Bound by blood, Divided by Fate.

Keon's POV:

The halls are way too quiet for my liking.

It's nearly 2am, so most of the pack is asleep by now. The torches on the stone walls light up the halls as I walk to meet with Derrick. I had shifted this for as long as I could. If I didn't come by soon he'd just come to me.

The castle always feels darker at night, like the shadows were just waiting to jump you when you least expected it.

To my surprise, Derrick is not in the conference room where we usually have our meetings but on the end of the corridor. His arms are crossed behind his back as he stares down the window, like he's watching something. The moon paints his figure silver.

He doesn't turn when I reach him. “I thought you said it was urgent?”

“It is.”

His voice is weirdly calm as he speaks. “The witches are talking brother.”

My jaw tightens. “About the lightning?”

“About Winter.”

Of course.

“I'm sure you've heard by now. They're saying she's cursed. That she will bring bad news to us.” His eyes darken. “Some are even demanding she be brought back for questioning.”

A low growl slips from my chest before I can stop it. “No one will touch her.”

Derrick looks at me right in the eye, something passing by before I can spot it. “You sound very…pressed for someone who isn't even your mate.”

His words cut deep.

“I'm Alpha,” I reply sharply. “It's my duty to protect guests in my territory.”

“Guests?” He laughs. “Keon, Winter is my mate.”

The hall is so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

If I inhale deeply enough, I'll smell her scent on me. She smells like rain and flowers. My wolf stirs beneath my skin.

“The witches won't stop, regardless of the truth. You know how it is with them. Once the blame is on you they find a way to make you the scapegoat. And we both know what happens after that.

I imagine Winter's face in tears as she goes through whatever punishment witches dole out. That's if they don't kill her on the spot for being guilty.

My fists tighten. “Then we make sure they don't get near her.”

“I will handle it,” Derrick says. “She belongs with me, to me. I'll move her to my wing tomorrow.”

Something hot burns my skin. My wolf rebels.

“No.”

“No?” He raises his brow.

“She's safer where she is. She's closer to the guards.”

“Or closer to you?” he steps closer towards me, suspicion in his eyes.

The air is thick with tension.

“You're a little too concerned for my liking Keon. What exactly are you playing at?”

I shrug my shoulders.

“One could say the same thing about you brother. I thought you said before that the mating didn't matter to you? That you didn't care about either the girl or the bond? Why the sudden change now?”

It's his turn to shrug. “Maybe I've had a change of mind. Maybe the moon has made me see things. Maybe I'm interested in my mate.” “But that doesn't explain why you're so bothered Keon.”

I force my shoulders to relax. “Nothing particular, just looking out for my people. He doesn't believe me, not with the look on his face. “I advise you to be careful brother. If you get too involved, people will notice.”

“Let them”

His jaw clenches. “She is my mate.”

The bond pulls painfully in my chest, almost like it's laughing at both of us. I want to yell to the high heavens that she's mine and mine only.

“You don't feel it like I do.” I mutter.

His eyes narrow. “What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Another heavy silence passes.

After what feels like forever, he steps back. “I’ll deal with the wolves politically. You keep your distance brother.”

Distance.

The word feels forbidden in my system.

Keep my distance from the girl whose heartbeat I could hear through the walls, from the girl who calmed my wolf. From a bond the moon itself chose.

I don't think so. “I'll do what's best for the pack.” I say coldy.

He nods once. “Good.”

When he leaves, the halls feel heavier than before. I turn away to my bed chambers.

Several hours and still no sign of sleep later, I toss and turn for the hundredth time of the night. If it is still night. The time on the dresser glows 4:59am.

Great. It's almost daybreak and I can't get any sleep. I haven't slept in days. To be exact, since the day she came. I just couldn't. Something told me bad things were going to happen if I left her alone.

On my bed, her scent teases me, and my wolf claws for a release.

She's mine.

No.

She's his.

The thought makes something inside of me snap. I can't take this anymore. I open the window, shifting mid jump. My bones crack, fur sprouting as I turn into my wolf. I land in the ground with a loud thud, pain shooting up my legs.

My black wolf is nearly the size of a polar bear. The moon makes my fur shine as I run past the trees. Branches break as I dart past trees, race across a small lagoon, diving over a fallen tree trunk. Each paw I land on the ground releases my jealousy out of my veins.

Flowers and rain.

Mine.

Why would the moon pull her towards me, then bind her to him?

Make me mark her, give her to me as mine then allow Derrick and her to still be mated the very next day?

My wolf howls into the night, full of frustration and hunger.

When I reach the river bank, my chest heaves as I breathe hard. Each breath is foggy from the cold air. I stare into my reflection in the dark water.

Two dark red eyes stare back at me. They look confused, possessive, and angry.

I sense something in the woods. Another presence. A wolf to be exact.

I turn sharply, spotting Derrick’s grey fur blending with the shadows.

“When did you get here?” I growl at him using the pack’s mindlink.

“I took a different path. I wanted to get some fresh air.”

Everywhere goes silent.

The night critters are quiet. Not a single sound is heard.

Above us, the moon watches.

Two wolves. One girl.

And too much damn tension in the air to breathe.