The Mate and The Mark

3. There Is Only One

Kai's P.O.V.

"There are four of them approaching. Two are already inside the perimeter," Lucien reported, calm but clipped. My wolf stirred beneath my skin—eager, pacing. I was already stripping down, hands steady despite the way my pulse thudded against my ribs.

"Tell the pack to stay inside. You and Blake flank me. Send two to intercept the infiltrators."

They moved without hesitation.

We exited through the back. Lucien ahead. Blake behind. Both shifted the moment my command left my throat. My wolf relaxed. These weren't just pack members—they were my betas. My brothers. The only ones who'd bled beside me without flinching.

And then—
I hit the grass.

And I smelled her.

It wasn't just a scent. It was an event.
Mist curling over lakewater. Wind kissing fresh earth. Sweet honey and lemon—sharp and soft all at once. It didn't just catch my attention. It stopped the world.

My breath hitched.

'Kai. Focus.'

Lucien's voice buzzed faintly in my head, like a moth near fire. But my wolf had already taken over. My muscles moved on instinct. I slid through the underbrush, every pawstep silent, every nerve on fire.

Then I saw her.

Two wolves cloaked in shadow, moonlight glinting at their feet. But I only saw her. I didn't know how—but I knew. It was her.

She turned.

Our eyes locked.

And I knew.

The bond didn't whisper. It howled.

She's mine.

My lungs pulled in air I couldn't hold. My paws dug into the dirt, grounding myself from the urge to bolt forward and claim her.

Then I scented him.

Wrapped around her. Laced into her fur. His scent all over her body like he'd marked her with his presence.

Rage.

Not fire—ice. The kind that freezes from the inside out. I crouched low, lips curled, and let out a howl. Not for war. For her.

She's here. I've found her. The pack will know her as Luna.

But when I dropped my head again—
She was behind him.

Some other wolf. Guarding her. Standing in front of my mate.

I bared my teeth. My muscles bristled.
He thought he could protect her?
He thought he deserved her?

I wanted to rip out his throat.

'Alpha... isn't that Jake?'

The name struck something deep.
Jake.

A boy I once knew. A shadow from the past.
Now standing where I should be.

He glared at me. A wolf full-grown.
Protective. Muscled. Unyielding.

No.

She's not his.

She looked at me—and I saw it.

Recognition.
Need.
Hesitation.
And then—devastation.

I moved to lunge. His throat was right there.
But—

"Jake!"

Her voice.
It tore through the clearing like lightning.

I paused mid-pounce.
Her body stepped in front of his.

She clutched her arm. Head down.
Trembling, not in fear—but in restraint.

"Stop," she whispered.

And I did.

My wolf whimpered under the weight of her scent, her voice, her pull.

"You can't hurt me..." she said softly. "And if you did... we could never be mates."

That word—mates—left her lips and rewired everything inside me.
I froze.
She looked up. Our eyes met again. And the world fell away.

She saw me.

And I—saw her. Not just her beauty. Her stance. Her fire. Her defiance.

She was mine.

The others shifted. The standoff broke. I didn't look away from her once.

"Shift. Please."

Her voice cracked. She stepped closer.
Tears in her eyes. My name on her tongue.

"Kai."

Gods, the way she said it.
My name—soft but sure.
A plea. A confession. A claim.

I shifted.

A towel was handed to me. I barely noticed. My eyes never left her.

"Everyone leave," I said. Voice low, final. "Y/N, come with me."

I reached for her wrist. Her body moved like it remembered me even if her mind didn't. She stumbled forward. I caught her. Wrapped my arm around her waist. Claimed her with one movement.

Her skin against mine sent a shiver down my spine. My neck cracked with the force of it.

She was real. And she was here.

"You're not taking her away!"

Jake.

He grabbed her.
Tried to hold her.

I looked down. Saw his hand on what's mine.

"You're not taking her!"

His voice was firm, full of that same useless loyalty that made him stand in front of me.

But she—
She turned to him.

"It's fine. Just come back for me tomorrow night. I'll be waiting."
She touched his face. Kissed his forehead.

"I'll be okay. I promise."

My wolf roared inside me.

She kissed him.

Even now—still tied to him like he was her anchor.

'Stay away from her,' my wolf growled inside me. Loud enough to shake bone.

But I said nothing. I just took her hand. Turned away. Walked back into the house with her beside me.

Jake's voice faded behind us. Useless noise.

She was mine now.

And I would not lose her again.