Lyra's POV
He was almost past me.
One step more, and he would have gone on to the council chamber, never knowing I was there.
Then the wind turned. It carried my scent to him earth, crushed herbs, a hint of wild jasmine.
He stopped.
The sudden stillness cut through the noise of the courtyard. Horses stamped, warriors shifted, but Kaelan Draven didn't move. His head tilted slightly, as if the world had gone silent for him alone.
And then he turned.
Our eyes met.
For a heartbeat, there was nothing.
No sound. No breath. No distance.
Just him.
His gaze was molten gold, deep and sharp enough to slice through every wall I'd built. It was the look of a predator, but behind it something else recognition. Shock. Need.
The bond hit like lightning.
A tremor tore through me, starting at the base of my spine and racing upward until the world burned white. My heart slammed once, twice, then steadied to match the rhythm of his.
Two beats. One pulse.
My wolf surged forward, howling his name even though I had never heard it on her tongue.
Mate.
The word echoed through every cell in my body.
I gripped the edge of the stone wall to stay upright. Heat flooded my chest, the same wild energy that used to fill the air before a storm. My vision blurred at the edges, bright and dizzying.
Across the courtyard, Kaelan took a single step toward me.
His warriors looked up, confused. Even Alpha Rowan faltered mid-sentence as Iron claw's Alpha seemed to forget the rest of the world existed.
Kaelan's expression shifted from command to disbelief, his jaw tightening as his nostrils flared slightly, scenting me.
He felt it too.
The pressure between us built until I thought my bones would crack. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. My wolf was already on her feet inside me, pressing against the surface, desperate to go to him.
No.
I forced a breath past the fire in my chest and took a step back.
Kaelan's eyes darkened, a silent protest flickering through them. For a moment, he looked ready to cross the distance between us, to reach for what fate had just thrown in front of him.
Then Rowan's voice cut through the air again, formal and strained.
"Alpha Draven, the council awaits."
Kaelan blinked, as if waking from a dream. Slowly, he tore his gaze from mine.
The bond didn't break it simply thinned, stretched taut between us like a thread of flame.
He inclined his head to Rowan and turned away, but I could feel his attention still clinging to me, even as he walked inside.
When the heavy doors of the council hall closed behind him, I finally exhaled.
The world rushed back noise, movement, life. But I felt none of it.
Because deep inside, something new had rooted itself a pulse that didn't belong to me. And no matter how far I ran, I knew I'd never be free of it again.
Kaelan's POV – The Thread
The sound of the council doors closing echoed in my skull like the toll of a bell.
Every instinct in me screamed to turn back. To tear those doors open. To find her.
But I couldn't.
The council chamber waited, full of Alphas, Betas, elders. Men who watched me the way a wolf watches another near his territory.
If I showed weakness, they would see it.
If I followed that pull now, they would smell her scent on me and know what she was.
So I forced my steps forward. Every one of them felt like betrayal.
The air inside was heavy with smoke from the burning braziers and the sharp tang of pine oil. The table at the center stretched wide, carved with the ancient markings of the packs.
I barely heard Rowan's formal greeting or the ritual exchange of vows.
My focus kept slipping back to the courtyard, to the girl who'd looked at me with those wild, terrified eyes.
Her scent still lingered in my lungs haunting and alive. Jasmine. Earth. Wolf. Mate.
I clenched my jaw so hard I heard the grind of my teeth. This couldn't be right
An omega?
No. Her posture wasn't that of a servant. She stood like she had once known command, and was trying to remember how to hide it.
Who was she?
"Alpha Draven," Rowan said sharply. "Your attention, if you please."
I blinked, realizing the entire room had gone silent. All eyes were on me.
"My apologies," I said evenly, dropping into the chair at the far end of the table. "It's been a long ride."
Rowan nodded curtly, satisfied enough, and began speaking again about border disputes and trade routes.
But his voice faded to a hum.
The mark of the bond pulsed in my chest, steady and unrelenting. It wasn't a physical mark no light, no visible sign but I felt it as clearly as breath. The thread that connected us was alive, tugging, whispering.
My wolf prowled inside me, restless and hungry. Go to her.
I gripped the edge of the table until my knuckles whitened. Not yet
The discussion moved on to the rogue attacks near the southern ridge. I half-listened, my mind turning over fragments of the moment we'd locked eyes.
The instant our gazes met, everything inside me had stopped.
I'd fought in wars, faced traitors, buried brothers. Nothing had ever hit me like that.
It wasn't desire not at first. It was recognition. As if I'd spent my whole life blind and had only just opened my eyes.
Her scent had lit every nerve in my body, pulling me toward her like gravity.
And the fear in her eyes… it had cut deeper than any blade.
Why would my mate look at me like that?
I didn't realize I was growling under my breath until Rowan shot me a sharp look
I straightened. "A rogue threat that close to the border can't be ignored," I said smoothly, covering the sound. "My warriors will assist your patrols until the matter is handled."
A ripple of approval passed through the council. Rowan inclined his head, pleased with my quick offer.
Good. Let them think I was focused. Let them think I cared about the damned patrols.
Inside, I was burning.
When the meeting finally ended, I rose too quickly, the chair scraping against the stone floor.
Rowan gave me a curious glance. "You look as though you've seen a ghost, Alpha."
"Something like that," I muttered.
I turned to leave before he could press further.
The moment I stepped into the corridor, her scent hit me again faint, fading, but still there. I followed it without thinking, every sense sharpening.
Down the hall, around the corner nothing. Just cold air and silence.
My wolf snarled inside me, frustrated.
She's close.
"I know," I whispered.
And I swore to myself that I would find her. Whoever she was. Whatever secrets she carried
The Moon Goddess didn't make mistakes. If fate had bound me to her, there was a reason. And I would uncover it no matter what it cost.