Mine To Protect
589 Words
Pain.
That was the first thing Kira felt when she opened her eyes.
A burning ache spread through every part of her body, like her bones had been torn apart and forced back together again. She winced softly, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling above her.
Dark wood.
Black curtains.
The scent of cedar and smoke.
Not her room.
Kira sat up too quickly and immediately regretted it. A sharp pain shot through her chest, forcing a quiet gasp from her lips.
“Careful.”
Her breath caught.
Kieran sat in the chair beside the bed, watching her from the shadows.
He looked exhausted.
His dark hair was messy, sleeves rolled to his forearms, gray eyes locked onto her like he’d been sitting there for hours.
“How long was I out?” Kira asked quietly.
“A day.”
Her eyes widened. “A day?”
“You collapsed after the ceremony.”
Fragments of memory slammed into her mind.
The pain.
The howl.
The darkness inside her.
Kira’s breathing became uneven. “What happened to me?”
Kieran leaned forward slowly, resting his elbows on his knees.
“You shifted.”
Silence filled the room.
“No,” she whispered immediately. “That’s impossible.”
“It happened.”
Kira shook her head, panic rising in her chest. “I would remember—”
“You lost control.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Kira looked away quickly.
Humiliation twisted painfully inside her stomach.
After eighteen years of waiting… her first shift had turned into a disaster.
“Did I hurt anyone?” she asked softly.
Kieran didn’t answer immediately.
Which terrified her.
“Kieran.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “No.”
Something about his expression told her there was more he wasn’t saying.
Before she could push further, another strange feeling hit her.
Warmth.
It spread slowly through her body, curling beneath her skin whenever Kieran looked at her too long. Her pulse quickened involuntarily.
What was wrong with her?
Kieran noticed the shift in her breathing instantly.
His eyes darkened.
“Kira.”
Her name sounded dangerous coming from him.
She looked up unwillingly.
Big mistake.
The tension between them became unbearable in seconds.
For the first time, Kira noticed how close he actually was. How large he looked sitting beside her bed. How his voice wrapped around her like heat.
And judging by the way his stare dropped briefly to her lips…
He noticed it too.
Kira swallowed hard.
“You keep staring at me,” she muttered.
A slow smirk appeared on Kieran’s face for the first time.
“And you keep noticing.”
Her cheeks warmed instantly.
Annoying.
Kira looked away before he could see her reaction, but a low chuckle left his throat.
The sound did dangerous things to her heartbeat.
“I don’t trust you,” she said quietly.
Kieran stood then, moving closer until he was directly in front of her.
Too close.
“You don’t have to trust me,” he said softly. “But from now on, you stay near me.”
Kira frowned. “Why?”
His gray eyes held hers captive.
“Because whatever awakened inside you,” he murmured, “every wolf in this territory felt it.”
A chill ran down her spine.
“And that means,” Kieran continued, voice lowering dangerously, “there are people who will come for you.”
Kira’s breath caught as he leaned down slightly.
“But they’ll have to go through me first.
- Writer
