Chapter 4- Mine?

(ASTRID POV)

...

Consciousness returned slowly, like surfacing from deep water.

My eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry at first, the light too bright, the shapes too sharp. I blinked a few times, trying to steady the world around me.

The first thing I saw was the ceiling—white and wide, glimmering with delicate jewels embedded into intricate carvings. It looked almost like stars in the sky.

Where… was I?

I frowned, my body still heavy with sleep. I tried to sit up, but something held me down.

I glanced down—and froze.

A strong arm was wrapped firmly around my waist.

I slowly turned my head, heart pounding, and the breath caught in my throat.

He was there. Right beside me.

Asleep.

And gods, he was beautiful. Like something pulled out of a forgotten myth. Thick, dark hair tousled over his forehead. Long lashes resting against his cheeks. Lips slightly parted, the rise and fall of his bare chest slow and steady.

Shirtless. Very shirtless.

I lay there stiffly, unsure if I was dreaming—or dead. Maybe I’d actually died in that forest and ended up in some other realm. Somewhere I wasn’t meant to be. Somewhere ruled by gods in human skin.

What… what was happening?

My heart pounded faster as a sharp jolt of memory hit me.

Running. The forest. The hunt. The claws. The lycans.

Kael.

The moment crashed back into me all at once, slamming through my mind like a storm.

I remembered the growls. The pain. The hopelessness.

I remembered falling.

And then… him.

The massive wolf. The glowing red eyes. The stranger who’d fought for me. Saved me. Whispered the word mate.

My eyes widened in terror.

And I screamed.

...

The second I screamed, the man beside me—whoever he was—woke like a beast disturbed.

His eyes snapped open, glowing a deep ruby red. His lips peeled back over sharp canines, and he scanned the room like a predator ready to strike.

My heart practically stopped.

But when he saw *me*—saw that I was scrambling away from him—he paused. The shift in him was instant. He clamped down on whatever savage instinct had surged forward.

I was already off the bed, my scream still echoing in the room. The sheets tangled around my legs, and I tripped hard, landing painfully on the floor.

Panic flooded every inch of me. I got up and backed into the farthest corner I could find, putting as much distance between us as possible.

“Who are you?!” I shouted, my voice shaking.

He lifted his hands in what I assumed was a gesture of peace. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just need you to calm down—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I snapped. “Where the hell am I?! Who are you?!”

When he took a slow step toward me, I grabbed the nearest object—some kind of bread knife from a tray—and pointed it at him like a sword.

“Stay away from me, you—vile beast!”

I was still tangled in the damn sheets and kicked them off in frustration. My movements were awkward and frantic, but I didn’t care. I was ready to fight him tooth and nail if I had to.

He laughed.

Actually laughed.

I turned on him, raising the knife higher. “What’s so funny?! Huh? You think kidnapping me is hilarious?!”

“If you’d just calm down and listen,” he said, eyes twinkling, “you’d know who I am—and why you’re here.”

I narrowed my eyes, knife still raised. I was listening. But I was also calculating my next escape route.

Then, on a wild impulse, I grabbed a book from a side table and chucked it at him.

It bounced harmlessly off his chest.

He blinked at me. “Why’d you do that?”

I grabbed another. “I don’t know—maybe I’m just making sure you’re real. That this isn’t some twisted dream.”

“I promise, I’m real.” He wiggled his fingers like an idiot. “See? Real. Now, drop the knife. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Not a chance.” I held firm. “I’m keeping it until you tell me how I got here.”

He looked like he wanted to laugh again. And cry. And maybe fall over.

Then he folded his arms and said simply, “I’m Kendrick Blackthorn. Alpha of Lunaria.”

I stared.

He stared back.

“What?” I demanded.

“Nothing,” he murmured. “Just surprised you don’t know who I am.”

“Am I supposed to?”

“The name Blackthorn? Alpha of Lunaria? That doesn’t ring a bell?”

“Never heard of it.”

A frown flickered across his face, like he didn’t quite know what to do with that information. I didn’t care. I wasn’t here for werewolf history lessons.

“Well,” he said after a pause, “now you have. Kendrick Blackthorn. Alpha. Lunaria.”

“So you said. Now how did I get here?”

“I saved you last night. In the forest.”

Pieces of memory slid into place. Running. Screaming. Paws. Pain.

“I must’ve passed out,” I murmured.

“You did,” he nodded. “But I found you—before they could drag you back.”

I eyed him warily. “Do you make a habit of rescuing damsels in distress?”

He chuckled. “Actually, no.”

“What about the lycans?”

“They’re all dead.”

The knife dropped from my hand before I realized it. My stomach turned. I stepped back, shaking my head.

“No, no, no. What did you do? You killed all of them? I have to leave. If Kael finds out—he’ll come for me. He always finds me.”

Panic clawed its way up my throat again.

Before I could bolt, Kendrick moved. He closed the distance and grabbed my arms—not roughly, but firmly enough to stop me. I struggled for a second until his eyes locked onto mine.

“Kael will have to go through me to get to you,” he said, voice low and certain.

I stilled.

My mouth opened, but no words came out—not because I didn’t believe him, but because something *else* happened.

A rush of heat surged through my veins. Sparks danced across my skin where he touched me. A hum deep inside me echoed with one word.

Mate.

I stared at him in disbelief. I felt it. That strange bond. That unmistakable pull.

He nodded slowly, as if reading my thoughts.

“Yes. You are my mate,” he said gently. “That’s how I found you. The full moon led me straight to you. And Kael—he should start running. Because when I find him, I won’t be merciful.”

I couldn’t speak.

Rejected by Gerald—humiliated—and then *this*? A second-chance mate on the very same night?

What kind of twisted fate was this?

---

A few minutes later, I sat on the bed, calm—for now. The fear had subsided. Sort of.

Kendrick leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed. He was far too relaxed for someone who just declared war on an entire pack.

“Will you at least tell me your name?” he asked.

I looked up at him. Now that I wasn’t panicking, I had to admit—he was ridiculously attractive. Gerald looked like a scrawny pup in comparison.

“Astrid,” I said softly. “I… I don’t have a last name.”

He repeated it under his breath. “Astrid.” Like he was savoring it.

“I don’t even know what to think,” I muttered. “About any of this.”

He crouched in front of me and gently took my hands. “I’m more worried about you. Would you like a bath? Fresh clothes? It’ll help.”

I sniffed. Tentatively.

“Do I smell bad?”

He laughed. “You smell amazing. But that…” He nodded at the brown sack I still wore. “That’s a crime.”

Embarrassed, I agreed to the bath.

---

Later, I emerged wrapped in clean clothes—a large t-shirt and shorts that clearly belonged to Kendrick. I dried and brushed my hair, still trying to make sense of everything.

The door opened. He stepped in and smiled. And gods, that smile.

“Thanks for the shirt… and shorts,” I mumbled.

“You hungry?”

My stomach answered for me.

“Yes. Please.”

He held out his hand. “Come with me.”

The moment our hands touched, the sparks came again—warm and wild and impossible to ignore.

As we walked down the stairs, I realized how quiet the house was.

“You live here alone?”

He hesitated. “Not really. There are a few maids. But no one’s here now, so you don’t have to be nervous.”

He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

I found myself smiling back, helplessly.

And then—

Kendrick froze.

I stopped too. His whole body tensed. The air shifted.

His eyes flared red.

“Kendrick?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer.

A second later, the front door burst open.

A man stepped in. Tall. Dark-haired. Almost identical to Kendrick.

I gaped. It was like seeing a mirror. The resemblance was uncanny.

Kendrick's face shifted from confusion to rage.

“Kaiden,” he growled.

The stranger smirked. “Hello, brother.”

But then his gaze fell on me.

His eyes locked with mine—and widened.

He took a slow step forward.

And said the last thing I expected.

“Mine.”