"Would you like to accept your Alpha title now, Adrian? Since you're half-bonded and unchallengeable?"
Adrian's gaze found Riley's across the desk, and she could feel his internal struggle through the bond. The intensity of his blue eyes made her breath catch.
"No, not yet," Adrian said, never breaking eye contact with Riley. "I'd like to wait to accept my title until Riley chooses the full marking and completes the mate bond."
The words hit Riley like a freight train, the room suddenly spinning around her as the implications crashed over her consciousness. Complete the mate bond. Full marking. Forever bound to this powerful man and his ancient world of politics and traditions and expectations she didn't understand.
"Very well," the Council leader replied. "Though I hope that happens soon—the pride needs stability."
"Yes, I understand. The Council should come watch the kickboxing competition tomorrow," Adrian said, his voice seeming to come from very far away as Riley gripped the arms of her chair. "Riley and I will both be competing."
"I look forward to it," the Council leader replied, his voice tinged with interest.
The call ended, but Riley barely heard the click. Her vision blurred at the edges, darkness creeping in from all sides as her body suddenly felt too heavy for the chair. The half-mark on her hip started burning hotter, and the bond between them pulsed with overwhelming intensity.
The last thing she remembered was Adrian's voice calling her name before everything went black.
Before she knew it, Riley woke to cool sheets against her skin and the gentle weight of a damp cloth across her forehead. Adrian's bedroom came into focus slowly—the rich burgundy walls, the massive four-poster bed, and the concerned face of her mate hovering above her.
"You fainted," Adrian said softly, his hand brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "I carried you here. You just need to rest today."
"I can't just rest. I really need to train you," Riley protested weakly, trying to push herself up. "The competition is tomorrow."
Adrian's smile was gentle but firm as he pressed her back against the pillows. "I'm fine. You said yourself the first few matches aren't that tough, right?"
Despite her embarrassment, Riley found herself smiling back. "Right."
"Take the day to rest and explore the estate," Adrian said, standing and smoothing down his shirt. "I'll give you some space to acclimate to everything."
After he left the room, Riley lay still for several minutes, mortification burning in her chest. She'd never fainted in her life—not after brutal training sessions, not during championship fights, not even when she'd broken her ribs in the ring two years ago. But hearing Adrian talk so casually about completing their mate bond had overwhelmed every sense in her body. The thought of binding herself irrevocably to one man and her souland his being intertwined forever, and that man being a part of a supernatural world she just discovered yesterday, felt too much too fast.
Toughen up, Riley. You can handle this. Sure, the half-mark was an accident but it's your reality now.
She sat up in the bed. She felt ridiculous lying around when she should be training him like he was paying her to do. Or at least preparing herself for tomorrow's competition. The guilt gnawed at her as she finally stood and walked to the windows that overlooked the training area.
Below, Adrian moved through the techniques she'd taught him with fluid precision, his powerful form cutting through defensive and offensive sequences with the controlled grace of a predator. Even from this distance, Riley could see the focus in his movements and the way he absorbed every lesson and made it his own.
God, this man was everything she'd never dared to hope for.
Strong enough to protect her, respectful enough to honor her choices, powerful enough to command an entire pride but gentle enough to give her space when she needed it. He could have demanded she complete the mate bond immediately—she could feel through their connection that his tiger was screaming for it—but he'd chosen to wait for her consent instead.
Riley left the bedroom and began wandering the estate's opulent hallways, her bare feet silent on Persian rugs that probably cost more than her entire apartment. She paused before a more recent family portrait—Adrian and Mark flanking a distinguished older man who radiated the same commanding presence.
The weight of legacy pressed down on her shoulders as she stared at the image. This family had ruled for centuries, their bloodline stretching back through generations of power and tradition.
Could she ever truly belong in this world?
Part of her wanted to run—to return to her simple apartment and struggling gym where she knew exactly who she was and what was expected of her. But a deeper part, the part connected to Adrian through their incomplete bond, whispered a different truth.
She wanted to stay. She wanted to be part of his world, to stand beside him as an equal rather than hide behind her fierce independence.
The question wasn't whether she could belong here. It was whether she was brave enough to claim it.
TWELVE
ADRIAN
Dawn light filtered through the estate's tall windows, casting long shadows across the hardwood floors as Adrian stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the ancient oaks that bordered his family's land. Each tree represented decades of Kael dominance, roots running as deep as the bloodline that had ruled this pride for four centuries. Today, he would either honor that legacy or watch it crumble under the weight of his own hesitation.