The name means nothing to most.But to her, it seems to tug at something half-remembered.
“You’re ...Stygian,” she says softly.
“I was,” I correct.“Once, a long time ago but not anymore.”
Her throat works as she swallows.Her voice cracks as she whispers, “You felt it too.”
I don’t answer.But then again, I don’t need to.The truth is already written across my face.
Tears fall from her eyes.“I can’t shift,” she chokes out, changing the subject.“She’s gone.My wolf.After...”She cuts off, curling in on herself, arms wrapping tight around her stomach.Her sobs are soft and broken.The sound tearing at my heart.
“She isn’t gone,” I say quietly.“She’s hurt, same as you.But she’ll come back.”
Her fingers tighten in the blanket, her knuckles turning white.“You don’t know,” she mutters.A moment later, her gaze lifts, sharp and desperate.“Why do you care?”
I look away, my jaw clenched tight.“I don’t.”It’s a lie, the only shield I have left.But she already knows better.
****
Later, while she sleepsonce more, I sit at the fire and remember everything I have fought to forget.I left the pack because I couldn’t be who they wanted.
Because Maddox, my brother, was born to lead, and I was born to be free.
We were both marked under the Blood Moon, born only a year apart.My father, the Alpha before Maddox, believed it meant destiny.Rivals.Successors.He trained us like enemies, made us fight for every scrap of his approval.
Maddox thrived.He was everything the pack wanted, charming, ruthless, and politically inclined.I was quieter.Wilder.I didn’t care for politics or councils.I wanted the forest.I only ever wanted freedom.
When the time came for the Trial, the fight to decide who would succeed, I fought like hell.But I lost.And losing didn’t just mean stepping aside.It meant exile.It meant surrender.So, I walked away, happily, if I’m being honest.
I traded the pack for the trees, the noise for silence.I told myself I didn’t need them.That I didn’t need anyone.And I didn’t.Not until now.
Because now, I have her.And I don’t know if that’s salvation, or my damnation.
****
She sleeps for twomore days before her stormy eyes open once more.All I can do is relive the past and crave a woman too broken to want anything.It doesn’t help that my back hurts from sleeping on the damn floor.
The fire burns low in the stove, casting flickering shadows across the cabin walls as she shifts restlessly in my bed, her breath shallow but steady.I sit in the chair beside her again, my elbows on my knees, my hands clenched so tight my knuckles ache.
The bond hums between us, a steady drum I can’t silence.Every breath she takes pulls at me, every faint sound out of her lips twists my gut.I should be out in the woods, hunting, patrolling, being anywhere but here.
But I can’t leave her.
Not yet.Not when she looks like death tried to claim her and failed.Another shift of her tiny frame and the blanket slips lower, exposing a perfect breast to my gaze.Tipped with a rosy pink nipple, I can’t help but lick my lips.I may not have wanted a mate of my own but that hasn’t stopped the unfiltered lust from coursing through my system.
My cock has been erect since I shifted back to human form, perpetually leaking pre-cum.I rub my palm against the painful length, a small growl breaking free.
My hands itch to touch her, but I hold back.I’m not a fucking monster.Instead, I reach over and cover her with the blanket once more.
I drag a hand down my face, the old bitterness crawling back up my throat like bile.I never wanted this.Not a bond.Not a mate.Not fate’s leash around my neck.
And yet here she is.Here I am.
A log cracks in the fire , and another memory rises like smoke.Unbidden and yet, unstoppable.
The ring is mud and blood and teeth.
I can feel the wet earth under my bare feet, the roar of the pack ringing in my ears, the scent of adrenaline and excitement thick in the air.My fists are raw, and my ribs already bruised, perhaps even broken.Maddox circles me like the predator he is with a grin sharp enough to cut.
