Chapter 73 Chapter 73
_Leah's POV_
I woke to a hand on my shoulder. “Leah,” Kayden said. “Get up. It’s nearly noon.”
My eyes snapped open. Light cut through the curtains. The room smelled faintly of smoke and pine. For a second I did not know where I was. Then the memory of the night fell back on me like wet cloth. The dream. The fire. Kayden on the couch. The smoke in my mouth.
I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. “Go away,” I mumbled. “Leave me alone.”
He laughed softly. It was a low sound that held no mockery. “You said that two hours ago. You said it when I brought you tea and when I put out the small embers.” He kissed the top of my head like it was a small thing and like he was afraid of hurting me. “You can’t hide forever. The pack is eating downstairs and the food will not wait.”
I curled into the blankets more. My face was hot. My throat was raw. My body ached in places that had nothing to do with sleep. The dream left a pulse behind the ribs. The shame of what I had done when I had slept sat heavy.
Athena pushed at the edge of my thoughts. Get up. You must not sulk. You are not a child. Eat and gather your strength.
I don’t want to be watched, I told her. I don’t want him by my side like a guard.
He will not be a guard only, she said. He will be an anchor. He helped you. He steadied you when the fire rose.
I threw the blanket off in a slow motion of surrender. “Fine,” I said loud enough so Kayden could hear. “I’m up. Leave me alone.”
He smiled and left. I heard his footsteps stretch across the floor and then the hush of the corridor. A few minutes later, he returned with a tray. There were eggs, hot bread, sweet jam and tea in a small pot.
“You could have just said please,” I told him as he set the tray on my knees.
He reached and brushed a crumb from my lip with the tip of his thumb. “Please,” he said in a teasing voice. His eyes were very tired but warm. “Now eat before the croissants get jealous.”
I wanted to scowl and stamp my foot. Instead I took the egg he offered and bit. Food went down like water. My stomach had been empty a long time.
He stayed by me until I finished. He watched my face like someone reading a map. Occasionally he shifted his weight and made a small joke. I ignored most of them. He would not be put off. He had a way of choosing one word and repeating it until I cracked a smile.
“You slept like a wreck,” he said finally in a softer voice. “The doctor says that your vitals are fine. But we can’t pretend this was nothing.”
I swallowed and felt the memory flare like a small lantern in the throat. “I set the room on fire,” I said. The words tasted like metal.
“You didn’t mean to,” he said quickly. “It was a dream. It was a nightmare. But it is not nothing. It means your gift is changing. We have to help you learn it.”
Athena pushed. Tell him to mark you. Let him anchor you. Do not be stubborn. Do not be reckless.
I bristled. The idea of a mark felt like giving a part of myself away. I won’t be a thing to be marked, I snapped inside. I am not his property.
Kayden watched me. His face softened but his eyes did not leave mine. “The Seer is here,” he said then. “I called her last night when the fire happened. She came early. She wants to speak with you after breakfast.”
My throat tightened. The Seer. The woman who had helped me. The woman who had told Kayden the truth about the bond between us. I had half a mind to refuse. My mouth trembled around the words. “Why? What will she say?”
He took my hand without asking. The skin of his fingers was warm and steady. His grip was not tight. “She’ll explain how your power works. She’ll tell us why your dream did that. And she’ll tell us how to keep you safe.” He paused and looked away for a second, like he was pulling an armor close. When he looked back his eyes had a directness I had not seen until that morning. “She thinks the mate bond can anchor you. She thinks that if I mark you...if you will accept it....it could help you hold still when your fear becomes a storm.”
A sharp and bitter laugh broke from my throat. “A mark? Of course. Because if you mark me, you can feel everything I feel. You’ll be in my head, in my heart. You’ll know my thoughts before I speak them.” My voice trembled but I didn’t stop. “You’re not trying to help me. You’re trying to control me. You’re using my powers as an excuse to trap me.”
Kayden’s eyes widened. He flinched as if my words had struck him. “Leah, no. That’s not what this is.” His voice was low and rough, almost pleading. “The Seer said it would anchor you, not bind you. It wouldn’t give me power over you. It would give you control over yourself. I’m not trying to take anything from you.”
Athena’s voice slid into my mind. You feel his fear, don’t you? It’s not for himself. It’s for us. He wants to steady you, not cage you.
Or he wants to own me, I hissed back. He rejected me once. He hurt me. How do I know this isn’t another way to chain me?
Kayden reached for my hand but stopped just short. His fingers were trembling. “I don’t want to invade your mind,” he said. “I don’t want to take your freedom. I just want to help you stand before your power destroys you. I swear, Leah, this isn’t about control. It’s about saving you.”
And if I hate him in a week? I argued with Athena. Can I cancel the mating mark then?
No, it is irreversible, she said. But think. Do you want power that you cannot control? Or a bond that will help you breathe?
I swallowed hard. My hands trembled. Kayden watched those hands. He did not look like a man making an argument. He looked like a man trying to keep someone alive.
After breakfast, Kayden’s phone rang. He stood and answered. It was short. He hung up and looked at me. “She’s here,” he said. “The Seer is in the courtyard. She will come in if you are ready.”
My stomach did a small flip. I wanted to run. I wanted to lock the door and hide and pretend nothing had happened. But hiding would not make the dream go away. It would not stop me from sparking fire in my sleep.
“Bring her in,” I said. My voice sounded thin.
She arrived with a soft rustle. She sat opposite me and looked at my hands. “You have trouble controlling your powers,” she said. It was not a question.
“Yes,” I answered. My heart thrummed like a trapped bird. “You saw... ”
“I saw enough,” she said. “The mark of fear on your chest. I saw flames when the chain loosened. You have a gift, child. A dangerous and rare one. It answers the moon and the mate bond. That is why the presence of Kayden made you steadier last night.”
I blinked. The truth of it slid into sharp focus. When Kayden had pushed the blanket over the flames, when he had held me, the fire had died. The bond had not been what I thought. It had been a hinge.
“What do you mean by ‘answers the bond’?” I asked.
The Seer’s fingers tapped the edge of her cup. “Your blessing is old. The power in your blood responds to the true connection of hearts. When a mate stands beside you, it can steady the gift like a hand on a wheel. But if a dark chain binds that gift, the bond can also trigger pain.” She looked at Kayden. “You must be careful. The mark is not a cure. It is an anchor. And an anchor requires trust.”
My mouth went dry. I thought of Kayden’s admission in the moonlight. I thought of the night he bled and knelt in front of the whole pack. I thought of the way his hands had wiped tears from my face, the way his thumb had brushed my cheek this morning.
Kayden took a breath. His voice was softer than I had heard. “Will you let me mark you?” he asked.
I felt the world shrink to the sound of his asking. My heart thudded wildly and a dozen old reasons to refuse lined up in my head. The cellar. My screams. The way he had once hurt me. The way a mark felt like a thing given away.
Athena pushed me. Say yes. Let him anchor you. Let him be the steady hand.
My mouth opened and closed. The words would not come. I looked at Kayden and saw fear there, the same fear that had sat with me in the clearing when he had bled. He looked as if he would beg on his knees. I could not take that from him and be cruel.
“What does it do?” I asked instead. It was a thin question. It was safer.
The Seer leaned forward. “The mark ties your pulse to his. It gives him a way to steady your heart when fear spikes. It will not be a chain to bind you. It will be a cord that holds you steady. You will still be yourself. The mark will allow the bond to calm the gift before it lashes out. But it requires consent and truth. If you accept, you must be honest with him. He must be honest with you.”
Honesty. The old wound flared. It was a vast thing. Could I trust these promises? Could I trust the man who had hurt me and then bled for me?
Kayden reached out and took my hand. His fingers were warm. They fit my hand like a promise. “I will not lie to you,” he said. “I will not use it to control you. I will only use it to catch you when you fall. I swear this by my life.”
His voice broke on the last word. He looked at the Seer, then at me. The room held its breath.
I closed my eyes. I felt the weight of the choice like a stone on my chest. My heart raced. I imagined the anchor. I imagined the safety. I imagined the surrender.
My lips parted. I wanted to say yes. I wanted to say no. It was difficult to decide.
I did not answer.
Kayden’s face fell, but he did not move. He waited. The Seer’s eyes did not judge. She only watched.
Outside, a crow called. The sound was ordinary. The air tasted of rain about to fall.
I looked at Kayden again. He looked tired. I opened my mouth to speak.
"Yes."