Chapter 125 Nice To Meet You, Leah
Kira’s POV
The second the door clicked shut behind Adrian, I let out a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
My knees buckled and I slid down the edge of the bed, towel still wrapped around me like some pathetic burrito.
My hands were trembling. Everything was happening so fucking fast. I almost died twice today.
Once when those kidnappers had me tied up like a damn Christmas turkey, and again when those hunters were crashing through the woods after me, arrows flying, Leah running like her life depended on it…because it did.
I saw my life flash before my eyes both times…mom’s face, all the times I felt small and worthless.
And now? This body doesn’t even feel like I have control over it anymore. Everything was cranked to eleven.
I could hear the low hum of the city traffic twenty floors down like it was right in my ear. The AC unit in the wall vibrated so hard it made my teeth buzz.
Hell, I swear I could hear the guy in the next room’s heartbeat…steady thump-thump like a drum. It scared the living shit out of me.
It felt like I was losing my goddamn mind.
Is this what it feels like to have a wolf? Is this how everyone back in the palace feels every single day?
Weird.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to breathe through it, and that’s when I felt it.
This weird…calm. Like someone had wrapped a warm blanket around my chest.
Adrian.
Why the hell did I suddenly feel like I could spill every ugly secret to him? Like if he was standing right here, I’d actually be safe? Where was all this coming from?
The guy I swore never to have anything for… Now my stomach flipped just thinking about his arms around me in that shower, his voice all low and gentle. It didn’t make sense. None of it did.
Inside my head, something shifted. Leah…my wolf…stretched again like she’d been napping for years and finally decided to wake up.
I felt her yawn, big and lazy, her muscles pulling in my chest like she was testing them out.
‘My bones ache,’ she said, voice clear as day in my mind, warm and a little grumpy…like this was a very normal thing.
‘That first run was brutal. We need to do it more. A lot more. So we can get stronger. Learn the forest until it feels like home. Until we become one with every tree and shadow.’
I blinked hard. “Okay, wolf lady… slow your roll. How does any of this even work? I mean, I know bits and pieces from what Liana told me and that dusty old book I snuck from the library back at the academy, but it’s all fuzzy. Like transforming? The exaggerated sensations… All of it. Spell it out for me. Patiently. I’m new at this whole ‘not human anymore’ thing.”
Leah chuckled softly in my head, the sound patient and steady, like a big sister who’d already seen all my dumb mistakes coming.
She took her time, laying it out simple and clear…no rush, no fancy words.
She first explained the mate bond. Said it wasn’t just some fairy-tale pull; it was this unbreakable thread tying two souls together, making you stronger, making you heal faster when you were close.
Our strength? Way beyond normal now…lift cars if we had to, run for miles without breaking a sweat.
Healing? Which was my favorite part… Yeah, we could bounce back from cuts, bruises, even broken bones in minutes instead of weeks.
She went over everything I already half-knew from Liana and that book, but made it click…no more being the weak girl everyone could push around. We are now built differently. Literally.
My eyes flew wide. A wild grin split my face before I could stop it. “Wait…so does this mean I can cut myself and it’ll just heal right up? Like, right now? Test it out?”
‘Absolutely not,’ Leah shot back, voice dry as toast but with that little sarcastic edge that made me snort.
‘Do not… I repeat, do not…grab a knife and start experimenting, Kira. You’re chaotic enough without turning into your own mad scientist. Stay away from sharp objects. Period. I’m serious. Last thing we need is you bleeding all over this fancy hotel carpet because you wanted to ‘see if it works.’
I burst out laughing, the sound cracking through the quiet room.
It felt strange…it felt like she was an invincible friend living inside my head. Gosh, she was so rational it was hilarious, while my brain was already picturing a tiny slice and watching it knit back together like magic.
“Fine, fine, Mom. No self-surgery. But come on, that’s badass.”
She huffed, amused. I could feel her rolling her eyes in my head.
Then I stiffened, the question bubbling up before I could swallow it. “Wait…back to the mate stuff. You really meant it earlier? That we can trust Adrian more than anyone else? Like…he’s safe?”
‘Absolutely,’ she said without missing a beat, calm and certain. ‘He’s the only one who literally can’t hurt us. The bond won’t let him. It’s wired into us now.’
My pulse spiked. “Is that why I… you…bit him? Back there?”
‘That wasn’t just a bite,’ Leah corrected, a little smug now. ‘It’s a mark. You claimed him. He’s fully ours now, to claim right back. That mark on his neck? It says he belongs to us. No take-backs…especially because it came from me.’
I sat up straighter, towel slipping a little as my brain short-circuited. “Wait… so I own him? Like, I can control him? Tell him what to do and he has to listen?”
‘Oh boy,’ Leah muttered, half-laughing, half-groaning like she was already regretting this conversation. ‘This is gonna be a tough class. Yes, the bond gives you pull, but it’s not puppet strings, Kira. It's a deep partnership. Mostly.’
I grinned like an idiot anyway, mind already racing with the most ridiculous pictures…me buying a sparkly pink leash, clipping it around that big bad Alpha King’s neck while he growled and pretended to hate it.
I even imagined what I would be saying to him… Come on, Adrian, walkies time. Who’s a good alpha? Yes you are!
The thought was so stupid and hilarious I had to clap a hand over my mouth to keep from cracking up out loud.
Then my eyes snagged on my arm…the black rose tattoo thing glowing faintly against my skin. I froze.
I pushed up off the bed, walked straight to the full-length mirror on the wall, and stared. The mark looked alive, dark petals almost moving under the lights.
“Leah…what the hell is this? The Outland king guy saw it and said I belong to him or something. What does it mean?”
Leah went quiet for a beat too long. When she finally spoke, her voice stuttered…just a tiny hitch, but I felt it like a crack in the floor under my feet. ‘Forget about that for now. It’s… not important.’
I narrowed my eyes at my own reflection. “Bullshit. I can feel you getting all nervous. You’re hiding something. Spill.”
‘Drop it, Kira,’ she said, firmer but still that nervous edge leaking through. ‘I haven’t figured it all out yet. When I do, I’ll tell you. Promise. Just…trust me on this one… Our mate is Adrian. Don’t listen to anyone else except him. Do you understand?’
I opened my mouth to push harder, but something stopped me.
The air felt heavier, like the room was holding its breath with me. Then it hit…like a lightning bolt straight to my chest.
Excitement. Real, wild, bubbling-up-from-my-toes excitement.
I had a wolf now. I wasn’t the weak, broken girl anymore. I was as powerful as the rest of them. Stronger, even. No more hiding in the shadows while people like Miranda tried to stomp me out.
Memories slammed in… Miranda’s smug face when they pushed me off a building. Then again, in this body, like one death wasn’t enough for her. Killing me once wasn’t enough?
The thought burned hot and sharp. Now she wants me dead in this skin too?
A slow, scheming smile crept across my face. I leaned closer to the mirror, voice dropping low and sneaky like I was already plotting world domination.
“Hey Leah… you got time for a little trip down revenge lane?”
She snickered…actual wolfy laugh, warm and wicked in my head. ‘Heck yeah. Thought you’d never ask.’
My heart slammed against my ribs, half terror, half pure adrenaline. For the first time all day, I didn’t feel like I was falling apart. I felt ready.
The city lights glittered outside the window like they were cheering me on, and somewhere deep inside my heart, I was satisfied.
Because whatever came next, I wasn’t facing it alone. Not anymore.
Game on, Miranda. Game fucking on.