Chapter 11

I asked.

She didn't answer.

She walked quietly to her desk and sat down.

A few days later.

I came to the Alpha's office for the regular Finance report.

The door was wide open.

Elara had her arms around Cain. Close.

She saw me. Startled, then immediately let go, cheeks going slightly pink.

"Sorry, I forgot to close the door. I'll let you two work." She slipped out quickly, a trace of shyness in her expression.

Cain was quiet for a moment.

"If I told you there's nothing between Elara and me beyond being siblings, and that just now she was the one who walked up and hugged me, would you believe that?"

I nodded.

Cain blinked.

"You actually believe it?"

I shrugged.

"Why wouldn't I? Do you know how I made it to Finance Director? I pay attention. I analyze. I've shared an office with her for months. It wasn't hard to figure out that what she feels for you is just the one-sided admiration of a young girl."

He stared at me for a second. Then he picked me up and set me on the edge of the desk, his voice holding back a laugh.

"So you're telling me I can't hide anything from you either. That bodes well for marriage."

My smile slipped.

I slid gently out of his arms, got off the desk, and said in a light voice, "I just remembered I forgot to send a file to the council. I should get back."

He looked at me for a moment. Quietly said:

"Okay."

When I left, I caught my reflection in the fish tank. Cain was still standing exactly where I'd left him. He hadn't moved.

After we'd started, I had set three rules.

No public acknowledgment.

No shared living space.

No talk about the future.

I thought he'd push back.

But after a short silence, he'd accepted all three. No argument.

These months, I hadn't been able to get a full read on what Cain was thinking.

He was definitely warm. But he never pushed.

His eyes could be burning. But the moment he sensed me backing away, he'd cool off fast.

Just now was a perfect example.

I said I was leaving.

He let go immediately.

The reckless, lost young man on the roadside had quietly grown into a person who knew how to wait without forcing.

I told myself this was good.

At the end of the day.

I didn't think one brief encounter could make someone love another person that deeply.

I was realistic about myself.

What Cain felt for me now was nostalgia. That journey had been beautiful because of the Wildlands, the thin air, the two of us with nothing to lose.

A very beautiful bubble.

Beautiful until you got too close.

I admitted that his confession had moved me.

So I'd let myself fall into it. And I'd prepared for the worst.

The nostalgia would fade eventually.

So in the meantime.

Fall hard. Then let go cleanly.

I was still a coward at heart. Still looking for the safe route.

But I was thirty-three.

I just wanted to live at my own pace.

The Pack organized a hiking day. Into the hills outside the Territory.

Everyone complained.

Then the head of Building Services announced: the Alpha was covering the prize money out of pocket. First ten people to the summit got five thousand each.

Everyone lost their minds.

It was the best-attended Pack event anyone could remember.

People who'd taken personal days came back. People stationed at remote sites drove in.

Including Declan and Vivienne.

Something had clearly happened between them. Declan avoided her the entire time, clearly uncomfortable. Vivienne looked drained, none of the sharp polish she'd always worn.

Elara also seemed quiet. She went through the motions but her eyes were elsewhere.

I was not built for hills. I fell behind.

Cain was not far ahead of me, taking an easy pace. Waiting, in his way.

I sent him a message: "Win me five thousand."

He turned and looked back at me.

Against the light, his eyes bright, half-amused, half-resigned.

He raised a hand and gave me a lazy thumbs up.

Half a minute later, that long figure was gone around a bend in the path.

I reached a rest point by the river and stopped to catch my breath. I was leaning over my water bottle, working the cap, when a shadow fell across me.

Declan was standing there.

He'd lost weight. A man who always kept himself clean-cut had stubble on his face.

"Wren. We should re-Bond."

He was looking at me like he had something urgent to say.

I didn't even glance up. I kept working at my water.

He moved closer.

"I know I was too proud before. I was stubborn. I was angry that you ended things so easily, and I said and did things out of hurt. I've been going over everything from when we were together — how steady it was, how much potential we had. I was wrong. You were upset about Vivienne and that was completely fair. I should have explained properly and I didn't, and a good Bond fell apart over nothing."

He breathed in.

"Wren, I swear to you right now: I never broke my vow to you while we were Bonded. If I'm lying, let the Moon Goddess take what she wants from me."

He said it with the weight of someone who had rehearsed it, eyes serious, chest rising slowly.

Waiting for my reaction.

I said flatly, "I know."

Declan stopped.

After a moment: "You know I didn't break the vow — and you still ended the Bond?"

I looked up at him.