CHAPTER 5.

RAVENNA’S POV.

I didn’t know what changed. One moment, I was about to leave his office, my hand already on the door, ready to escape whatever this was. The next, something inside me shifted in a way I couldn’t explain.

It felt like a part of me had been asleep for years, buried so deep I had stopped expecting it to exist at all, and now it was awake. Not slowly, not uncertainly, but all at once, like it had been waiting for this exact moment.

My grip tightened on the handle as the feeling sharpened, spreading through me in a way that made everything else fall quiet.

I turned back.

“You’re a Lycan,” I said, my voice lower now but steady, the certainty settling into place as the words left me. “I can feel it. I don’t know how, but I can.”

The words should have been enough.

They weren’t.

The feeling didn’t stop there. It deepened instead, pulling tighter, settling into something that felt far more personal, far more impossible to ignore.

“And it’s not just that,” I continued, my brows drawing together slightly as I tried to follow it. “There’s something between us. I felt it last night… and I still feel it now.”

The realization formed as I spoke, clearer with each word, like something inside me was finally finding its voice.

“It feels like a bond,” I said, quieter now, but certain. “Like… you’re my mate.”

His expression didn’t change immediately. For a second, he looked exactly the same, controlled, unreadable. Then something flickered in his eyes before he could stop it. It was brief, almost gone the moment it appeared, but I saw it.

Panic.

He blinked once, and it disappeared completely. His posture shifted, his arms crossing over his chest as if that alone could put everything back where it belonged.

“You’re imagining things,” he said, his voice returning to that cold, distant tone. “That’s not something to joke about.”

“I’m not joking,” I replied. “And I’m not imagining it.”

“You don’t have a wolf, and you aren’t my mate,” he said, sharper now. “Only my mate can tell what I am. So how exactly would you know anything?”

“I just do,” I said, holding his gaze. “I didn’t feel it before, not even when we were alone that night. But now I do. Something has changed.”

He didn’t answer right away. He just watched me.

The silence stretched between us, heavier with each passing second, pressing against my chest until it felt difficult to breathe. He wasn’t denying it anymore. Not really.

He was thinking.

“There’s a law,” I said, quieter now, but no less firm. “You know what happens if a Lycan is found here. The pack won’t hesitate. They’ll kill you.”

His eyes sharpened slightly. “Then why are you still standing here?”

I took a step closer before I could second-guess it. My heart was racing, my body tense, but I didn’t stop. I hadn’t meant to push things this far, hadn’t planned to say any of this out loud, but once it started, I couldn’t pull it back.

“Because I’m not going to tell anyone,” I said. “I’ve spent my whole life waiting for this. The priestess said a Lycan mate would awaken my wolf. I’ve waited, and now I know.” My voice steadied despite everything. “It’s you.”

The look he gave me didn’t soften. If anything, it hardened, like he couldn’t decide if I was serious or completely out of my mind.

“I want you to claim me,” I continued, the words coming out steadier than I felt. “I want my wolf awakened. I want you to train me so I can defend myself, so I don’t have to stand there and let people treat me like I’m nothing.”

The frustration I had been holding down for years pushed through, sharp and undeniable.

“So I can stop being weak.”

He lifted a hand. “Stop.”

I did.

Not because I wanted to, but because something in his voice made it impossible not to.

“You think this is some kind of story where everything falls into place the moment you find the right person?” he said, his tone edged with disbelief. “You think this changes anything for you?”

I shook my head slowly. My hands were shaking, but it wasn’t fear anymore.

“No,” I said. “I don’t think anything will be easy. But I know what I felt. I know what you are. And I know what I need.”

He didn’t respond. His jaw tightened, the tension in him shifting, not disappearing but turning into something more controlled, more deliberate.

I drew in a breath, steadying myself.

“You don’t have to answer now,” I said. “I’m giving you a week. One week to decide. Help me… or I’ll tell the pack what I know.”

His brow lifted slightly. “Is that supposed to be a threat?”

“It’s not,” I said. “It’s a choice. I don’t want to expose you. I just want your help. But I’m not going to wait forever.”

He didn’t say anything.

But I saw it.

The moment his jaw tightened, the way his eyes darkened just slightly, like something had already started moving beneath the surface.

I turned before I could lose my nerve.

The moment I stepped into the hallway, my legs felt weak, like they might give out if I stopped moving. My chest tightened, my breath uneven, but I forced myself to keep walking, one step after another, not letting myself look back.

What had I just done?

I had cornered him. Pushed him. Forced something into the open that he clearly didn’t want touched.

I could have stayed quiet. I could have pretended I hadn’t noticed anything and gone back to being invisible, back to surviving instead of risking something worse.

But something inside me refused to let that happen.

This was my chance.

Maybe the only one I would ever get.

And I couldn’t ignore it.

I didn’t understand how I knew he was a Lycan. I didn’t understand why the feeling came now instead of before. But it was there, steady and certain, just like my mother once described.

When you meet him, you’ll know.

The problem was, knowing wasn’t enough.

He hadn’t admitted anything.

I had no proof. No evidence. Nothing but my word, and if it came down to it, no one would believe me. Not the pack. Not even my mother.

They would think I had lost my mind.

I was still caught in that thought when I turned the corner and nearly ran straight into someone.

My body went still the moment I looked up.

Lucas.

His expression shifted the second he saw me, irritation settling in like he had been waiting for a reason to be angry.

I tried to move past him.

He didn’t let me.

“You’re really starting to annoy me,” he said, grabbing my arm.

I yanked it back, but he shoved me before I could pull away completely. My back hit the wall, the impact forcing a sharp breath out of me as he stepped closer.

“You ruined everything,” he continued. “Do you know what those rogues did when they came back? They said someone jumped them. Beat them down and took you. Then they made me return their gold.”

I stared at him, the words sinking in slowly.

Someone attacked them.

Of course.

“Who was it?” he asked, his voice lowering. “Who showed up? Who saved you?”

I didn’t answer.

His hand shot out, gripping my jaw, forcing my head up so I couldn’t look away.

“You were with someone else, weren’t you?” he said. “That’s where you went after the ceremony. Straight into another man’s arms.”

“I was never yours,” I said, my voice tight. “You made that clear.”

His hand came across my face before I could react.

The slap wasn’t hard enough to knock me down, but it was enough to sting, enough to make my head turn sharply to the side. My skin burned where he hit me, my vision blurring for a second before I forced it back into focus.

I didn’t let him see it.

My fingers curled into my palm, nails pressing into my skin to keep myself steady.

“You think you’re clever,” he said. “You think you can lie to me? Tell me who it was, or I’ll drag you back to them myself and let them finish what they started.”

My chest tightened instantly, fear hitting hard and fast.

“And this time,” he added, his voice dropping further, “I’ll stay and watch.”

My breath caught.

“You’ve got thirty seconds,” he said. “Start talking.”

I couldn’t think.

The hallway felt smaller, the air too tight, my thoughts scrambling in every direction without landing on anything useful.

All I knew was one thing.

I couldn’t go back there.

Not again.

Not ever.