Your True Mate

The moon shone over the trees like a witness too ashamed to speak. I stood on the edge of the sacred grove, the echo of Killian's touch still pulsing through my wrist. Every nerve buzzed, every cell screamed. My heart beat like it was trying to outrun my own skin.

And yet, I couldn't move.

Not even when the whispers behind me turned to murmurs, then sharp mutterings. Not even when Natalia laughed softly under her breath like this whole scene was her entertainment. Not even when Aiden stepped forward, scent curling around me like smoke and judgment.

"Get away from her," Aiden growled, voice low and lethal.

Killian didn't flinch. "Too late. You let her go."

Their eyes locked. Power collided in the space between them. The grove thrummed with the weight of it. Everyone felt it. The tension was thick enough to drown in. My wolf was pacing, wild-eyed and confused. She didn't know who to trust and neither did I.

Because now they were both looking at me.

Like I was something sacred.

Like I was something they'd fight for.

Like I was something they'd already ruined.

"This isn't the time or place," one of the Elders finally said, stepping forward with forced calm. "The bond has been rejected. The ceremony is over."

"Then so is the council's right to dictate who she belongs to," Killian snapped.

Belongs to.

The words tasted like rusted iron in my mouth. I wasn't property. I wasn't territory. And yet, that was exactly how it felt, like I was the spoils of a war I never agreed to fight.

Aiden was still watching me. "Say something, Rae."

Say what? That I felt like I was being ripped in two? That my heart had been trampled, and now it was being carved open again? That I didn't know if I wanted to run away or burn everything to the ground?

Instead, I said the only truth I could find inside the wreckage.

"I didn't choose either of you."

Silence. Thick. Choking.

Then, Killian spoke. "But the bond did."

I turned to him, fury rising up to meet the ache. "The bond is broken. The Moon Goddess made a mistake."

His eyes darkened. "Or maybe she didn't."

The Elders began ushering people away. The grove cleared slowly, as if no one wanted to miss what might happen next. Natalia stayed. Of course she did. Her arm was still linked with Aiden's like they were already mated. She gave Killian a pointed once-over, then smirked at me.

"Enjoy the leftovers," she whispered.

I didn't think. My palm cracked across her cheek so fast, the sound echoed louder than the rejection had.

She staggered back, gasping.

"Try me again," I said coldly, stepping in. "I dare you."

Killian didn't stop me. Aiden didn't defend her. For the first time, both were silent.

Natalia retreated with a hiss, dragging Aiden with her. He didn't even look back.

Typical.

Killian stepped closer. "You need to get out of here. This pack doesn't protect you anymore."

My throat tightened. "So you want me to run? Again?"

His jaw ticked. "No. I want you to fight. But not here. Not surrounded by their rules. Their chains. Come with me. I have answers. You deserve them."

"And if I say no?"

He looked at me like I was already halfway gone. "Then you stay here. Where you're alone. Where the next time they try to break you, no one will be around to stop them."

It wasn't a threat. It was a truth.

A brutal one.

And I hated that he was right.

We didn't speak as we left the grove. He led me through back paths, avoiding the main roads. His scent was familiar but strange. It used to mean danger. Now? I didn't know what it meant. Power? Regret? A memory I hadn't finished bleeding out?

We reached the tree line where the forest thickened. The night was darker here. No moonlight, just shadows.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked.

"To a safehouse. A neutral zone."

"And why should I trust you?"

He stopped walking. Turned to face me.

"You shouldn't."

My breath caught.

"But I'm still asking you to. Because I'm not your enemy, Rae. Not anymore."

The pain in his voice nearly gutted me.

And that terrified me more than anything else.

The safehouse was buried deep in the woods. It looked like a cabin from the outside, but inside it was reinforced with steel and enchantments. I felt them the moment we stepped through the threshold. Warding spells. Blood-bound protections. Old magic.

"You've been here before," Killian said as he shut the door behind us.

I frowned. "No, I haven't."

He didn't answer.

I looked around. Everything felt too familiar. The fireplace. The markings carved into the mantel. Even the smell—pine, ash, and something sweeter underneath.

My heartbeat picked up.

"What is this place?"

He was quiet for a long moment before saying, "Home."

I turned to him slowly. "Whose?"

His eyes met mine, unreadable.

"Yours."

A roar tore through the sky outside. Not thunder. A howl.

Feral.

Close.

I rushed to the window and froze. There were wolves surrounding the safehouse. At least five. Maybe more. Their eyes glowed like coals.

Killian moved beside me, expression suddenly hard.

"They found us quicker than I thought."

"Who?" I whispered.

He looked at me, jaw tight. "Your true mate."

And then the front door shook like something massive had slammed into it.

The storm had begun.