Ciaran doesn't respond. I can hear his breathing, slow and controlled, the way it gets when he's processing something he doesn't like.
"The human," he finally says. "The biologist."
"Yes."
"You're sure."
"My wolf nearly shifted in the middle of council." I turn to face him. "I caught her scent on the wind and everything else disappeared. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to claim her, mark her, drag her back here and never let her leave." I drag a hand through my hair. "So yes. I'm sure."
Ciaran exhales slowly. "When did you confirm it?"
"An hour ago. She crossed the boundary at dawn. I tracked her, tried to warn her off." I laugh, bitter and sharp. "She told me she handles apex predators for a living and walked right past me."
"She what?"
"Walked past me. Shoulder-checked me on the way." I shake my head. "I couldn't touch her. Couldn't stop her. My wolf wanted her too badly, and if I'd put my hands on her?—"
"You would have claimed her on the spot."
"Or worse."
Ciaran is quiet for a long moment. Then he crosses to the desk and leans against it, arms folded.
"You need to claim her. Tonight."
"No."
"Alden—"
"I said no."
"Listen to me." He pushes off the desk, closing the distance between us. "Gideon already knows a human crossed the boundary. By tonight, the whole council will know. If they find out she's your fated mate before you've claimed her, the political fallout will bury you."
"I don't care about politics."
"You should. Because Gideon's been waiting for an excuse to challenge your leadership, and an unclaimed human mate is exactly the ammunition he needs." Ciaran's voice drops lower,urgent. "Claim her. Bring her into the pack. It protects her and it protects you."
"It binds her to a war she doesn't know exists." I face the window again. "Three humans are dead. Someone in this pack is killing outside our borders, and we don't know who or why. The council's fractured, Gideon's circling like a vulture, and you want me to drag an innocent woman into the middle of it?"
"I want you to secure your position before someone else does it for you."
"By forcing a mate bond on a human who doesn't even know what she is to me?" I shake my head. "No. I won't do that to her."
"It's not forcing if it's fated."
"She doesn't know that. She doesn't know any of it." I press my palms flat against the window frame, watching the shadows lengthen across the grounds. "She thinks I'm just some territorial landowner trying to scare her off. She has no idea what she walked into this morning."
"Then tell her."
"Tell her what? That werewolves exist? That I'm the Alpha of a pack that's tearing itself apart? That the moment I caught her scent, my wolf decided she belongs to me whether she wants to or not?" I turn to face him. "How do you think that conversation goes, Ciaran?"
He doesn't answer.
"She's a scientist. She deals in data, evidence, things she can measure and prove. If I tell her the truth, she'll think I'm insane. And if I claim her without telling her, I'm no better than the rogues we hunt."
Ciaran scrubs a hand over his face. "So, what's your plan? Avoid her until she finishes her research and leaves?"
"If that's what it takes."
