Chapter 4
369 Words
Kill or Claim
Nova did not sleep.
The mate bond pulsed through her body all night. It was not loud. Not painful. Just there. Steady. Alive.
Every time she closed her eyes, she felt him.
Ryder was awake too. She could sense it. His wolf moved restlessly on the other side of the territory. The connection between them stretched thin but unbroken.
At dawn, Nova left the pack house quietly.
She took the hidden path into the deeper forest. The hollow tree waited where it always did. Safe. Secret.
Her hands were steady when she reached inside and pulled out the small metal capsule.
This was not part of the plan.
She opened it and placed a fresh note inside. The message was short.
The mate bond has formed. Ryder Blackwood is my fated mate.
She sealed it again and hid it back in place.
Then she waited.
She did not have to wait long.
By midday, a shadow moved between the trees.
A tall figure stepped forward from the forest line.
Alpha Lucian.
Her real Alpha.
He wore dark clothes and no pack marks. His presence was colder than the air around him.
Nova bowed her head automatically. “Alpha.”
He studied her face carefully. “You look tired.”
“I am fine.”
He held out his hand. She placed the capsule in it.
He read the message once. His expression did not change.
“So,” he said calmly. “Fate has a sense of humor.”
Nova lifted her eyes. “You trained me for fifteen years.”
“And you will complete what you were trained for.”
The answer came too easily.
Her chest tightened slightly. “He is my mate.”
Lucian’s gaze sharpened. “And.”
The single word felt like a slap.
“The bond is strong,” she continued carefully. “It affects instincts.”
Lucian stepped closer. “You were raised to control your instincts.”
She did not look away.
“I can break it,” she said, though she did not know if that was true.
“You will not break it,” he replied.
She frowned slightly. That was not what she expected.
- Writer
