Moonbound Mates

Chapter Thirteen

Rowan barely slept.

Which was unfortunate.

Because apparently emotional devastation did absolutely nothing to reduce exhaustion.

She spent half the night staring at the ceiling.

The other half trying not to think about why seeing Kael kiss Evelyn had bothered her so much.

Neither effort had been particularly successful.

By morning, she was tired.

Irritated.

And entirely too aware of the bond.

A terrible combination.

───

The dining room was already occupied when she arrived.

Of course it was.

Kael sat near the head of the table.

Evelyn beside him.

Lyra was halfway through what appeared to be her second breakfast.

Jace looked exhausted.

Again.

At this point Rowan suspected it was simply his natural state.

"You're late."

Rowan looked at Lyra.

"I am not."

"You absolutely are."

"I've been awake for ten minutes."

"Exactly."

Rowan frowned.

"I don't understand."

"Breakfast started twenty minutes ago."

"That's ridiculous."

"That's commitment."

Jace took a sip of coffee.

"That's Lyra."

"Also true."

Despite herself, Rowan felt a small smile tug at her mouth.

She grabbed a plate and immediately sat beside Lyra.

The chair across from her remained empty.

For some reason, that felt important.

Lyra noticed.

Of course she did.

But for once, she didn't comment.

Across the table, Kael glanced toward Rowan.

Their eyes met briefly.

The bond stirred.

Warm.

Aware.

Annoying.

Rowan looked away first.

She hated that she noticed.

She hated that she cared.

She hated that she was beginning to suspect those were two different things.

Beside him, Evelyn said something quietly.

Kael responded.

The sight immediately brought back the memory of the study.

The kiss.

The way he'd looked at her.

The way she'd looked at him.

Something twisted painfully in Rowan's chest.

She stabbed a piece of fruit with unnecessary force.

Nyra stirred.

"Oh, now we're angry."

"Be quiet."

The wolf sounded entirely too amused.

───

"Well."

Everyone immediately became suspicious.

Lyra looked delighted.

Which was usually a bad sign.

"What?"

Jace sounded tired already.

"You know what I realized?"

"No."

"You don't."

"I do."

"You don't."

Lyra pointed at Rowan.

"You're stuck with us for ninety days."

Silence.

Then—

"That was your realization?"

"Yes."

"That was obvious."

"It feels more real now."

Jace looked toward the ceiling.

Again.

At this point Rowan suspected he spent half his life asking the Moon Goddess for patience.

Lyra grinned.

"Think of all the opportunities."

"No."

"Think of all the memories."

"Absolutely not."

"Think of all the emotional growth."

Jace physically recoiled.

Rowan barked out a laugh before she could stop herself.

Lyra pointed triumphantly.

"There it is."

"What?"

"The laugh."

"You are ridiculous."

"Yes."

At least she was honest.

Before anyone could continue, a servant entered carrying a sealed envelope.

The room immediately grew suspicious.

The servant approached Kael.

"From the Council, Alpha."

Kael took it.

Frowned.

Opened it.

The longer he read, the less pleased he appeared.

Which was impressive.

Because he'd already looked deeply unpleased.

"Oh no," Lyra said happily.

Jace groaned.

"What?"

"The face."

"What face?"

"The Council face."

"There is no Council face."

"There absolutely is."

Kael pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Lyra."

"I'm right."

Unfortunately, she was.

Kael exhaled heavily.

Then handed the document across the table.

Rowan took it.

Read the first line.

Immediately regretted it.

Trial Activity One

No.

Training Grounds

Absolutely not.

Alpha Kael and Head Warrior Rowan

Rowan closed her eyes.

Slowly.

Carefully.

As though patience alone might somehow erase the words.

It did not.

Across the table, Lyra made a noise that sounded suspiciously like delight.

"This is amazing."

"It isn't."

"It is."

"It really isn't."

"It really is."

Jace looked toward the ceiling.

"Moon Goddess, give me strength."

"Denied," Lyra replied instantly.

"She's busy."

"With what?"

"Watching this."

For once, nobody had an argument.

Because unfortunately—

It did feel personal.

───

The training grounds were empty.

Which somehow felt worse.

The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows across the packed earth.

No warriors.

No spectators.

No distractions.

Just Rowan.

And Kael.

The realization was deeply unfortunate.

Neither spoke as they stepped into the ring.

Neither seemed eager to begin.

Then Rowan drew her practice blade.

Kael sighed.

And just like that—

The date began.

The date was awful.

Not because they were sparring.

Rowan liked sparring.

Sparring made sense.

You hit someone.

They hit you back.

Everyone understood the rules.

People, unfortunately, were far more complicated.

───

For the first ten minutes, neither of them spoke.

The only sounds were the clash of practice weapons and the occasional grunt of effort.

Rowan preferred it that way.

Talking had gotten her into enough trouble lately.

Kael blocked another strike.

Countered.

Rowan ducked beneath it.

Swept for his legs.

Missed.

Barely.

The infuriating part was that he wasn't even trying very hard.

"You can stop holding back."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not."

"Liar."

A faint smile threatened.

"You're predictable when you're annoyed."

That immediately annoyed her more.

Good.

At least now she had something to focus on.

───

Another exchange.

Another clash.

Another near miss.

The frustration that had been simmering beneath Rowan's skin since yesterday finally found somewhere to go.

She attacked harder.

Faster.

More aggressively.

Kael noticed.

Of course he did.

"You know," he said between strikes, "most people use words."

"Most people aren't trying to hit you."

"Fair."

Unfortunately.

───

A few minutes later, Rowan finally managed to land a solid strike against his shoulder.

The practice sword connected hard enough to make him grunt.

Rowan smiled.

A genuine one.

Victorious.

Dangerous.

"There he is."

"What?"

"The part of you that's actually participating."

The smile disappeared immediately.

Rowan's satisfaction increased.

Kael sighed.

Deeply.

Like a man who had suddenly realized ninety days might actually kill him.

───

The sun had begun sinking lower by the time either of them spoke again.

Really spoke.

Rowan lowered her weapon.

Breathing hard.

Sweat clung to her skin.

Her muscles burned pleasantly.

The anger didn't.

That was still there.

Unfortunately.

"I don't understand the point of this."

The words escaped before she could stop them.

Kael rested his practice sword against his shoulder.

"The trial?"

"Any of it."

Silence stretched briefly between them.

Then—

"The elders seem to think getting to know each other might change our minds."

Rowan laughed.

A short sound.

Sharp around the edges.

"Funny."

Kael frowned.

"What?"

She immediately wished she'd kept her mouth shut.

Unfortunately, it was too late now.

"It didn't look like your mind was changing last night."

Silence.

Complete silence.

Kael's expression shifted.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

"What are you talking about?"

Rowan looked away.

Toward the trees.

Anywhere but him.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

For a moment, neither moved.

Then realization dawned.

Slowly.

"Oh."

The single word made her want to hit him again.

Harder.

"You saw."

Not a question.

A statement.

Rowan tightened her grip on the practice sword.

"Accidentally."

Kael rubbed a hand across the back of his neck.

For the first time since she'd met him, he looked genuinely uncomfortable.

Good.

"It wasn't intentional."

"No one said it was."

The answer came sharper than she intended.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Rowan immediately regretted it.

Because now she sounded angry.

And she had no idea how to explain why.

Kael seemed to realize the same thing.

Because his next question was careful.

Too careful.

"Why are you upset?"

The worst part?

She didn't have an answer.

Not one she understood.

Not one she was willing to say aloud.

So she did what warriors had been doing since the beginning of time.

She chose violence.

Rowan lunged.

Kael barely got his sword up in time.

Wood cracked against wood.

The force of the impact echoed through the training grounds.

For one stunned second—

Then Kael laughed.

Actually laughed.

Rowan froze.

"What?"

The smile remained.

Small.

Brief.

Real.

"Nothing."

That was suspicious.

"What?"

Kael shook his head.

Still smiling.

"You didn't answer the question."

Rowan glared.

"I missed the part where I have to."

The smile faded.

Slowly.

And suddenly the air between them felt different.

Not better.

Not worse.

Just...

Different.

The realization was deeply unsettling.

For both of them.

And for the first time since the Council meeting, Rowan began to understand why ninety days suddenly felt so dangerous.

Rowan left the training grounds before she could say anything else.

Before Kael could.

The evening air felt cool against her skin.

Unfortunately, it did nothing to quiet her thoughts.

The spar replayed endlessly in her mind.

The conversation.

The kiss.

The look on Kael's face when he realized she'd seen it.

None of it made any sense.

Inside her head, Nyra had been silent for nearly ten whole minutes.

A personal record.

Then—

"You're in trouble."

Rowan groaned.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

The wolf sounded entirely too pleased with herself.

"I know what this is."

"You don't know anything."

"I know you were upset."

"I was annoyed."

"You were jealous."

"I was not."

Nyra's laughter echoed through her thoughts.

Warm.

Amused.

Certain.

"You keep telling yourself that."

Rowan rolled her eyes.

"This is exactly why I stopped talking to you."

"You never stop talking to me."

Unfortunately, that was true.

The wolf settled back with obvious satisfaction.

"This is going to be fun."

Rowan immediately hated those words.

And for some reason—

She had a feeling Nyra was right.

───

Kael remained in the training grounds long after Rowan left.

The sun had nearly disappeared by the time he finally started back toward the packhouse.

For several minutes, only silence accompanied him.

Then—

"You didn't answer her question."

Kael frowned.

"What question?"

Orion sounded deeply unimpressed.

"The one she didn't ask."

Kael sighed.

Already tired of this conversation.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"It does."

"It really doesn't."

The wolf ignored him.

As usual.

"You never told her why."

Kael's grip tightened slightly around the practice sword.

"I don't owe anyone an explanation."

"No."

Orion's voice remained calm.

Steady.

Patient.

"You just keep acting like you do."

Silence followed.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

The wolf waited.

Kael didn't respond.

Because for the first time all day—

He wasn't entirely sure what he would have said.

And somehow that bothered him more than anything else.