POV: Soraya
Kaide begins my training gently—or as gently as an Ashra warrior can. The training yard is warm but quiet, mostly empty except for the sound of wind brushing across stone. Morning light stretches long shadows across the sand. My palms sweat against the dagger he gave me.
“Again,” Kaide instructs, demonstrating a basic defensive sweep. “You’re hesitating. Don’t hesitate.”
“I’m not a fighter,” I mutter.
“That’s why we’re practicing.”
I mimic the movement, clumsy but earnest. He corrects my stance, nudges my shoulders, adjusts my grip. He’s patient, steady. Very unlike Raevan, whose presence alone unravels me.
“Good,” he says. “Better. Now again, faster.”
I repeat the form. This time, I trip slightly, and Kaide grabs my arm to steady me.
His hand lands on my side.
He freezes. I freeze.
Slowly—far too slowly—his fingers lift the edge of my tunic just enough to reveal the faint, pulsing mark over my hip. A crescent-shaped heat, inked into my skin in pale, iridescent shimmer.
Kaide stares. His eyes widen. “Is that…?”
I swallow. “No.”
“Don’t lie.”
I yank the fabric down, heart racing. “It isn’t what you think.”
He steps back, voice low, dangerous. “Soraya. That is a claim mark.”
My breath stutters. “Kaide—”
“A mating claim,” he says, eyes blazing. “From a wolf in rut.”
I feel sick. “No. It wasn’t—”
“Who?” he demands. “Tell me who touched you during rut fever.”
My throat closes. Images flash—dungeon shadows, heat, fear, Raevan’s hands on my skin, the fire of instinct ripping through both of us.
“It wasn’t planned,” I whisper. “We didn’t mean—”
Kaide swears violently, pacing away, fists clenched. “Raevan.”
I flinch.
He turns back, furious. “He marked you.”
“It wasn’t like that—”
“He marked you without choice,” Kaide says harshly. “In fever. In desperation. He bound your wolf to him. Do you understand what that means?”
My eyes burn. “I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t feel it?” he asks, shocked.
“I felt everything,” I say quietly. “Too much. Too fast. I was terrified. He warned me not to run. I didn’t— I didn’t know what the mark meant.”
Kaide exhales sharply, anger cracking into something softer—hurt, maybe. “Soraya… claim marks aren’t decoration. They’re instinct. Territory. Bond. A wolf does that only when instinct takes over entirely.”
I wrap my arms around myself. “It wasn’t intentional.”
He mutters, “Intentional or not, it binds you. Not fully—but enough.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
He sighs. “It means you will always feel him. The pull. The instinct. The want. Even if you fight it. Even if he tries to deny it.”
My chest tightens painfully. “I already feel all those things.”
Kaide softens at the edges. “Soraya… you deserved a choice.”
Tears prick my eyes. “I didn’t even know what choice was.”
He steps closer, lowering his voice. “Raevan should have told you.”
I shake my head. “He doesn’t even know I know. He hasn’t seen the mark.”
Kaide’s brows lift. “Then how did he think—”
“I think he didn’t think at all,” I whisper. “He was fevered. Desperate. Protecting me. And afterward he was ashamed.”
Kaide curses again, quieter this time.
I sink onto the training bench. “Kaide… my whole life has been taken from me. My mother. My home. My freedom. I don’t want this—this bond—to be another thing forced on me.”
Kaide sits beside me, carefully. “Tell me everything.”
And I do.
I tell him about Saren. About Darron. About the dungeon. About the rut. About the fear and heat and fire that swallowed us both. About the escape. The sandstorm. The way Raevan held me like something worth saving.
When I finish, Kaide is silent.
Then—
He puts a hand on my shoulder, steady and grounding. “Soraya. None of this is your fault.”
My throat tightens painfully. “It feels like everything is.”
“It isn’t,” he says firmly. “You were terrified. You survived. He should have protected you from what his instincts did.”
I nod slowly. “I know.”
“You deserved a choice,” he repeats. “And I’ll make sure you get one. Even if Raevan has to face the council. Or Azhara. Or me.”
I look at him, startled. “Why would you fight for me?”
He meets my eyes. “Because you’re no longer just a girl we rescued from the dunes. You’re pack.”
My breath catches. Pack. A word I never thought would touch me again.
I whisper, “Thank you.”
Kaide stands, offering his hand. “Come. Training isn’t over. If you’re going to survive this empire, you’ll need more than courage.”
I take his hand.