CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

Nyra’s POV

I laughed and I could not stop it, it came out sharp, bitter, almost broken, and it startled me even as I did it because it was not a laugh I wanted to feel inside me but it was the only thing I could do, and when I looked at him again I realized he was completely serious, his face calm, his eyes steady, and it made something twist in my chest because seriousness like that was dangerous, the kind that carried weight and knew exactly what it wanted, and I could feel it pressing against me even though he had only just stepped into my life, and I told him, “You just met me, you do not even know my name” and he only looked at me like he knew enough, and my

Chest tightened because people who think they know enough usually know too much and that made every hair on my body rise, and I asked him, “And what makes you think I would agree to this” and he answered simply, “Because you are tired of running,” and those words hit harder than I wanted them to because he was right and it made me hate him for being right and hate myself for knowing he was right, and I snapped, “I survive just fine on

 My own” and he only said, “For now” and it was quiet after that for a moment and then he continued, “The world does not forget rogues, it hunts them,” and I clenched my fists and whispered, “I know,” because I had learned that truth too many times to ignore it, and then his gaze softened slightly and he said, “Then stop running,” and my throat tightened because stop running was something I did not even know I could do and I wondered if he even knew what he was asking, and I whispered, “That is not how this works,” and he said simply, “It can be,” and I shook my head, because nothing came without a price and I had spent my life paying for every choice I had made, and he said,

 “Good, because this will not be free,” and I narrowed my eyes and demanded, “What do you want,” and he stepped closer, closer than I expected, and he said, “Stand beside me as my Luna,” and the word felt foreign, wrong, impossible, and I asked, “Why me,” and he said quietly, “Because you are not afraid of me,” and I let out a breath, telling myself he was wrong, because I was afraid, just not in the way he thought, and I asked, “And what do I get,” and he answered steadily, “Protection,” and my heart stuttered, “Status,” I hesitated, “Freedom,” and that almost broke me because it was everything I had spent years avoiding, and yet for the first time in a long time, there was something else, there was a choice, and I said, “Fine,” and his eyes darkened slightly but I added quickly, “But this is a deal, nothing more,” and he said,

“Agreed,” and I said, “No feelings,” and he said, “Of course,” and I said, “No lies,” and he paused for a second, “Of course,” and that pause unsettled me but I ignored it because I needed this and I said, “Then we have a deal, Alpha,” and he stepped closer, his gaze locking onto mine, and he said, “Kael,” and I blinked, “What,” and he said, “My name, it is Kael,” and I stared at him for a long moment before nodding slowly, “Nyra,” and for a moment something shifted between us, something quiet, something dangerous, and I did not realize it yet but this was the moment everything beg

an to fall apart.