Chapter Two: The Mark Beneath the Skin
Rina staggered back, her boot catching on a root. She would've fallen if Kael hadn't moved so fast. One strong hand caught her wrist, steadying her with unnerving ease.
"You're mine," he repeated, quieter this time, like a truth he didn't want to admit aloud.
"No," she breathed, shaking her head. "That's not possible. I'm not—I don't have a wolf. I'm not like you."
"You think that matters?"
Kael's grip loosened, but he didn't let go. His golden eyes searched her face as if he was seeing something that didn't make sense. His brows furrowed, and he exhaled, the sharp edge of his dominance softening—for a moment.
Rina forced herself to pull away, taking two firm steps back. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
"I'm not even a full member of the pack. I'm just the healer's girl. There's no reason for you to say something like that."
Kael tilted his head, watching her the way a wolf watches something it can't quite understand. "The bond doesn't care about status."
"That's impossible." Rina shook her head again. "Bonds only happen between wolves."
"I would've said the same. Until I felt you."
The words struck her deep in the chest—terrifying and strangely tender. Something primal stirred in her, just beneath the surface. Not quite a wolf, but not entirely human either. A tingle at the base of her spine. Heat in her palms.
Rina wrapped her arms around herself, cold all of a sudden.
Kael's voice dropped lower. "Do you feel it, Rina?"
"I feel… confused."
"I've been Alpha for ten years," he said, stepping toward her. "No one has ever unsettled me. No one has ever smelled like home."
She looked away. "You shouldn't talk like that."
"Why?"
"Because you're the Alpha. And I'm… nothing."
Kael took another step. She felt the weight of his presence settle over her, like an invisible cloak of heat and tension.
"You're mine," he said again, but this time with something softer in his voice. Wonder. "And I think you've always been."
Rina didn't know what to say. Her heart felt like it didn't belong in her chest anymore. She turned without thinking, bolting into the fog, ignoring Kael's shout behind her.
She ran until her lungs burned, until she couldn't hear anything but the pounding in her head.
But she couldn't outrun the echo of that word in her mind.
Mine.