Mate

"You buried him?" Lena's voice cracked. "My father is dead?"

"Not here," Victor said. "Come inside. All of you."

The study smelled of old books and woodsmoke. Lena sat stiffly in a leather chair, wrapped in a blanket Mrs. Bell had pushed into her hands. Kane stood by the fireplace with his shoulder freshly bandaged. Theo had been sent home, though he had gone with a look that said he would be back in the morning with questions.

Naomi sat on the arm of Lena's chair, gripping her hand like she was afraid she would disappear.

"His name was Adrian," Victor said quietly. "He was my closest friend."

Lena had waited nineteen years to hear that name. Hearing it felt like being hit.

"Adrian," she repeated. "What was he like?"

Naomi's eyes filled. "Brave. Funny. He laughed with his whole body. You have his stubborn chin."

"And he died the night I was born."

"In a fire," Victor said. "I carried him out myself. It was too late."

"The man in the woods said you killed him."

"The man in the woods works for someone who wants you to hate me." Victor's voice stayed calm, but his hands were clenched. "I swore on your father's grave that I would protect his family. Your mother ran because she didn't know who she could trust. She only came to me when she had nowhere left to go."

"Is that true?" Lena asked her mother.

"Every word," Naomi whispered.

"Then why not tell me? Why lie for nineteen years?"

"Because the truth would have made you a target."

"A target for what?"

Victor and Naomi looked at each other. It was the same look Lena had seen all week, the one that said not yet.

"I can't tell you that tonight," Victor said.

"Can't or won't?"

"Both." He met her eyes without flinching. "I won't lie to you again. I'll only say this: the people who killed Adrian are still alive, and they have found you. Until I understand how, you don't leave this house without Kane or Theo beside you."

"Absolutely not," Lena said. "I'm not a prisoner."

"You're a person who nearly died tonight."

"I handled it."

"You hit a wolf with a stick," Kane said from the fireplace.

"It was a good stick!"

"Lena." Naomi squeezed her hand. "Please. Just a little while."

She wanted to scream. All her life she had learned to survive by staying quiet and packing light. Now she had a father's name and a mountain of secrets, and nobody would hand her the whole truth.

"Fine," she said at last. "But tomorrow I'm going to school like normal. I have exams, and I'm not letting anyone take my last year from me."

"Then Kane takes you," Victor said.

"We said no riding together!"

"Rules have changed," Kane muttered, and looked away.

The next morning, Lena stepped off the back of his motorcycle in front of Crescent, adjusted her helmet, and prayed that nobody important was watching.

"Walk three steps behind me," Kane said, pulling off his own. "We'll say you got a ride from a friend."

"What friend?"

"Any friend."

"I only have one friend, and she's afraid of purple jackets."

"Then say you rode with a delivery guy."

"I'm not saying that!"

"Lena."

"What?"

He turned. In the morning sun, his eyes looked darker than usual, almost troubled. "Last night, in the woods. When you grabbed me to help me stand."

"I was being nice."

"I know." He said it so quietly she almost missed it. "I just wanted to say thanks."

Lena blinked. "Did the heartbreaker just thank someone?"

"Don't tell anyone."

She smiled before she could stop herself. And for one small, dangerous second, he smiled back.

"Hey! Is that Kane?"

"With a girl?"

"Who is she?"

The courtyard turned toward them like a field of sunflowers. Lena's stomach dropped. Poppy waved frantically from the steps, mouthing something that looked a lot like RUN.

"Oh no," Lena whispered.

"Smile and keep walking," Kane muttered. "Don't make eye contact."

"With who?"

"All of them."

They made it five steps before the purple jackets surrounded them. At least a dozen girls blocked the path, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. The one in front had braids and a very serious expression.

"Kane," she said sweetly. "Who's your friend?"

"She's no one," Kane said.

Lena felt that one in her chest.

"No one?" The braided girl looked her up and down. "No one doesn't ride on your bike."

"She's lost. I gave her a lift."

"Is that so?"

"I'm Lena," Lena said brightly. "I'm new. I got lost. This kind stranger gave me a lift."

"Stranger," the braided girl repeated.

"Very strange," Lena said. "Super strange."

A few girls giggled. The braided girl didn't. She stepped closer, and a bunch of others stepped with her. Lena felt cold sweat prick her neck.

"Funny," a smooth voice said from behind them. "I thought she lived at the Draven estate."

The crowd split. Selene Voss walked through it in white boots and a perfect smile, flanked by two tall girls who looked like bodyguards in sweaters.

"Selene," Kane said evenly. "Not now."

"Why not?" Selene stopped beside Lena. "It's a simple question. Do you or do you not live under the same roof as our Kane?"

The courtyard went silent. Lena's mouth went dry.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't you?" Selene tilted her head. "Because I can smell him all over you. And you've got a Draven's scent on your hair, your clothes, and your skin. Girls don't pick that up from a ride."

"That's ridiculous," Lena said, but her voice shook.

"Selene," Kane warned.

"Is it ridiculous? Let's ask the whole school." Selene raised her voice. "Everyone! Our new transfer is Victor Draven's stepdaughter! She's been sleeping in Kane's house for a week, and neither of them wanted us to know!"

The courtyard exploded.

"She's his stepsister?"

"She lives with him?"

"That's so unfair!"

"I'm going to cry!"

"This is not what it looks like!" Lena shouted, though she wasn't sure what it looked like. "We barely even talk!"

"Liar," the braided girl hissed. "You've been plotting this since day one!"

"I came here to study!"

"By stealing our Kane?"

"I didn't steal anyone! He's not even a—"

Someone shoved her. She stumbled backward, and her shoulder hit the stone wall with a crack. Pain flashed down her arm. The crowd pressed in, a wall of angry faces, and for one terrifying second, Lena felt every dark year of being the new girl rise up and choke her.

Stay invisible, she thought. Stay quiet. Stay small.

"Back off," Kane said.

Nobody heard him.

"Back. Off."

The word came out low, a growl more animal than human. The crowd flinched. The air seemed to shudder. Kane's eyes had turned a fierce burning gold, and the sound in his throat made the hair on Lena's arms rise.

"Kane?" She reached for him. "Kane, don't. Everyone's watching."

He wasn't listening. His whole body had gone still, like a man in a trance. He took one step toward her, then another, and the crowd drew back to let him through.

Then he pinned her gently against the wall, one hand on either side of her head, and breathed in.

"Kane," she whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Last night," he said hoarsely. "In the woods, when your wolf woke up. I couldn't smell it before. I thought it was fear. I thought I was imagining things."

"Kane, please."

"It's you." His forehead dropped against hers. His voice trembled. "It was always you."

"What was?"

His eyes lifted to meet hers, blazing gold, wild, and certain.

"Mate," he growled.

The word rolled over the courtyard like thunder. Every voice stopped. Every phone came up. Lena stood frozen with her heart hammering, her back against the wall, and the whole school staring.

And somewhere in the silence, Selene Voss began to smile.

"Well," she said softly. "Isn't that interesting? I wonder what the council will think."