You're Mine

Clara's POV

After that day, the atmosphere between Kyel and me plummeted to freezing.

I stopped sleeping in his room. He didn't come looking for me either.

Every day, I brewed his medicine as usual, left the bowl outside his door, and walked away.

I knew he'd open the door and drink it, because when I came to collect the bowl the next morning, it was always empty. But he never opened the door while I was there.

On the third night, when I went to retrieve the bowl, I found a note tucked underneath.

Kyel's crooked handwriting read: The medicine is too bitter.

I sighed. I didn't know what we were doing anymore. That night's argument still sat between us—neither of us had mentioned it again, but neither of us had forgotten. I just felt tired.

On the fourth afternoon, I was organizing newly arrived herbs in the pharmacy when I heard a car engine outside.

I looked out the window and saw a silver sedan pull up to the front gate. The door opened, and a blonde woman stepped out. She wore an impeccably tailored emerald dress, her hair gleaming almost blindingly in the sunlight.

Martha had already gone out to greet her, smiling as she accepted a gift box from the woman's hands. "Liv, what brings you here?"

Liv. I repeated the name silently. Kyel had never mentioned her.

I wiped my hands and walked out of the pharmacy. In the foyer, Liv stood at the foot of the staircase, looking around as if searching for someone.

"Clara." Martha spotted me and quickly made introductions. "This is Liv—"

"I'm Kyel's friend," Liv cut in, turning to look at me. "You must be Clara. I've heard so many people mention you."

"Hello," I nodded. "Kyel is upstairs resting. Should I go get him for you?"

"No need, I'll go up myself." She was already heading toward the stairs. "Kyel and I have known each other for years. No need to be so formal."

I followed behind, watching as she walked straight to Kyel's room, knocked twice, then pushed the door open and went inside. The door closed behind her with a soft click.

I stood in the hallway, staring at that shut door, an indescribable emotion rising in my chest. I didn't follow her in. We were still in our cold war—he didn't even want to see my face.

I had no idea what they were talking about inside. All I knew was that she stayed in there for a long time.

Finally, I took a deep breath and walked toward Kyel's room.

The door wasn't fully closed, left slightly ajar. I heard Liv's laughter drifting out from inside, light and easy.

"Kyel, do you remember when we were kids and dug that trap in the back hills to prank the guards? Your mother almost put us in detention, but you took the blame for me." Her voice carried the intimacy of shared memories.

Kyel gave a low laugh. "I remember. Mother figured it out anyway and made me kneel for three hours."

"You were so good to me back then." Liv's voice softened. "I always thought..."

She didn't finish, but I could hear what she meant to say.

I pushed the door open.

Kyel sat in his wheelchair, Liv perched on a low stool beside him, the distance between them uncomfortably close. One of her hands rested on the wheelchair's armrest, her fingers nearly touching Kyel's.

When she saw me enter, Liv didn't stand. She simply turned her head to look at me, that polite smile still fixed on her face.

"You're here?" Kyel's voice was flat, emotionless.

I looked at him, then at Liv. "And this is?"

"Liv," Kyel said. "A friend I grew up with."

He'd never mentioned her to me. Not once.

Liv stood and extended her hand toward me. "Clara, we didn't get properly introduced in the foyer. I'm Kyel's friend—I've been by his side all these years."

When she said "all these years," her tone carried extra weight.

I didn't take her hand. I just looked at her. "Kyel never told me he had female friends."

"Really?" Liv withdrew her hand and glanced at Kyel, something meaningful in her gaze. "Kyel, you never mentioned me to your wife?"

Kyel didn't answer. His eyes settled on me, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Liv sat back down, her gaze taking on an appraising quality as she looked at me. "Actually, I came today because I heard some things. About you, Clara."

"What things?"

"I heard that when you were at Moon Academy, your senior Eli was pursuing you." Her tone was casual, as if discussing the weather. "He helped you with experiments, brought you meals, and even wrote you a long letter when he graduated. Does Kyel know about any of this?"

My head buzzed.

I looked at Kyel. His expression had already darkened, his fingers tightening on the armrest.

"Eli was my senior," I said, my voice strained. "There was nothing between us. That was all in the past."

"Was it?" Liv tilted her head. "Because I heard from people at the academy that Eli still talks about you. Says you were the most special student at the school, that your scent was cleaner than moonlight." She laughed lightly. "He really has a way with words."

"Liv." Kyel's voice dropped dangerously low. "Enough."

Liv immediately stopped smiling and nodded obediently. "All right. I just thought Kyel should know these things. After all, you're my friend, and I don't want to see you kept in the dark."

She stood and smoothed her skirt. "It's getting late. I should go. Kyel, take care of yourself."

As she passed me, she paused and said in a volume only the two of us could hear, "Clara, you should know—what he needs beside him is someone whose heart truly belongs to him, not someone like you who's still carrying someone else inside."

Then she left.

Only Kyel and I remained in the room.

The air felt suffocating, like it might crush us.

"You just didn't want to say a word to me?" I asked him. "You'd rather talk that much with an outsider?"

"She's not an outsider," Kyel explained. "She and I have been friends for years."

"Really?" I laughed, the sourness rising in my chest making my eyes burn. "Then what am I? What do I count as?"

He didn't answer.

My voice began to shake. "She told you about Eli—can't you see what she's trying to do? She says I'm not good enough for you, so that makes her good enough instead?"

Kyel slowly raised his eyes to look at me. His gaze was deep, churning with emotions I couldn't decipher—jealousy, possessiveness, and something dangerously resolute.

"I never said you weren't good enough for me," he said.

Then he wheeled closer to me.

"But I need you to remember something."

His hand suddenly grabbed my wrist, the grip so tight I couldn't pull away. His palm burned hot, his fingertips carrying an Alpha's oppressive force that crawled up my skin.

"You're mine," he said, each word deliberate. "You're not Eli's memory, not anyone else's fantasy. You're mine."

My heartbeat quickened. I stared at his approaching face—that scarred but still handsome face. His breath hit the back of my hand, the heat nearly scalding me.

"Kyel..."

"Tonight," he released my hand, his wheelchair rolling back a step, "I'm coming to find you."

His voice left no room for negotiation.

I turned and walked out.

Behind me, Kyel was watching. That gaze crept along my back, his Alpha aura like an invisible net slowly drawing me in.

The hallway was long, my steps quick. But my heart was faster, racing as if it might leap from my chest.

I didn't know what would happen tonight.

I only knew that in Kyel's eyes, there was a hunger I'd never seen before.