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CHAPTER 17
~Rhiannon's POV~
I flinched back just slightly, pulse jumping. Darian didn't even move.
He just sighed and tightened his hold on me just slightly as the crunch of boots neared. A warrior. A pack guard?
Before I could step away, Darian pressed a finger to his lips. "Let me handle it."
The guard rounded the tree line and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us.
"You!" the warrior barked, eyes narrowing at me, who was facing him. "What are you doing out here? You're not allowed beyond—"
Darian stepped into view. The guard's voice caught mid-sentence, his eyes going wide.
"Alpha Darian!" he snapped, spine straightening. "Forgive me, I didn't realise—"
"You didn't see anything," Darian said smoothly but firmly, "It was me."
The guard hesitated, glancing from me to him. "I—"
Darian took two steps forward, letting his authority settle like a cloak. "Now, if you don't mind, my mate and I are spending some time together."
The guard's throat bobbed. He bowed quickly. "Of course, Alpha."
He turned and disappeared down the path, boots scuffing as he retreated.
My brows creased as I stared at Darian's back. He could have given me away, had me dragged back to my room, but he didn't.
I didn't stress my brain into overthinking and spun toward Darian, eyes blazing. "You shouldn't have said that."
His gaze didn't waver. "Said what? That you're mine?"
I froze because part of me—a stupid, traitorous part—didn't hate the way it sounded. I shook my head and snapped from that thought.
"Why did you lie for me?"
He tilted his head. "Would you have preferred I exposed you?"
"I would've preferred honesty," I snapped.
"I just saved your ass," he said calmly. "You could try a thank you."
Before I could say anything else, the unmistakable sound of multiple sets of boots on gravel interrupted us.
Kael. Riven. Lucien. Talon.
The others emerged from the trees like shadows made flesh.
Kael's eyes zeroed in on me. Riven flanked him, his jaw clenched. Talon was expressionless, but I could feel the judgment rolling off him.
Lucien leaned slightly against a tree, unreadable as always, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips. He was the first to speak.
"Well, well," Lucien drawled, brow arched. "Didn't expect a lovers' stroll this early in the morning."
Talon's eyes flicked from me to the trees as he tilted his head. "She tried to run."
"She nearly crossed the barrier," Riven said before I could speak.
"More like hit it," Lucien said again, firmer this time.
"And what then?" Riven asked sharply. "You think your human body could've taken the blow, Rhiannon? You would've broken bones—if not worse."
I looked away, not saying anything. I didn't want to lie for the fear of Darian ratting me out.
Kael stepped forward. "Why?"
It was one word. But the weight of it landed like a blow.
I didn't answer.
"Was it Seraphina?" he pressed. "The council? Us?"
"Does it matter?" I said coolly, lifting my chin. "I wasn't running. I was leaving."
"No," Kael said in a final tone. "There's a difference."
Something flickered in his eyes then. It was not anger or disappointment but cold calculation. Kael was deciding something and that terrified me more than anything else.
But just when I thought he'd actually do something about it, Darian stepped closer, wrapped a hand around my waist and pressed my body against his.
I felt it before I heard it.
Not just Kael's growl—but all of theirs. Low, deep vibrations that didn't come from their throats, but their chests, their wolves.
Talon's gaze sharpened, flicking to where Darian's fingers dug into my waist. His growl was the quietest, but I felt it thrum through the ground like a blade unsheathed. "He's moving too fast. She's not ready. She'll bolt again."
Lucien didn't bother hiding his expression. His smirk had vanished, and in its place was something like warning—silent, restrained. "Is he staking claim before the rest of us even understand her?"
Riven stepped forward slightly, his eyes brighter, sharper. His fury wasn't loud, but it rippled under his skin. "Touch her again, and I'll remind you she's not yours yet."
Kael's growl was different. He didn't shift forward. Didn't flinch. But I heard it in his mind as clearly as if he'd spoken.
"You're trying to bind her to you… before she binds to all of us. Before she chooses."
"Before I do."
The mate bond flared between us all, tense, like a tether pulling in too many directions at once with me at the centre.
Ravyn stirred. "They're turning on each other."
"Because of me."
"Because of the bond," she corrected.
Darian didn't loosen his grip and none of the others stepped in.
They just stood there, growling like kings about to split a kingdom while silently communicating with their eyes.
It didn't matter to Darian as he voiced, "She didn't try to escape. We were strolling, and Rhiannon ran off chasing a butterfly, but I reacted quickly and stopped her before she hit the barrier."
That was a poor lie. Everyone knew it. But no one challenged it—not yet.
Riven didn't look convinced. "But she said…"
"Only to spite you," Darian interjected sharply, letting his aura out. I noticed the swift reaction in their eyes. They didn't expect him to do that.
I, didn't expect it either.
Immediately, Kael walked towards us, his steps heavy on the ground. His eyes searched mine, ignoring his brother.
"I do not know what you did to get Darian to speak so much and defend you, but that grace ends after now. And if your goal was to sneak or be seen by my guests, then you are sorely mistaken f you think you can escape from me, us."
I gulped, feeling the weight of his presence press on me.
"Rhiannon, I gave an order, you were to return to your chambers and not wander off… Make no mistake, that you're my mate doesn't mean I will look kindly on disobedience."
"Like I said, Kael, she and I…" Kael snapped his head in Darian's direction, his eyes turning red, making his brother swallow his words.
Kael's gaze darted to the others. "Get her back to the estate. Now."
"To her room?" Talon asked.
Kael's eyes returned to mine. "No," he said coldly. "To the holding chamber. If she wants to act like a prisoner, we'll treat her like one."