Chapter 10
TEN
Harris
The punching bag rocks back violently on its chain, the metal creaking with the force of my fist. I don’t pull the next punch. Or the one after that.
I’m not here to be gentle.
Sweat drips down my back, my chest heaving. My knuckles are sore and bruised despite the wraps, but it’s not enough. I could shift and run until my paws are raw and my lungs burn and still not work this restlessness out of my system.
Because I can feel her slipping.
Lark.
My mate.
My heart.
I throw my weight against the firehouse punching bag harder than I should. The chain groans above me, rattling with each hit, but I don’t stop. Not until my fists ache and the sharp edge of frustration starts to dull.
She’s pulling away.
I felt it the second I left the cabin this morning. She didn’t say it outright, but I know.
She’s scared, and I can’t blame her. She was dropped into my world with no warning—shifters, fated mates, bonding under a full moon? That’s a hell of a lot for a human to process in under a week.
Still... I’m not used to this kind of uncertainty.
When I smelled her that first day, my entire soul locked onto hers like a magnet. Every part of me knew she was it . The one I’ve been searching for.
And now I’ve found her, I can’t stand the thought of losing her.
“You okay?” Miles asks as he steps into the training room.
He’s one of the EMTs here. He’s also my oldest friend, and I know he’ll try to help me with all this.
I shake out my hands and grab a towel. “Not really.”
“Want to talk about it?” he asks, leaning against the wall near the punching bag.
“I claimed Lark last night.”
“Congrats, man!”
“And this morning, she kind of freaked out. I don’t know if she’s going to stay here. I don’t know if she wants me,” I tell him.
“Well, it’s a lot to take in,” he says with a frown.
“I don’t know what to do. I mean, she’s not running. But she’s not exactly staying, either.”
He raises an eyebrow. “She’s been pulled into a supernatural world by a half-naked firefighter who bit her under a full moon.”
I grunt.
“She probably needs time,” he advises. “You told her it was okay if her feelings grew more slowly. You meant that, right?”
“Of course I meant it,” I snap. Then, quieter: “But I didn’t realize how much it would hurt. ”
“I’m sorry, man.”
We’re silent for a moment before Miles perks up. “Maybe it suddenly hit her, and she needed a moment to wrap her head around things,” he suggests. “I mean, that’s understandable.”
“Yeah… maybe.”
That does seem like the best-case scenario.
My bear paces inside me, and I go back to hitting the bag for a few more minutes.
“What’s up with you?” I ask Miles when I realize that he’s still standing there.
Miles doesn’t respond right away. He just gives me that look—the one he saves for serious crap. “There’s something else you should know. Another fire flared up last night. Same pattern as all of the others.”
My stomach drops. “Red Fog again?”
“Looks like it.”
I swear under my breath and toss the towel into the bin. The Red Fog Pack has been edging closer to our borders for months. Always testing. Always pushing.
And now fires? On mating night?
My bear snarls in the back of my mind, protective rage rising like smoke.
Wewill notlet them come near her , I tell him.
He growls in agreement and goes back to pacing.
“What did the Alphas and the others say?” I ask Miles. “Do we have a plan yet?”
“They’ve called for extra patrols along the northern edge of our pack land. No one on patrol can split up. We stick to pairs.”
“Good. What else?”
“The Alphas are talking with Tucker and Crew’s mates to find out all they can about the Red Fog Pack. The land, the layout of all of the buildings, the members. I have a feeling we’ll be going to war any day now. It’s time for us to start fighting back. Soon, they won’t be satisfied with just burning down things here.”
I nod grimly. “Keep me posted.”
He nods, clapping me on the back. “Will do. Now, why don’t you get out of here and fix things with your mate?”
“You don’t think that she might need more time?”
He shrugs. “Way I see it, you only have a few more days with her here. Might as well make the most of it.”
I know he’s right, so I nod, waving as I grab my things and head out.
I walk outside and take a long breath of cool mountain air. The sun is dipping again, streaking the sky with pink and amber. Everything feels quiet, still.
But I know better.
Things are about to change, one way or another, and I have to protect Lark—whether she’s ready to accept the bond or not.
Because mate or not, she’s mine .
I’ll give her space. I’ll give her time.
But I’m not walking away.
Not now.
Not ever.