My motorcycle trembled between my legs as I cranked the throttle and tore out of Wolfheart and into the forest-covered mountains that surrounded the city. I felt like I was barely holding on. My mind was twisting, everything churning around like it was caught in a storm of confused emotion. Perry had just walked back into my life, as naturally as if he hadn’t been gone for thirteen years.

What the hell was he doing, coming and seeing me after all this time?

Memories flashed through my head, ones that I’d fought to forget. Memories of days spent in each other’s arms, convincing myself that everything would somehow work out in our favor, and love would win, and Perry wouldn’t actually have to leave Wolfheart to get married to a man who wasn’t me. I was young and naïve then. Just a dumb kid who’d fallen head over paws in love with his best friend.

Why’d he have to come and find me?

Shit. Why the hell was I crying?

I flipped up the visor of my helmet to let the wind dry the few tears that collected at the corners of my eyes, and pulled my bike off the highway and into the trees past a rusted sign that read “Golden Forest Proving Grounds.” Our spot.

The old racetrack was once where all the wolf-cycle races in Wolfheart were held, but was closed several decades ago when the White Tree Clan sponsored the construction of a new track to be built in the heart of the city, using new standards and obstacles which brought Wolfheart into the competitive circuit. Until that time, Elclaw had been the capital of wolf-cycle racing, and all the best riders were from there. My bike had been designed there. Even though the Golden Forest track was no longer used for competition and was technically closed to the public, riders continued to bring their bikes there to practice for the real deal. Perry and I’d used to go there all the time. I would do practice runs, he’d give me feedback and help tune the bike, and we’d spend hours just sitting up on top of the old commentator’s box, watching other racers run the old track.

It was also the only place we could go to get away from the reality of our situation—we were in a love that wasn’t meant to be. We could be together there, away from the prying eyes of Perry’s parents.

I hadn’t been back to the Golden Forest Proving Grounds since the day he’d left me. In a way, maybe that was what’d rocketed me forward as a racer. I’d been forced to spend my time at the White Tree track, riding alongside the pros and tackling a true wolf-cycle obstacle course.

It was already approaching early evening and the grounds were quiet. The rumble of my bike’s engine echoed across the abandoned lot as I pulled in, kicking up a flutter of fallen leaves in my wake. There was a single car parked in the middle of the gigantic lot, and I left my bike next to it. Without the stadium lights to illuminate the track, the place felt lonely and vast. The looming obstacles of the course were silhouetted against the pale evening sky, dark shapes like the geometry of an abstract painting. Up at the announcer’s box, I saw the sweep of a flashlight floating around like a firefly. I took a breath, straightened my shirt, and started the climb up the many stairs towards the box.

This was crazy. Meeting Perry here again was crazy. Maybe I’d gone crazy.

But no, as I climbed up the rusted access ladder and pulled myself onto the roof of the announcer’s box, he really was there. He sat on the edge looking out over the race track, his legs dangling over the side. The wind rustled his hair, carrying a swirl of leaves up from the ground into a vortex around him. As if sensing my presence, he looked back over his shoulder at me, brushing his blonde hair back from his forehead. In the fading light, he almost didn’t look real. Like he was a spirit, or something.

“Tell me what the hell is going on,” I said, not moving any closer. Everything I’d locked away was there, I could feel it smoldering on the edge of my mind, threatening to break free again, and I was afraid to get pulled back into the madness that was being so in love with someone who loved you back, but could never really be with you.

“I ran,” he said, his voice steady and clear.

“Why?”

“Because my husband is a cheating, manipulative, horrible pile of dog shit. Everything you knew he’d be. I couldn’t stand to have him near my little girl any longer.”

Little girl. Perry had a daughter.

“So I ran back to Wolfheart,” he went on. “I’d tried before, but he’d stopped me. Guilted me, threatened me, convinced me not to. Finally, I’d had enough and just left. I took Jupiter and came back. So, here I am. Here for now. Until my dog shit husband comes around to ‘claim his omega’ and haul Jupiter and me back to Elclaw.”

Perry’s expression was steeled and calm, but I could hear the emotion burning in his voice.

“Hounds of Hell,” I muttered. It hurt to hear this from him. I’d wanted to believe that all this time, Perry had been living happily in Elclaw and that my intuition about his then fiancé had been off the mark. Thirteen years. He’d been going through this for that long? I felt a flame of anger flickering up in my heart, both because he’d been hurt and because I hadn’t been able to do anything to help him. I was a Luna, a member of the Crescent Moon Clan, one of the most powerful in Wolfheart—and it hadn’t meant anything.

I went to him and without hesitation, wrapped my arms around him. I could feel him trembling softly as he relaxed against my body. I hugged him tighter, silently willing his pain away. “I’m sorry, Perry,” I said, and I felt his arms slowly wrap around me. His warm and familiar scent instantly transported me back in time. I felt like I was thirteen years younger. I closed my eyes.

“Fate is either kind or cruel,” he said, “for bringing me back to you.”

We sat down next to each other on the ledge of the announcer’s box and stared out across the race track.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here,” I said. “It doesn’t feel real.”

“I know,” he said, and sighed. “I hope you won’t be upset to hear that I hadn’t intended to come to Wolfheart to find you. It really was an act of fate. I’m not here with the expectation of anything from you. It just so happened that I went to the White Tree stadium while you were racing.”

“I’m not upset,” I said. “Can I be honest with you?”

“You know you can.”

“I’d almost forgotten you existed.”

He looked at me, but I saw no offense in his eyes. “Because anything else would’ve been too painful. I understand. I had to force myself to forget, too, in order for me to live a normal life.” Perry looked away and rubbed his hands anxiously in his lap.

“So… What are you going to do?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I have no idea. My dad has been unhelpful. He’s as spineless as ever.”

“I’m guessing your mom isn’t on your side either, huh?”

“Well,” he said, “No. She died four years ago.”

“Oh,” I said in a tone of surprise that might’ve sounded a bit too pleasant. “Sorry,” I added.

Perry smiled. “The world’s better off without her. Especially me and my brother.”

“Dimitrius,” I said, “My brother told me he’s studying at the Fighting Arts School.”

“A first year. He’s all fired up to become a master fighter,” Perry said.

“He was just a little kid the few times I met him. So… you have a kid, huh?”

“That’s right,” Perry said, a bright smile spreading across his lips. It was like his entire aura changed at that moment, and I saw a glimpse of a Perry that I had forgotten. “Jupiter. She’s my light, and the one single good thing that’s come from Gregor.”

“How old is she?”

“She’s three and a half.”

“She must be wonderful.”

He nodded. “She is. She’s a treasure.” Then that spark in his eyes faded, and I could see the conflict stirring there like a churning grey sea. A thought came to my mind that boiled my anger.

“Perry, he’s not harming you or Jupiter, is he? Has he raised a hand to you?”

“No,” he said. “He’d never do that. He’s not that much of a monster, thankfully. Just a man with total disregard for anyone but himself.”

“Alright,” I said. I didn’t know what I would’ve done if his answer had been different.

“I’m going to have to go back to him,” Perry said. “After all this, Jupiter and I will end up back there. I can deal with it, but I’m afraid for my daughter. She’s already growing up in such a terrible environment. The arguing is one thing, but there’s the gambling, the drinking, the whoring… He’s a wolf-cycle racer too, actually.” His smile was sad now. “I never in a million years would’ve thought I’d come to feel distaste for the sport, but… I hardly ever watch it these days. Yours was the first race I’d seen in years.”

“Hounds of Hell,” I muttered. “This all feels so familiar. It’s like… reliving those last few weeks we spent together before you were swept away.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, placing his hand on the back of mine. “I hate that I’m unloading all of this onto you, Arthur.” I felt a chill run up my arm, a shiver of excitement that had long been absent from my life. All the women I’d brought into my bed, and none of them could cause that reaction in me. “Being here with you like this, seeing you again… I feel comfortable. This is the first time I’ve felt this comfortable in years. Isn’t that weird?”

“No,” I said. “I know exactly what you mean.”

The last glimmer of sunlight cast deep purple hues across the sky. My heart ached as I remembered everything we’d shared, and all the memories I’d suppressed were fully released. It felt like I was remembering a whole ‘nother life that I’d lived. I guess it was. I was a different person then, and the man next to me was at the center of it. Amazing, how a month could feel like a lifetime, and yet not enough time when spent with someone you cared about so much.

“I’ve really missed you, Perry,” I said. It wasn’t so much a declaration as it was a realization, and I was surprised to hear the words as they escaped my mouth. “I didn’t even know how much.”

“Me too, Arthur,” he said. I looked at him, and in the dusk light his eyes seemed as deep as the sea. He gazed back at me.

Then, we were back thirteen years ago. Right here. This spot. Our first kiss. The first time we made love. Our goodbyes.

His hand snuck into mine, and our fingers intertwined. I leaned in, and he met me with his lips. His kiss sent lightning through me, waking up parts of my soul that I hadn’t even realized had gone dormant. I’d shut him out of my memories for thirteen years, along with this feeling. Hounds of Hell, I’d forgotten what it felt like. Love. I still loved him. It’d been there, locked away all this time, unavailable to anyone else except for the one man who had the key.

I slipped my hand around the back of his neck, drawing him closer to me. Our tongues met, teased and intertwined. I felt a life surge between my thighs that I hadn’t even realized I’d been missing.

“Damn,” I whispered.

“I think I’d forgotten how good a kiss could feel,” Perry murmured.

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and he rested his head on mine.

What was I going to do? After Perry had left Wolfheart, I’d spent so much time tearing myself up over what I could’ve done or should’ve done to help him, but in the end, none of it mattered because he was gone and I couldn’t change the past. Suddenly, unexpectedly, I had another chance.

But what could I really do?

And did I really want to get involved? I wasn’t the same person that I was back then. I’d gone my own path, just like Perry had gone his. I couldn’t chase a memory of what we had.

“It’s getting late,” Perry said. He stood up, and my hand slid away from his shoulder. “I should be getting home. My daughter is waiting for me.”

“You’re at your family estate?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

We climbed down from the roof of the building and made our way down the stadium stairs to the debris-covered tarmac. Grass and weeds were starting to poke through cracks in the asphalt, and birds hopped around picking at bugs in the overgrowth. Give another ten years, and our spot would probably be unrecognizable. As we walked out towards the parking lot, our hands hung by our sides, just a few inches apart. I wanted to reach out and take his hand, but I resisted. I wasn’t used to this nervous feeling. It was like I was eighteen again, full of butterflies.

I swung my leg over the seat of my motorcycle, my helmet squeezed underneath my arm.

“You don’t need to worry about me, Arthur,” Perry said, standing by the door to his car. “In fact, I’m sorry to have gotten you involved again. I didn’t expect that we’d be seeing each other again, like this. So I think it’s probably for the best we let things be.”

Before it goes any further. I knew that was what he meant. But I’d tasted him again, and felt the warmth of his touch. The den had been opened.

“It’s too late, Perry,” I said. “For better or for worse, we’ve been thrown back into each other’s lives. We’re gonna see each other again. I’m gonna take care of you.”

I twisted the key in the ignition and my bike growled to life, its throaty roar cutting the quiet of this place. The way Perry looked at me, I could see that he wasn’t surprised at my response. He knew as well as I did that there was nothing either of us could do. We were together again. There was no going back, no ignoring it. I slipped on my helmet. Jamming my boot onto the pavement, I opened the throttle and swung my back tire around, burning rubber and kicking up an arc of pale smoke. Then I released the brake and rocketed away.

Life didn’t often give second chances. I wasn’t going to waste this one.

* * *

I slugged back a whiskey and ordered one more. Loch sat next to me, turning his glass on the counter. The lounge musician played something unremarkable on the piano as people feigned interest to get away from their conversations for a moment.

“And he just showed up out of nowhere?” Loch said.

“Yeah,” I said. “Appeared like a fucking ghost.”

“What are the odds,” he said. “Just after I told you I learned he was back. You don’t think he’s trying…” He stopped himself, considering his words. “Do you trust him?”

“Yes,” I said, without hesitation. “I know how it looks. Convenient appearance after thirteen years, needing help. Perry isn’t like that. And he’s not asking for anything from me.”

“Okay,” Loch said. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to cause any offense.”

I shook my head. “It’s a fair assumption.” I sipped more whiskey. I probably shouldn’t drink this much, but I was trying to make sense of this whole situation.

“I didn’t realize he meant this much to you,” Loch said. “You never talked about him much.”

“I couldn’t,” I said, swirling the drink in my glass. “It was just too much.” I sighed. “I’m not used to feeling out of control, Loch. It feels the way I did back then. Out of control. I need to help him, but I don’t know what I can do. He’s bound to this marriage. It’s a bond that can’t be broken.”

“The sacred oath isn’t easily broken, that’s for sure,” Loch said, nodding.

“It’s a good thing you and Tresten worked out, huh? You would’ve been in the same situation.”

He chuckled. “Don’t remind me. I understand what Perry must be going through. It can only be worse as omega, though. To have your life signed away like that, bound to an alpha you don’t love. Damn. Poor Tresten. He got stuck with me.”

We both laughed. “It really is amazing that it did work out,” I said. “Fortunate.”

“Fate worked in our favor,” Loch said. “I’ve learned to trust in fate. When it blows good stuff your way, you gotta take it. And you know, I think it’s blowing your way. There’s gotta be some way to dissolve their marriage.”

“Yeah,” I said, not sounding so sure. The sacred laws of mating and marriage went back thousands of years. Omegas and betas belonged to their alpha. Once the rites were performed, the bond was solid in the eyes of society—especially for highborns. Omegas and betas risked being ostracized from their families and clans if they tried to separate from their mates.

“I work at the Dawn Academy,” Loch said. “I’ll ask some of my friends there to look into the law of it.”

I nodded. “Thanks,” I said, not feeling particularly positive.

Loch finished the remainder of his drink and patted my back. "I gotta go. We'll catch up later?"

"Yeah," I said. After he left, I took my drink and walked to the huge window overlooking the city. The Crystal Hound was an exclusive lounge in one Wolfheart's tallest skyscrapers, and it certainly had one of the best views of the sprawl. The city lights glittered like a carpet of stars below. I went over the events of the day in my mind, still in a haze of disbelief. It felt like a dream. In fact, I'd had dreams just like this—with him showing back up in my life. I closed my eyes, and I could feel the soft press of his lips on mine. Maybe I shouldn't have kissed him, but it just felt like the natural thing to do. Our lips were calling to one another. Our bodies were, too.

I wanted him so badly. How could I help him? How could I rescue him?

"You look like you're having a rough day," a voice said. I opened my eyes. A dark-haired woman with opal eyes smiled at me from a leather easy chair, her crossed thighs hugged by a tight fitting black dress. She fingered a glimmering diamond necklace as she sipped on a martini. I turned to her.

"Why do you say that?"

"I can see it in your face."  She stood and walked over to me, her body all fluid lines. She gazed out the window, and I caught a whiff of her perfume. It sent a tingle of habit through my body—she was the kind of woman I would've gone for in an instant. Sexy, sophisticated, forgettable. "Beautiful view," she said. "I'm surprised I've never come here before."

"Mm." I wasn't really listening. Not like me. Normally, I would've focused my game on her immediately, but right now...

"Let me get you another drink," she said, gesturing towards my near empty glass. I held it up and examined the remainder of whiskey.

"No, thank you," I said. "I've probably already had enough to drink."

"Oh. Well, a water then?"

"Sure."

I walked with her back to the counter, where we both took a seat. She ordered another martini and a glass of water, and I thought about Perry. How long did I even have before he vanished from my life again? Before Gregor Houndfang came and stole him away? I gritted my teeth as anger flushed inside of me.

"Sometimes it helps if you talk about it," the woman said. "And I'm all ears. My name's Ava."

"Arthur," I said, and shook her hand. "Look, Ava, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not interested."

She smiled. "All I'm looking for is some good conversation. I can't get it at home, so I come here. That's all I want. No strings attached."

I sighed, and then proceeded to unload the whole story on her. Normally I wouldn't have been so open about my private business with a random stranger, even if I had been trying to sleep with her, but I was boiling over. I needed to vent and, well, she asked for it. Everything just spilled out, and I found myself opening up even more to her than I had with my brother.

"That's about it," I said, swigging down my glass of water. I wanted it to be whiskey, but I really'd had enough.

"Well," she breathed, her eyes wide. I waited for her to back away from me slowly and run out the door. Instead, she flagged the bartender. "One more martini and a glass of water, please."

"Let me get that one," I said, feeling slightly embarrassed, but she refused.

"I understand his frustration completely," she said. "To be trapped with someone who you despise is a tax on the soul. And I can only imagine how you feel. Being kept from the person you love is probably worse."

"Maybe," I said. "At least I can forget. He has to live with it every day."

"Tell me one thing," she said. "Why are you sitting around in this bar? You should be out there with him."

"Well, he... I..."

She eyed me.

"I don't know," I confessed.

"You should go get your man," she said. "Who cares about anything else? Who even cares what will happen later on? You have a chance to be with him again, right now. If I were you, I'd be fucking his brains out right now." She casually sipped on her martini.

What the hell was I doing? Perry was back.

I stood up from my stool, and she grinned.

"Hey, thank you,” I said. “You're amazing. Excuse me? Get this woman another drink, anything she wants, put it on my tab."

She laughed. "Good luck," she said in a singsong tone into her martini glass, and I ran out of the lounge, hopped into the elevator, and was soon on my bike riding towards the Windhelm estate.