Bounded By Blood,Freed By Love

Chapter 2

"Get your hands off me."

My voice came out steadier than I felt. Kane's fingers were still gripping my chin, his gray eyes boring into mine like he could read every secret I'd buried.

"Five years," he said softly. "You've been hiding in my territory for five years."

"I haven't hurt anyone. I've kept to myself—"

"Your father killed mine." Each word dropped like ice. "Did you really think you could hide forever?"

Marcus approached slowly, hands visible, trying to calm the situation. "Kane, there are humans here. We should—"

"Clear the diner," Kane ordered without looking away from me. "Now."

I heard Marcus and the enforcer moving, heard Beth ushering the terrified customers out, heard Amy's mother carrying her daughter through the back exit. Within minutes, we were alone.

Kane finally released my chin, but he didn't step back. "Shift."

"What?"

"You heard me. Shift. Show me your wolf."

"No."

His eyebrows rose slightly—probably the first time anyone had refused his direct order in years. "No?"

"I'm not part of your pack. Your commands don't work on me." I lifted my chin, meeting his stare despite every instinct screaming at me to submit. "I'm nobody. I wash dishes and serve coffee. I haven't been Aria Blackstone in five years."

"You just took down three rogues in thirty seconds."

"To save a child."

"Using techniques only taught to Alpha bloodlines."

I said nothing. We both knew what I was—or what I used to be. The daughter of an Alpha, trained from birth to be strong, to lead, to protect. Before my father was executed for treason and murder. Before our entire pack was dissolved. Before I became nothing.

Kane circled me slowly, like a wolf stalking prey. "Do you know what today is?"

"Thursday?"

He stopped in front of me again. "The anniversary. Five years exactly since your father put a knife through my father's heart."

My stomach twisted. Of course. Of course he'd find me today of all days.

"I didn't know," I whispered.

"Didn't know what? That today was the anniversary? Or that you've been serving coffee in my territory?"

"Both." I met his eyes again. "I've stayed away from pack lands. I've never caused trouble. I just wanted to disappear."

"But you didn't disappear, did you?" He gestured to the destroyed diner, the blood on the floor, the broken furniture. "You just showed everyone exactly who you are. What you're capable of."

"I saved that little girl—"

"You exposed yourself." His voice hardened. "And now I have a problem."

My wolf bristled at his tone. "I'm not your problem. I'll leave. Tonight. You'll never see me again."

"You think it's that simple?" He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Those rogues weren't random. They were scouts from Bloodfang Pack. Viktor's been testing my borders for months, looking for weakness."

"That has nothing to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you." He stepped closer again, and I fought not to step back. "Viktor knows who you are. What you are. The unclaimed daughter of an Alpha bloodline, hiding in my territory. If he finds out I let you go, he'll see it as weakness. If he claims you himself..."

The implication hung heavy between us. An unmated Alpha female was rare. Valuable. Packs had gone to war over less.

"I won't be claimed by anyone," I snarled, my wolf finally showing through. "I'm not a prize to be won."

"No," Kane agreed. "You're not a prize. You're a weapon. One that's been hidden in my territory without my knowledge. And now that you've revealed yourself, you've become my responsibility."

"I'm nobody's responsibility—"

"Marcus," Kane called out, not taking his eyes off me. His brother appeared in the doorway. "Call the council. Emergency meeting in one hour."

"Kane, what are you—"

"And send word to Viktor that his scouts are being returned. In pieces. Make it clear that any further incursions will be considered an act of war."

Marcus hesitated. "And her?"

Kane's eyes never left mine. "Aria Blackstone is coming with us."

"No." I backed toward the door, but the enforcer blocked my path. "You can't just—"

"I can do whatever I want in my territory." Kane's voice dropped to that dangerous whisper again. "You have two choices. Come willingly, or I'll carry you out of here unconscious. Either way, you're coming with me."

"Why?" My hands clenched into fists. "Why not just let me run?"

"Because the moment you leave my protection, Viktor will hunt you down. He'll force you to mate with him or one of his sons. He'll use your bloodline to challenge me." Kane stepped even closer, close enough that I could see the flecks of silver in his gray eyes. "Is that what you want?"

"What I want is to be left alone."

"That option died the moment you saved that child." His voice softened slightly. "You showed your training. Your strength. Every wolf in a fifty-mile radius will know by morning that Michael Blackstone's daughter is alive and unclaimed."

My heart sank because I knew he was right. Five years of careful hiding, destroyed in thirty seconds.

"What are you going to do with me?"

"Keep you alive." He turned toward the door. "For now."

Marcus approached me carefully. "Aria, please. Come willingly. It'll be easier for everyone."

I looked around the destroyed diner—my sanctuary for the past two years. Beth was peeking through the kitchen window, fear and confusion on her face. This place had been my escape, my chance at normal.

That was over now.

"Fine," I said quietly. "But I'm not joining your pack."

Kane paused at the door, looking back at me with an expression I couldn't read. "We'll see about that."

The ride to Silvermoon Pack lands was silent. I sat in the back of Kane's black SUV, Marcus beside me, the enforcer driving. Kane sat in the passenger seat, typing on his phone, conducting pack business like he hadn't just destroyed my life.

I watched the familiar landscape pass by, each mile taking me deeper into the territory I'd avoided for five years. The Silvermoon compound was exactly as I remembered from the few formal visits my father had made when I was young—high walls, armed guards, and an overwhelming sense of power.

The guards at the gate did double-takes when they saw me, whispers already starting. By the time we reached the main house, a small crowd had gathered.

"Is that—"

"Blackstone's daughter—"

"—thought she was dead—"

"—murdered the old Alpha—"

Kane silenced them with a look, but I felt their eyes following me, felt their hatred and curiosity and fear.

The council room was already full when we arrived. Five of Kane's strongest wolves, all staring at me like I was a bomb about to explode.

"This is a mistake," the oldest council member, James, said immediately. "That girl's father—"

"I know what her father did," Kane cut him off. "But she's here now, and we need to decide what to do about it."

"Send her away," another member said. "She's bad luck. A curse."

"Viktor's already sent three messages," Marcus reported, checking his phone. "He's demanding to know if we have her."

"If we admit she's here, he'll demand we turn her over," James argued. "Say she's a rogue in contested territory."

"And if we deny it, he'll know we're lying," Kane responded. "Too many people saw her at the diner."

They discussed me like I wasn't standing right there, like I was a problem to be solved rather than a person. My wolf growled softly, and I had to fight to keep her contained.

"There's another option," Kane said suddenly, his voice cutting through the arguments.

The room went silent.

"She could mate with Marcus," James suggested quickly. "That would protect her and—"

"No." Kane's voice was sharp. "She mates with me."

The silence that followed was deafening.