Marked By My Mate

Chapter 8: The Man She Chose

Sophia couldn't move.

Couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

The world around her had disappeared.

Only one thing existed.

Him.

The man lying before her.

Kieran.

Human.

The same blue eyes stared back at her.

The same eyes that had watched over her children.

Protected her family.

Saved her life countless times.

Only now she finally saw the man behind the wolf.

Dark hair fell across his forehead.

His face was strong and handsome despite the injuries covering him.

Years of hardship were etched into his features.

Pain.

Loneliness.

Survival.

And somehow he was even more beautiful than she'd imagined.

"Kieran..."

His name left her lips like a prayer.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

A weak smile.

"You know my name."

His voice.

Sophia hadn't expected that.

Deep.

Warm.

Gentle.

Tears immediately filled her eyes again.

"You can talk."

A soft chuckle escaped him.

"Barely."

Sophia laughed through her tears.

For the first time since the outbreak began, she laughed.

A real laugh.

And Kieran thought it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

Around them, the soldiers stared in disbelief.

Colonel Hayes looked shocked.

"What the hell..."

Nobody had ever seen a transformation like this before.

Nobody even knew it was possible.

The monster they had hunted for years wasn't a monster at all.

He was a man.

A wounded man.

A victim.

Sophia immediately turned toward the soldiers.

"Help him."

The command surprised even her.

Not a request.

A command.

For several moments nobody moved.

Then the young female soldier stepped forward.

"We need medical supplies."

Others quickly followed.

Soon people were rushing around.

Bandages.

Stretchers.

Medicine.

Trying to save the man who had just saved all of them.

Hours later...

The battle was over.

The cabin was quiet.

The wounded were treated.

The dead were mourned.

And Kieran slept.

Sophia refused to leave his side.

Sarah noticed immediately.

A knowing smile appeared.

"You love him."

Sophia didn't deny it.

Not anymore.

"Yeah."

The simple answer made Sarah grin.

"Took you long enough."

Sophia rolled her eyes.

But she couldn't stop smiling.

For the first time in years...

She was happy.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the cabin windows.

Kieran slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Sophia sleeping beside his bed.

Her head rested on folded arms.

She had stayed.

His chest tightened.

Nobody had ever stayed before.

Not after seeing what he was.

Not after seeing the wolf.

Yet Sophia remained.

The realization nearly overwhelmed him.

Carefully, he reached out.

His fingers brushed a strand of hair from her face.

Sophia immediately woke.

Blue eyes met blue eyes.

Neither looked away.

Neither wanted to.

"Hi."

Kieran smiled.

"Hi."

Silence followed.

Comfortable silence.

The kind that existed between people who no longer needed words.

Then Sophia did something unexpected.

She took his hand.

And didn't let go.

Kieran looked down at their joined hands.

Then back at her.

"You should probably know something."

Sophia frowned.

"What?"

His expression turned serious.

"I don't know how long this will last."

Fear instantly appeared in her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Kieran sighed.

"The transformation."

Silence.

"I was never supposed to become human again."

Sophia's heart dropped.

The room suddenly felt colder.

Much colder.

"You could turn back?"

Kieran nodded slowly.

"Maybe."

The uncertainty terrified him.

Because after finally becoming human again...

After finally being able to touch her.

Speak to her.

Love her properly.

He couldn't bear losing it.

Not now.

Not after finding her.

Before either could say anything else—

BANG!

The cabin door flew open.

Everyone jumped.

A familiar voice echoed through the room.

"Sophia!"

Her blood ran cold.

No.

No.

No.

No.

Because she recognized that voice.

Dylan.

Her husband.

Standing in the doorway.

Looking nervous.

Looking guilty.

Looking very much alive.

The room fell silent.

Dylan's eyes landed on Sophia.

Then Kieran.

Then their joined hands.

And suddenly his expression darkened.

"What is this?"

Sophia slowly stood.

Weeks ago she would have been nervous.

Afraid.

Unsure.

Not anymore.

Because everything had changed.

She had changed.

And standing behind her was a man who had risked everything for her family.

A man who never ran away.

A man who stayed.

Unlike Dylan.

The confrontation everyone had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The cabin fell silent.

A heavy, suffocating silence.

Dylan stood in the doorway.

Wet from the rain.

Disheveled.

Nervous.

And completely unaware that he had already lost everything.

Sophia stared at him.

For a moment she felt nothing.

No love.

No excitement.

No relief.

Nothing.

Weeks ago, seeing him would have made her cry.

She would have run into his arms.

Thankful he was alive.

Not anymore.

Because the man standing before her wasn't the man she'd married.

Or maybe he never had been.

Dylan's eyes moved from Sophia to Kieran.

Then to their intertwined hands.

His jaw tightened immediately.

"What is this?"

Kieran slowly sat up.

The movement was enough to make Dylan take a step backward.

Even in human form, Kieran was intimidating.

Tall.

Strong.

Powerful.

And unlike Dylan...

He wasn't afraid.

Sophia folded her arms.

"You don't get to ask that."

Dylan blinked.

Clearly surprised by her tone.

"What?"

"You left."

The words hit the room like a slap.

"You abandoned us."

Dylan looked uncomfortable.

"Sophia—"

"No."

Her voice cracked.

Not from weakness.

From years of pain finally surfacing.

"You left your children."

Dylan opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

"It wasn't like that."

Sarah laughed from across the room.

A cold laugh.

"It was exactly like that."

Several soldiers nearby nodded.

Even Colonel Hayes looked unimpressed.

Because everyone knew what had happened.

Everyone except Dylan.

He still believed he could explain it away.

"I panicked."

Sophia stared at him.

"You panicked?"

The bitterness in her voice shocked even her.

"Ethan is eight years old."

Silence.

"Lily is five."

More silence.

"They were terrified."

Tears filled her eyes.

"And you left them."

Dylan looked away.

Because he couldn't argue.

Not with the truth.

Meanwhile, Ethan appeared at the top of the stairs.

The room immediately fell quiet.

Because everyone knew this mattered more than anything else.

Dylan saw his son and smiled.

"Ethan."

The boy didn't smile back.

Dylan's heart sank.

"Buddy—"

"Why did you leave us?"

The question shattered him.

Not because of the words.

Because of the pain behind them.

The hurt.

The confusion.

The disappointment.

Dylan suddenly realized something.

His son looked older.

Sadder.

Different.

And he had caused it.

"I was scared."

Ethan nodded slowly.

Then said something nobody expected.

"So was I."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The words struck harder than any punch ever could.

Because they came from a child.

A child who had stayed.

A child who had protected his sister.

A child who had been braver than his father.

Dylan looked devastated.

For the first time, genuine guilt appeared.

Real guilt.

Not regret over being caught.

Regret over what he'd done.

But it was too late.

Far too late.

Sophia gently pulled Ethan closer.

The boy leaned against her immediately.

Then his eyes shifted toward Kieran.

Without hesitation, he walked over and stood beside him.

The gesture was small.

Yet it broke Dylan's heart.

Because Ethan wasn't choosing him.

He was choosing Kieran.

The man who had stayed.

The man who had protected them.

The man who had earned it.

Dylan looked at Kieran.

"You took my family."

Kieran's expression darkened.

Before he could speak, Sophia answered.

"No."

Everyone turned toward her.

"I wasn't taken."

Her voice was calm.

Strong.

Certain.

"You threw us away."

Dylan looked like he'd been punched.

Sophia took a deep breath.

"I spent years forgiving things I should never have forgiven."

His face fell.

"The lies."

Silence.

"The cheating."

More silence.

"The broken promises."

Dylan couldn't look at her anymore.

Because every word was true.

Then Sophia delivered the final blow.

"I'm done."

The room became perfectly still.

"I want a divorce."

Dylan closed his eyes.

Part of him had expected it.

Another part had foolishly hoped she would take him back.

That hope died instantly.

Because Sophia looked happier than she'd looked in years.

And he knew why.

His eyes shifted toward Kieran.

The silver-eyed man sitting beside her.

The man who had done everything Dylan failed to do.

Protect.

Love.

Stay.

For a moment jealousy flashed through him.

Then it disappeared.

Because deep down...

He knew Kieran deserved her more.

The realization hurt.

But it was true.

Dylan nodded slowly.

"You deserve better."

Sophia blinked.

She hadn't expected that.

Neither had anyone else.

Dylan gave a sad smile.

"I should've been better."

Then he looked at Ethan and Lily.

Tears filled his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

The children remained silent.

Not ready to forgive.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

And Dylan understood.

Without another word, he turned and walked out of the cabin.

The door closed behind him.

This time nobody stopped him.

Because this wasn't abandonment.

This was goodbye.

Sophia stood frozen.

Then suddenly a weight lifted from her shoulders.

Years of hurt.

Years of disappointment.

Years of waiting for someone to change.

Gone.

For the first time in a very long time...

She was free.

Beside her, Kieran quietly reached for her hand.

Sophia smiled.

And squeezed it.

The future suddenly felt possible.

For both of them.

But outside the cabin, hidden deep in the forest...

A pair of glowing red eyes watched.

Not yellow.

Not blue.

Red.

And whoever they belonged to...

Had been watching for a very long time.