Stolen Mate

The forest was quiet again, save for the crackle of our small fire. Rylan fed it twigs, his face shadowed and unreadable. We'd run for hours after the infirmary burned, until the scent of smoke faded and our legs gave out. Now, hidden in a shallow cave, the moon our only witness, exhaustion hung heavy between us.

He tossed me a strip of dried venison. "Eat."

I gnawed it listlessly. The satchel of Kieran's blood lay beside me, a cursed treasure. "Morana better not demand another *vial*."

Rylan snorted. "She'll want a limb next."

A cold breeze slipped through the cave, and I shivered. Without a word, he shrugged off his tunic and tossed it to me. The fabric was rough, warm from his body, and smelled faintly of pine and iron.

"Keep it," he said when I tried to hand it back. "You're shaking like a pup."

I pulled it over my head, swallowing the urge to bury my nose in the collar. *Pathetic.*

He leaned against the cave wall, staring at the flames. "How'd you become a healer?"

The question startled me. "My mother. She taught me."

"Where is she?"

"Gone. Fever took her when I was twelve."

He nodded, as if he'd expected that. "Mine too. Wolves, though. Nightshade raiders."

I glanced at him. His expression was flat, but his knuckles whitened around the dagger in his lap. "Is that why you left?"

"Left?" He barked a laugh. "They exiled me. Caught me sabotaging a raid. Couldn't stomach their games anymore."

*Games.* A gentle word for slaughter. "Why stay a rogue? Other packs would take you."

"And owe them loyalty?" He shook his head. "I'd rather die free."

The fire popped. An owl hooted in the distance.

"Why'd you stay?" he asked suddenly. "After Lila betrayed you. Why not run?"

I poked the embers. "Where would I go?"

"Anywhere."

"This is my home. Even if it hates me."

He studied me, amber eyes reflecting the flames. "Stubborn."

"So I'm told."

Silence fell, but it wasn't uncomfortable. For once.

"I had a sister," he said abruptly. "Older. Taught me to fight. Nightshade killed her for defiance."

My chest tightened. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She'd have skewered me for moping." A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "You remind me of her. Quiet, but… sharp."

Heat crept up my neck. "Not sharp enough."

"You're alive, aren't you?"

*Barely.*

The moon climbed higher, silvering the trees outside. Rylan's breathing steadied, but I couldn't sleep.

"What happens after the ritual?" I whispered.

He didn't open his eyes. "You get your scent back. Expose Lila. Live happily as Luna."

The words felt hollow. "And you?"

He shrugged. "Move on. Find new trouble."

Something ached in my ribs. "You could stay."

His eyes opened, locking onto mine. "As what? Your pet rogue?"

"As… a friend."

He held my gaze, the firelight softening the edges of him. "Friends don't survive long in my world."

"Then make a new world."

The air thickened. He looked away first.

"Sleep, Elara. Dawn comes fast."

I curled into his tunic, the scent of pine and iron wrapping around me. Somewhere in the night, the howling began—Kieran's pack, singing to a moon that felt farther than ever.

Rylan's voice cut through the dark, quiet but clear. "I had a name, before Nightshade. Aric."

I stilled. Names were power. Trust.

"Elara," I offered.

He huffed. "I know."

"Not just Elara." I hesitated. "My mother called me *Lumina*. Little moon."

He was silent so long, I thought he'd fallen asleep.

"Fits you," he muttered.

The howls faded. For the first time in months, I slept without dreaming.