Kaela's POV
Mine.
That's the word he says. Just that one word. Not a question. Not an accusation. Just a statement of fact he's announcing to the whole market like it's normal. Like he didn't just show up and say the word that changes everything.
My first instinct is to run.
My legs are already tensing. My brain is already mapping the quickest way out of the market. I could move right now. I could leave him standing there and disappear into Greywater like I did before. I'm fast and I know the town and he doesn't.
But I don't run.
My second instinct takes over and it's anger.
Hot, sharp, burning anger that makes my hands curl into fists. He doesn't get to show up and say mine like I'm something he owns. He doesn't get to announce my child to a whole market of strangers like he has any right to her. He doesn't get to make decisions about what's his when he didn't even know she existed five minutes ago.
"Lower your voice," I tell him, and my voice comes out cold. I don't sound like myself. I sound like someone who's been learning how to survive alone.
He steps closer like I didn't say anything. "We need to talk."
"We don't need to do anything," I say, and I grab my bag from the vendor before Zane can respond. The vendor looks relieved to hand it over. He's already backing away because he knows what's coming. He knows an Ashford Alpha and a girl with a secret are about to create a scene and he doesn't want to be here for it.
I walk away from the vegetable stall and I don't check to see if Zane follows. I know he will.
There's a bench at the edge of the market where the crowds thin out. I sit down on it and cross my arms over my stomach. Defensive. Protective. Making it very clear that everything inside me is off limits.
Zane sits beside me and he doesn't say anything right away. He just sits there with his shoulder almost touching mine and his presence taking up all the space between us.
"I'm not leaving without a conversation," he says finally.
"I don't care," I tell him. "You can sit there all day if you want. Doesn't change anything."
"It changes everything," he says quietly. "You left my territory carrying my child and you never told me."
I don't respond because he's right and I hate that he's right.
"How far along are you?" he asks.
"That's not your business," I say.
"The child is my blood," he says. "That makes it my business."
I turn to look at him and he's staring at the market like it's something he needs to understand. His jaw is clenched. His hands are gripped so tight his knuckles are white.
"The child is mine," I tell him. "I made that decision the moment I chose to leave. This is my responsibility."
"You shouldn't have had to handle this alone," he says, and there's something in his voice that sounds angry but not at me. Angry at himself maybe. Angry at the situation.
"But I did," I say. "I woke up one day and I realized I was pregnant and I had to figure out what that meant. I didn't have the luxury of waiting around for you to decide what you wanted."
He finally looks at me. Really looks at me. Like he's seeing me for the first time since he arrived.
"What I want is for you to be safe," he says. "What I want is for my child to be protected. I want you in Ashford territory where I can make sure nothing happens to either of you."
My heart does something stupid in my chest.
"What does that mean for me exactly?" I ask, and I'm trying to keep my voice steady but it's shaking. "What am I supposed to be? Your prisoner? Your property? Another obligation you're taking on because of pack law?"
"It means whatever you want it to mean," he says.
The answer is so simple and so direct that it throws me off balance. I was prepared for him to make demands. I was prepared for him to argue with me or threaten me or try to convince me that I need him. I wasn't prepared for him to leave the answer in my hands.
"Why should I trust that?" I ask him.
"Because I'm telling you the truth," he says. "Because I'm not going to force you. Because you leaving the first time taught me that the only way to keep you is to not cage you."
I want to believe him. The part of me that's scared and alone and tired of handling everything by myself wants to believe him so badly it hurts.
But I've learned what wanting things gets you.
"The council won't allow it," I say, thinking of all the problems his offer creates. "You can't just bring an Ironveil female into your territory. You can't just claim a child from enemy bloodlines without consequences."
"I don't care what the council allows," he says. "And they don't get to dictate what I do in my territory or who I protect."
"Riven will fight it," I say. "The moment he finds out there's a child, he'll use it against both of us."
"Let him fight," Zane says. "He rejected you. He doesn't get a say in what happens next."
I stand up because I need space between us. I need to think without his presence pulling at something inside me.
He stands too but he doesn't try to stop me.
"I need time," I tell him.
"You have until first light," he says. "Then I'm taking you back to Ashford territory whether you come willingly or not. This child is my responsibility. You're my responsibility. And I'm not leaving Greywater without you."
"You can't just decide that," I say, but even as I'm saying it I know he already has.
"I already did," he says. "Come with me now and we figure this out together. Fight me and I carry you out of this town myself. Either way, you're not staying here alone anymore."
I stare at him and I understand that he means every word.
The three instincts hit me all over again. Run because this is too much and too fast and I don't know how to handle it. Get angry because he doesn't get to come into my life and make decisions for me. Feel relief so intense it makes my knees weak because I'm so tired of being alone with this.
The relief wins.
"If I come," I say slowly, "I come on my terms. I don't become your mate. I don't become your property. I make my own choices about the child and about my life."
"Agreed," he says, and there's something in his eyes that tells me he's willing to negotiate anything as long as I come with him.
"Why?" I ask. "Why would you agree to that? You're an Alpha. You should want control."
"Because control is what made me let you walk out of my compound the first time," he says. "And I'm not making that mistake again."