Mine In The Dark

Make Me Ready

Riven heard her.

The words slipped through the thin wall like they had been meant for him alone.

Then make me ready.

He stood in the dark of his apartment with both hands braced against the plaster, forehead pressed to the cool surface, breathing like he had just run for miles. The bubblegum between his teeth had long gone flavorless. His claws threatened to push through the tips of his fingers before he forced them back with a low, frustrated sound.

She had no idea what she was asking for.

She had no idea how close he already was to giving it to her.

Riven stayed there for a long time, listening to the soft sounds of her moving on the other side of the wall — the quiet click of the lamp turning off, the faint creak of her bed, the slow evening of her breathing as she finally tried to sleep. Only when he was sure she had drifted off did he push away from the wall and drag both hands down his face.

The treaty was still there.

The rules were still there.

But they felt paper-thin now, ready to tear at the slightest pressure.

He looked down at his hands. They were steady. They would not stay that way for long.

Elara woke to the soft light of morning and the signed note still resting on her nightstand.

You’re not ready for what I am.

But you’re getting closer.

— Riven

She traced the signature with her fingertip, a small, disbelieving smile pulling at her mouth. He had finally given her his name. No more “the one who watches.” Just Riven. The man three doors down. The man who kept saving her. The man whose voice made her feel small and safe and restless all at once.

She got ready for the day slower than usual, choosing her clothes with more care than she wanted to admit. When she finally opened her front door, she half-expected to find another gift waiting. Instead she found Riven himself.

He was leaning against the wall opposite her apartment, arms crossed, a fresh stick of bubblegum moving slowly in his mouth. He looked like he had been there for a while. The moment their eyes met, the air in the hallway changed.

“You’re up early,” she said, trying to sound normal.

“Couldn’t sleep.” His voice was rougher than usual. “You?”

“Same.”

He pushed off the wall and walked toward her. Each step made the difference in their sizes more obvious. Elara had to tip her head back to keep looking at him. When he stopped in front of her, she could smell the mint of his gum and the deeper scent that was just him — rain and pine and something wild underneath.

Riven looked down at her for a long moment. His eyes dropped briefly to her mouth, then back up.

“About what you said last night.”

Elara’s heart stumbled. “You heard me?”

“Thin walls.” A pause. “You told me to make you ready.”

She swallowed. “I did.”

Something dark and hungry flashed through his expression before he locked it down again. He lifted one hand slowly, giving her time to move away. When she didn’t, he brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear with a gentleness that didn’t match the intensity in his eyes. His fingers lingered near her jaw for half a second longer than necessary.

“You don’t know what that means yet,” he said quietly. “But you will.”

Then he stepped back, the loss of his nearness almost physical, and nodded toward the stairs.

“I’ll walk you to the corner. After last night, I’m not taking chances.”

Elara locked her door with slightly unsteady hands and followed him. They didn’t speak on the way down. At the corner he stopped and looked at her one last time, eyes serious.

“Text me when you get to work.”

She blinked. “I don’t have your number.”

Riven held out his hand. She gave him her phone without thinking. He typed quickly, saved the contact under his first name only, and handed it back. Their fingers touched. Heat sparked up her arm.

“Now you do,” he said. “Use it.”

He waited until she had turned the corner before he let the carefully controlled expression slip from his face. His hands flexed at his sides, claws threatening again. The place where her skin had brushed his still burned.

Make me ready.

He was running out of reasons not to.

Maya took one look at Elara’s face during their lunch break and immediately stole her phone.

“He gave you his number?” she demanded, scrolling. “He gave you his number and you’re sitting here eating a sandwich like a normal person? Elara Valey, I am going to shake you.”

Tessa leaned over to look, eyes wide. “It’s just saved as ‘Riven.’ That’s… intimate.”

“It’s unhinged,” Maya corrected. “In the best way. Did he touch you again?”

Elara’s cheeks warmed. “He fixed my hair.”

Maya dropped the phone onto the table and stared at her. “He fixed your hair while telling you that you don’t know what you’re asking for? I’m going to need a minute.”

Tessa reached across the table and squeezed Elara’s hand. “Just promise us you’ll be careful. This is moving fast and he’s… intense.”

“I know,” Elara said softly. “But I asked for it.”

Maya grinned, recovering quickly. “Yes you did. And when he finally stops holding back, I expect a very detailed report and possibly a medal for surviving the wait.”

Elara groaned and hid her face in her hands while both of her friends laughed.

She texted him when she reached work, just as he had told her to.

Elara:

I’m here.

The reply came less than a minute later.

Riven:

Good.

Don’t leave alone today. I’ll meet you after.

She stared at the message longer than she needed to, a soft, helpless smile pulling at her mouth.

The day dragged. Every hour made her more aware of the evening waiting for her. When she finally stepped out of the building, Riven was already there, leaning against the low wall near the entrance, hands in his pockets, bubblegum moving slowly between his teeth. Several people walking by glanced at him twice. He only looked at her.

The walk home was quiet but charged. Every time the sidewalk narrowed he shifted closer, his shoulder nearly brushing the top of her head. Once, when a group of people came toward them, his hand settled on the small of her back again, steady and warm, guiding her against his side until they had passed. He didn’t remove it right away. When he finally did, Elara felt the absence like a missing layer of clothing.

At her door he waited until she had the keys in the lock.

“Elara.”

She looked up.

Riven’s eyes were darker than she had ever seen them. He lifted one hand and rested it against the doorframe above her head, leaning in just enough that she had to press her back to the wood. The size of him surrounded her completely. His voice dropped to a rough whisper.

“Last chance to take it back.”

She knew what he meant.

The words from last night.

Make me ready.

Elara’s heart was beating so hard she was sure he could hear it. She still didn’t look away.

“I don’t want to take it back.”

For a second she thought he might close the last of the space between them. His gaze dropped to her mouth. His free hand curled into a fist at his side, the knuckles going white. The air between them felt electric, heavy with everything he was still holding back.

Then he pushed away from the doorframe with a low, strained sound, like it physically hurt him to create distance.

“Lock the door,” he said, voice rough. “All of them.”

He waited until he heard every lock turn before he walked to his own apartment. The moment his door closed behind him, Riven let his back hit the wood and slid down until he was sitting on the floor, head tipped back, breathing hard.

On the other side of the wall he could hear her soft movements. He could smell the faint change in her scent — warmth and nerves and something sweeter that made his control feel like glass.

He pulled out his phone and typed a single message he didn’t send yet.

Soon.

Then he deleted it, closed his eyes, and fought the shift that wanted to tear through him.

He didn’t know that on the other side of the wall, Elara was leaning against her own door in the exact same position, fingertips pressed to her lips, whispering his name like a promise she was finally ready to keep.

And he didn’t know that three streets away, Ronan Voss had just received word that the strongest wolf in the clan was starting to break the treaty for a human girl.

Ronan smiled in the dark.

“About time.”