Stolen Mate

The vial of Kieran's blood burned in my satchel, a guilty secret. Rylan and I crouched in the watchtower's shadows, dawn light bleeding through cracks in the rotted wood.

"We should go to Morana tonight," Rylan said, sharpening his dagger.

I nodded, but my gaze drifted toward the village. Smoke curled from the feast hall's chimney. Kieran would be there, leading the morning patrol. *Does he feel the hollowness yet?*

***

I risked the river at midday, cloaked in a hooded wolf pelt. The pack avoided me, but the river didn't care if I was cursed. I scrubbed bloodstains from Rylan's tunic, the icy water numbing my fingers.

Voices echoed downstream.

"—not like you to be distracted, Alpha."

Garrick.

I froze, crouching behind a boulder.

Kieran stood knee-deep in the current, shirtless, water sluicing off his scarred torso. He stared at the horizon, his storm-gray eyes distant. "The borders are secure?"

"Yes," Garrick said. "But the men need their leader *present*."

Kieran splashed his face, silent.

Garrick hesitated. "Is it… Lila?"

The Alpha's jaw tightened. "She's fine."

"Doesn't mean you are."

Kieran turned, and for a heartbeat, his gaze swept my hiding spot. My pulse thundered. *He can't smell me. He can't.*

"Enough," he growled, striding past Garrick. "Double the night patrols."

***

I followed.

Stupid. Reckless. But the vial's weight demanded it.

He walked the forest's edge, tracing paths we'd once walked together. Places I'd gathered herbs. The oak where I'd stitched his wound after the bear attack. He paused there, fingers brushing the bark's scar.

*"Hold still," I'd hissed, nettle paste stinging my palms. He'd grinned through the pain, sweat gleaming on his brow. "Bossy healer."*

Now, his shoulders slumped. A hollow man in a hollow bond.

***

Lila found him at dusk.

I lurked in the thicket, breath shallow, as she draped herself against him. "You're avoiding me."

He stiffened. "I've been busy."

"Too busy for your *mate*?" Her lavender scent cloyed the air—my scent. A theft that still carved me raw.

He stepped back. "What do you want, Lila?"

Her laugh faltered. "You. Us. The future we're supposed to have."

"Does it feel real to you?" The words slipped out, quiet as a blade.

She gaped. "What?"

"The bond." He paced, restless. "It's… faint. Like an echo."

Her eyes hardened. "You're tired. The treaty talks with Nightshade—"

"This isn't about Nightshade!" He slammed his fist into the oak, the sound cracking through the woods. "I feel *nothing* when you're near. Nothing but… duty."

She recoiled. "Duty?"

"The elders say the bond strengthens with time. But it's been weeks." He raked a hand through his hair. "What if the Goddess made a mistake?"

*Yes. Yes.*

Lila's lips twisted. "The mistake is you clinging to ghosts."

He stilled. "What?"

"Elara." My name was a curse on her tongue. "You wander her trails, sigh over her memory. She's *gone*, Kieran. A traitor. And you're here, gutless, whining to the wind!"

He moved faster than I thought possible, pinning her to the oak. "Say her name again."

She bared her teeth. "Elara. Elara. *Elara*."

He released her like she'd burned him. "Leave."

"Gladly." She straightened, venom in her smile. "But remember—she chose this. Not me."

***

I ran. Branches lashed my face, tears blurring the moon. *He doubts. He remembers.*

The watchtower loomed ahead. Rylan stood guard, but I shoved past him, collapsing on the hay.

"Elara?"

"He knows," I choked. "He feels it."

Rylan knelt, wary. "Kieran?"

"The bond—it's empty. He's empty." I clutched his arm. "We have to hurry."

He studied me, amber eyes unreadable. "You still want him."

It wasn't a question.

I looked away.

He stood, sheathing his dagger. "Then let's finish this."

***

That night, Kieran howled—a raw, broken sound that tore the stars from the sky.

My wolf answered, silent and scarred.