Page 21 of Whisker me Away
"The wind's gone," she whispered.
"Yeah."
"You can move now."
"I could." His gaze dropped to her mouth again, and Freya felt her resolve crumble like autumn leaves. "Question is, do you want me to?"
The honest answer was no. She wanted him to stay exactly where he was, wanted to stop fighting the pull between them long enough to see where it led. But the memory of Rowan's hurt expression, the weight of her family's legacy, the impossible requirements of the binding ritual, all of it crashed over her like cold water.
But when she went to lie and say ‘yes’, words seemed to have failed her. She couldn’t force herself to say it and in that moment of hesitation, Kieran pressed his lips against hers. And Freya let him.
12
KIERAN
The kiss happened without conscious thought—one moment Kieran was protecting Freya from corrupted air, the next his mouth was on hers and she was kissing him back with a hunger that matched his own, her magic crackling between them like lightning.
Every rational thought in his head shut down as Freya's lips moved against his with desperate need. Her magic surged through the contact, green-gold energy that tasted like spring rain and wild growing things, mixing with his own power until he couldn't tell where hers ended and his began. She made a soft sound against his mouth that went straight to his core, her hands fisting in his shirt like she was afraid he might disappear.
Mine,his tiger roared in absolute certainty.This is our mate.
The recognition hit Kieran like a freight train, so powerful and undeniable that it nearly brought him to his knees. Every instinct he possessed screamed that this woman belonged to him, that she was the other half of his soul, that he would kill anyone who tried to take her away.
But underneath the overwhelming certainty was something else. Something that felt like a door opening rather thanslamming shut. The mate bond was there, humming between them like a live wire, but it wasn't complete. Not yet. It was recognition without claiming, possibility without permanence.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Kieran could see the exact moment reality crashed back over Freya like ice water.
"Oh god," she whispered, pressing her fingers to her lips like she could take back what had just happened. "Oh god, what did we just do?"
"Nothing we didn't both want," Kieran said roughly, his voice still thick with desire and the aftershock of mate recognition. His eyes blazed with golden light as his tiger pushed against his control, demanding he claim her properly.
"This can't happen." Freya stepped back, putting distance between them that his tiger protested with a snarl. "Kieran, I can't. Rowan just proposed and I asked him for time and here I am kissing someone else like some kind of..."
"Like what?" Kieran's voice went dangerously quiet, his alpha nature bristling at her attempt to diminish what had just passed between them. "Like someone who has feelings she's trying to ignore?"
"Like someone who doesn't know what she wants." Freya wrapped her arms around herself, her green-gold eyes bright with unshed tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This was a mistake."
The words hit like claws to his chest, but this time Kieran didn't back down. The mate recognition was too strong, too certain for him to simply walk away.
"No," he said firmly. "That wasn't a mistake. That was recognition, Freya. And I think you know it."
She stared at him in panic. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't you?" He took a step closer, noting how her pupils dilated despite her words. "Tell me you didn't feel it too. Tell me that kiss was just physical attraction and nothing more."
Freya's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. The mate bond hummed between them, not complete but impossible to ignore, and Kieran could see the moment she felt it too.
"I have to go," she said finally, backing away from him. "I need to think."
"Freya—"
"Please." Her voice cracked. "Just... give me time to figure this out."
Kieran watched her disappear into the night, every instinct screaming at him to follow. But he forced himself to stay put, hands clenched at his sides as he fought the urge to claim what his tiger insisted belonged to them.
She'd felt it too. He was certain of that. The question was whether she'd be brave enough to accept what fate had given them, or if fear would drive her straight into Rowan's safe, predictable arms.
Either way, Kieran knew with absolute certainty that everything had changed. The mate bond might not be complete, but it was real. And he'd be damned if he let her pretend otherwise.
