I know you won't give up. But neither will I. So... we share the same mate, brother."

The words hover in the air between us. They are dangerous. They carry omens.

I let out a long sigh, running my hand through my hair, trying to calm the turmoil inside me. The desire. The call of instinct. But also... the warning.

"You are not a problem, Dylan," I say, seriously. "The problem... The real problem I felt when I looked at that man standing across the street. The way he looked at her... Cold, suffocating, as if he were a jailer. Could he be that mayor? Her father?"

Dylan keeps his eyes on the road, but his jaw tightens. The sunlight floods the car through the windows, gilding the dashboard and painting shadows on the edges of his face.

"I don't know," he replies, his voice low. "But if he is, we'll find out soon. The mayor of this little town confirmed his presence at the opening of our workshop tonight."

I nod in silence. The engine purrs, and the road ahead seems to open up. Tonight... the eyes of the city will be on us. But my eyes... will be on her.

The silence that arises inside the car is almost meditative, as if we were both digesting the impact of Maria. Her scent still seems impregnated in the air. But then, as always, Dylan is the first to break the mood:

"Just don't get ahead of yourself, Kael."

His voice comes firm, low, but full of concern. I turn to him with a raised eyebrow, but let him continue:

"You are impulsive. You always have been. And you know we need to keep our true identity hidden. Our father gave us carte blanche to explore this territory, but without causing a stir. And another... –" he pauses briefly, as if weighing the weight of what he's going to say. "I don't mind sharing the same mate with you. Of course... that is, if she accepts us."

He lets out a light sigh and continues, now with his eyes fixed on the path ahead:

"But keep your head in place. We need to better understand this city before any move. Maria may have been a shock to us, but... this whole place exudes something strange. There's tension in the air. And you felt it too. I know you felt it."

I smile slowly, almost savoring his concern. I stretch my legs in the car's space, relaxing, and put on my sunglasses before responding with a light mockery in my voice:

"Relax, Dylan. You think I'm stupid, don't you? And... speaking of father, you're starting to talk just like him. Maybe it's the age."

He rolls his eyes with a half smile and brakes smoothly at the red light, the sun painting orange reflections on his impeccable suit.

"Well..." he says, briefly. "The way you grabbed that skinny kid in the middle of the street didn't seem very 'smart'."

I take one of my hands to the nape of my neck, scratching lightly as if I were thinking, and give a slight smile from the corner of my mouth, mischievous:

"Oh, please... I was just collecting information about the territory there. You yourself said: we need to know the place. I was doing what any good exploring wolf would do. And, let's face it, it worked. Now we know who the girl is, and that nobody knows almost anything about her."

Dylan shakes his head, fighting against a smile. But I don't stop:

"And about her accepting us... Well, there I agree with you in part."

I turn slightly in his direction, lowering my sunglasses to the tip of my nose, letting him see my direct, confident look.

"It's easier for her to reject you than me. After all, let's be honest... I'm more handsome. More stylish too. We have to recognize the facts, brother."

Dylan lets out a dry laugh, stomping on the accelerator when the light opens. The city passes us by like a blur, but something changes. Something vibrates in the air.

He then stares at me out of the corner of his eye, with that challenging smile on his face:

"Let's see then, Kael. Let's see which wolf she will choose first."

And I just think: Maria... you don't even imagine what awaits you.

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