Bound by Fate

Lira's POV

My heart was pounding. My feet barely touched the ground as I moved through the corridors of the packhouse. The rogue's words echoed in my mind like a drumbeat, getting louder with every step. You're the key to everything... They want what you have... You're special. It was too much. Too fast. Too terrifying.

But worse than that?

My wolf had called Kaelen mate.

Not just once. Not in passing. It was a roar in my mind, a possessive, aching howl the moment I laid eyes on him earlier today. And I hadn't told him. I'd buried it deep, out of fear. Out of shame. What if he didn't feel it too?

I didn't realize I was crying until the wetness trailed down my cheeks. I swiped it away roughly as I reached the top floor. I could sense him—his scent was stronger here. My wolf pushed at me, frantic, desperate to be near him.

I rounded the corner, nearly crashing into his Beta. I barely managed a panicked breath. "Where is he?"

"In his office," he replied, eyeing me with a mixture of confusion and concern. "Lira, are you—?"

I didn't stop to hear the rest. I bolted down the hall and shoved open the office door without knocking.

Kaelen stood by the window, shirt off, back covered in dried blood and scratches, muscles tense with stress. He turned at the sound, and the second his eyes met mine, all the air rushed out of me.

"Lira?" he said, voice sharp with concern. "What's wrong?"

I didn't know where to begin. My thoughts spilled out of my mouth in a blur, my voice cracking and trembling.

"I'm sorry—I just—I talked to the prisoner—he said things—and I got lost—then he told me I was special, that they're after me and I don't know why and then—"

I stopped only to catch my breath and launched into the next breathless confession before he could speak.

"And—and my wolf—she called you mate." My voice dropped. "She's been calling you mate since before the rogue attack and I didn't tell you because I was scared and I didn't know if you felt it too and then—he said—he said I was powerful and they wanted me and I don't know what's going on—"

Kaelen was in front of me before I could finish, his hands gripping my arms, steadying me as I gasped for breath, tears blurring my vision. "Lira," he said gently, firmly, "breathe."

I couldn't. The emotions inside me were crushing—fear, confusion, the desperate ache of rejection looming in my heart.

His hand came to my cheek, tilting my head so I had to look at him. "Say it again," he murmured. "Your wolf... what did she say?"

I swallowed hard. "She called you... mate."

His eyes flared with something—shock, recognition, maybe even relief—but he stayed quiet, his jaw tight.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't know how to tell you. I'm scared, Kaelen. I don't know what's happening to me."

"You don't need to be scared," he said softly, thumb brushing a tear from my cheek. "Not with me."

"I don't know if I believe that," I admitted. "But I want to."

And for once, I didn't feel like running.

Kaelen's POV

She stood there trembling, her eyes wide with fear and something else—hope, maybe? Her words struck me like a punch to the chest.

She called you mate.

I couldn't breathe for a second.

All this time, I'd been holding back, thinking I had to protect her, that moving too fast would only scare her off. I told myself I had to wait until she was ready. Until she trusted me.

But her wolf already knew.

I had suspected—hell, I'd felt it from the moment I laid eyes on her. The pull, the instinct to guard her, claim her, love her. Every time I looked at her, every time she spoke my name, it was like gravity pulled me closer.

And now she stood in front of me, breaking apart from confusion, spilling everything she'd been holding in. Her voice still echoed in my mind.

"She called you... mate."

I stepped closer, slowly, not wanting to spook her like a startled deer. My fingers brushed her cheek again, and I felt the heat there—alive, trembling.

"I've known, Lira," I said quietly, my voice rasping. "Not with words. Not with certainty. But I've felt it. Since the moment I saw"

Her breath caught.

"I tried to give you space. To let you find your footing. But it's been hell keeping my distance."

She didn't speak, just looked up at me, wide-eyed, and for once not running. So I told her what I'd been holding back.

"You are my mate, Lira. I feel it in my bones. I see it every time I look at you."

Tears welled up in her eyes again—not from fear this time, but something rawer. A hope she'd been trying to smother.

But before I could step even closer, before I could pull her into me the way I'd wanted to for weeks—

Knock knock.

My Beta's voice came through the door, urgent. "Alpha, sorry, we have a situation."

Lira flinched, her moment of bravery cracking at the intrusion. She turned her face away as if she regretted everything she just confessed.

"Give me a moment," I called out tightly.

Lira was already stepping back, wrapping her arms around herself as if shielding her heart. "You should go," she whispered. "I didn't mean to... I just—needed to tell you."

I didn't want to leave her. Not now. Not when everything I'd been waiting for had finally spilled out between us.

But duty called.

So I nodded slowly, eyes locking on hers. "We're not done with this," I said, voice low. "Don't run from me again, Lira."

And then, reluctantly, I turned and walked out the door—my heart behind me.