I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Of course he is. Can't have the perfect Alpha Dominic looking weak because his Luna left him. Better to spin it that I'm crazy."
"You're under my protection now." Kael's voice went hard, Alpha authority ringing in every word. "He can demand whatever he wants. I'm not sending you anywhere you don't want to go."
"He'll push. You don't know Dominic he doesn't lose. Ever. He'll make this political, threaten alliances, maybe even threaten war"
"Let him try." Kael moved back into my space, his hand coming up to cup my face with surprising gentleness. "I've been looking for an excuse to remind Dominic Steele that his pack isn't the only one with teeth. If he wants you back, he'll have to go through me. And Elara?" His thumb brushed across my cheekbone, and my eyes fluttered closed. "I promise you, that's not going to happen."
When I opened my eyes, he was staring at me with an intensity that stole my breath.
Like I was the only thing in the world worth looking at. Like I mattered.
When was the last time Dominic looked at me like this?
Never. The answer was never.
"Why?" The word came out as a whisper. "Why would you risk your pack's safety for me?"
Something raw and honest flashed across his face. "You really don't know?"
"Know what?"
He leaned in slowly, giving me every opportunity to pull away, to say no, to remember that I was still technically married and my heart was supposed to be broken and this was all happening too fast.
I didn't move.
"I've been waiting for you to see me for fifteen years, Elara Thorne." His lips were inches from mine now, his breath warm against my skin. "Since the day you pushed Billy Mattson into the mud for pulling Maya's hair. Since you stole my jacket during the winter bonfire and never gave it back. Since you cried on my shoulder when your dad arranged your mating with Dominic, and I couldn't tell you to run because I had no claim to you."
"Kael"
"The mate bond is sacred," he continued, his hand sliding into my hair. "I respected it. I stepped back. I watched you marry him and told myself that if the Moon Goddess had chosen him for you, then I had to let you go.
But Elara?" His eyes burned into mine. "The mate bond is only sacred when both people honor it. Dominic broke it the moment he chose to make you feel worthless. So I'm not going to apologize for wanting you. For being ready to fight for you. For seeing you the way you deserve to be seen."
My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it. "This is crazy. I just left him. I'm not I shouldn't"
"I'm not asking you for anything," he said softly. "I'm just telling you the truth. What you do with it is entirely up to you. But know this whether you choose to give me a chance or not, I will protect you. From Dominic. From his pack. From the whole damn world if necessary. You're safe here, Elara. You're valued here. You're seen here."
A tear slid down my cheek before I could stop it, and he caught it with his thumb.
"Don't cry," he murmured. "You've cried enough tears for that bastard."
"These aren't sad tears," I whispered. "I just… I forgot what it felt like. To matter to someone."
"You matter to me." He said it simply, like it was the most obvious truth in the world. "You always have."
His phone buzzed again, and this time I could see the screen. Three missed calls from Dominic. Two from his Beta. And a text that made my blood run cold:
DOMINIC STEELE: Tell my wife I'm coming for her. She belongs to me, and I ALWAYS reclaim what's mine.
"He's insane," I breathed, showing Kael the text. "He didn't want me for three years, and now"
"Now you're gone, and his ego can't handle it." Kael's expression went cold, calculating. Alpha strategy replacing whatever tender moment we'd been having. "He'll be here by tomorrow night. Probably bringing his entire command structure to intimidate us."
"What are we going to do?"
"We," Kael said, the word deliberate, "are going to remind him that you're not his property. You're a person, with autonomy and choices. And you're choosing to be here." He paused, his blue eyes searching mine. "You are choosing to be here, right?"
The question hung between us, loaded with meaning. Was I choosing to be here? To stay under Kael's protection? To explore whatever this dangerous, impossible thing was building between us?
I thought about Dominic's cold indifference. His mother's cruelty. Three years of being invisible. Three years of dying by inches while pretending everything was fine.
Then I thought about the way Kael looked at me. Like I was precious. Important. Worth fighting for.
"Yes," I said, the word coming out stronger than I felt. "I'm choosing to be here."
Something fierce and possessive flashed through his eyes. "Good. Then let's give your husband a welcome he'll never forget."
He stepped back, and I immediately missed his warmth. My wolf whined in protest, wanting him closer, wanting to curl into his strength and never leave.
What is happening to me?
"Get some rest," Kael said, moving toward the doorway. "Tomorrow's going to be interesting."
"Kael?" He turned back, and I forced myself to ask the question burning through me. "Why do I feel this way? This… pull toward you? I should be devastated over Dominic. The mate bond should still be"
"Sometimes," he said quietly, "the Moon Goddess gets it wrong the first time.
Sometimes she needs to correct her mistake. And sometimes…" He paused, something hopeful and cautious in his expression. "Sometimes what we think is destiny is just biology. And what we think is impossible is actually fate giving us a second chance."
He disappeared into the darkness, leaving me alone in the kitchen with half-eaten chocolate cake and a heart that was beating for the first time in years.
My phone lit up on the counter. A text from an unknown number:
UNKNOWN: You made a mistake leaving me, Elara. But I'm a generous man. Come back now, and I'll forgive this little tantrum. Refuse, and I'll make sure you regret ever defying me. You have 24 hours. D
I stared at the message, waiting for the fear to come. The doubt. The instinct to cave and apologize and make myself smaller.
It didn't come.
Instead, I felt something I hadn't felt in three years.
Rage. Pure, righteous, burning rage.
I typed out a response with steady hands:
ME: I'd rather die than come back to you. Come to Crescent Moon if you want. But you won't find a broken Luna waiting to grovel. You'll find a woman who finally remembered she's an Alpha's daughter. And Dominic? I'm not afraid of you anymore.
I hit send before I could second-guess myself.
Let him come. Let him rage. Let him try to intimidate and threaten and control.
He'd find out that the invisible Luna he'd taken for granted had teeth.
And she was done being silent.