Page 15

TWELVE

MAYA

M aya barely had a moment to process Kieran's words—fated mate—before his mouth claimed hers with breathtaking intensity.

His lips crashed against hers, not asking but demanding, taking what he seemed to know was already his.

The kiss wasn't gentle or exploratory. It was hungry and desperate, filled with days of pent-up longing and primal need.

Her analytical mind short-circuited completely.

All those careful observations and all that scientific detachment—gone in an instant as her body responded with a ferocity that shocked her.

Every cell in her body lit up like a forest fire, recognizing something her conscious mind hadn't yet fully accepted.

This wasn't just attraction or chemistry—this was recognition on a molecular level, as if part of her DNA had been dormant until the touch of his lips activated it.

Maya's hands found his shoulders, her fingers digging into the hard muscle as she matched his ferocity with her own. She'd never kissed anyone like this before—like she was drowning and he was air, like she'd been wandering lost and finally found her way home.

When they finally broke apart, both gasping for breath, Maya's vision seemed sharper. Colors were more vibrant. Kieran's eyes had transformed to molten silver, his pupils dilated with desire. His hands framed her face with surprising gentleness despite the barely contained power in his touch.

"Maya," he growled, the sound reverberating through her body like thunder.

He dipped his head to her neck, pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses along her throat.

Maya tilted her head instinctively, giving him better access in a gesture of submission that would have horrified her scientific, independent self just days ago.

His large hands explored the curves of her body, sliding under her borrowed t-shirt to trace the contour of her spine.

"Kieran," she gasped, arching against him as electricity coursed through her veins.

Just when she thought she might combust from the heat building between them, he froze. His body went rigid against hers, his muscles tensing beneath her fingertips. With what appeared to be monumental effort, he pulled away, his breathing ragged.

"We need to stop," he said, though his silver-blue eyes said exactly the opposite.

"Why?" The question slipped out before she could stop it, embarrassingly close to a whimper.

Kieran took her hands in his, pressing them against his thundering heart. "Because if I don't stop now, I won't be able to. And you deserve better than a rushed first time while you're still processing what all this means."

The rejection stung despite his explanation. "I'm not some fragile human who doesn't know her own mind."

His mouth quirked up at the corners. "No, you're possibly the most stubborn, brilliant woman I've ever met, with potential dormant wolf genes and a scientific mind that won't rest until it understands everything.

" He brushed her copper hair behind her ear.

"Which is exactly why we're going to take this slowly. "

Maya bit her lip, trying to silence the unfamiliar, primal part of herself that was screaming for his touch. "And if I disagree with that assessment?"

His eyes flashed dangerously, and for a moment, she glimpsed the predator beneath the man. "Then my control might not hold. And as much as my wolf wants to claim you right now, the man wants to do this right."

He pulled her down against his chest, arranging them on the bed so her head rested over his heart. The strong rhythm beneath her ear was comforting, though her body still hummed with unresolved tension.

As they lay in the darkness in his cabin, Maya's mind raced wildly. Dormant wolf genes. Fated mates. Scientific impossibilities that somehow felt more right than anything in her carefully ordered life.

What would this mean for her research and her career? What would it mean for her identity?

Sleep claimed her eventually. But not before her scientific brain cataloged a dozen more questions she needed answers to.

In her dreams, she ran through moonlit forests on four paws instead of two legs, a large black wolf at her side. They moved as one unit, perfectly attuned to each other's movements, racing toward some unknown destination where acceptance awaited them.

Maya woke gradually the next morning, her consciousness filtering through layers of warmth and contentment before she registered the solid wall of muscle pressed against her back. Kieran's strong arm was draped possessively around her small waist, his breath warming the nape of her neck.

The memory of their kiss sent a current of electricity through her body. Since that moment when his lips had claimed hers, something had changed—awakened—inside her. It wasn't just emotional. It felt... physical. Like dormant parts of her DNA had suddenly switched on.

She shifted slightly, and immediately his hold tightened.

"Good morning," he murmured, his voice sleep-rough and impossibly sexy.

Maya turned to face him, momentarily stunned by the sight of his tousled black hair and the intensity of his eyes regarding her with undisguised hunger. "Morning."

"I've been thinking," Kieran said, his expression turning serious. "After what you shared last night about your childhood, and considering what Lena said about dormant genes... there's a place I should take you."

Maya propped herself up on one elbow. "What kind of place?"

"The Silvercrest archives. We keep records going back centuries—genealogies, shifting histories, and medical research." His fingers traced her jawline. "If you have wolf blood, there might be answers there."

Her scientific curiosity instantly ignited. "You'd take me there? Isn't that against your pack rules?"

"Spectacularly so." He grinned, the scar along his temple crinkling. "But I'm finding that a lot of rules seem less important since I met you."

Maya bit her lip. "Before we go, could we stop at my van? I need my clothes, my notebooks?—"

"It's risky," he frowned, suddenly all Alpha male again. "But it's on our way. We'll need to make it quick."

An hour later, they were making their way through the forest. Maya couldn't help noticing how different everything felt.

The earth beneath her boots seemed to speak to her with each step.

The scents of pine, moss, and nearby water registered with startling clarity.

But most disorienting was her awareness of Kieran—his scent wrapped around her like a physical entity, woodsy and wild with undertones of something uniquely him that called to her on a primitive level.

"You keep sniffing," Kieran observed, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Everything smells... more." She inhaled deeply. "Especially you."

His pace faltered. "What do I smell like to you?"

"Like... pine and thunderstorms and..." she hesitated, embarrassed by the intensity of her reaction, "...like something I've been looking for without knowing it."

Kieran's eyes flashed silver. "That's your wolf recognizing mine."

"But I don't have a wolf."

"Not yet." His voice dropped an octave. "But something's waking up in you, Maya. I can sense it."

When they reached the clearing where her modified research van was parked, Maya stopped abruptly. The driver's side door hung open, swinging slightly in the breeze. Even from a distance, she could see the destruction.

"No, no, no..." She broke into a run.

The interior had been systematically destroyed. Her specialized cameras smashed, hard drives cracked open, and maps torn to shreds. Even her carefully organized specimen collection had been scattered across the floor and stomped on.

Maya stood frozen among the wreckage, her hands trembling. "All my research..."

Kieran moved through the space with predatory alertness, his nostrils flaring. "Granite Ridge wolves. Same ones who attacked the cabin." His jaw clenched. "This is territorial marking—destroying what belongs to someone they see as an enemy."

Maya opened a hidden compartment she'd created for theft protection, where she kept her backup laptop and drives.

She never thought it would come in handy against the wolves she was researching.

She gathered her spare backpack from the hidden compartment, relieved to find her laptop and drives still intact inside. "At least I have this. Small miracles."

"Take what you need," Kieran said, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. "We shouldn't linger."

She quickly gathered clothing, toiletries, and a few treasured books that had survived the attack. As she worked, she caught Kieran watching her with a mixture of concern and something deeper and more possessive.

"What?" she asked, self-conscious under his intense gaze.

"You're handling this better than most would." Pride colored his voice. "Most humans would be falling apart."

Maya squared her shoulders. "Maybe I'm not most humans. Maybe I never was."

The truth of her words hung between them as they set off toward their next destination—and possibly, answers about who she really was.

Maya followed Kieran through the dense forest, her hiking boots catching on exposed roots as they traveled westward toward Silvercrest territory.

Her backpack, filled with the rescue remnants of her research, bounced against her spine with each step.

The early afternoon sun filtered through the canopy in golden splinters, casting dappled light across Kieran's broad shoulders as he forged ahead.

"How much farther?" Maya asked, brushing her hair away from her face.

Kieran glanced back, his eyes assessing her. "You tired already?"

"Just curious." She matched his pace, refusing to show weakness. "I'm trying to calculate our position relative to pack boundaries."