Riven's POV
Riven hadn't slept.
He'd spent the entire night listening to her pace back and forth in the room next door. Footsteps crossing the floor. Pausing. Turning around. Starting again. Over and over. The restless movement of a caged animal trying to find a way out.
He understood the impulse. His wolf understood it too. It wanted to go to her, wanted to explain things, wanted to make her stop being afraid. But that wasn't how this worked. She needed to understand the reality of her situation before he could comfort her. She needed to accept what she was before she could accept what she was to him.
Morning light was starting to filter through the windows when he finally moved.
He didn't bother knocking. She was his responsibility now. His mate. That meant he didn't need permission to enter her space. He opened the door and found her exactly where he'd expected. Awake. Exhausted. Her dark eyes went wide when she saw him.
She looked like she hadn't slept at all.
"Sit," he said simply.
"No."
Riven almost smiled. She was defiant even when she was terrified. That was good. Defiance meant she had strength underneath all that fear.
"You can sit or I can make you sit," he said. "Your choice."
She sat on the edge of the bed, her entire body tense like she was ready to bolt at any second. Her hands were shaking. Her eyes kept darting toward the window like she was still calculating escape routes.
He closed the door behind him.
"Here's what you need to understand," Riven said, his voice dropping into something cold and factual. "Bloodmoon Pack has been hunting hybrids for decades. Marcus Thorne, their Alpha, became obsessed with hybrid blood after some witch told him it could break a curse on his territory. He's willing to kill to get it. He's willing to wage war to get it."
Jade's face went pale.
"Your mother ran from Bloodmoon because they wanted her blood," Riven continued. "They hunted her for six years. They finally caught her because she was alone and weak and had no protection. Is that right?"
Jade's jaw clenched. She didn't answer but she nodded slightly.
"Marcus will do the same thing to you," Riven said. "He'll hunt you. He'll find you. And he'll take what he wants. That's what happens to hybrids without pack protection."
"I've been fine for six years without pack," she said, her voice sharp with anger.
"You've been lucky," Riven corrected. "You've been invisible. But invisibility only works if no one's looking for you. Marcus knows you exist now. That changes everything."
Jade stood up abruptly. She paced away from him, her hands clenched into fists.
"I didn't ask for this," she said, her voice rising. "I didn't ask you to find me. I didn't ask to be kidnapped and dragged to your pack house and locked in a bedroom like some prize you won."
"No, you didn't," Riven agreed. "But it happened anyway. And now you have two choices. You can stay here at Shadowfang under my protection, where no pack on the West Coast will dare touch you. Or you can leave and take your chances alone against Bloodmoon."
"Those aren't choices," she spat. "Those are threats."
His patience snapped.
He moved forward without giving her time to react and backed her against the wall beside the window. His body blocked out the light. His hands came up on either side of her head, trapping her between his arms and the cold wall.
"Your mother died because she was alone and weak," he said, his voice dropping dangerous. "She was running from something with no support, no strength, no pack to stand with her. And it killed her."
Jade's eyes filled with tears but she glared at him defiantly.
"You survive because you're mine now," he continued. His voice came out rough, edged with something dark. "Under my protection. In my pack. You can accept that or you can fight it. But you're not leaving. That's not an option anymore."
"You can't own me," she whispered.
"I'm not trying to own you," Riven said. He leaned closer, close enough that he could smell the fear and anger rolling off her. "I'm trying to keep you alive. There's a difference."
The mate bond flared between them without warning.
It wasn't like the initial pull he'd felt in the alley. This was something deeper. Something darker. It was heat and need and absolute certainty that this female was his in ways that went beyond strategy or survival. His wolf roared approval, demanded he mark her, claim her, make it impossible for anyone to question what she was to him.
Jade's breathing went shallow. Her entire body went rigid against the wall.
"I felt that," she whispered.
Her eyes met his and he could see the moment she understood. Not just intellectually understood but actually felt what the bond meant. What it could do to both of them if they kept fighting it.
His eyes flashed amber and he watched hers widen.
"Good," he said quietly. "Now you know why running is pointless. You can run to the end of the world and the bond will just pull you back. We're connected now, Jade. That's not changing."
She turned her face away but he could see her pulse racing in her neck, could hear her heartbeat going wild in her chest. The mate bond was singing between them, demanding acknowledgment.
He pulled back before he did something they both weren't ready for yet.
"Rest," he said. "We'll talk about pack training later."
He was almost to the door when her voice stopped him.
"Why?" she asked. "Why do you care if I live or die? I'm just a tool to you. Just something valuable."
Riven turned back and looked at her. She was pressed against the wall still, her dark eyes searching his face like she was trying to find a lie she could hold onto.
He wanted to tell her the truth. That the moment he felt the mate bond, everything changed. That she wasn't a tool anymore and she never would be. That his wolf had claimed her before his brain could even catch up.
But she wasn't ready to hear that yet.
"Because," he said simply, "you belong to Shadowfang now. And I protect what's mine."
He left before she could ask if that included her heart.