Chapter 4 #2
Then everything changes.
One shadow creature breaks through. Smaller than the others. Faster. It slips past Beau's guard in the chaos, finding an opening that shouldn't exist but does because we're fighting too many at once.
It streaks toward the main house.
Toward the workshop behind it.
Toward Maren.
The world goes red.
Protective rage explodes through every rational thought, every careful strategy. My bear doesn't just want to kill the threat—it wants to obliterate anything that dares target our mate. The corruption recognizes the fury, feeds it, amplifies it until I'm moving on pure instinct.
I tear through three shadow creatures to reach her. Don't remember the kills. Don't care. Just the spray of dissolving darkness, the copper taste of shadow matter on my tongue. Get to her. Protect her. Nothing else matters.
The one heading for Maren turns at my roar.
It doesn't even have time to react before I'm on it, claws tearing through shadow flesh that tries to reform and can't. It dies without sound, just the hiss of matter dissolving under my claws.
But the surge doesn't stop. Corruption floods my system, mixing with adrenaline and primal terror. My bear flickers. Form wavering between grizzly and something darker. Something infected.
The instability I've been fighting surfaces all at once.
Then I hear my name.
"Jonah!"
Maren's voice cuts through the frenzy. She's running toward me—foolish, brave, completely insane—calling my name like it's a lifeline.
My corrupted bear turns on her. Sees movement. Potential threat. Snarls.
Then recognizes mate.
The bond flares between us. Visible. Undeniable. Golden light that sparks from her chest to mine, cutting through shadow corruption like it was never there.
Mate. Safe. Ours.
The corruption recoils. My bear stabilizes. The red haze clears enough to think again.
Maren stops three feet away, breathing hard, eyes wide but unafraid. She stares at the golden thread connecting us, then at me. At my massive bear form, still dangerous, still covered in dissolving shadow matter.
"It's okay," she whispers. "I've got you."
The last shadow creature falls under Calder's claws. Silence descends.
My brothers transform back to human form. I stay bear a moment longer, letting the form stabilize fully before releasing it. The mist swirls, and then I'm standing on two legs, naked and breathing hard.
At my chest, faint traces of golden light still pulse. At Maren's sternum, the matching glow hasn't quite faded.
"Workshop." My voice comes out rough. "Now."
She doesn't argue. Turns and walks. I follow close enough that nothing could slip between us.
Inside, she flips on one light. Amber glows across workbenches and equipment. Tools hanging on pegboards, half-finished projects on the work surface, the smell of sawdust and oil. Normal things. Safe things. Nothing that reflects the chaos of what just happened outside.
I close the door. Lock it. The click of the bolt sliding home sounds too loud in the sudden quiet.
Then I move.
She backs up until she hits the wall. Not from fear—the bond tells me that much, feeding me her emotions like they're my own. Adrenaline. Confusion. But underneath it all, attraction. Want. The bond recognizes what's building between us even if her conscious mind hasn't caught up yet.
I plant both hands on either side of her head, caging her in.
Breathing her scent. Vanilla and something uniquely her, mixed now with adrenaline and the sharp tang of terror that she's trying hard to suppress.
She was terrified when that shadow came for her.
Terrified but brave enough to run toward me anyway when I lost control.
Brave or foolish. Maybe both.
"Don't ever do that again." The words come out low. Dangerous. The corruption still thrums under my skin, making everything sharper, more intense. "You could have been killed."
"But I wasn't." Her chin lifts. Defiant despite the tremor I can feel through the bond. "You protected me."
"I almost killed you myself." The truth scrapes out like broken glass. "The corruption—my bear didn't recognize you for a second. For one heartbeat, you were just movement, just a threat to eliminate. If you'd been one step closer when I turned—"
"But I wasn't." She reaches up, touches my face. Her palm is warm against my cheek, soft against the rough stubble I haven't bothered to shave since I clawed my way out of the shadow realm. "And you did recognize me. The bond—I saw it, Jonah. That golden light. What was that?"
The question deserves an answer. Deserves the truth I've been calculating how to deliver. But the words won't come. Duty. Fear. The knowledge that claiming her might kill us both.
The bond crackles between us. Visible gold that neither of us can ignore.
My control is slipping. The adrenaline, the near-loss, the feel of her hand on my skin—it's too much.
Mine. Mate. Claim.
"You need to understand what you are to me." The confession comes out rougher than intended. "What this bond means."
Her eyes search mine. "Then tell me."
I want to. Want to claim her right here against the workshop wall, complete the bond and damn the consequences. Want to mark her as mine so thoroughly that every shifter for miles knows she's taken.
But corruption stirs. Whispers that I could hurt her. That the claiming could go wrong.
My muscles shake with the effort of pushing back from the wall. Putting distance between us even though every instinct screams protest.
"Not like this." Each word is forced. "Not when I'm barely in control."
"Jonah—"
"Tomorrow." I meet her gaze, let her see the promise there. The hunger. The absolute certainty of what's coming. "Tomorrow, when I can think clearly. When I can explain everything. But understand this, Maren—you're mine. The bond knows it. My bear knows it. And soon, you'll know it too."
Her breath catches. The bond flares hotter.
I force myself to turn away. To unlock the door. To walk out before I do something we can't take back.
Behind me, her heartbeat thunders loud enough for shifter hearing. Fast. Aroused. As affected as I am.
Soon. The promise pounds with every heartbeat.
Outside, the compound is quiet. The shadows have dissolved. The tear seals—temporarily. My brothers have dispersed to check the perimeter.
Calder appears at my shoulder, silent as always. He watches me watch the workshop where light still glows behind curtains.
"You're running out of time." His voice is flat. Factual. "The corruption is accelerating. Tell her, or lose the chance."
The golden thread connecting me to Maren pulses with awareness, with need, with inevitability.
"Tomorrow." The word scrapes out. "I’ll tell her everything tomorrow."
Calder's already walking away. He knows what I know. The instability is accelerating. Every hour I wait is a gamble.
The golden thread pulses between us, impatient and demanding. The bear in me paces, wanting to go to her now. The corruption whispers that tomorrow is a lie.
Maybe it is. But tonight, I let her walk away.
Tomorrow, I’ll tell her everything, providing there is a tomorrow.