Chapter 5

Alpha Kade’s Pov

Claire’s head rested against my chest, her fingers drawing idle patterns along my skin. The room was warm, silent except for the distant hum of the wind outside and the softness of our shared breath.

“That was dramatic,” she said lightly, her voice lazy and amused. “You didn’t have to slam him into the wall like that.”

“He forgot his place,” I muttered.

Claire hummed but didn’t respond. She shifted slightly, propping herself up on one elbow as her gaze swept across my face.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” she said, almost casually.

My eyes snapped to hers. “What? Why so soon?”

She shifted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Because we had an agreement. Don’t look so surprised, that was the deal, remember?”

My throat tightened. “Claire…”

“Don’t Kale. We both knew this was temporary.”

“No,” I said, rising from the bed, my voice softer than I expected. “You promised me one week.”

“And I gave it to you.”

“I know. But… can we talk about why I asked for it in the first place?”

She didn’t answer, but she turned fully toward me, waiting.

I stepped closer, the air thick with the weight of everything unsaid. “Do you remember what I told you back then? The night I found out my father had arranged my mating to Aria?”

She nodded slowly. “You told me you’d go through with it but only out of duty. But that even if you took her in as your Luna… your first time, your body and your choice would be mine.”

I let out a breath, laughing under it, more pained than amused. “You laughed at me.”

“I called you a dramatic virgin,” she said, grinning despite herself. “To see if you’ll keep your promise, I also promise to spend the first week after your mating ceremony with you.”

We both chuckled, the sound awkward, nostalgic, and achingly familiar.

“You were seventeen and so serious,” she teased, stepping back toward the bed.

“Still am.”

We sat again, shoulders brushing, the weight of memory pressing down between us. Her presence had always been a comfort and a curse filling the space in my chest where something wild once lived.

“I meant what I said back then,” I murmured. “Even now… I just wanted one week where I could be yours, without titles or politics. Just you and me, like before.”

She looked down, fingers fidgeting in her lap. I caught her hand and held it against my chest.

“Stay with me, Claire,” I said. “Just one more week.”

Claire hesitated, the playful glint in her eyes flickering into something softer.

“Kade…”

“I won’t ask again after this,” I promised. “I just… I need time to figure out how to let go.”

She studied me for a long moment, then sighed and shook her head. “God, you’re such a manipulative wolf when you want to be.”

“Is that a yes?”

“On one condition,” she said, turning to me. “My birthday’s in a few months. I want you there, no excuses.”

“Done,” I said without hesitation.

“You swear?”

“I swear.”

She gave me a look like she didn’t quite believe me, but she nodded anyway.

We slid back under the sheets, the silence no longer sharp, but soft and full of the past.

She curled into my side, head on my chest. “Just don’t get too attached again,” she whispered.

“I never stopped,” I whispered back, knowing she was already drifting off.

And for that moment, with Claire in my arms and the future still just out of reach, I let myself pretend that nothing else existed.

Not the pack, not Aria and definitely not the bond I could feel growing in the pit of my stomach like a time bomb.

Just Claire, and the last pieces of the boy I used to be. I brushed a hand gently through her hair, the strands catching the moonlight that spilled through the tall windows of the east wing. For a moment, the world was still, but it didn’t last.

I shut my eyes, and there she was. Not her face exactly, just a pulse, a presence in the back of my mind. It had been growing for days now, this strange tether I’d tried so hard to ignore.

Aria was supposed to be just a Luna symbol, bonded by arrangement and the expectations of an entire pack. I was never supposed to feel anything. But lately, I did and it pisses me off.

The night I left her alone in the mating chamber, I told myself it was for the best. That she didn’t need me hovering, that my presence would only complicate things. But the truth?

I hadn’t been able to face her eyes. Not when they looked at me like they were searching for answers I didn’t have. Not when they reminded me that no matter how many years had passed, no matter how tightly I clung to Claire, she still wouldn’t be mine.

My eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling, the shadows shifting as clouds drifted across the moon outside. Every blink dragged me back to the moment Beta Riven’s voice had cracked with urgency, his knuckles rapping on the guest room door like the whole pack was under attack.

And I, blinded by the heat of Claire’s presence, had dismissed him even after knowing my Luna needed help.

Still, I’d let frustration speak for me.

“Is this what you call urgent?” I had hissed, as if her unconscious body wasn’t reason enough. I’d been more focused on putting Riven in his place than acknowledging what was right in front of me.

And now, in the silence of the room, it haunted me.

Why hasn’t she been eating? Had she even slept since I left? She hadn’t looked well even as she laid on the floor. Her shoulders were smaller and her glow had faded. But I told myself it wasn’t my responsibility.

She didn’t ask for this, a voice in my mind whispered. She didn’t choose you, neither did she force your hand.

I exhaled sharply, dragging my fingers through my hair.

She was a Luna in title only, but still… she didn’t deserve this cold shoulder treatment. A bond like this wasn’t supposed to form. In some kind of way I can’t explain, Aria made me feel like a fraud and that’s the last thing I want to conclude on.

I turned to glance at Claire. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks, breath still even, the corner of her mouth slightly lifted like she was dreaming of something soft.

She should be the one wearing the Luna mark, a cruel part of me thought. She should be the one beside me in every room, every ceremony. She’s the one I wanted, but even that truth didn’t absolve me.

It didn’t justify leaving Aria alone in a place meant to be her new home.

I shifted slightly, the sheets rustling under my weight.

Claire stirred. “Kade?” she murmured, voice slurred with sleep. “Why are you still awake?”

I turned toward her, brushing my thumb over her cheek. “Just thinking.”

She blinked slowly, her eyes trying to focus. “About what?”

“Nothing serious,” I lied, kissing her forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

“Mhm… come closer then.”

I did.

I curled around her, drawing her body into mine like she was my anchor, though my thoughts remained adrift.

I’ll check on Aria tomorrow. Just to see with my own eyes that she’s okay.

And maybe—just maybe—I’d figure out how to balance the woman I wanted… with the one I was bound to