Chapter 9 BACKLASH
Alex made it to the SUV, to the backseat, unconscious.
Mia drove. 90mph through the dark, Kane’s motorcycle headlight in her rearview, Ivan’s wolves in her head. Not literally. Yet. But she could feel them. Like static. Like the bond had opened a door and now other things were knocking.
You’re human, Alex had said. You chose.
Then why do I feel like I’m dying too?
Backlash. He said it happens when a mate rejects the claim. Temporarily.
Temporarily my ass. He’s been out for 4 hours. Fever’s 103. He’s muttering in Russian. And when I touched his forehead, my hand came away burning.
This is my fault.
I stopped him. I chose. I’m human.
And humans kill the things they love.
The Black Fang pack doctor Dr. Yelena, 60, scars on her knuckles, eyes like winter didn’t look at Mia when they carried Alex into her place.
“Put him in the nest,” Yelena said. To Kane. Not Mia. “No humans.”
“He’s my—”
“You’re unmarked,” Yelena cut in. Finally looked. “You’re a liability. Bond backlash kills hybrids if the mate isn’t present to bleed it out. But you’re not a mate yet. You’re a debt. Stay out.”
The door shut.
So she touched the door.
And died a little.
The “nest” was a bedroom.
It wasn’t a bedroom anymore.
Kane had shredded the mattress. There was dirt. Real dirt. From the Montana territory. Piled in the corner. Blankets. His shirts. Things that smelled like him. Wolf dens weren’t metaphors.
And in the middle, Alex.
Shirtless. Sweatpants low. Skin red, gold veins under it like cracks in marble. Claws out. Not fully shifted. Not fully human. Stuck.
“He’s riding the feral edge,” Kane said. Leaning against the wall. Arms crossed. “Backlash + no claim + Ivan’s threat + 5 years of starvation = bad math.”
“Starvation?”
“Of you.” Kane didn’t smile. “His wolf imprinted at the scent. Day one. Penthouse office. You were scared, pissed, owed him money. He should’ve thrown you out. Instead he moved you in. Know why?”
Mia couldn’t speak.
“Because feral wolves don’t protect. They hoard. And he’s been hoarding you for days without tasting you. That breaks things.”
Alex thrashed. A sound tore out of him, not a growl, not a word. Mia.
Yelena had a syringe. Wolfsbane. Diluted. “This will put him down for 12 hours. Might give him brain damage. Might not wake up.”
“Or?” Mia’s voice was paper.
“Or his mate climbs in the nest and bleeds the fever out.” Kane looked at her. Pointed. “That means bite, Luna. Or blood. Or both. You stopped him last night. You finish it now, or I watch my Don die.”
Choose.
Human.
Human.
I can’t. I’m 23. I make lattes. I had a panic attack when my ex tried to hold my hand in public.
He’s 35. He’s Bratva. He’s killed men.
And if I don’t bite him, he dies. Because I’m human. Because I chose to stop.
God. Being human is the most violent thing I’ve ever done.
She stepped forward.
Yelena blocked her. “You’re unmarked. If you go in there and don’t claim, he’ll kill you. Backlash doesn’t care about consent. It cares about bond.”
“Then I’ll claim him.” The words came out before she could take them back.
Kane’s eyebrows went up. “You sure? Once you start, Luna, you don’t stop. Curse don’t care if you’re ready. You bite, you’re his. Forever. Ivan, Council, pregnancy risk,all of it. Yours.”
Mia looked at Alex.
He wasn’t Alex right now. He was teeth and gold eyes and pain. But under it, under all of it was the man who said “It’s just me” while covered in blood.
Who said “You’re human. That’s why it’s working.”
Who stopped when she said stop.
“I’m sure,” she said.
Yelena moved.
Mia crawled into the nest.
It was hot. Like crawling into an oven.
Alex scented her instantly. Head snapped up. Nostrils flared.
“Mia.” Not a growl. A prayer.
“I’m here,” she said. Hands up. Not touching. Yet. “Kane said I have to... bleed you out. Backlash.”
His laugh was broken glass. “He means fuck me or bite me, little wife. Don’t dress it up.”
Heat punched her stomach. “I—”
“You stopped me last night.” He was crawling now. Toward her. Slow. Predator. Reverent. “Because you’re human. Because you choose. So choose now. While I can still ask.”
While I can still ask._
Because in 10 minutes, he wouldn’t be asking. He’d be taking. And she’d let him. And the curse would win.
MIA
Okay. Options.
1\. Bite him. Complete bond. Become Luna. Trigger Curse of Kings. Maybe go feral. Maybe die. Maybe live. Maybe Ivan kills us both.
2\. Don’t bite him. Watch him die from backlash. Ivan takes me and the title. Pack falls. Dad died for nothing.
3\. Third option. There’s always a third option.
She grabbed his face. Forced him to look at her. “If I bite you, do you go feral?”
“If you bite me and don’t mean it, yes.” Gold eyes, honest. Agony. “If you bite me and you’re mine really mine — no. Bond stabilizes. Curse... pauses.”
“Pauses?”
“Thirty days.” He swallowed. “Legend says if a hybrid is claimed by a willing Luna, the curse waits. To see if it’s real. If she runs, if she rejects, it takes them both. If she stays...”
“Then?”