登入I grab Tyson’s shirt and bend my head as if to kiss him, but end up breathing into him, my mouth just a breath from his. And then something in Tyson shifts. He closes his eyes for a second and when he opens them, I nearly collapse from the weight of his emotions.His hand moves first, closing gently around my wrist.Not pulling, just holding. Like he’s asking without words.My breath catches.“Tyson…” I whisper softly. His name feels different now.His gaze doesn’t leave mine as he leans in slightly, his voice dropping lower than before.“Say it again,” he says.I blink. “Say what?”“My name,” he replies quietly. “Like that.”My chest tightens. Because I understand exactly what he means.I say it again. “Tyson.”Something in his expression breaks, just slightly. Like that single word undid something he’s been holding together for far too long.And then he moves. Not rushed, not uncontrolled.Just certain.One arm slides behind my back, the other under my knees, lifting me effortlessly
I grab Tyson’s shirt and bend my head as if to kiss him, but end up breathing into him, my mouth just a breath from his. And then something in Tyson shifts. He closes his eyes for a second and when he opens them, I nearly collapse from the weight of his emotions.His hand moves first, closing gently around my wrist.Not pulling, just holding. Like he’s asking without words.My breath catches.“Tyson…” I whisper softly. His name feels different now.His gaze doesn’t leave mine as he leans in slightly, his voice dropping lower than before.“Say it again,” he says.I blink. “Say what?”“My name,” he replies quietly. “Like that.”My chest tightens. Because I understand exactly what he means.I say it again. “Tyson.”Something in his expression breaks, just slightly. Like that single word undid something he’s been holding together for far too long.And then he moves. Not rushed, not uncontrolled.Just certain.One arm slides behind my back, the other under my knees, lifting me effortlessly
The room stays quiet for a moment after Tyson speaks, not because the meeting is still happening, but because nobody wants to be the first to step into whatever this is.Finally, Connor stands.“Thank you,” he says dryly. “That’s my cue to leave before I say something that gets me killed.”Aiden follows with a tired exhale, already halfway to the door.“I’ll… go patrol something that doesn’t involve emotional warfare,” he mutters.And then it’s just me and Tyson. The door shuts behind them.The sound feels too final.Silence stretches between us, heavy in a way that makes my skin feel aware of every inch of space. I didn’t look at him immediately.I should.But I don’t.Instead, I stare at the edge of the table, my fingers slowly curling against it.“I can’t believe they said that,” I mutter finally.Tyson doesn’t respond right away, when he does, his voice is lower than usual.“They’re not wrong.”That makes me freeze. Slowly, I lift my head. He’s still standing where he was, one han
Two days later, the meeting room feels tighter than usual.Not physically, something else.Strategic maps are spread across the long table, markings of rogue activity scattered like warnings no one can fully decode yet. The discussion moves fast, guards speaking over each other, theories colliding, frustration building.I sit forward slightly, trying to focus.“We don’t need to wait for them to strike again,” I say, cutting in. “We should find where they’re hiding. If we move first, we take them by surprise.”A few heads turn toward me.I push on. “We know their pattern isn’t stable. They regroup. They move. If we track disruptions”They’re not moving normally,” a voice interrupts.It’s one of the senior strategists, Connor. He leans back in his chair, arms crossed.“They’re using concealment magic,” he says. “Layered. Deep. You don’t just track that.”My brows knit. “So we do nothing?”“That’s not what I said,” he replies.But I can tell he’s already thinking several steps ahead of m
After the visit to the Oracle, life doesn’t explode the way I expected it to.It doesn’t get easier either, it just… continues.Strangely normal.The guards still patrol the compound like nothing has changed. The workers still move through the halls, polishing, cleaning, talking in low voices. Training still echoes through the grounds every morning, shouts, footsteps, the clash of controlled violence.And me?I exist in between all of it.Sometimes I help in the kitchen in Tyson’s house.The chef laughs at how distracted I get.“Your mind is not in this pot,” she says one afternoon.She’s right.Because my mind is rarely anywhere that isn’t him.Tyson barely leaves my side now, not in an obvious way. Not like a shadow, more like a presence that has quietly decided I belong within reach at all times.And before I even fully understood what was happening, he moved me into his room.Not asked, not suggested.Just… decided.“You’ll stay here,” he said simply, like it was already settled.
The word us hangs in the air like something alive. Dangerous and binding.I can’t breathe properly.My eyes flick to Tyson, but he’s already looking at me. Not the way he usually does, controlled, distant, holding something back.No.This time it’s different.This time, there’s no space between what he feels and what I see.Raw and unfiltered.“No,” I whisper before I can stop myself.The sound surprises even me.Tyson’s brows pull together slightly. “Naya...”“No,” I repeat, shaking my head, stepping back. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”The Oracle says nothing, of course she doesn’t. This isn’t her fight.“This…. whatever this is…” I gesture between us, my voice trembling now, “you’re saying the only way I survive is if I… what? Get closer to him? Let this bond just… take over my life?”My chest rises and falls too fast again. “I didn’t choose this,” I add, quieter now. “Any of it.”Tyson’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t interrupt me.Which somehow makes it worse.“I know,” he
The silence that follows feels like it has weight. Like it’s pressing down on my chest, making it harder to breathe.I don’t realize I’ve stepped back until my shoulder brushes against something solid.Warm and alive. Tyson He doesn’t say anything at first, but I feel it, the shift in him. The way
The door to the Moonhaven packhouse groans shut behind us, and the sound feels final.Like a lock clicking into place.Tyson doesn’t speak. He doesn’t look at me. He just walks, and I follow, because what else am I supposed to do after what Aiden said in there? Wolves don’t date. They claim. My le
Aiden’s fingers pause on the glass. For a long moment he doesn’t speak. Just the sound of ice shifting, the bottle sweating on the table between us.When he finally looks up, his eyes aren’t sharp like before. They’re tired. Old.“You really want to know?” he asks. His voice is lower now, almost a
Sleep won’t come.I lie there in the room Tyson gave me, staring at the ceiling, my body restless, my mind replaying everything, his voice, his touch, the way he said my name like it meant something more than just… me.It’s suffocating.With a frustrated sigh, I throw the covers off and slip out of







