Ch. 8 Morning Light

Finley

I barely sleep. How could I when Nova paces restlessly all night, whining for her new mate while simultaneously reaching for the old bond that has haunted us for two years? My body feels like a battleground between competing instincts, and by dawn, I'm exhausted.

Mom brings tea to my room early, perching on the edge of my bed with concern etched into her face.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, handing me the steaming mug.

"Like I've been hit by a truck." I take a grateful sip, the herbal concoction calming Nova slightly. "Is there some kind of record for fastest mate rejection? Because I think I'm about to break it."

"Finley." Mom's voice is gentle but firm. "You don't know that he's going to reject you."

"You heard him. He's promised to someone else." The words taste bitter. "Territorial alliances come before mate bonds, apparently."

She sighs, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear like she used to do when I was little. But she doesn’t argue. 

"It doesn't matter now." I pull away, setting the mug aside. "What matters is how this affects my Alpha candidacy. The council already had reservations about a female Alpha. Now I'm the girl with two mates and one impulsive mark. It's a joke."

"It's not a joke," Mom says firmly. "It's unprecedented, yes. But that doesn't make it a weakness. Two Alpha bloodlines chose you as their mate. That speaks to your strength, your compatibility with power."

I hadn't thought of it that way. "Is that how Dad sees it?"

She hesitates. "Your father is... processing. He had words with both Liam and Dane last night."

Great. Just what I need. "Please tell me he didn't threaten to kill them."

Her silence speaks volumes.

"Mom!"

"He's protective," she says, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. "Always has been. But he also respects you and your choices. Just... give him time."

I nod, though I'm not entirely convinced. Dad's legendary temper has been the subject of pack stories for years. I can only imagine what he said to the two men who hurt his daughter.

"The Mountain Ridge Alpha has requested a formal meeting this morning," Mom continues, her expression turning serious. "Both packs, with witnesses. To discuss what happened."

My stomach drops. "Am I required to be there?"

"Yes." She squeezes my hand. "But you're not facing it alone. The entire pack stands with you."

Small comfort when I'll be facing not only Dane and his father, but likely Liam as well. The thought of being in the same room with both of them makes Nova whine anxiously.

When I finally work up the courage to step outside, the morning air feels unusually still, as if the forest itself is holding its breath. The path to the main hall is empty, most pack members giving me space or already gathered for the meeting.

I'm halfway there when a figure steps out from between the trees. Dane. My heart stutters, Nova instantly pressing forward with a surge of need so powerful I have to grip a nearby tree trunk to stay upright.

"Finley." His voice is a balm and a torment all at once. "I need to speak with you before the meeting."

He looks as exhausted as I feel, dark circles under his gray eyes, his clothes slightly rumpled. But even with that, he's devastatingly handsome – all sharp edges and controlled power.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," I say, though Nova vehemently disagrees. 

I try to convince her this could be the moment he formally rejects us. But she chooses to cling to perpetual optimism and I wonder, not for the first time, how I ended up with her as my wolf, the complete opposite of my cynical personality. 

"Please." The word seems to cost him something. I get the impression Dane Parker doesn't say "please" very often. "Five minutes."

Against my better judgment, I nod, following as he leads us further from the path, toward a small clearing overlooking the lake. The privacy is both a relief and a danger.

"I want to apologize," he says once we're alone, surprising me. "For marking you the way I did. Without permission, without—" he runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "Summit took over. I've never lost control like that before."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? That your wolf wanted me badly enough to override your control, but you didn't?"

His eyes flash. "That's not what I said."

"It's what you meant." I cross my arms, ignoring Nova's protests. "Let's not pretend this is anything but inconvenient for you. Your father made that perfectly clear."

"My father doesn't speak for me."

"Doesn't he? You're promised to someone else, Dane. Did you think I'd forget that little detail?"

He moves closer, and despite my anger, my body responds to his proximity, leaning in to breathe in his wintery scent. The mate bond pulses between us, demanding completion.

"It's complicated," he says, voice dropping lower. "The alliance with Silver Creek has been in negotiation for years. My mating with Aria would secure territory, numbers, resources..."

"So I'm just a complication. An inconvenient biological quirk." The words echo what Liam said to me two years ago, and they hurt no less now.

"No." He reaches for me, his fingers grazing my cheek with unexpected gentleness. "You're my mate. The Moon Goddess chose you for me. For us."

The touch sends sparks through my system, Nova howling in triumph. It takes every ounce of willpower to step back.

"Pretty words," I say, echoing what I'm sure my father told him, his favorite phrase when he thinks you’re lying. "But words are easy. Choices are hard. And it sounds like your choice was made long before you met me."

Something shifts in his eyes, a resolve I haven't seen before. "What if it wasn't? What if I chose you?"

My heart stutters. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying..." He steps closer again, and this time I don't back away. "I'm saying that maybe some things are more important than alliances."

Hope, dangerous and unwelcome, flickers to life in my chest. "And what about your father? Your pack?"

"I don't have all the answers yet," he admits. "But I know one thing with absolute certainty." His hand cups my cheek, thumb brushing across my lower lip. "I can't reject you, Finley Bennett. Not when every cell in my body is screaming that you're mine."

Nova surges in agreement, and I find myself leaning into his touch despite all my reservations. The mate bond pulses stronger, golden threads of connection weaving between us.

"We barely know each other," I whisper, one last token resistance.

"Then let's change that." His eyes drop to my lips. "Let's take the time to—"

"Dane? There you are!"

We spring apart as a female voice cuts through the clearing. A stunning woman with silver-blonde hair approaches, her smile brilliant but her eyes sharp as they take in our proximity. 

"I've been looking everywhere for you," she continues, either not noticing or deliberately ignoring the tension in the air. "Your father told me you might need some support this morning so I came right away."

Dane's expression has gone carefully blank, but I can feel his distress through the bond. "Aria. I wasn't expecting to see you until my return to Mountain Ridge."

Aria. The name hits me like a physical blow. This is her – the woman Dane is promised to. The alliance his father values above the mate bond.

She smiles, reaching for Dane's arm and linking it with hers in a gesture of clear possession. Only then does she turn to me, eyes assessing, smile never faltering.

"You must be Finley Bennett," she says sweetly. "I've heard so much about you. I'm Aria Blackwood." She pauses meaningfully. "Dane's fiancée."

The world tilts beneath my feet as Nova howls in protest. Fiancée. Not just promised. Not just an arrangement. An actual engagement.

Dane's words from moments ago ring hollow in the face of this reality. I look at him, searching for an explanation, but he won't meet my eyes.

"The meeting is about to start," Aria continues smoothly. "We shouldn't keep everyone waiting." She tugs gently on Dane's arm. "Shall we, darling?"

He hesitates, finally looking at me with an expression I can't read. "Finley—"

"Don't." I step back, wrapping my arms around myself as if that could somehow contain the pain spreading through my chest. "Just... don't."

Twice. Twice now I've allowed myself to hope, and twice I've been made a fool of. I won't let it happen a third time.

I turn and walk away, head high despite the tears threatening to fall. Behind me, I hear Aria's soft, satisfied laugh and Dane's low, urgent voice, but I don't look back.

I am a Bennett. I am a potential Alpha. I don't need a mate to be worthy.

Even if my heart is breaking. Again.