Chapter 5
1374 Words
Five days before Christmas.
Riley woke to screaming.
She bolted upright. Alarms shrieked through the fortress. Outside her window—chaos. Wolves running. Steel clashing. Blood.
An attack.
Riley ran to the door. Locked. Of course.
"Let me out!" She pounded on the wood. "Someone—"
An explosion rocked the fortress. Stone dust rained from the ceiling. The lock shattered.
Riley stumbled into the corridor. Smoke choked the air. Wolves in shifted form tore past her—rogues fighting rogues.
This wasn't her father's army. These were different wolves. Savage. Attacking everyone.
Riley ran toward the courtyard, searching for—what? Safety? Grayson?
She burst outside and froze.
War.
Bodies everywhere. Blood staining white snow crimson. Grayson stood in the center, shifted to wolf form, massive and silver, ripping through enemy wolves with terrifying efficiency.
Scarlett fought beside him, a whirlwind of claws and fury.
Riley pressed against the wall, her heart in her throat.
A growl behind her.
She spun.
A rogue wolf—not one of Grayson's. Bigger. Scarred. Foam at his mouth. His eyes locked on Riley with violent recognition.
The Alpha King's daughter.
Riley's blood turned to ice.
The wolf lunged.
Riley dove sideways. Claws raked her shoulder. Pain exploded. She screamed.
The wolf cornered her against the wall. Nowhere to run. No weapon. No—
Shift. She needed to shift.
But fear locked her body. Her wolf cowered inside, too weak, too scared—
The enemy wolf's jaws opened wide. Going for her throat.
Riley closed her eyes.
A roar shook the courtyard.
Silver fur slammed into the enemy wolf, ripping him away from Riley. Grayson.
What happened next would haunt Riley's dreams.
Grayson went feral.
Pure, primal, unstoppable rage. He tore into the enemy wolf with savage brutality. It wasn't a fight. It was a m******e.
When the enemy wolf stopped moving, Grayson didn't stop.
"Grayson!" Scarlett's voice cut through the chaos. "He's dead! Gray—stop!"
Grayson shifted back to human. Stood over the mangled corpse. Naked. Covered in blood and snow. His chest heaving. His eyes wild.
Then he turned to Riley.
The world stopped.
He stalked toward her. Predatory. Possessive. Barely controlled.
Riley pressed harder against the wall. Her shoulder bled. Her whole body shook.
"Are you hurt?" His voice was rough. Feral.
Riley couldn't speak. Couldn't move.
Grayson reached her. His hands—still bloody—cupped her face. "Riley. Are you hurt?"
"My shoulder," she whispered.
His eyes dropped to the wound. A growl rumbled in his chest. "He touched you. He f*****g touched you—"
"Grayson—"
"I should have killed him slower." His thumb traced her cheekbone. Gentle despite the violence still thrumming through him. "I should have made him suffer for every drop of your blood."
Riley's breath caught. She should be terrified. He looked like a monster—blood splattered, eyes wild, hands shaking with barely leashed fury.
But she wasn't scared. Not of him.
"Why did you save me?" The question came out broken.
Grayson's jaw clenched. His forehead dropped to hers. "You know why."
"Tell me."
"Because you're MINE." The words tore out of him. Raw. Desperate. "Because I'd burn this whole f*****g world before I let anyone hurt you."
Riley's heart slammed against her ribs. "Grayson—"
"I'm sorry." His voice cracked. "I'm sorry I took you. Sorry I dragged you into this. But I'm not sorry for keeping you alive. I'll never be sorry for that."
The walls between them crumbled.
Riley's hands found his chest. Felt his heart hammering beneath her palms. "I heard you. Last night. Talking to Scarlett."
Grayson went rigid.
"You said—" Riley's voice shook. "You said I'm your mate."
Silence. The battle raged around them, but in this moment, they were alone.
"Yes." The admission was barely a whisper.
"For a year?"
"Yes."
"And you never told me."
Grayson pulled back. Met her eyes. His were filled with agony. "Would you have believed me? Would you have chosen a rogue over your perfect life?"
Riley's mind spun. A year. He'd watched her for a year. Wanting her. Knowing she was promised to someone else.
"I don't know," she whispered honestly.
"Exactly." Pain flickered across his face. "So I took you instead. Made the choice for you. And I'll pay for that. But at least you're alive. At least you're—"
Riley kissed him.
She didn't think. Didn't plan. Just grabbed his face and crashed her mouth against his.
Grayson froze for half a heartbeat.
Then he exploded.
His arms wrapped around her, lifting her against him. The kiss turned desperate. Consuming. A year of want unleashed.
Riley's legs wrapped around his waist. She kissed him like she was dying. Like he was the only real thing in a world gone mad.
Grayson groaned into her mouth. His hand slid into her hair, tilting her head for deeper access. The other hand gripped her thigh, possessive and burning hot.
Then—light.
Silver light exploded between them.
Riley gasped. Her eyes flew open.
Light poured from her skin. From Grayson's. Where their bodies touched, it blazed brighter, wrapping around them like living fire.
The mate bond.
Riley felt it snap into place—violent, overwhelming, undeniable.
Every cell in her body screamed MINE. Her wolf surged forward, ecstatic, finally recognizing what she'd known all along.
Grayson.
Her mate.
Her everything.
The connection flooded through her. His emotions. His love. His absolute devotion. A year of longing, of torture, of desperate need—all of it crashed into her at once.
"No." Riley's voice broke. "No, no, no—"
"Yes." Grayson's eyes burned silver. "You feel it now. The truth. We're mates, Riley. We've always been mates."
Tears streamed down Riley's face. "You KNEW. You knew and you—"
"I kidn*pped you because I couldn't watch you marry someone else." His confession was raw. Devastating. "I've been losing my mind for a year, wanting you, knowing you'd never choose me. So I took you. And I'm not sorry."
Riley was shaking. The bond pulsed between them. She felt everything—his fierce love, his possession, his desperate need to protect her.
And her own feelings, rising to meet his. Undeniable. Terrifying.
Real.
"I'm getting married in five days," she whispered.
"Not anymore." Grayson's voice was absolute certainty. His hand slid up her thigh. Possessive. Claiming. "You're mine, Riley. And before Christmas morning, I'm going to make sure you know exactly what that means."
Riley's breath caught. Heat flooded through the mate bond. Want. Need.
Yes.
"Alpha!"
Noah's shout shattered the moment.
Grayson set Riley down but kept her pressed against him. "What?"
Noah ran up, blood-splattered and breathing hard. "Her father's armies. Hundreds of them. They're surrounding the fortress."
Riley's world tilted.
Her father. The Alpha King. Coming for her.
Grayson's expression turned deadly. He pulled Riley closer. "He came faster than expected."
Riley's mind raced. She should be relieved. Her father was here to rescue her. She should run to him.
But the mate bond screamed at her. Grayson's hands still burned on her skin. She'd just kissed her kidnapper—her MATE—like her life depended on it.
Grayson looked down at her. His eyes intense. Desperate.
"Choose, Riley. Right now."
"What?"
"Your father's out there. You can run to him. Marry your fiancé. Live your safe little life." His hand slid to her throat. Not threatening—possessive. His thumb stroked her racing pulse. "Or stay with me. Accept this bond. Help me burn your father's corrupt system to the ground."
Riley couldn't breathe.
"But know this." Grayson leaned close. His lips brushed her ear. "If you choose me, there's no going back. I'll claim you in every way possible. You'll be mine, and I'll be yours, and I don't share. Ever."
Riley's heart hammered. She could hear her father's army approaching. Shouting her name.
The mate bond pulled at her. Grayson's silver eyes blazed into hers.
"What's it going to be, princess?"
Everything hung in the balance.
Her old life—safe, predictable, empty.
Or this—dangerous, passionate, real.
Her father or her mate.
Duty or desire.
The choice that would change everything.
Riley opened her mouth.
- Writer
