Seth's POV
I already knew Duncan and Samantha would dress Kyle in our clan's traditional attire for the celebration.
What I didn't expect was that Duncan would deliberately put him in the female version.
You heard me right. That outfit… it left almost his entire back bare to the air.
When they pushed him beside me and pulled him into the dance, I barely got a glance. All I could do was hold his hand, dance, and force myself to stay calm.
But when the dance ended and the crowd thinned, I finally saw him turn around.
My breath caught—completely stopped.
His pale, nearly glowing back shimmered softly in the firelight. Just a few chains hung down his back, the sacred Red Moon clan symbols resting low on his slender, toned waist.
In that moment, my throat went dry, and my heart skipped a beat.
I'd seen his body before—after all, I'd cleaned his wounds with my own hands when he was badly hurt that day.
But now... seeing our clan emblem draped across his back, our sun-shaped pentagram resting on his tailbone, something wild and possessive exploded inside me.
He was already one of us. In a way, he was mine.
I was his Alpha.
But I didn't want to be just his clan leader...
I wanted to be his only.
What made it worse was that dress wasn't even made for him. Kyle's waist was so much smaller than ours. The belt hung loose around his hips, and with every step, the skirt threatened to slip off, revealing his curves in a way that made me crazy.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Please, brother, don't betray me now.
Suddenly, a hand clapped my shoulder, making me jump. I opened my eyes and turned to see Benny smiling at me.
"So, you gonna settle down this time, brother?" He glanced toward where Kyle had gone, then back at me with a grin.
I blinked. "What?"
"I mean... when are you going to mate?"
My mind blanked.
Before I could answer, Benny rolled his eyes. "Man, look at the way you're looking at him—you'd probably carry him back to the den right now if you could. When was the last time you looked at an Omega like that? You're this close to offering him a wild deer as a gift."
I stared at him, speechless.
"So, you're already planning this?" he asked, leaning in.
I said nothing but nodded.
Benny laughed loudly and punched my arm. "Good luck, brother. You two flirting all day makes me sick. Just get him in bed, make it official, and maybe have a litter of pups. I'm waiting for your mate-fire ceremony."
He left, and I stood frozen, feeling an impatient thrill surge through me.
A few days later, before dawn, I slipped out of Kyle's cabin.
Today, my courtship begins.
Transforming into my wolf form, I raced into the forest in search of a prize.
To express your feelings in our clan, you must hunt a live deer and present it to the one you desire.
Minutes later, I clamped my jaws around the throat of my target and broke it. Carrying it on my shoulder, blood dripping down my arm, I felt the weight but my heart burned brighter than ever.
Shifting back to human, pants stained with blood, I smiled as I walked back to the village.
—Toward Kyle's cabin.
I heard movement inside.
Kyle was awake.
He opened the door, looking half asleep, hair tousled on his forehead, eyes still foggy.
When he saw the deer on my shoulder—and the clan members behind me—his expression shifted from confusion to shock, then to full awareness.
He stared at me, then down at the bleeding deer.
In his eyes, I caught a flicker of panic and shyness.
I knew he probably didn't understand what this meant yet.
But that was okay.
I would teach him—step by step.
Teach him what it means to be pursued by an Alpha.
Teach him what it means to belong to me.
Kyle's POV
I grew up in the city, and Ivanka worked hard to make me into a poised, elegant Omega. I'd never seen an animal slaughtered before.
Though Seth hadn't done it in front of me, I knew he must have snapped the deer's neck when he shifted into his wolf form.
The blood-soaked scene made it impossible to imagine the act itself. Just watching the red stains made my head spin and my legs tremble.
Seth didn't seem to notice my discomfort. He smiled like a child, flushed with excitement, eyes filled with hope and a hint of nervousness.
The clan members behind him shouted something—probably urging me to "accept him"—but I couldn't focus on their words.
The stench of blood was suffocating, and the world around me blurred.
The next moment—I saw nothing.
I fainted.