3. Realisation
1079 Words
The other wolves hesitated.
Dominance.
Authority.
Alpha.
Slowly, reluctantly—
They backed away.
One by one they retreated into the darkness.
The street fell silent again.
Snow drifted down gently.
Kieran stood still in the center of the road, chest rising and falling.
Then he turned back into a man.
Aria rushed toward him.
“You’re bleeding!”
“It’s nothing.”
“That is absolutely not nothing.”
He glanced at the scratches along his side.
“They’ll heal.”
“Are you sure you’re not secretly dying?”
He chuckled softly.
“No.”
She exhaled.
“Good. Because this night is already insane and I don’t need a dead werewolf on top of it.”
For the first time since they met—
Kieran laughed.
A real laugh.
Warm.
Low.
Dangerously attractive.
Aria stared at him.
“Oh no.”
“What?”
“You’re hot.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You just noticed?”
“Yes and it’s very inconvenient.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re also a supernatural wolf-man claiming destiny.”
His smile widened slightly.
“That doesn’t bother me.”
“It bothers me.”
He stepped closer again.
Snow melted on his skin.
“But you still came toward me.”
Aria realized he was right.
She had.
And she didn’t know why.
Her heartbeat quickened.
The strange warmth returned.
That same pull she felt earlier.
Kieran studied her carefully.
“You feel it too.”
She looked away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The bond.”
“I’m choosing to ignore the bond.”
“You can’t.”
She sighed.
“Of course I can.”
“You won’t be able to for long.”
Her stomach flipped.
“Why?”
His voice dropped lower.
“Because mates don’t stay apart.”
The air between them felt suddenly electric again.
And for reasons she couldn’t explain—
Aria wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to run anymore. For a moment neither of them spoke.
The snow had softened to a quiet drift, covering the marks of the fight as if the world wanted to pretend none of it had happened. Aria stood a few feet away from Kieran, her heart still racing, her mind struggling to catch up with everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes.
Her boyfriend cheated on her.
She got followed by a giant wolf.
The wolf turned into a man.
The man declared she was his mate.
Then several other wolves tried to kill them.
Christmas Eve had officially become the strangest night of her life.
Kieran was watching her again in that intense way that made her feel like he could see straight through every wall she had built around herself.
“You’re thinking very loudly,” he said.
“I’m processing.”
“You’re deciding whether to run.”
Aria crossed her arms.
“I’m deciding whether I hit my head earlier today and this is a coma dream.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“You’re not dreaming.”
“That’s disappointing.”
He took a slow step closer, cautious now, like approaching a startled animal.
“You’re not afraid of me.”
“That’s debatable.”
“You would have run already.”
She hated that he was right.
Instead of running, she was standing here… talking to him.
Studying him.
Noticing things she probably shouldn’t be noticing.
Like the way the snow melted against his skin.
Or how his voice made something warm stir in her chest.
Or how those golden eyes softened slightly whenever he looked at her.
Aria shook her head.
“No,” she said firmly. “We are not doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Whatever weird wolf destiny flirting thing this is.”
Kieran actually looked amused.
“You think I’m flirting?”
“Aren’t you?”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“This is me being patient.”
Her heart skipped.
“Patient for what?”
“For you to realize the bond is real.”
“That’s not happening.”
“It will.”
She pointed at him.
“See? That right there. That confidence is suspicious.”
“It’s not confidence.”
“What is it then?”
“Instinct.”
Aria opened her mouth to argue again but stopped.
Because suddenly she noticed something.
The street was too quiet.
Even the wind had gone still.
Kieran noticed too.
His entire posture shifted instantly.
Alert.
Predatory.
“What is it?” she asked.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned slowly toward the rooftops.
Aria followed his gaze.
At first she saw nothing.
Then—
Movement.
A figure landed silently on the building across the street.
Another appeared behind them.
And another.
Not wolves.
People.
But something about them felt wrong.
Dangerous.
Kieran’s voice dropped to a low growl.
“Hunters.”
Aria blinked.
“Hunters like… wolf hunters?”
“Yes.”
“Of course there are wolf hunters.”
One of the figures stepped forward into the light.
A tall woman in a long dark coat, silver weapon strapped across her back.
Her eyes landed on Kieran.
Then shifted to Aria.
Her expression changed.
Interest.
“Well,” the woman said calmly, “this is unexpected.”
Kieran moved slightly in front of Aria.
Protective.
“Leave.”
The woman smiled.
“You know we can’t do that, Alpha.”
Aria looked between them.
“Why do people keep calling you that?”
Kieran ignored the question.
“You’ve already lost three tonight,” he said.
“They were expendable.”
That did not sound reassuring.
The woman tilted her head slightly while studying Aria.
“And you,” she said. “You must be the reason.”
Aria pointed at herself.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“That seems unlikely.”
“You smell like him.”
Aria froze.
Kieran stiffened.
The woman’s smile widened.
“Oh,” she said softly. “You didn’t know.”
Aria looked at Kieran.
“Didn’t know what?”
Kieran’s jaw tightened.
The woman answered for him.
“You’re his mate.”
“I heard that part.”
“But do you know what that means?”
Aria slowly shook her head.
The hunter’s eyes gleamed.
“It means every enemy he has,” she said, “now has a way to destroy him.”
(To be continued)
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