Chapter 10: The Choice
1022 Words
The silence in the room felt louder than any howl.
Kai was still sitting on the edge of my bed, one hand resting near my face, glowing eyes locked on mine. The mate bond was pulsing so hard it hurt. Every breath I took made it worse. Every second I stayed this close to him made the pull stronger.
“Decide,” he had said.
“Before I lose the ability to let you choose.”
My heart was racing so fast I was sure he could hear it. Part of me wanted to push him away and tell him to leave. The other part—the part that had been feeling this invisible chain since the day I arrived—wanted to close the small distance between us.
“I don’t know what this will do to me,” I whispered.
Kai’s thumb brushed lightly along my jaw. His hand was warm, almost burning. “I know. That’s why I’m still asking.”
His voice was rough, strained, like he was holding himself back with everything he had. The gold in his eyes flickered brighter for a second before he forced it down.
I swallowed. “If we do this… what changes?”
“The bond will settle for a while,” he answered. “It won’t stop growing, but it won’t keep hurting you like this. And my wolf… he’ll calm down. A little.”
“And if I say no?”
Kai’s jaw tightened. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, breathing in slowly through his nose. When he opened them again, the struggle was clear on his face.
“Then I’ll leave this room right now,” he said. “I’ll sleep downstairs. I’ll keep my distance as much as I can. But the bond will keep pulling, Lila. And every time those wolves get close to you, it will get harder for me to control myself.”
The honesty in his voice scared me more than the glowing eyes.
I stared at him for several long seconds. The pain in my chest flared again, sharp enough to make me flinch. Kai immediately moved closer, his hand sliding to the back of my neck.
“Lila—”
“Okay,” I said before I could change my mind.
His eyes snapped to mine. “Okay what?”
“Stabilize it.” My voice came out quieter than I wanted. “Just… don’t go further than that.”
Something dark and relieved flashed across his face at the same time. He didn’t give me a chance to take the words back.
Kai leaned in and closed the distance.
The moment his lips touched mine, the mate bond exploded.
Heat rushed through my entire body. The painful twisting in my chest suddenly eased, replaced by something deeper and more intense. Kai’s hand tightened on the back of my neck as he kissed me harder, not rough, but full of barely restrained hunger. His other hand gripped the edge of the bed like he was using it to keep himself from going further.
I should have pushed him away.
Instead, my fingers curled into the front of his shirt.
Kai made a low sound in his throat—half growl, half groan—and tilted his head, deepening the kiss. The bond between us settled and tightened at the same time, wrapping around my ribs like a living thing. For a few seconds, the rest of the world disappeared. There was only the heat of his mouth, the strength of his hand, and the overwhelming feeling that something irreversible had just been set in motion.
When he finally pulled back, both of us were breathing hard.
Kai rested his forehead against mine. His eyes were still glowing, but the wild edge had softened a little.
“That,” he said roughly, “was more dangerous than I thought.”
I couldn’t speak yet. My lips still tingled, and the place where his hand rested on my neck felt branded.
Kai slowly removed his hand, as if it took real effort. He stayed close, though, studying my face carefully.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
I took a shaky breath. The sharp pain in my chest was gone. In its place was a steady, warm pull that still connected me to him—but it no longer felt like it was trying to tear me apart.
“Better,” I admitted. “The pain stopped.”
Kai nodded once, jaw still tight. “Good.”
He started to move back, putting space between us, but the moment he did, a faint ache returned in my chest. He noticed immediately. A frustrated sound left him.
“Even that little distance is already bothering it,” he muttered.
“What does that mean?”
“It means the bond accepted what we just did… and now it wants more.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking away. “I need to leave this room before I do something you’ll regret.”
I watched him stand up. His movements were controlled, but I could see the tension in his shoulders. He walked to the door, stopped, and looked back at me over his shoulder.
“Tomorrow we need to talk about protection,” he said. “Real protection. Those wolves won’t stop, and after tonight… the bond is stronger. They’ll feel it.”
“Kai.”
He paused.
“What happens if they come again?” I asked.
His eyes met mine in the dark, glowing faintly one last time.
“Then I stop holding back.”
He opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Just before he closed it, he spoke one more time, voice low and final.
“Sleep while you can, Lila. From now on, things are going to move faster.”
The door clicked shut.
I sat there in the silence of my room, fingers lightly touching my lips, the mate bond still warm and alive in my chest.
Kai was right.
Something had changed tonight.
And there was no way to undo it.
- Writer
