Chapter Five: Mine
1171 Words
The word didn’t feel real.
Mine.
Luna stared at Aiden like she hadn’t heard him properly.
The forest had gone quiet again—but this silence felt different. Heavier. Like even the air was waiting for her reaction.
“W-what did you just say?” she asked slowly.
Aiden didn’t look away this time.
His eyes were steady. Controlled. But something deeper was cracking underneath.
“I said,” he repeated, voice lower, “you’re mine.”
A cold shiver ran through her.
“No,” she shook her head immediately. “No, you don’t get to just say that. I’m not— I’m not something you own.”
Aiden’s jaw tightened.
“I didn’t choose it,” he said.
That made her pause.
Behind them, the pack stood still now. Watching. Waiting. Like this moment mattered more than the fight that just happened.
The man who had spoken earlier tilted his head slightly.
“Careful, Alpha,” he said softly. “Words like that bind.”
Aiden’s gaze snapped to him instantly.
“Shut up.”
But it was too late.
Luna’s chest felt tight again.
That strange pull inside her—stronger now. Clearer.
Like something in her body was reacting to him every time he spoke.
She took a shaky step back.
“What is happening to me?” she whispered.
Aiden’s expression shifted.
Just slightly.
Something like guilt passed through his eyes.
Then he exhaled slowly.
“You felt it earlier,” he said. “When I touched you.”
Luna remembered.
The shock. The heat. The pull.
Her silence was enough of an answer.
“That’s the bond,” he continued. “Once it’s awakened… it connects you to your mate.”
Her voice came out sharp. “Mate?”
Aiden hesitated again.
And that hesitation told her everything—this wasn’t simple.
“It means you’re tied to me,” he said.
Luna laughed once—but it wasn’t real. It was panic.
“Tied?” she repeated. “Like… forever?”
Aiden didn’t answer immediately.
That silence was enough.
Luna’s stomach dropped.
“No,” she whispered. “No, that’s not possible. I don’t even know you.”
Something flickered in his eyes at that.
Like that part hurt.
But he didn’t argue.
Because it was true.
They didn’t know each other.
Not really.
But the bond didn’t care.
The pack leader stepped forward slightly again.
“This is why she needs to come with us,” he said calmly. “The council will decide what happens next.”
Luna snapped her head toward him.
“Stop talking about me like I’m not here!” she shouted.
The forest echoed with her voice.
Aiden moved instantly—placing himself slightly in front of her again.
Protective.
But tighter now.
More controlled.
“She’s not going anywhere,” he said again.
The pack leader sighed.
“This is going to get messy.”
And then everything changed.
A sound cut through the forest.
Not a growl this time.
A howl.
Distant—but answering.
More voices followed.
Luna froze.
“What is that?” she whispered.
Aiden’s body went rigid.
“…They called the rest,” he said quietly.
Luna turned to him sharply. “The rest of what?”
His eyes darkened.
“Every pack member nearby.”
Her heart dropped.
“You mean more of them are coming?”
He didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
Panic rose in her chest.
“I don’t understand any of this,” she said quickly. “I just came into this forest because I was lost—now suddenly I’m marked, bonded, claimed—what is wrong with this place?!”
Aiden looked at her then.
Really looked at her.
And for a second, his voice softened.
“It’s not the place,” he said. “It’s you.”
That made her go still.
“…Me?”
Before he could explain—
the forest erupted.
Movement everywhere.
Shadows rushing between trees.
Eyes flashing in the dark.
Luna stumbled back instinctively, but Aiden grabbed her wrist.
Not harshly.
Just firmly.
“Don’t run,” he said.
“Are you serious?!” she snapped. “There are like ten monsters coming at us!”
His grip tightened slightly.
“They’re not monsters,” he said.
Another pause.
Then, quieter—
“Some of them are my people.”
That hit differently.
Luna looked at him again.
Really looked this time.
For the first time, she noticed it—
the tension in him wasn’t just about danger.
It was about control.
About choosing between her…
and them.
The pack leader’s voice cut through the chaos.
“Bring her to the council.”
And then they moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
Aiden reacted instantly.
But this time, it wasn’t just fighting anymore.
It was war.
Luna barely had time to process anything before she was pulled into motion—Aiden dragging her deeper into the forest.
“Stay close,” he said sharply.
“I didn’t plan on leaving your side!” she shot back.
He didn’t respond.
Because behind them—
they were coming.
Luna’s breath was uneven now. Her wrist still burned. Her heart wouldn’t slow down.
And worse—
that pull inside her was getting stronger.
Like it wanted her to stop running.
Like it wanted her to turn back.
“Aiden!” she called out. “Where are we going?!”
He didn’t look at her.
But his voice came out lower.
Heavier.
“Somewhere they can’t take you.”
They broke through the trees into a darker part of the forest.
No light.
No sound.
Just a clearing that felt… wrong.
Luna slowed.
Something about it made her uneasy.
Aiden stopped in front of her.
For a moment, everything behind them faded.
Even the sounds.
It was just them again.
Breathing.
Tension.
The bond.
Luna looked up at him.
And finally asked the question that had been building since the beginning.
“Why me?”
Aiden didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes searched her face.
Like he was trying to decide how much truth she could handle.
Then quietly—
“Because you weren’t supposed to exist in this world the way you do.”
Luna frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does,” he said. “To them.”
A distant howl echoed again.
Closer this time.
Aiden stepped slightly closer.
His voice dropped.
“If they take you to the council… they won’t let you go.”
Luna swallowed.
“…And you?”
A pause.
Then—
“I won’t let them take you.”
That silence between them changed again.
He wasn’t just Alpha anymore in that moment.
Not just danger.
Not just mystery.
Something else.
Luna’s wrist burned one more time.
Stronger than before.
And then—
Aiden froze completely.
His eyes snapped to her wrist.
And his expression changed.
Not shock this time.
Fear.
Because the mark had changed again.
And behind them in the forest—
something answered.
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