The Alpha's Heir Forbidden Mate

Fate chose him

(Kiara)

The visiting families left Blackridge the next morning. I was relieved when I saw their vehicles disappear beyond the gates. Selene had been polite to me, so I had no reason to dislike her. Still, seeing her beside Cassian had bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

I spent the morning trying to forget everything Cassian had said after dinner. He didn't want Selene, and he'd made it clear he wanted to decide his own future. I didn't know what that meant for me. Thinking about it wouldn't make my work disappear.

Avoiding Cassian should have been easy. He had training with the warriors, and I had laundry to take across the grounds. I carried a basket toward the building where the clean linens were stored. Nyra had been restless since I woke.

'Something feels strange,' she said. 'I don't know what it is.' She moved closer inside me.

'You're probably tired,' I told her. 'Yesterday was a long day.' I continued across the grounds.

The training area was ahead, and several wolves were gathered there. I could hear commands being called as I walked past. I kept my eyes ahead because I knew Cassian would be among them. Nyra suddenly became alert.

'Stop.' Her voice came without warning. 'Kiara, stop walking.' Her reaction made me freeze.

'What is it?' I looked around for danger. 'Do you smell something?' Nothing around me seemed wrong.

Then I saw Cassian leaving the training grounds. He was speaking to one of the warriors, but he stopped in the middle of the conversation. His head turned in my direction. The warrior beside him continued talking before realizing Cassian wasn't listening.

Nyra pushed forward so strongly that my breath caught. All her attention went to Cassian. I had never felt her react to anyone that way. Then a scent reached me that I couldn't remember noticing before.

It was Cassian, but somehow different. My fingers closed around the basket as he stared at me from across the grounds. Something in his expression told me Ronan was reacting too. Neither of us seemed to understand what was happening.

'Kiara.' Nyra sounded stunned. 'That's him.' I already knew what she meant.

'Mate.' The word left me unable to think. 'Cassian is our mate.' Nyra sounded happier than I'd ever heard her.

No. Cassian Corven couldn't be my mate. Of every wolf fate could have chosen, it couldn't possibly be the future Alpha of Blackridge. Yet Nyra's certainty left no room for doubt.

Cassian started toward me. I should have moved, but I couldn't. The closer he came, the stronger the pull became. Everything we'd said to each other yesterday suddenly meant even more.

"Kiara." Cassian stopped in front of me. "Can you feel that?" His eyes searched mine.

I swallowed before answering. "Nyra says you're our mate." Saying it aloud made it real. "Ronan knows too, doesn't he?"

Cassian stared at me before a smile appeared on his face. I had expected shock because I felt plenty of it myself. I had even expected him to look worried. Instead, he looked happy.

"Yes." Cassian moved closer. "Ronan hasn't stopped talking since I saw you." His smile remained.

I looked around us. Several warriors were still training nearby, and I didn't know whether anyone had noticed our reaction. The last thing we needed was someone overhearing us. I stepped away from the training area.

"We can't talk here." I looked toward the pack house. "Someone could hear us." I started walking.

Cassian followed me toward the trees. We stopped far enough from the training area that no one could hear our conversation. I placed the basket on the ground because my hands were trembling. Cassian stayed close without touching me.

"You don't look happy." His smile disappeared. "Is it because it's me?" He waited for my answer.

"No." I answered immediately. "That's not what I'm thinking." If anything, that was part of the problem.

'We wanted him before this,' Nyra said. 'You know we did.' I couldn't argue with her.

"I don't understand how this is possible." I looked at Cassian. "Your father spent yesterday reminding me that I don't belong anywhere near your future." Now fate had tied me directly to it.

"My father doesn't decide who my mate is." Cassian didn't hesitate. "And he doesn't decide how I feel about it." His certainty made me wish everything could be that simple.

"You don't know how he'll react." I remembered Lucan telling me Cassian needed a suitable Luna. "He already thinks I'm a distraction." Finding out I was Cassian's mate would be much worse.

"Then we don't tell him yet." Cassian glanced toward the pack house. "We keep this between us until we decide what to do." He looked back at me.

I hadn't expected that. Cassian respected his father even when they disagreed, but he was willing to hide this from him. If Lucan discovered the truth before we told him, I knew which one of us would receive most of his anger. That thought frightened me.

"What happens if someone figures it out?" I asked. "Wolves notice mate bonds." We couldn't hide something this important forever.

"Then we'll deal with it." Cassian moved his hand toward mine but stopped before touching me. "I'm not telling anyone until you're ready." He left the choice with me.

That mattered more than he knew. Everyone in Blackridge had spent years deciding what I could do and where I belonged. Cassian could have treated the bond like it gave him a right to make decisions for me. Instead, he waited.

I looked at his hand between us. Part of me wanted to take it, while another part remembered everything Lucan had said. Cassian was supposed to have a Luna who strengthened Blackridge. I was still a servant in his father's home.

'Take his hand,' Nyra urged. 'He's ours, and we're his.' Her excitement made me want to smile.

I reached for Cassian. The moment our hands touched, warmth rushed through me, and Nyra reacted immediately. Cassian drew in a breath as his fingers closed around mine. Neither of us pulled away.

"Ronan likes that." Cassian smiled again. "Actually, that's an understatement." He looked down at our hands.

"Nyra isn't being calm either." I finally allowed myself to smile. "She thinks I'm making this more difficult than it needs to be." She wasn't entirely wrong.

Cassian's expression became serious again. "Whatever happens with my father, don't think I'm ashamed of this." He held my gaze. "I'm not."

I believed him. That frightened me almost as much as facing Lucan because it gave me something I could lose. Cassian wasn't disappointed that fate had given him a servant as his mate. He was happy it was me.

"We keep it between us for now." I released his hand. "Until we know what your father will do." I picked up the basket.

Cassian agreed and let me leave without trying to stop me. Nyra remained happier than I'd ever felt her, while my thoughts were filled with everything that could go wrong. Cassian Corven was my mate. For now, the truth belonged only to us.