Shane watched the duo in front of him spring apart at his voice and grinned.

He had walked in on them holding hands, and if there was one thing Shane loved, it was drama. 

This… this was going to be good. 

He could already imagine his soon-to-be alpha tangled up with a human girl. Whether she was Derek’s mate or just someone who’d caught his attention didn’t matter—it was entertainment.

Derek never looked at a girl twice. Not once. Which meant this was bound to be interesting.

Shane chuckled again, replaying the moments in his head: Emma flipping Derek flat on his back, Clem brushing her cheek, Derek’s expression when he saw it. And now? Both Derek and Emma were scratching their necks like awkward teenagers. Too sweet.

Derek cursed silently. Shane was his gamma, and a terrible teaser at that. If he’d noticed anything, Derek would never hear the end of it back home.

He forced his gaze elsewhere, only to find Emma pretending the ceiling was the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen. If he hadn’t been holding her just moments ago, feeling her scent burn through him, he might have believed her act. But he knew better. And that knowledge tugged at him in ways he hated.

No girl had ever caught his fancy. Not the ones who fawned over him, not the ones his father paraded before him as potential mates. He had only ever bothered with shallow flings. Yet here was this human girl—this stubborn, reckless, infuriating human girl—and Maru was already calling her mate.

Derek clenched his jaw. His father would never approve. Not with the White-Wind pack breathing down their necks. A human Luna would be weakness, not strength. 

Still, as his thoughts wandered, as he looked past her, his lips moved unconsciously, and Emma caught herself staring.

She wished she could hear what he was muttering. The shape of his mouth, the pull of it, stirred something in her she didn’t understand. For one insane heartbeat, she wanted to taste it.

“No, no,” Emma muttered under her breath, snapping her gaze away. He was a jerk. There was no way.

But her eyes betrayed her, flicking back to his lips again—and that was when his eyes caught hers. She darted her gaze away, cheeks heating. Damn those eyes. Deep blue, endless. Too dangerous.

And of course, Shane was still watching, still chuckling. Perfect. Just perfect.

“Derek, what are you saying? Should we start up?” Shane asked innocently, though his grin said otherwise.

“Yeah. There’s a lot to be done,” Derek replied curtly.

Emma, hovering on the sidelines, wondered what her role would be. She wasn’t exactly skilled in housecleaning. The thought made her uneasy, but Derek cut it short.

“Emma,” he said, and her name on his lips was warmer than she expected, “why don’t you take a stroll? Get to know the place. Maybe grab us something to eat—if you’re not cold-hearted.” His smirk was pure taunt.

Emma bit back the sarcastic reply sitting on her tongue. For some reason, the sound of her name softened her. So instead, she just nodded.

That caught him off guard. His eyes widened slightly, his brows knitting. For once, Derek looked unbalanced. Emma smiled at that, just a little, savoring the victory.

Skipping around the broken plates, she slipped out of the kitchen, knowing full well both pairs of eyes followed her. The awareness made her nerves tingle, and she stumbled slightly as she moved toward the master bedroom for her purse.

Along the way, she greeted the new arrivals with polite nods. Their stares clung to her—curious, measuring. The same look she’d seen earlier on Clem. The same look, she realized, Derek had given her too.

Why? she wondered. They were all handsome, in their different ways. But none as devastating as—

“No, no,” she muttered, pressing a hand to her forehead. Don’t even think about him. He’s the enemy.

Her mind didn’t listen. It whispered back his lips, his voice, the strength of his arms. She cut it off before it spiraled.

—

As soon as Emma left, Shane tilted his head toward Derek. “The human girl’s something else. Beautiful. Unpredictable. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Derek muttered, distracted. He’d expected her to snap at him when he called her cold-hearted. But she hadn’t. She’d simply agreed. And that, strangely, had unsettled him more than any comeback could.

“She’s intriguing too,” Shane pressed, eyes twinkling. “Don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Derek said again, clipped, but it was enough.

Shane leaned in, more serious now. “Do you think she’s a spy? You know this area’s reserved. If your father finds out…”

Derek’s jaw tightened. Shane was right—it would be a problem. His father’s questions would shred Emma apart. And strangely, Derek didn’t want her under that kind of scrutiny. He didn’t want her touched.

That’s because she’s our mate, Maru growled inside him.

I don’t know that, Derek shot back inwardly. Not yet. Not until my ceremony.

But I know it, Maru insisted. Would you really wait a month? What if someone else claims her first? Another human?

The thought was enough to rip a growl out of Derek’s throat before he could stop it.

“Hey, what’s with the growling?” Shane asked, stepping closer.

“Nothing. Just… a thought,” Derek said quickly, shaking it off.

Shane smirked. “You thought of her and Clem, didn’t you?”

Derek’s eyes flashed. “Clem wouldn’t dare.”

Shane chuckled knowingly. “So you do like her.”

“Yes, I—” Derek stopped himself, glaring. But it was too late. Shane was already walking out of the kitchen, laughing his head off.

Derek scrubbed his hands through his hair, pacing. His chest burned with frustration. With longing. With something he didn’t want to name.

“Traitor heart,” he muttered bitterly, knowing the truth anyway. The new girl had already found her way in.