She lifts her chin. “They fought to protect me. Because you ordered it, yes, but they still bled. Still risked?—”
“Minor wounds,” I cut her off, but my tone softens. “A few silver burns. Nothing that won’t heal by morning.” My hand comes up to cup her face, thumb stroking her cheek. “But you feel it, don’t you? Through the bond. My pack’s pain. Their doubts. Their fury.”
“Yes.” She leans into my touch despite herself. “I feel everything. The silver burning. Their determination. Their anger. Even their...” She hesitates.
“Their what, little mate?” I coax the words from her, curious about what she senses.
“Their fear,” she whispers. “Not of the fight. Of me. Of what claiming me will cost them.”
My growl is possessive as I pull her against my chest, uncaring of the blood that smears her skin. “Let them fear. Let them doubt. You proved yourself tonight. The pack will learn.”
“And if I’m not worth the cost?” Her hands press againstmy chest, and I can feel my heart thundering beneath her palms. “If more come, if?—”
My mouth crashes down on hers, silencing her doubts with a kiss that tastes of blood and victory. I pour my certainty into it, my absolute conviction that she belongs with us—with me. When I finally pull back, my beast is close to the surface.
“You’re mine,” I growl against her lips. “That makes you worth any cost.”
Chapter
Seven
“Come.” Ryker’s voice is low but not unkind. “You need to wash, and I need these wounds cleaned.”
He leads me through softly lit tunnels that spiral deep into the earth. The stone beneath my feet is smooth, worn down by generations of wolf-kind and lovingly polished to a warm shine. The air carries the faint scent of mineral-rich earth and something floral—lily, maybe? Or perhaps mountain thyme.
Crystal sconces glow softly along the walls, highlighting veins of quartz and amethyst like starlight frozen in stone. Some of the stone archways are clearly ancient—natural formations reinforced and carved with different images by skilled hands. Others are newer, smoothed into graceful curves that blend seamlessly with the old. Woven tapestries hang at intervals, stitched with symbols I don’t recognize—wolves, moons, flames, and eyes.
Weapons line the walls in places, next to fire hydrants and emergency panels. Modern survival and ancient violence coexisting, like the wolves who walk these halls.
I trail my fingers along the cool stone as we walk, myinner wolf quiet but watchful. Ryker’s scent curls around us, and she presses closer.
Mate, she whispers, her certainty absolute.
But I’m not so sure.
She may trust, but I remember betrayal. I remember being paraded before the elders, told to shift until I collapsed from trying. I remember the disappointment in my mother’s eyes, the muttered curses from the alpha when I failed to give them the seer they wanted in wolf form.
My wolf trusts. I remember.
The man in him is more than capable of breaking me.
“It’s through here,” Ryker says, interrupting my thoughts.
The bathing chamber takes my breath away.
A vast cavern opens before us, its ceiling arching high above like the inside of some forgotten temple. Crystals jut from the rock in jagged blooms, catching the soft lighting and amplifying it into a celestial glow. The entire space shimmers with cool silver, dusky gold, and the occasional glimpses of violet and green where the mist is thickest.
Steam coils from a series of natural pools, misting the air. As we move closer, I notice the water is an impossible shade of turquoise, clear and inviting. The air is thick with heat and the scent of minerals—salt, stone, and something almost sweet, like warmed honey.
Woven towels sit in thick, orderly stacks on a nearby bench. A low tray holds soaps shaped like pressed leaves, and small polished bowls of clay scrubs and herbal ointments.
It’s... beautiful.
No. It’s more than beautiful. It’s decadent.
I freeze for a moment, unease curling through me.
Everything here speaks of ritual, comfort, and luxury. Of a life where care is not earned but expected. Where softness is not a weakness but a birthright. Where someone thought itwas worthwhile to carve beauty into the walls and stock balms that smell like summer and silk.
