Chapter five

Athena

The sun is barely up, but the clearing hums with life or maybe it’s just my heartbeat. My wolf thrums beneath the surface, restless, alive, coiling around the bond like a live wire. Tristan doesn’t speak. He doesn’t need to. The silence between us is electric, heavy with everything we didn’t say in the years I was away and everything he’s never been able to admit.

“Move back into the house,” Tristan orders finally, voice low but absolute, the Alpha tone sharp and unwavering. My legs obey automatically, even as my wolf protests. We’re his. Always, in some way, even before he claimed me fully.

The Razorback MC moves with precision, clearing the path, eyes sweeping every treeline, every shadow. My pulse hammers. Every sense is on high alert. Even after all these years, I’ve never been around him like this Alpha fully engaged, danger pulsing through his veins, and yet, aware of me. Me. Athena. His mate.

The house is a large, rugged structure, surrounded by reinforced fencing and razor wire, blending with the forest in a way that screams both home and fortress. My wolf approves immediately, scenting safety, though we’re far from calm. Tristan stays close, one hand brushing my back in a possessive, grounding way as we enter the house.

“Sit,” he orders once inside. The command is gentle now, not harsh, but every word vibrates through the bond. My wolf settles reluctantly, tension coiling like a spring.

“Breakfast,” he adds. “And then we talk.”

I glance at him, jaw tight. “Talk about what?”

“Everything.” His amber eyes bore into mine. “Why I left. Why I ran. Why I’m here now.”

I cross my arms, leaning against the kitchen counter. My wolf growls softly. She remembers the pain, the abandonment, the years of silent torment. But she also remembers the bond. The bond never forgot.

“You think words can fix this?” I ask, voice bitter.

“They won’t,” Tristan admits. “Not entirely. But they’re a start. And I’ll do more than talk.”

I swallow, heat curling low, wolf straining against her cage. He isn’t asking. He’s claiming. And I am trembling at the inevitability of it.

The Razorbacks begin breakfast in the dining area, a quiet hum of engines and boots mingling with the aroma of strong coffee. Every so often, Tristan glances at me, a reminder that I belong in the midst of this chaos, that I am tethered to him no matter how much I protest.

“Tell me,” I start cautiously, “why now? After five years? You could’ve stayed gone. Let me… live without you.”

He sets his coffee down carefully, gaze steady. “I tried. Every day. I thought leaving you would save you from the mess I’ve lived in. The MC wars. The blood debts. The enemies who wouldn’t stop coming. I thought you’d be better off without me dragging you into hell.”

“And you think claiming me now changes that?” I snap, though my voice trembles.

“No,” he says, standing and walking toward me, each step deliberate, controlled. “But it ensures you’re safe. And it ensures I don’t lose you again.”

The bond flares violently. My wolf presses forward, senses screaming in unison with his. The pull between us is undeniable, raw, animal, impossible to ignore. Every nerve ending is alive, every instinct screaming that I am meant to be here, with him, in this moment.

I meet his gaze, and for the first time in years, I allow myself to see him not as the man who abandoned me, but as the Alpha who has returned. The man who is mine, by bond, by blood, by everything that binds us.

“Five years,” I murmur, voice low. “I’ve waited five years.”

“Five years too long,” he admits, reaching for my hand, fingers brushing mine lightly. The contact ignites something deep in me, a fire that has never fully gone out. My wolf whines, claws tapping lightly against the hardwood floor in anticipation.

Tristan doesn’t let go. Instead, he leans closer, gaze intense, and the air between us hums with electricity. “I’m not leaving this time,” he whispers. “I’m not letting fate or fear or anything else take you from me.”

I swallow hard, heat rising, wolf echoing the need and want I’ve tried to suppress for years. “And if I say no?”

“You won’t,” he says simply, with the confidence and certainty of an Alpha who has survived too many wars and lost too much to be afraid again. “Because the bond doesn’t lie. And neither does my heart.”

The words hang in the air, heavy and potent, and I realize I can’t look away, can’t step back, can’t deny what my wolf already knows. We are one. Bonded. Destined. Claiming each other was inevitable.

A sudden commotion outside snaps us both to attention. The Razorbacks shift, moving toward the windows, scanning the treeline. My wolf growls low. Danger approaches, faster, closer than before.

Tristan steps in front of me, protective and unyielding. “Stay behind me,” he orders again, but this time, there’s something softer beneath the command. Concern. Desire. Possession.

I nod, heart hammering, wolf coiling, ready for action. We’ve faced threats before, but this feels different. Personal. Intentional. Calculated. Someone wants to challenge him, challenge me, challenge the bond.

Tristan’s hand brushes my shoulder lightly, grounding me, and I realize he’s not just protecting me from the physical danger. He’s protecting what is ours. What he claimed. What can never be taken away again.

The engines growl in the distance, closer now, and I recognize the pattern. Unmarked. Aggressive. Testing boundaries.

“Ready?” he asks, voice low, almost a growl.

My wolf rumbles in agreement. I nod.

“Good,” he mutters. Then, without another word, he moves, a predator and Alpha combined, guiding me, controlling the battlefield, my body and soul both tethered to his presence.

The threat enters the clearing, and chaos erupts. But amidst the danger, amidst the roar of engines and the growl of wolves and the flash of weapons, I feel it clearly: this is ours. The bond. The Alpha. The mate.

And nothing will take it from us.

Not fate. Not enemies. Not the years lost.

Because the biker Alpha who claimed me again isn’t just here to fight battles in the forest. He’s here to fight for me. For us. For everything that was stolen.

And I will never, ever let him go.