CHAPTER 5 – Electric

"You," Rowan said again, his voice rough. "It's you."

I couldn't speak. The mate bond was singing between us, so strong I could almost see it – a golden thread connecting us.

My wolf was howling. Finally. Our mate. OURS.

But he wasn't mine. He couldn't be. Because tomorrow, I was supposed to stand at an altar and let another man mark me.

"Kira." Lena's hand on my arm. "What's going on? You know him?"

"No. I've never met him."

But my wolf knew him. Had known him the moment I caught his scent.

"Then why – " Lena looked between us, understanding dawning. "Oh no. That's a mate pull. But you can't – you're mating Asher tomorrow – "

"I know."

Rowan took a step forward, then stopped. His hands were clenched into fists, every muscle tense.

"We need to talk," he said, voice controlled but edged. "Privately."

"That's not a good idea."

"I don't care." The words surprised me, but they were true. I'd died once already. What did scandal matter compared to that?

I followed him to the forest line, ignoring Lena's protests. Ignoring the curious looks from pack members. Ignoring everything except the pull leading me toward him.

We walked until the trees closed around us. Only then did he turn to face me.

Up close, the bond was overwhelming. I could smell him properly now – pine and earth and rain, clean and wild. My wolf was practically purring.

"How long have you known?" His voice was tight. "That I'm your mate?"

"This morning. I looked out my window and I smelled you and my wolf – " I stopped, shaking my head. "This doesn't make sense. If you're my mate, why did I feel a bond with Asher? The Oracle confirmed – "

"This morning?" He cut himself off, ran a hand through his hair. His laugh was bitter, hollow. "I've been searching for my mate for ten years. Ten years. And I find you the day before you marry someone else."

The pain in his voice made my chest ache.

"What Oracle?" His expression darkened.

"The one who verified our bond. Before the ceremony was planned."

"Who chose this Oracle?"

I opened my mouth and realized I didn't know. The ceremony had been arranged so quickly.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Someone lied to you." His jaw clenched. "There's no bond between you and Asher. You're mine."

The possessiveness should have annoyed me. Instead, my wolf rolled over in pleasure.

"I can't be yours." The words hurt. "The ceremony is tomorrow."

"Then call it off."

"I can't. I don't have a choice." I took a breath, meeting his eyes. "My father is dying. The woman who arranged my mating ceremony – she's the one killing him. If I don't go through with this, she'll know something's wrong. And he'll be dead by sunset."

Rowan's expression shifted. The anger dimmed, replaced by something sharper. "A healer?"

"A witch."

He was quiet for a long moment, processing. "Show me. Show me the curse."

"I can't. If I try to expose her, if he tries to speak against her, the curse stops his heart. I've seen it happen." I pressed my hands to my face. "I need proof. Evidence. Something concrete before I can act."

"Then we find proof."

"There's no time. The ceremony is tomorrow."

"Then we make time." He closed the distance between us. "You're my mate. Do you think I'm going to let you walk into a trap alone?"

I wanted to lean into him. To let him help. But Rowan was about to respond when his posture changed. His eyes flicked past my shoulder. Alpha instinct – he'd sensed another dominant male approaching.

I smelled Asher a second later. Cedar and rain.

Too late to run.

A twig snapped behind us.

We both spun. My heart sank.

Asher stood there, staring at us with confusion, hurt, and anger mixed together.

"Kira." His voice was carefully controlled. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." I stepped away from Rowan, but the movement felt wrong. "We were just – "

"Just what?" Asher's eyes moved to Rowan. "Why are you in the woods with another Alpha the day before our ceremony?"

"We needed to discuss territory agreements," Rowan said coldly.

It was a weak lie. We all knew it.

"Really." Asher didn't look convinced. "Because it looked like something else."

The tension between them was palpable. Two Alphas, both dominant, their eyes starting to flash.

"Asher." I moved between them. "Please. Let's go back. We can talk – "

"I think we're past talking." His eyes searched my face. "Tell me the truth. Do you want to marry me tomorrow?"

The silence stretched too long.

"That's what I thought." Asher's voice was hollow. He turned and walked away.

I started to follow, but Rowan caught my arm.

"Let him go."

"I can't. If I don't fix this – "

"Then fix it. Call off the ceremony. Choose us."

"It's not that simple."

"It is exactly that simple." He pulled me closer, the bond flaring. "Do you know what it's going to do to me to watch another man mark you?"

I could see the pain in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Sorry doesn't fix this." He released my arm and stepped back. "But if you go through with that ceremony – I won't be able to watch. I'll have to leave."

"Rowan – "

"No. I've spent my whole life waiting for my mate. And now I've found you, and you're about to throw it away for – what? Politics? Duty?"

"To save my father," I wanted to scream.

"I have my reasons."

"Then I hope they're good ones. Because they're costing us everything."

He shifted – one moment man, the next a massive black wolf, easily twice the size of a normal wolf, power radiating from every line of him. But it was his eyes that destroyed me. Even in wolf form, I could see the anguish there, the betrayal – and disappeared into the forest.

I stood there alone, my legs suddenly weak. The ground seemed to tilt beneath me. I caught myself against a tree, my whole body shaking.

My wolf was howling, throwing herself against my control, desperate to chase after him.

Go after him. He's OURS.

But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. The nausea hit in a wave – too much emotion, too much bond pull, too much everything. I bent over, hands on my knees, trying not to throw up.

This was wrong. All of it. I'd found my real mate, and I was about to watch him walk away. About to let another man mark me while my true bond shattered.

But I had less than twenty-four hours to stop a wedding without getting my father killed.

I made my way back to the training grounds on shaking legs. Lena was waiting, expression worried and furious.

"Well. That looked like it went great."

"Not now, Lena."

"Oh, we're definitely talking about this now." She fell into step beside me. "You disappeared with a strange Alpha, came back heartbroken, and Asher stormed past looking ready to murder someone."

I didn't have the energy to argue. "He's my mate. Rowan. He's my real mate."

Lena stopped walking. "What?"

"The bond with Asher – it's fake. Wrong. Rowan is who the Moon Goddess chose."

"Then you call off the ceremony."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Because my father is cursed. Because a witch is orchestrating this. Because I've already died once.

"I just can't. Not yet. I need more time."

"Time for what? You're getting married tomorrow – "

"I know!" The words came out sharp. "I know. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Lena studied my face. "I promised I wouldn't give up on you. I guess this counts."

"Thank you."

We walked back in silence. My mind raced. I had to go through with the ceremony to keep my father alive. But the false bond would start killing me the moment Asher's mark settled.

Unless the real mate bond was stronger. Unless proximity to Rowan protected me.

It was a theory. Untested. Possibly wrong.

But it was all I had.

We reached the pack house. "Lena. Find Rowan. Tell him not to leave. No matter what happens tomorrow. Tell him I need him to stay."

"Kira – "

"Please."

She finally nodded. "You owe me the full story. Soon."

"Soon. I promise."

She headed toward the guest quarters, and I slipped inside.

One day. One day to find proof against Seraphine, to survive the false bond, to navigate between two mates.

One day before, I had to stand at that altar again. And this time, I wasn't dying without a fight.