Natasha_Zeneka

Rhea Nyx was supposed to have her forever. A mate bond. A pack. A future. But forever shattered the day he walked away, leaving her broken, pregnant, and alone in a sterile hospital room that didn’t care if she lived or died.

Now, she’s just surviving. Barely. Until a little girl with too-big eyes and too much hope drags her into something like a second chance. Rhea doesn't believe in second chances. Not anymore.

But when the people she's grown to protect are threatened, Rhea does what wolves do best—she fights back. Hard. And just when she thinks she's got nothing left to lose, she meets him. Her second chance mate.

Only… he’s not just a man. He’s a hybrid. A set toy. Built in a lab, owned by monsters, trained to obey. And yet—he looks at her like she’s the only real thing in the world.

Now Rhea has to make a choice. Burn it all down, or become the very thing that could break her mate.

This is a story about found family, the soft ache of grief, the sharp edge of survival—and the kind of love that doesn’t ask for permission.

Glass Wolves and War Songs

The silence hung like smoke between us—thick, choking, impossible to ignore.

I should've walked away. Should've let the conversation die. But something in Kade's expression kept me rooted in place. Something taut, frayed at the edges.

He shifted his weight and looked off into the trees.

"There's something else you should know," he said finally.

His voice was rough. Like the truth had gotten stuck in his throat and scraped its way out. "You asked me once. Back then. Why I really rejected you."

"I stopped asking," I said. "I figured I already knew."

"You didn't," he said quietly. "Not all of it."

I turned slightly, just enough to see the tension coiled in his shoulders.

"It wasn't the pregnancy," he said. "Not just that. It was you."

"You were... too much," he said. "Too strong. Too sharp. Too damn certain."

My jaw tightened. "So it was a power thing."

"No," he said, then corrected himself. "Yes. But not the kind you think."

He finally looked at me, and there was something raw behind his eyes. "You didn't just survive what happened to you, Rhea. You came back fiercer. Unshakable. And I couldn't take it."

"Because I wasn't broken?" I asked, voice flat.

"Because I wasn't the stronger one," he said.

"You're a man," I said slowly, "and you couldn't stand that a woman was more dominant than you."

"I grew up believing men were supposed to lead," he admitted. "That strength looked like control. That it came with a deeper voice, a steadier hand, a name people followed."

He shook his head. "But you… you had fire. Rage. Authority. You walked into a room like it was already yours."

"Because no one else would protect me if I didn't," I snapped.

"I know," he said. "But I didn't know how to be with someone like that. I didn't know how to love someone who didn't need saving."

I stared at him, every inch of me brittle and cold. "So you left."

"I ran," he said. "Because I was afraid of being the one who needed you more."

There was nothing left to say after that.

I turned from him, my voice low. "I don't care how hard it was for you. I don't care that I scared you. You were supposed to choose me. And you didn't."

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