Layla didn't wait to see how Adrian reacted to the bond.
She broke away from him the moment her legs could move, stumbling backward with her hand pressed to her chest.
The mark was still burning.
Her wolf was still pushing.
Her heart was still beating in rhythm with his.
It was too much.
Too fast.
Too dangerous.
Adrian reached out to her instinctively. "Layla"
"No." Her voice cracked. "Don't come any closer."
He stopped only because the pain in his chest made him flinch. He grabbed the wall again, jaw clenching as the mate bond tugged violently at him.
Layla looked at him one last time, the silver still shimmering faintly in his eyes, the unsteady rise and fall of his chest.
Then she turned.
And ran.
Her feet pounded against the sidewalk, her breathing uneven, her ribs protesting with every step. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't care.
She just needed to get away.
Away from him.
Away from the bond.
Away from the truth.
The city lights blurred past her as she sprinted down side streets, weaving between cars, ignoring the concerned glances of late night pedestrians.
Her wolf cried inside her.
Mate. Go back. He's hurting. Go back.
Layla clutched her chest, wincing at the sharp crack of pain that shot through her when she put distance between them. The bond didn't just pull, it was punished.
She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying not to sob.
She couldn't stay with him.
Not when she knew what he was.
Not when she knew who he was.
Not when he was the one her father feared.
Not when she could be the one destined to end him.
Layla turned into another alley quieter, darker and collapsed behind a dumpster, curling her knees to her chest.
Her breaths came out in shaking bursts.
"Why him?" she whispered to the cold night air. "Of all people... why him?"
Her wolf only whined softly.
Layla hugged herself tighter, rocking slightly, trying to drown out the burning ache of the bond.
She felt him.
Even from far away.
His confusion.
His anger.
His fear.
The mate link was still new, still raw, and emotions bled through the connection in sharp pulses that made it hard to think.
When Adrian tried to suppress his panic, the pressure on Layla's chest deepened.
When he tried to walk, her legs twitched.
When he clenched his fists, her palms tingled.
And when his fear spiked
Layla gasped, clutching her chest.
A jolt of cold panic shot through her, not hers but his.
In her mind, she heard his voice not words, just a feeling.
Don't leave.
Her heart broke.
Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she wiped them quickly with shaking hands.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to herself, to him, to fate. "I can't stay. I'm not supposed to be near you."
A rustle caught her attention.
Layla tensed, senses alert.
Her wolf stiffened.
Not Adrian.
Not rogues.
Something else.
Someone else.
She pressed back against the wall, eyes scanning the shadows.
"Layla."
She jerked upright.
Rylan.
Her childhood friend stepped forward, worry etched on his face, dark hair a mess, chest rising with exhaustion.
"You're alive," he breathed, relief flooding his features as he sank to his knees in front of her. "Thank the moon. I thought, I thought you were gone."
Layla's throat tightened. "Rylan..."
He took one look at her clothes torn, bloody and his expression shifted sharply.
"What happened to you?" he whispered. "Who did this?"
Layla shook her head. "It doesn't matter. You shouldn't be here."
"Of course I should." He reached out to touch her cheek, then hesitated. "You're hurt. You need help."
"I'm fine," she lied.
Rylan saw through it instantly.
"No, you're not. And you know it." His voice softened. "I've been looking for you since the attack. I thought you were dead. I didn't stop until I tracked your scent here."
Layla stiffened.
Her smell was faint, muddled by city air. It shouldn't have been easy for him to find her.
Unless
"You weren't the only one tracking me," she whispered.
Rylan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Layla shook her head quickly. "Nothing. Forget it."
Rylan didn't forget.
He never forgot anything she said.
"What happened after the rogues attacked?" he asked. "You shifted. I saw it. But then... you disappeared."
Layla closed her eyes. "I ran."
"And you didn't come back." Rylan's voice cracked. "Layla, everyone thought you were gone."
"I almost was," she whispered. Without meaning to "They were hunting me."
Rylan's gaze sharpened. "Who?"
Layla looked away. "Rogues."
"That's not who I meant." Rylan leaned closer. "Who else was after you?"
Layla hesitated.
She couldn't tell him about Adrian.
Not yet.
Not when she was still trying to figure it out herself.
"Rylan," she said softly. "It's complicated."
He clenched his jaw, frustration flickering through his features. "Everything is complicated with you lately."
Layla flinched.
Rylan immediately softened. "I didn't mean it that way."
"You did," Layla whispered.
Rylan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm just scared. I don't know who to trust right now. And seeing you like this bloody, shaking, alone" He swallowed hard. "It's killing me."
Layla's chest tightened.
He cared.
He always cared.
But caring wasn't enough to protect her now.
"Rylan... I need to stay hidden," she said quietly. "I can't go back."
Rylan's eyes widened. "You're not coming back to the pack?"
Layla shook her head. "I can't."
"What? Why not?"
Because her mate was the Ironmoon heir.
Because rogues were after her.
Because she was tied to a prophecy she didn't understand.
Because her father would kill Adrian if he found out.
But Rylan couldn't know that.
So she whispered the only truth she could safely give him:
"Rylan... something happened tonight. Something I can't explain yet. But I'm not safe. And I don't want to drag anyone else into it."
Rylan moved closer, his voice gentle but firm. "Then let me stay with you."
Layla's breath caught. "You can't."
"Why not?"
"Because"
Her words died.
A sharp, sudden pain stabbed through her chest.
Layla gasped, grabbing the wall for support.
"Layla?!" Rylan caught her shoulders. "What's wrong?"
She couldn't breathe.
The bond.
Adrian.
He was panicking.
Searching.
Hurting.
The pain shot through her in violent waves.
"No," she whispered. "Not now. Not here."
Rylan looked terrified. "Layla, what's happening?!"
Layla forced herself to stand straighter, choking out a shaky breath.
"I have to go."
"What? Where?"
She met Rylan's eyes with a breaking heart.
"I have to go back to him."
