Cade's POV
Three in the morning.
Cade stood outside Keira's door for the fifth time that night, his hand raised but not knocking. His wolf was going insane inside his skin, clawing and howling and demanding he open that door and claim what was his. The mate bond was a living thing, a burning chain wrapped around his bones, pulling him toward her.
He could smell her on the other side of the door. Wildfire and honey and sleep. She was close enough to touch. Close enough to complete the bond. Close enough to burn them both alive if he wasn't careful.
Cade forced his hand down.
He turned away from her door and walked back to his room like every step was an act of war against himself. His wolf snarled and clawed and demanded he go back. Demanded he open that door. Demanded he stop pretending distance was possible.
He locked himself in his room and pressed his forehead against the cold stone wall.
Control. He needed control. Control was the only thing keeping them both from complete destruction.
Morning came too fast.
Cade skipped breakfast. Sent word to River that he had pack business to handle in the northern territories. It was a lie. He had nothing but time and the desperate need to not see Keira eating at his table like she belonged there.
Because she did belong there. That was the problem.
The mate bond wanted her everywhere. In his bed. In his kitchen. At his side during every decision he made. His wolf had decided she was essential to his survival, and nothing Cade did could convince his animal half otherwise.
By afternoon, his excuse to stay away had worn thin. Warriors needed guidance. Territory problems required his attention. He couldn't hide in his room forever.
He went to the training grounds.
It was a mistake the second he arrived.
Keira was there. In the center of the yard, surrounded by six of his warriors, moving like nothing else existed in the world. She was magnificent. Her black hair was pulled back in a braid. She wore training clothes that showed off the taut muscle of her body. Her movements were liquid and precise and absolutely lethal.
One of his warriors, a large brown male named Garrett, was sparring with her. Cade watched them circle each other, watched Garrett try to land a punch, watched Keira dodge with impossible grace.
His wolves stopped what they were doing and watched her instead.
She was winning. Against male warriors twice her size. Against trained fighters who'd been with Mooncrest for years. She moved like water finding the path of least resistance. Like lightning finding the ground. Like a female Alpha who'd fought her way to power and refused to ever stop fighting.
Cade's claws pushed out of his fingertips.
"Easy," River said quietly, appearing at his shoulder. "She's just training."
But Cade wasn't watching training. He was watching his mate fight, and every cell in his body wanted to shift and protect her. Wanted to rip apart anything that threatened her. Wanted to make sure everyone watching understood that she was his and no other male should ever have the chance to touch her.
Garrett landed a solid punch on Keira's shoulder.
She barely flinched. But Cade felt it like he'd taken the hit himself. Every protective instinct he had roared to the surface, demanding violence. Demanding retribution.
His hand went to his shirt. He was going to shift. He was actually going to lose control right here in front of his entire pack and tear apart his own warrior for the crime of sparring with his mate.
River's grip on his arm was like iron.
"Control yourself," his Beta hissed.
But control was dying. Control was drowning. Control was a luxury Cade couldn't afford anymore because Keira was in his territory and every part of him was screaming that she needed protection. Needed claiming. Needed to understand that no other male could ever fight her this close without Cade's permission.
Keira blocked another punch. She was fast, but Garrett had reach and weight. He was using both against her, pushing her toward the edge of the training yard.
She was handling it perfectly.
But then she looked up.
Their eyes locked across the distance, and Cade felt the mate bond flare so violently it was like lightning striking his chest. Her green eyes widened. Her pupils dilated. For one second, the entire world disappeared except for the connection between them.
That second of distraction was all Garrett needed.
He swept her legs out from under her.
Keira crashed to the ground hard, the impact knocking the air out of her lungs. Her back hit the packed earth of the training yard with enough force to crack ribs.
Cade moved.
He wasn't conscious of shifting. One second he was human, the next he was wolf, massive and silver and absolutely feral. A growl erupted from his chest that made every werewolf in the training yard freeze.
River was shouting something. Other warriors were scrambling back. But Cade only saw Keira on the ground and the male who'd put her there.
He lunged.
River intercepted him mid-leap, tackling him hard and using every ounce of Beta strength to pin him down. "Stop! She's fine! Look at her!"
Cade was too far gone. His wolf wanted blood. Wanted to rip Garrett apart. Wanted to make sure every single male in this pack understood that Keira Blackthorn was untouchable.
"Cade," Keira's voice cut through the rage like a knife.
He shifted back to human, breathing hard, his eyes still glowing gold.
Keira was standing. She moved with the easy grace of someone who'd been knocked down a thousand times. She wasn't hurt. Wasn't broken. Wasn't anything except absolutely certain about something as she stared at Cade.
"Don't," she said quietly. "Don't do this."
"He hurt you."
"He sparred with me." Keira walked toward him, completely unbothered by the fact that River was still holding him down or that his entire pack was watching. "That's what training partners do."
But her eyes told him something different. They told him she felt it. That moment when their eyes had met. That moment when the mate bond had flared so bright it had cost her concentration. That moment that had led to her being thrown to the ground.
And they told him she was as scared as he was.
"Get your wolf under control," River said through gritted teeth. "Everyone's watching."
Cade forced himself to breathe. Forced his claws to retract. Forced his eyes to shift from gold back to ice blue. It took everything he had. Every ounce of control he'd spent his entire life building.
Keira tilted her head slightly, like she was listening to something only she could hear.
"I'm fine," she announced to the pack. "Garrett's a good trainer. We'll continue."
She turned back to her opponent, but as she did, her eyes found Cade's one more time.
In that look was a promise. That she understood. That she felt the bond just as violently as he did. That whatever was happening between them was becoming impossible to contain.
Keira went back to fighting.
But her movements weren't as sharp anymore. She was distracted. Her focus had fractured. And Garrett, not understanding the danger he was in, pressed the advantage.
He moved faster. Got closer. Landed another punch aimed at her ribs.
Cade's hands clenched into fists so tight his nails drew blood from his own palms.
River hadn't released him. His Beta stood at his side, ready to physically restrain him again if necessary. But both of them were watching Keira with growing dread.
She was losing focus because of the bond. Because of him. Because every time her eyes flicked toward Cade, she lost a second of concentration.
And on a battlefield, a second was the difference between living and dying.
Garrett went for a leg sweep again.
Keira tried to dodge, but her timing was off. Her movement was delayed. Her attention was splintered between the fight and the man whose presence was burning through her like wildfire.
She fell.
Hard.
This time the impact drove the air completely out of her lungs. This time her head snapped back against the earth with enough force to daze her.
Cade felt something break inside his chest.