"I need you, Callen." it took all her courage to say so. He could notice the slight tremble of her body in his arms.
His throat tightened. "Elara—"
"Not because I'm scared," she whispered, cutting him off. "Because I'm yours. And I want to feel that… before anything else tries to take it from me."
Callen cupped her face gently. "No one is taking you from me."
"But it feels like I'm being pulled away." Her voice cracked. "I don't know why… but I feel him Like shadows in my blood Like his pain was whispering in my bones. I don't want to feel that. I want to feel you."
Something inside him snapped. something protective, raw, and fiercely possessive.
"Come with me," he murmured, voice hoarse.
He took her hand and led her through the woods behind the field, where the old cabin waited once used for sentry shifts, now long abandoned. As they entered, the world was left behind. Now it was Just them and the moonlight through the broken roof.
Inside, the silence was thick as she turned to him, heart pounding. She undid the shawl and let it fall. "Don't hold back," she said softly. "Not tonight."
The shawl slipped from Elara's shoulders like water, pooling silently at her feet. She stood before him, moonlight bathing her bare skin in silver. Her breath was shallow, her eyes locked on his like she was afraid to blink and shatter the fragile courage holding her together.
Callen's breath caught. He had seen her vulnerable before. But this was something different.
This was her choosing him, not out of fear or obligation, but out of need. Fierce, aching need.
"Elara…" he whispered her name like a prayer and a warning.
She stepped closer, placing his hand on her waist, guiding it up, over the curve of her ribs, her heart pounding beneath his touch.
"I want to remember this," she murmured. "The way it feels to be yours."
His throat bobbed as he pulled her closer, kissing her forehead, her cheeks, her jawline—slowly, reverently, as if memorizing her all over again.
"You already are," he said against her skin. "You always will be."
She tilted her head, exposing the still-healing mark on her neck. "Then prove it. Mark me again. Not with teeth. With everything."
Callen growled low in his throat, his wolf rising to the surface at her plea. He kissed her neck, his lips grazing the burn of the mark, drawing a gasp from her. He trailed down, worshiping every inch—her collarbone, the hollow of her throat, the soft dip of her stomach. His hands explored with aching tenderness and primal reverence, like she was sacred.
Elara arched into him, fingers threading through his hair as he lowered her gently onto the makeshift bedding on the floor. The old wood beneath them creaked, the wind whispering through broken beams—but the world outside the cabin ceased to exist.
There was only the heat of skin against skin, the desperate rhythm of breath and heartbeat. The way she moaned his name like a lifeline, the way his hands gripped her like he'd never let go.
When he finally entered her, it wasn't rushed or wild. It was slow. Deep. Unshakable. Her breath caught in her throat, and he paused, brushing hair from her face.
"You okay?" he murmured.
She nodded, eyes shimmering. "Don't stop."
He moved within her, setting a rhythm that matched the primal thrum of the mate-bond, drawing her closer and closer to the edge. Her nails dug into his shoulders. His lips claimed hers again and again, until all she knew was him. His body, His soul, His scent.
And then, like a crashing wave, release hit her—raw and intense. She cried out, breaking against him as he followed, gasping her name into the crook of her neck, sealing the moment into his bones.
They collapsed together, tangled in sweat and breath and moonlight. And for a moment, everything was silent again. He caressed her cheeks looking at him with eyes full of love and desire.
"Elara.." her name never felt this better, like a silent prayer he was offering to the goddess. "I will not like you, we all are scared. But I will protect you with my life. I will never let you go." she knew he would not.
But she did not want so much blood in her hands, she did not want him suffering.
"We will find a way to convince him." she touched his cheeks back and he smiled. But his eyes look hollow.
He hugged her to sleep and she followed. But she could not sleep. She could feel it in her bones. Something was happening to her body, to her powers.
She hesitated but then she touched his forehead and he went deeper in sleep. She knew he would not wake up until morning.
She collected her clothes and wore them. Her body is sore with the love they have shared. She looked at him again, touching his cheeks with her eyes flickering and hot tears threatening to fall. But she did not let them.
She wiped the non existent tears and stood up with new courage.
As she walked toward the boundaries, the guard on duty noticed her and blocked her way.
"Where are you going?" he snarled, "no pack member is allowed to leave at night without the permission of the alpha." she could feel it in his eyes, the accusation that they were all suffering because of her yet she had the time to walk leisurely.
She forced a soothing smile on her face.
"I need to leave, and you will let me leave but you would not remember it." her voice did something to him. He stared at her, but at the same time, he did not. He had lost his focus and then slowly he took a step away and started walking as if he did not hear anymore and did not remember about her presence.
"I will return before you wake up, Callen."