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"Fuck." Malcolm's usual diplomatic veneer cracked. "They want you to kill her just for seeing something? That's exactly the kind of backward, paranoid thinking that's driving younger wolves to the rebellion."

"I know," Kieran said quietly, the admission surprising himself. The thought of harming Maya made his wolf snarl in protest. The connection between them—volatile and unexplained as it was—had rendered the Council's order impossible to follow from the moment he'd caught her scent.

Malcolm seemed to sense something deeper in his brother's reluctance. "So what's the plan then? Keep her here indefinitely?"

"For now, yes," Kieran said, his voice taking on the commanding tone he used when issuing pack orders. "I'll safeguard her until I figure out what to do. Nobody else knows about her that I know of, except Father, the Council, and Damon. They think I'm still tracking her."

While they spoke, Malcolm placed several items on the small end table in the living area, including what looked like a pamphlet. When he turned back to continue unpacking in the small kitchenette area, Kieran noticed movement from the bed. Maya had risen slowly, her researcher's curiosity evidently taking the place of her fear. She moved cautiously across the cabin toward the living area, her eyes fixed on the pamphlet Malcolm had left on the end table.

Kieran watched her, fascinated by her boldness even in captivity. She reached for the paper, her fingers closing around what he now recognized as Moonfire propaganda—the rebel faction's distinctive crescent moon symbol emblazoned across the cover. His stomach tightened. Hard evidence of their existence, right in her clever hands.

His wolf paced anxiously beneath his skin, torn between protecting their secret and protecting her. The pamphlet contained enough information to confirm everything she'd begun to suspect. Yet he couldn't bring himself to snatch it away from her yet.

Malcolm followed Kieran's gaze and swore under his breath when he saw what Maya had found. "That's not going to help your containment plan."

"No," Kieran agreed, his voice low as he watched Maya's expression shift from fear to fascination—the look of a scientist finding evidence to support her hypothesis. "But I'm beginning to think containment was never really an option."

Kieran's muscles tensed as he watched Maya hold the pamphlet between her slender fingers, her copper hair falling around her shoulders as she tilted her head to read. The navy thermal shirt hugged her curves in such a way that made his wolf howl appreciatively inside him. Her sock-covered feet padded silently across the wooden floor as she moved closer to the light.

"'The Moonfire Rebellion,'" Maya read aloud, her scientist's precision giving each syllable equal weight. "'Challenging outdated traditions and fighting for wolf shifter equality.'" She looked at him, those green eyes blazing with intelligence. "Wolf shifters. So I wasn't hallucinating. You really did transform into a wolf that night."

Kieran's jaw tightened as he battled between truth and tradition. His wolf urged him to drop the pretense—she was his mate, after all—but years of conditioning under his father's rule held him back.

"What exactly is this movement?" she continued, tapping the crescent moon symbol on the front. "And what 'outdated pack traditions' are they referring to?" Her researcher's mind was clearly piecing together the puzzle with alarming speed.

Malcolm leaned against the small kitchenette counter, amusement dancing in his blue eyes. The bastard was enjoying this.

"It's nothing," Kieran said, moving across the room with predatory grace. He reached for the pamphlet, but Maya stepped back, clutching it to her chest.

"No way," she said. "This confirms everything I saw on my footage. I want answers."

The defiance in her stance stirred something primal in Kieran. Most wolves backed down when confronted with his dominance—but not her. Never her.

"Maya," he growled, his voice lowering to a dangerous register that usually made pack members flinch. "Give me the pamphlet."

She raised her chin. "Or what?"

Malcolm's soft chuckle infuriated Kieran further. He shot his brother a glare that promised retribution.

"Let me introduce you to my younger brother," Kieran said abruptly, gesturing toward Malcolm. His silver-blue eyes silently conveyed the message:Help me change the subject. Now.

"Malcolm Silvercrest," his brother said smoothly, pushing off from the counter. His white henley contrasted with Kieran's darker clothing, just as his diplomatic approach always contrasted with Kieran's more direct methods. "Sorry for the intrusion. I didn't realize my brother had... company."

Maya's eyes narrowed, not falling for the deflection. "Nice to meet you. Now about this rebellion?—"

"You must still be hungry," Kieran interrupted, placing his large hand at the small of her back and guiding her toward the kitchen. The contact sent electricity surging through him, his wolf recognizing what his human side still struggled to fully accept. "Malcolm brought better food. I can make dinner."

"I don't want food," Maya said, though her stomach chose that moment to growl audibly. "I want explanations."

Kieran looked down at her, struck by the fierce determination in those green eyes. His mate was magnificent in her stubbornness. The realization that he'd now begun thinking of her as "his mate" without qualification sent a jolt through him.

"You're in a cabin with two men you don't know, in the middle of nowhere," he reminded her, his voice low and intense. "And you're more concerned with satisfying your curiosity than your safety?"

"My safety was compromised when you kidnapped me," she countered, holding the pamphlet tighter. "Knowledge is my only defense right now."

Malcolm cleared his throat. "She's got a point, brother."

Kieran's head snapped toward him. "Stay out of this."