The Alpha's Heir Forbidden Mate

I won't be your secret

(Kiara)

The rest of the day passed without Maris questioning me again. I stayed busy and kept my distance from Cassian whenever other people were nearby. Nyra complained every time I walked away from him, but I ignored her. Hiding the bond was necessary until we understood what we were going to do.

By evening, I was carrying clean towels toward the pack house when I saw Cassian near the path. He didn't approach me, which told me he had listened to what I'd asked earlier. Instead, he continued toward the trees without looking back. A few seconds later, Nyra became restless inside me.

'He wants us to follow him.' Nyra sounded certain. 'I can feel Ronan.' She pushed closer as I continued walking.

'I have work,' I reminded her. 'And Maris could be anywhere.' I entered the pack house without changing direction.

I finished putting the towels away and helped clean the kitchen. Maris left before me after giving instructions for the next morning. I waited until the other servants were busy before slipping outside. Cassian was waiting beyond the training grounds where fewer pack members usually went in the evening.

"You came." Cassian looked pleased when he saw me. "I wasn't sure you would." He remained where he was instead of coming closer.

"I almost didn't." I glanced behind me to make sure nobody had followed. "I can't stay long." I walked farther from the training grounds.

Cassian came with me until we reached a place hidden from the pack house. I sat on the grass, and he sat beside me with enough space between us. For a moment, neither of us said anything. It felt good being near him without worrying about who was watching.

"I told Lysander." Cassian turned toward me. "I hope you're not angry." He waited for my reaction.

I hadn't expected that. Lysander wasn't someone I feared, but Cassian and I had agreed to keep the bond between us. Part of me wondered why he'd decided to tell him without asking me. I wanted to hear his reason before getting upset.

"Why?" I asked. "We agreed not to tell anyone yet." I kept my eyes on him.

"I needed someone I trust to know what's happening." Cassian rested his hands on the grass beside him. "I also wanted to ask him about father's behavior toward Silvercrest." He watched me carefully.

That caught my attention. "What did he say?" I forgot my irritation for a moment. "Does he remember something?" I wanted to know anything connected to my old pack.

Cassian told me about Lysander questioning Lucan when they were children. He explained how Lucan became angry whenever Silvercrest was mentioned and how he'd once claimed there were no survivors worth searching for. I didn't understand why an Alpha would react that way to a destroyed pack. Lucan had known I survived because he'd met me the night I arrived.

"Why would he say that?" I asked. "He knew I was here." The memory made me uncomfortable.

"I don't know." Cassian looked toward me. "But I'm going to find out eventually." His words carried a promise.

I appreciated that he wanted answers, but another problem bothered me more right now. We were sitting away from everyone because nobody could know I was his mate. Yesterday, keeping the bond private had felt like protection. Today, it felt different.

"Cassian, I don't want this to become my life." I looked at the space between us. "I don't want to spend months hiding whenever I want to see you." I needed him to understand what I meant.

"It won't." Cassian turned fully toward me. "We're only being careful until we know how to deal with father." He didn't try to dismiss my concern.

"I've spent thirteen years being told where I belong." I looked at him. "I won't become someone you meet in secret because your father doesn't think I'm good enough." Saying it hurt, but I needed to say it.

Cassian was silent for a moment. He seemed to understand that this wasn't about whether I trusted him. I trusted him more than most people in Blackridge. What I didn't trust was the life our bond could force me into.

"You won't be." Cassian moved closer but still didn't touch me. "I don't want you hidden, Kiara." His eyes stayed on mine.

"Then what do you want?" I asked. I had spent too many years wondering what other people intended to do with my life. "Tell me the truth."

"I want you." Cassian answered without hesitation. "Not somewhere nobody can see us, and not only when father isn't around." He gave me the answer I'd needed.

Nyra became excited inside me, but I kept my attention on Cassian. Hearing him say it made everything between us feel more real. The mate bond might have connected us, but our choices still mattered. I needed to know he understood that.

"I want you too." I let the words come without hiding behind fear. "But I need to be able to choose what happens to me." I wasn't giving that choice away to anyone.

"You will." Cassian held his hand out between us. "I won't make decisions about us without you." He waited instead of reaching for me.

I looked at his hand before placing mine in it. Nyra reacted at once, and I could tell Ronan did too from the change in Cassian's expression. Being this close to him made it difficult to remember why we needed distance. I moved nearer without letting go.

"I wish this could be easier." I looked at him. "I wish we could tell everyone and be done with it." I knew wishing wouldn't change Lucan.

"We will tell them." Cassian rubbed his thumb across my fingers. "I don't know exactly when yet, but I'm not keeping you a secret forever." His answer settled some of my fear.

We stayed there longer than I had planned. We talked about smaller things after that, including the three weeks he'd spent away and everything he'd missed at Blackridge. It was the kind of conversation we'd rarely been able to have with servants and family around us. For a little while, I could forget that Lucan stood between us.

Eventually, I knew I had to return. Cassian released my hand when I stood and didn't ask me to stay longer. I liked that he understood when to let me make my own choice. It made trusting him easier.

"I should go back before someone notices." I looked toward the pack house. "Tomorrow we need to act normal again." I hated how much I already disliked those words.

"For now." Cassian stood but didn't follow me. "This isn't what we're going to be forever." He stayed behind as I left.

I walked back alone with Nyra unusually content inside me. I still feared what Lucan would do when he learned the truth, and Lysander's memories had given me new questions about Silvercrest. But something important had changed during that hour with Cassian. I would protect our secret for now, but I refused to become one.