Mine

The first light of dawn strikes.

Soft golden light filters through the trees. The air is cool, scented with damp earth and pine. But the quiet doesn't last.

They come in silence. Eight wolves. Darin leads the group, Mara at his right. The others spread out behind them with practiced precision, each one armed, each pair of eyes fixed on the cave like they already know what's waiting inside.

I step out first, shoulders squared, keeping my face unreadable. Lyra follows a step behind me.

"Alpha." Darin's voice breaks the silence. His eyes flick briefly to Lyra before returning to me. "We're here for the stray."

I don't move. "She's not a stray."

Mara folds her arms. "Then what is she?" She says it flat, like it doesn't matter to her either way. I've known her long enough to hear when it does.

The question hangs in the cold morning air. The ravine falls unnaturally still. Even the birds have gone quiet. I turn my head, just enough to look at Lyra.

She stands with her eyes lowered, waiting for me to change my mind and hand her over.

I reach back instead. My fingers find hers without hesitation. I pull her gently to my side until we're standing shoulder to shoulder, then lace my fingers with hers.

"She's mine," I say, my voice carrying through the ravine. "Mate."

The word lands like a thunderclap.

Mara doesn't say anything. She doesn't have to. I catch the exact second her face goes still. Not shocked like the others, just closed, like she's locking a door before anyone can see what's behind it. Two years ago she told me, half joking, that she always figured it would be her standing as my mate. I told her I didn't feel that way about her. She laughed it off and never brought it up again. I never forgot the look on her face when she said it. It's the same one she's wearing right now.

Darin's brows lift. "Since when?"

"Since tonight." I don't loosen my grip. "Since I caught her."

His jaw tightens. "You told me stray. Your own words."

"I lied to you." I hold his gaze, steady. "She was never a stray. Not since the second I caught her scent. I just wasn't ready to say it yet."

He studies me for a long moment. He doesn't look angry. He looks like a man filing the truth away for later, deciding it doesn't change where he stands.

"Bullshit." The mutter comes from one of the younger wolves near the back. "She smells like an outsider."

My gaze snaps toward him. "Then let her stay long enough, and she'll smell like us." I brush my thumb across Lyra's knuckles. A warning not to pull away.

Darin steps forward. "Alpha." His voice is respectful, but there's an edge beneath it. "You know pack law. If you claim a mate, you have to prove the bond."

I meet his gaze without flinching.

"Moon Rite."

"Tonight."

"I know." I hold his eyes a moment longer than the exchange needs. It isn't a challenge. It's closer to a request. Trust me a little longer. His jaw eases, just slightly. He gives the smallest nod back, one only I'd catch.

Mara steps forward, her expression hard. "And if there isn't a bond? If you're lying to protect her?"

She holds my gaze a bit too long when she says it, I don't know what to do with that look, so I ignore it.

The ravine falls silent again. I feel the gold drain out of my eyes, replaced by something flatter, harder.

"Then you'll have to go through me."

The air turns heavy. Several wolves shift their weight, hands drifting toward weapons. One wrong word would start a fight.

Lyra's grip tightens around my hand. She doesn't seem to notice she's done it.

My jaw relaxes, just barely, beneath the tension. I don't look at her. I don't squeeze back. But I don't let go either.

Darin watches our joined hands, then my face, searching for hesitation. He won't find any. He's known me too long to think I'd risk this on nothing.

Finally, he lets out a slow breath and steps back. "Fine. Moon Rite. Tonight." He glances toward Lyra. "If the bond is real, she's pack." His expression hardens. "If not..."

He doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't have to. Everyone already knows.

The wolves turn back toward the forest, one by one disappearing between the trees. Darin lingers at the mouth of the ravine.

"Don't be late, Kael." A pause. "And whatever this is..." his eyes flick, just once, to our joined hands, "I hope it's real. For both your sakes."

Then he's gone.

*******************

LYRA'S POV

The forest slowly comes back to life. Birdsong returns.

Only then does Kael release my hand. The warmth disappears immediately. To my surprise, I miss it.

"That was stupid," I say quietly.

A tired laugh escapes him. "Probably." He runs a hand through his hair, exhaustion showing now. "But it was the only move I had."

I search his expression. "Why did you do it?"

It isn't the first time I've asked him something like that tonight, and some part of me expects the answer to change.

He looks at me. Only me. "Because I meant it."

After a long moment, he looks toward the path back to North Ridge. "Come on." His voice is softer now. "We have until tonight to figure out if we can fake a bond." He pauses, eyes meeting mine again. "Or if we don't have to."