Page 3 of The Alpha’s Bounty (Night Grove Falls: The Alphas #2)

THREE

Cyrus

My bear roars so loudly in my head that it’s hard to concentrate on anything else.

MATE. Bite her and mark her! he orders.

Not yet! I shout back.

Mate , he growls again, like he’s incapable of saying or thinking of anything else.

The word detonates through me, a thunderclap that shakes bone and marrow.

My palm is braced at the small of her back from that reckless kiss, and heat pours through my hand as if I’ve pressed it to a flame.

She's softness to my steel. Steadiness to my storm.

Her scent—winter-sweet and wild—encompasses me.

I force a breath. Then another.

I can’t believe it. I’ve spent years walking these woods, promising my bear we’d find her.

I told him to be patient while I handled the borders, patrols, and fights that came through town at closing time.

I told him to trust fate. As Alpha of my pack, I’m sworn to hunt fugitives and bring them to justice.

But fate has waited for this moment to hand me the one person who makes it impossible to do that job.

Mina Carver. A bounty. A runaway with a warrant.

That blurry photo didn’t come close to capturing the fierce softness of her gray eyes or the way her full lips tremble like they’re fighting not to.

My bear slams against my ribs like he’ll chew his way out if I don’t do something to keep her close.

MATE. Keep. Take. Now.

“Calm down,” I murmur to him, to me, to the trees, to the ache that suddenly blooms under my skin.

The words catch against her lips, because yeah, I’m still kissing her. I tear myself away with a discipline that tastes like ash.

My bear rakes his claws inside my chest in protest.

I slide my hands away from her like I’m defusing a bomb. Step back an inch. Another. The cool air bites my face like a reprimand. She stares at me, stunned, a flush rising in her cheeks. Confusion flickers in those silver-gray eyes. She looks like she’s bracing for impact.

Good. Because I’m the storm.

“Cyrus,” I say roughly. “My name is Cyrus.”

Brilliant. Introduce yourself after you tackle-kiss your mate. My father would cuff me upside the head if he were still here.

Her throat works. “Is that… supposed to make this less weird?”

There it is: dry, wary humor threaded with fear. It punches a laugh out of me, more breath than sound. My bear rumbles impatiently. He wants to wrap her up, haul her against us, bury his nose in the place where her neck meets her shoulder, and breathe her in until the world steadies.

Then I remember the folder. The charges against her. Theft. Missed court date. I skimmed those pages and tucked her face into the back of my mind. How old did the report say she was? Nineteen? I never imagined the girl in that photo would step out of the trees and gut me alive.

“Why did you—” Her voice shakes, then tightens. “Are you going to arrest me?”

The question slices through my haze. There it is. The fork in the road that I never saw coming. Do I choose duty or fate?

It’s not a hard choice. Not with her scent permeating my lungs and my bear carving the word mine into every thought.

Bringing her in is my job. Now that I’ve found my mate, the reward money will boost the pack coffers—the fund we use when roofs cave in or cars break down. It’s the example I set, the line I hold. We don’t shelter criminals. We keep our territory clean. We keep it safe.

But she’s my fate, standing on a frost-silvered trail, watching me like I could be the next person to hurt her. In no version of this universe will I hand my mate over to anyone. Not now that I’ve found her.

“No.” The word is granite, and my bear nods his approval. “I’m not arresting you.”

She blinks as if she misheard. “You’re… not?”

“No.”

The forest breathes again, a thin wind stirring the high branches.

Mina takes a small step back, measuring me, measuring the surrounding space. I know that look. I’ve seen it in prey. She’s cataloguing exits in case she needs to bolt.

I raise my hands, palms facing her, no threat. “I’m not here to hurt you, Mina.”

Her name sounds like a vow on my tongue.

Her chin lifts a fraction. Suspicion lurks in her eyes, but underneath it, a tremor of recognition. “Why aren’t you taking me in and collecting the bounty?”

Because you’re the scent I’ve dreamed about, the missing half of my heartbeat, and the remedy for every restless night .

My bear is all teeth and urgency. Say it! Tell her. Claim her. Mark her!

I ignore him. For now. “Because you’re not a threat to my pack,” I tell her honestly. My bear growls, so I add. “And because I’m not letting you go.”

Mina’s breath hitches. She wraps her arms around herself as if she’s guarding against the elements, though the day is crisp rather than cold.

“I don’t understand,” she whispers.

I hate the fear I hear in her voice. Of course, she doesn’t understand. Humans don’t learn about the bond that chains two souls together with a simple look. They don’t know what it’s like to feel their mate’s heartbeat beneath their ribs.

I step closer slowly so I don’t spook her. She doesn’t back up.

Brave girl.

Or tired.

Maybe both.

My bear hums, lower now, a sound of contentment after the storm.

“We’re meant to be together.” The words wrap around us like smoke, like a promise. “We’re fated mates.”

Her brow creases. “Fated mates?” she repeats as if she’s testing a language she doesn’t speak.

“Yes.” I let the weight of it settle in the air. “That’s why I kissed you. I should’ve explained before—” I shake my head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m explaining now.”

Mina tips her head, studying me. “Is that your line? Do you say that to all the girls you don’t arrest?”

The corner of my mouth twitches. “Only the ones who rock my whole world.”

Her lips part. I watch her fight not to react, and it’s the most endearing, stubborn thing I’ve ever seen.

I clear my throat, dragging us back to the topic at hand. “I’m taking you home.”

Her eyes widen. “I… What? Where?”

“Home,” I repeat firmly. “My place. East Pack land.”

She doesn’t move. “Why would I go anywhere with you?”

“Because it’s safe,” I say simply. “Because you need a roof over your head and a minute to breathe. Because you’ve been running, and I can smell your exhaustion.” I step closer. “And because I can help with your court mess.”

She flinches at that. Shame clouds her eyes and colors her cheeks. “You can’t fix it. They’ll make sure I pay.”

The Alpha in me sits up, all teeth. “They’re not gods. And nothing in Night Grove Falls hurts one of mine without going through me.”

My bear roars loud and long. He’ll do anything he can to ensure our mate is safe and happy. With us.

Mina swallows hard as she studies me. She sizes me up, debating whether to trust me.

I hold out my hand, palm up. I don’t move it. Don’t crowd her. I let her choose. “Come home with me.”

She eyes my hand like it might bite before her gaze lifts to my face, measuring… measuring… until resolve steels her expression. Not trust. Not yet. But a sliver of belief in whatever is growing and strengthening between us.

Mina places her hand in mine.

The contact is a lightning strike. Heat races up my arm, through my shoulder, and down my spine. A low, involuntary growl breaks loose from my chest like a prayer. My bear rolls onto his back, baring his belly in surrender because he knows we’ve just touched fate.

“Good,” I say, biting back the words that want out— thank you, mate, I won’t fail you. Words that would only make her bolt.

We start down the trail, a comfortable silence stretching between us.

Mina glances at me after a dozen steps. “You really think you can… fix it? The court stuff?”

“I don’t know the details yet,” I admit. “I remember the bones of it, but I was the idiot who didn’t read the fine print. I’ll get the file, compile the facts, and talk to the other Al—uh, people in charge in town. We’ll get you counsel that doesn’t eat you alive.”

“And if the facts say I’m guilty?” Her question is practical rather than bleak, as if she’s bracing for the worst.

“Then we deal with that . Justice is a scale. We’ll balance it.”

Her eyes flicker. She looks down at the forest floor. “Why would you do that for me?”

Because you’re mine. Because an Alpha’s duty and loyalty are to the one whose heartbeat is tethered to his.

“Because it’s right, and because I can,” I say instead. “And because you’re my fated mate.”

We walk. The forest opens before us. Dusky ferns, their branches like black lace against the pale sky, the faint musk of an old deer trail. Mina’s hand is small in mine, but it’s not fragile. Her palm is callused, speaking of hard work and the weight of carrying her own safety for too long.

Mina clears her throat. “You said… fated mates.”

“Yes.”

She chews the inside of her lip. “That wasn’t… a metaphor?”

“No.”

“Then what was it?”

I think about all the ways I could answer. Biology. Magic. Soul-stitching. “It’s a bond. Older than time or Earth. When it hits, it’s absolute.” I glance at her. “It doesn’t ask permission. But it does demand care.”

She lifts her chin. “And what if I don’t… want it?”

My bear stiffens.

Easy, I warn him.

“Then I follow,” I answer. “I don’t push. I’ll protect you from as far away as you need. I’ll be an idiot about it, probably, but I won’t force you to do anything.”

Her shoulders loosen by degrees, like a knot unraveling. “And you said you’re taking me home.” She swallows. “To your pack.”

“To my land,” I correct gently. “The pack is… family. Community. You don’t owe them a thing. You don’t owe me either.”

A pause. Then, quietly: “I don’t have a family.”

Something tilts inside me.

You do now , my bear says. He’s not good at waiting. I keep my mouth shut because big promises should be backed up with big actions.