MAGNUS'S POV
My wolf is going to kill me.
I can feel it clawing at my insides, howling, demanding I go back to that cabin and claim what's ours. Thea is asleep twenty feet away, her scent filling the small space, driving me insane.
Wildflowers. Honey. And underneath it all, that intoxicating Alpha bloodline that calls to every dominant instinct I have.
Mine. MINE. CLAIM HER.
"She's not ours," I growl at myself, pacing outside the cabin in the freezing night air. "Dorian made us promise."
My wolf doesn't care about promises. It only cares that our mate is alone, scared, and vulnerable.
I should be planning. Should be figuring out how to rescue Dorian and take down Vesper. Instead, I'm standing in the cold like an idiot, fighting the urge to go inside and wrap myself around Thea until she feels safe.
My phone buzzes. Text from Cade: "How is she?"
"Asleep. Traumatized. Handling it better than most would."
"And how are YOU handling it?"
I don't answer. Cade knows exactly how I'm handling it—barely.
"Boss, Thea gave an Alpha command tonight. To YOUR pack. And they OBEYED her."
Yeah. I noticed. Hard to miss when your mate casually gives orders to fifty werewolves like she's been doing it her whole life.
"Tell them she's under my protection. That's all they need to know."
"Is that ALL she is?"
Damn Cade and his ability to see right through me.
"Drop it."
He doesn't text back. Smart man.
I should sleep. Need to be sharp for sunrise. But my wolf won't let me rest. Won't stop thinking about Thea alone in that cabin.
"She's fine," I mutter. "She doesn't need us hovering."
But my feet are already moving toward the cabin door.
Just a quick check. Just to make sure she's okay.
I ease the door open silently. The fire has burned down to embers. Thea is curled up on the bed, my mother's old sweater drowning her small frame.
She's crying in her sleep.
My heart cracks.
"Dad," she whimpers, tears streaming down her face. "Please don't leave me..."
Every instinct in me screams to go to her. To comfort her.
But Dorian's voice echoes in my memory: "Promise me, Magnus. Don't claim her. She deserves a normal life."
I take one step toward the bed—
A twig snaps outside.
I'm at the window in half a second. Someone's out there. Multiple someones.
I slip outside, shifting partially—just enough for claws and enhanced senses. Five wolves circle the cabin. Rogues. Probably Vesper's.
The lead rogue sniffs the air. "She's inside. The Alpha female. I can smell her power."
"Vesper wants her alive," another warns.
"Vesper's not here." The leader grins. "A bloodline that strong? We could sell her to the highest bidder."
Over my dead body.
I step out of the shadows. "Bad idea, boys."
They spin toward me. The leader's eyes widen when he recognizes my scent. "Alpha Ravencroft—"
"You're planning to kidnap MY mate?" The words slip out before I can stop them. "That changes things, doesn't it?"
The rogues exchange nervous glances. Attacking an Alpha's mate is suicide.
"We'll just... go," one stammers.
"Too late for that." My wolf surges forward, and I let it.
The fight is brutal but fast. Within minutes, all five rogues are dead or dying.
But their leader gasps out something that makes my blood freeze: "You... just told them... she's your mate... Vesper... will know... before sunrise..."
He dies.
I stand there, covered in blood, realizing what I've done. I just publicly claimed Thea as my mate. Word will spread. By morning, every wolf in the territory will know.
"Idiot," I snarl at myself. "Stupid, possessive idiot—"
"Magnus?"
I spin around. Thea stands in the cabin doorway, eyes wide, staring at the dead rogues.
"Did you kill them?" she whispers.
"Yes."
"I heard what you said. What you called me." She takes a step toward me. "You called me your mate. What does that mean?"
"Nothing. It means nothing—"
"Don't lie to me." Her eyes flash with anger. "Everyone keeps lying to me. My father lied. You lied about him being dead. Now you're lying about whatever this is between us."
"There's nothing between us."
"Really?" She gestures at the dead rogues. "You just slaughtered five wolves who threatened me. You keep looking at me like... like I matter."
"You do matter. You're Dorian's daughter. My responsibility—"
"I'm so sick of being someone's responsibility!" Her voice cracks. "Is that all I am to you?"
No. She's everything. She's the reason my wolf won't shut up. The reason I'd burn down the whole world if it kept her safe.
But I can't tell her that.
"Yes," I lie. "That's all you are."
The hurt on her face guts me.
"Fine," she says quietly. "Then once we rescue my father, I'll figure out my life on my own. You'll be free of your responsibility."
She turns to go inside.
My wolf roars in protest. Don't let her go. CLAIM HER.
"Thea, wait—"
"What?" She doesn't turn around.
Tell her the truth. Tell her she's your mate.
"Nothing," I force out. "Get some sleep. We leave in three hours."
She walks inside without another word.
My phone buzzes. Unknown number: "Tick tock, Alpha. Three hours until sunrise. Three hours until Dorian dies. Unless... you'd like to make a trade?"
I dial it. Vesper answers immediately.
"What trade?"
"Simple. You give me Thea willingly, and I'll give you Dorian. Plus, I'll tell you a secret that will change everything."
"What secret?"
"The real reason Dorian made you promise never to claim his daughter." She laughs. "Want to know why, Magnus? Because she's not just your mate. She's your—"
The line goes dead.
I try calling back. Nothing.
"DAMN IT!" I throw the phone at a tree.
What was Vesper about to say? She's not just my mate, she's my... what?
Inside, I hear Thea crying softly.
My wolf whines. We hurt our mate. Fix it.
"I can't. I promised Dorian."
But in three hours, we're walking into a trap. If I don't make it out alive, Thea will never know the truth.
She'll never know she's my mate. My everything.
Maybe that's for the best.
Or maybe I'm the biggest coward alive.
The cabin door opens. Thea stands there, wrapped in a blanket, eyes red from crying.
"I can't sleep," she admits. "Every time I close my eyes, I see my father getting hurt."
"Come here," I say before I can stop myself.
She hesitates. "I thought I was just a responsibility."
"You are." The lie tastes like poison. "But even responsibilities deserve comfort."
She walks over slowly. I open my arms. She steps into them, and my wolf finally—FINALLY—settles.
This is where she belongs. Safe. Protected. Mine.
"Magnus?" she whispers against my chest.
"Yeah?"
"Promise me something. Promise me that no matter what happens at that mill, you'll make sure my father survives. Even if it means..." She swallows hard. "Even if it means giving Vesper what she wants. Giving her me."
"No." The word explodes out of me. "Absolutely not."
"But—"
"I don't care what Vesper wants. I don't care what promises I made. You're not going to her." I pull back to look at her. "Do you understand me?"
She stares up at me, and I see the exact moment she realizes I'm not talking like someone protecting a responsibility.
"Why do you care so much?" she breathes.
Because you're mine. Because the mate bond is killing me. Because I love you.
But I can't say any of that.
So I do something stupider instead.
I kiss her.