He called me his bride, and I have no idea why.
Chapter 4 - Caleb
I know I’m not being fair. Not to her, and certainly not after all the time that passed.
But I stand there, surrounded by Wraith Peak wolves, trying to gauge my next move and how to de-escalate. Right now, fairness doesn’t seem to matter.
And the moment my eyes land on Lila and the way she holds her daughter protectively in front of her, I feel that old, invisible thread pulling tightly between us. The one I wanted to ignore before, and the one she tried to tell me about.
I convinced myself that whatever she felt for me was one-sided, a mistake, and one she would eventually forget about when I was gone. But standing there, facing the threat of our enemies closing in around her, makes something in me rage. It’s like a whisper demanding that I act, protect, and claim what’s mine.
I hate that word most of all: mine.
Despite how long I spent trying to deny it, it comes to me so easily, like it’s as natural as breathing.
Still, I won’t let anything happen to either of them.
The tension is near-suffocating, but despite it, I lean into my training and everything drilled into me from day one. I’ve seen worse chances than this.
Even as Zane shifts his footing beside me and Dominic grins subtly to himself with cocky amusement, I know we’re outnumbered. There are five of us and many of them, but we’re technically on home soil still, bound by treaty limits. Starting a fight here would ignite the war we’ve been trying to avoid for years.
But there’s no chance in hell I’ll let them touch Lila.
Hayes gives me a measured look, then his gaze flicks to the girl. “We’re taking them both. Your Alpha can come visit us once he stops being a coward.”
Anger pulses in me at the insinuation. Despite my preparation for the role, Varic is still technically my Alpha, and any insult shouldn’t be taken lightly.
I feel as Lila stiffens behind me, but her heartbeat is more like a punch to my chest, as if her end of that invisible tether is screaming at me to do something, whether she knows it or not. Everything about her right now is a siren call to my wolf, and as much as she tries to hide it, that fear wafts from her anyway.
Not fear for her safety, but for her child’s.
“That’s not happening,” I utter, trying to wrangle back that protective heat tearing through me.
Hayes chuckles. “You don’t get to decide that.”
His amusement falters as I take a step forward, cutting more of that space between us. Good.
“This has nothing to do with decisions. She’s my mate, and if you think you’re going to take her away from me, then you’re already dead.”
If the forest had been quiet before, then it’s deafening now. Even the wind stops moving, and the birds vanish.
I feel the confusion coming from Zane and Dominic, but Lila’s is even stronger. Disbelief and a touch of anger mix in with it, like she’s completely blindsided by the claim. But hell, even I wasn’t expecting those words to come from my mouth.
A small, rational part of me knows I’m pulling that card to force Hayes into rethinking his odds, almost like using a sacredbond as a shield. But the rest of me knows I’m not lying. It isn’t a ploy in the slightest.
Hayes doesn’t say anything. He just stands there, looking like he’s at a loss but doesn’t want to admit it.
“Allow me to reiterate,” I begin, eyes hard and cold on him as I step even closer, bringing us near enough that his pulse gives him away. “If any of your wolves lay a finger on her, this won’t just be a border skirmish. It’ll be a fucking war.”
Unease ripples through the other shifters, clearly not expecting such a bold declaration. Surely they expected me to posture or sling a few threats at most, but certainly no escalation.
Nobody, not even my buddies, expected the soon-to-be-Alpha of Briarwood to publicly invoke a mate bond or to wage conflict.
But here I am, standing my ground.
Regardless of beliefs or pack customs, a mate bond is sacred. Harming one’s mate, let alone abducting them, is grounds for a fight to the death.
Hayes hesitates, but doesn’t pull his eyes from mine. “You wouldn’t risk it.”
