Stolen Mate

Rain lashed the mouth of the cave, the storm screaming like a wounded thing. Rylan fed another branch to the fire, his movements stiff, his eyes avoiding mine. We'd barely spoken since fleeing Silvermoon's fractured pack, the weight of Kieran's howls still haunting the air. 

I peeled back the bandage on my arm, the poison's black veins retreating but not gone. "You've been quiet." 

He poked the flames. "Thinking." 

"About?" 

"Choices." 

The word hung between us, sharp as the dagger at his hip. I studied him—the tension in his shoulders, the way his jaw clenched when silence stretched too long. 

"You knew her," I said quietly. "Before Nightshade. Before all this." 

The fire popped. He stilled. 

"Knew who?" 

"Lila." 

His knuckles whitened around the stick he held. "What makes you say that?" 

"The way you looked at her in the grove. Not just hate. Hurt." 

He laughed, a hollow sound. "You're too observant for your own good, Lumina." 

The nickname, usually a tease, felt like a blade tonight. 

I leaned forward. "Tell me." 

He stared into the flames, shadows carving his face into something ancient and weary. "We were pups. Twelve summers. Nightshade doesn't… coddle. You prove your worth young. Lila and I—we survived together." 

The admission was a stone in my gut. "You loved her." 

"*Thought* I did." He snapped the stick, tossing it into the fire. "She was fierce. Clever. Made me believe we could rise above the pack's filth." 

Rain drummed harder. 

"And?" I pressed. 

"And she betrayed me." His voice roughened. "There was a raid—a rival pack's camp. Women. Children. Lila slit a mother's throat, then turned her blade on the pup in the crib. I tried to stop her. She laughed." 

My stomach turned. "Why?" 

"To prove her loyalty. To earn a place at Darius's side." He spat into the flames. "I left that night. She called me weak. Told me I'd die a rogue." 

The storm howled, but the silence between us was louder. 

"And now?" I asked. 

"Now she's a poison. And I'm still weak." 

"You're not weak." 

He finally looked at me, amber eyes burning. "Aren't I? I followed her scent for months, even after knowing what she was. Part of me still—" 

He cut himself off, jaw trembling. 

I hugged my knees, the fire's heat suddenly stifling. "You still care." 

"No." He stood abruptly, pacing the cave. "I care that she's a threat. To you. To this godsdamned world." 

"But you hesitated. In the grove, when you had the chance to strike her." 

He froze. "You saw that?" 

"I see everything." 

His shoulders slumped. "Old habits. Old ghosts." 

I rose, my legs unsteady. "How do I trust you, Rylan? How do I know you won't falter when it matters?" 

He turned, his face raw. "You don't." 

The word was a punch. 

"But I'm here," he said quietly. "Not with her. With *you*." 

The storm raged on. 

"Why?" 

He closed the distance between us, his hand hovering near my cheek. "Because you remind me what's worth fighting for. Not power. Not vengeance. *This*." 

His thumb brushed my jaw, the touch featherlight. My pulse roared, drowning the rain. 

Then he stepped back, his walls slamming shut. "Sleep. We move at dawn." 

I lay by the fire, his confession a storm in my chest. Trust was a fragile thing, shattered once already. 

But as his breathing steadied in the dark, I realized— 

So was he.