Noah's POV
The last few notes of a lullaby fade away on my tongue. Oliver is already fast asleep, sprawled in his cot like he spent the entire day paying bills and doing manual labor. I brush stray hairs from his forehead, smiling when he murmurs "Papa" and goes back to snoring softly.
Goddess, this kid.
Stopping a fight between two grown wolves must've taken it out of him.
I sigh, flipping on his nightlight. Maybe I should ask Kieran if he knows any child psychologists. With the way things are going, Oliver might need one.
Speaking of Kieran…
I check the baby monitor, leave the door cracked, and pad down the hall. Normally, I'd be in bed a mere few feet away from my cub, asleep an hour after him. But tonight? Tonight is the first night of the full moon. The Melee might've ended in disaster, but that's no reason to waste the moonlight.
Kieran's sitting on the kitchen counter, shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of gray boxers. Water droplets cling to his skin, and the scent of my body wash—warm cedar and vanilla—wraps around him. His phone is in his hand, but he sets it aside the second I walk in.
I catch the scars before he turns fully. Raised, jagged lines along his arms, his neck. My stomach twists.
Logan did that.
"All good?" Kieran asks.
I nod, reaching for the first aid kit I'd set on the counter earlier. "The baby's asleep. Now to take care of this baby."
Kieran laughs a deep, rich belly laugh. "Well, I don't mind being babied right now."
I smile and retrieve the antiseptic bottle from the first aid box along with some cotton balls. I know Logan is possessive, jealous… foolish. But I never in a million years thought he'd sink so low. The idiot had said he was okay with me seeing other people, 'no perfect game without competition,' he said. So what's the big idea?
Finnian growls in the corner of my mind. 'Mate lied.'
I press my lips together. Yeah. Logan lied. Pretended. Acted. He should've been an actor instead of a baseball player— he's always so aware of cameras and the spotlight.
It doesn't even matter, even if he was being honest, it's my life. I don't need his permission to date and even if he didn't say the stupid 'I don't mind if you see other people' thing, it just means he would've attacked any man he saw with me.
That's dangerous.
I dab salve onto Kieran's cuts, my fingers tracing the bruises blooming along his ribs. He doesn't flinch, but I do.
He shouldn't have these.
"Your hands are on me," Kieran murmurs, "but your mind is miles away. Where did you go?"
I set the salve down, pick up the gauze. The roll is smaller than the last time I used it— reduced to its current state from me wrapping it around Logan's torso after he protected Oliver and I from those rogues.
I shake the memory away quickly. "I just… can't wrap my head around it. That Logan would attack you like that. That he'd do something so scummy. So horrid."
My anger flares again, but I force it down. I already used most of it to slap the asshole.
Kieran watches me, his dark eyes unreadable. "I'm fine. All that blood made it look worse than it was but I really am good. In two shifts, I'll be healed."
"You shouldn't need healing," I mutter, turning away. "Going to the Melee was a mistake."
Kieran catches my chin, tipping my face back to his. "Hey. Don't say that. I had fun. Oliver's amazing, I met your family, and I caught the damn Ox. I've never done that before."
I laugh despite myself. "Ulfr's probably gonna show up at your door tomorrow with its head, a cooler of meat, and barrels of wine."
Kieran grins. "And I'm looking forward to it." His thumb brushes my cheek. "I don't blame Logan. Our emotions are different when we're our wolves. Fenrir probably hated seeing Kaiser with the wolf he still thinks is his mate. And, judging by all you've told me about your ex, failing to catch the Ox probably just fed into his anger."
That may be true but still…
I roll my eyes. "Kieran, sweetie. I don't need you nerding out over this. He hurt you. Don't rationalize his actions."
Kieran chuckles. "I'm not. I just find it fascinating. Our minds, our feelings, our bodies—they're never really ours." His voice drops. "I could've walked away. Logan's stronger. An Alpha. An athlete. I'm a Beta, a doctor. I hate fighting. 'The weaker wolf shall submit.' But even when he had me pinned, moments from tearing my throat out?" His eyes flash with something fierce and I immediately see Kaiser's yellow gaze in them. "All I could think was 'I'd rather die than give him the satisfaction of seeing me lose.'"
My chest tightens. "You can't die. I just got you."
Kieran's smile is soft, but his gaze burns. "I had a feeling that my loss would've proved something to him. That he deserved you. But that's not true. I might not be as strong. I don't think I can take down three rogues for you like he did. But you deserve better than him." His fingers lace through mine. "And I'll protect you until my last breath."
Something swells in my chest—warm, aching, real.
We're not mates. The goddess didn't put that flame in us. But with Kieran, I feel everything I used to feel for Logan. The safety. The want. The love.
Little K had been my shadow as a kid, following me through the woods, making sure I got home safe. And now? Now Kieran is…
More.
Always more.
I pack the first aid kit away, then stand, pulling him up with me.
Kieran laughs. "What's going on?" I start dragging him toward the back door and his question changes. "Where are you taking me?"
"I want to show you something."
"What about Oliver?"
Goddess, grant me patience.
"We're in the heart of Lykandor land, K. Oliver is in the safest place in the world, and he won't wake up for hours. We'll be back before then."
Kieran's brow arches. "Okay. So what's the surprise?"
I yank my shirt off.
Kieran's eyes widen, his olive skin flushing dark. "Woah. I didn't know we were doing that kind of showing."
I smirk. He's so silly, it's adorable. "You can look, y'know? But my bare ass isn't the surprise." I kick my shorts free from my legs. "We need to shift to get there. And—"
Kieran cuts me off, grinning. "Ulfr was right. Clothes are human propaganda. We were born bare."
So so silly.
"Exactly." I nod to his boxers. "Take 'em off, Beta."
Kieran shakes his head but obeys, stepping out of his boxers with a cocky smirk. He holds them out. I take them, forcing myself not to look down. If I do, we won't make it to our destination.
I stash our clothes inside, shut the door, and let the shift take me.
The change is easy under the moon. Finnian's body fits like a second skin—muscle, fur, and instinct. I shake out my coat, ears twitching.
Kaiser steps up beside me, his black fur glinting. Kieran's deep brown eyes peer out from the wolf's face. We rub heads, Finnian whines softly— savouring the feeling of his touch, the sweetness of his scent.
She pulls back and then, I'm running, paws silent against the earth. Kaiser follows, his presence hot on my heels.
I haven't been to this place in years. It's untouched by memories of Logan, but still full of its own strain of grief.
It was the first full moon after Logan had left and I could hear the Melee all the way from my then recently acquired, still empty cottage.
I was young and pregnant. My mate was gone, the press was constantly on my tail, no one seemed to believe that I wasn't a cheater and I'd lost my spot on the Coyotes. Loneliness was my only companion. Grief had consumed me to the point that I couldn't even imagine my baby surviving. Kieran was in the same boat.
We'd run into these woods looking for a place to die.
Instead, I found a reason to live.
Finnian leads Kaiser to a cave deep to the west of Lykandor land. The Melee is held in the East, the origin of the moonrise. These parts are empty at this time and, even if there was no Melee, no one comes here. It's too remote.
The cave is dark, shrouded by dense trees and by its own covering but it's no problem for our enhanced vision. I lead him deeper into it, scanning the uneven walls until I find a dark and narrow opening hidden between two rocks. I wriggle through, Kaiser close behind. The tunnel is tight and long. We don't make a sound as we move. This is currently our third date— if you can even call this a date— and goddess knows I wouldn't follow anyone into a place like this if it were me.
But Kieran's trust in me is evident in his lack of hesitation and, the moment the tunnel opens into a cavern so vast and beautiful that it steals my breath, I know I want to give him everything.
A karst window cuts through the ceiling, pouring moonlight into the cavern and painting the underground lake in silver and blue. The water glows, reflecting the sky like a mirror.
I shift back, naked skin prickling in the cool air. Kieran does the same, turning in a slow circle, wonder in his eyes.
"This is beautiful, Noah," he breathes.
I resist the urge to be corny and say, "Yeah, you are."
Instead, I drop to my knees.
Kieran turns around, his smile fading. "Noah? What are you—"
"Two," I say, voice steady. "That's how many times you've turned me down. Both times because of Logan. Both times because you're too good to take advantage of me." I meet his gaze. "But I'm not vulnerable now. My mind's clear. I'm happy. And I want you."
Kieran's breath hitches.
"You said you want to be in my life," I continue. "Well, I want to be yours." I bare my throat. "Make me yours."
Kieran hesitates. "Noah… are you sure?"
My heart is beating so fast that I can barely keep up with the rhythm. But…
"I've never been sure of anything more." Then, cheekily: "Besides, I don't smell like him."
Kieran's smirk is wicked. He steps forward, and as he does, his body changes.
Fur ripples over his shoulders. His legs lengthen, haunches forming. Wolf ears twitch atop his head, and his claws gleam in the moonlight.
Beastman form.
Taller. Stronger. Hotter.
And his scent—thick, musky, arousal—floods the cave. My mouth waters.
I've gotten used to suppressing my heat during the full moon, gotten used to hiding out in my cottage and playing with my son as opposed to looking for a fun night out like many other unmated Omega's would.
'I don't think we'll be doing that anymore,' Finnian husks.
I don't shut her up because she's absolutely right.
Kieran stops in front of me and I'm eye-level with his knot. It's already swollen, red, begging for my mouth. His claws tilt my chin up, forcing my eyes to his.
"Thank you," he murmurs, fangs glinting, "for trusting me like this." His thumb brushes my lip. "As your reward…"
He leans down, breath hot against my ear and my eyes roll to the back of my head.
"I'm going to give you exactly what you want."