The heaviness in my chest eases as I remind myself that everyone will be okay.Conan is stable. Ethan is conscious. Holden is gone.
Xander leans against the wall beside me, arms crossed. His silver-blue eyes study my face with an intensity that makes my skin prickle.
“If you think you’re being subtle, Commander, I can assure you that you’re not.”
I straighten. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, My Lord.”
“Ethan.” The name lands like a verdict. “You haven’t stepped more than three feet away from him since we left the temple. Hell, you almost took my head off when I said I’d be the one to carry him down the mountain.”
I open my mouth to deflect, but nothing comes out.
“When Holden moved toward Ethan during the fight—” Xander pauses, choosing his words with care. “I’ve fought beside you for years, Commander. I know what your wolf looks like when she’s protecting a packmate. What I saw was more than that.”
My throat tightens.
“That wasn’t just you being protective.” His gaze holds mine. “That was possessive. The kind of fury that only comes out when a mate is threatened.”
Mate.
“And then there’s our pack-bond.” Xander pushes off the wall, turning to face me fully. Suspicion clouds his features. “How is it possible that Ethan joined? He’s human. Humans can’t mind-link with Lycans. Yet, somehow, he was in my head like he’s been part of our pack for years.”
“Well, he can’t join the pack-bond directly.” I try to keep my voice objective, trying to find the right words. “Hecan’t communicate with any of you. Only with me. I— I patched him through.”
Xander’s eyes widen a fraction. “That explains it, then. The way you two kept looking at each other during the fight. No words, just these long stares like you were having entire conversations the rest of us couldn’t hear.”
The silence between us confirms what he’s piecing together.
“Ethan knew exactly when to act.” Xander shakes his head slowly. “Exactly what to do. When to remove the charm, when to call out the timing for you to strike. That’s not guesswork. That’s not even his perception skills, impressive as they are.”
He steps closer, lowering his voice.
“So, I’ll ask again, Commander. How is it that a human — someone without wolf blood, without pack ties, without any connection to our kind — can mind-link with you?”
I don’t answer. Can’t answer.
The question lands like a stone in still water. I feel the ripples spreading outward, disturbing everything I’ve tried to keep contained.
Neither of us speaks. My wolf paces, anxious and defensive.Alpha is not pleased. He will take away what’s mine.
Reading the shift in my posture, Xander’s expression softens as does his voice. “Rhiannon, I’m not asking as your Alpha. I’m asking as your friend. The one who used to steal honey cakes from the kitchens with you and Conan when we were whelps.”
The memory catches me off guard. Those were simpler times. Before everything changed.
A crack forms in my armor. The walls I’ve built, the control I’ve maintained — it all starts to crumble.
“Mahal told me that Ethan is my fated mate.”
The words hang in the air. Speaking them aloud feels like stepping off a cliff. There’s no way back. No way to unsay what’s been said.
Xander’s expression doesn’t change. He simply waits.
“I haven’t told Ethan. Haven’t told anyone.” My voice drops. “You’re the first.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since before we left for the temple.” I lean back against the cool stone wall, suddenly exhausted. “But part of me knew before that. There have been signs. From the moment I caught his scent in Thea’s apartment, my wolf recognized him instantly. I’ve been fighting it ever since.”
“Fighting it?”
