Night settled heavily over the pack territory.
The forest surrounding the pack house had gone unusually quiet.
Not peaceful.
Watchful.
Hazel stood alone on the back porch, her arms resting against the wooden railing as she stared into the dark trees.
The mark on her wrist pulsed again.
Slow.
Hot.
Alive.
The Devourer's voice echoed in her mind.
Most Eclipse heirs don't survive infancy.
Her fingers curled slightly.
If that was true…
Why was she alive?
Footsteps approached behind her.
She didn't turn.
"You should rest," Ryan said calmly.
Hazel let out a soft, bitter laugh.
"Is that what you did the first time someone tried to hunt you?"
Ryan didn't answer.
She turned slowly to face him.
Moonlight cut across the porch between them.
Distance.
Always distance.
"I want the truth," Hazel said.
Ryan studied her.
"You already have parts of it."
"I have lies," she corrected.
Her voice sharpened.
"You knew about the hunters."
"Yes."
"You knew about the Eclipse heirs."
"Yes."
Her jaw tightened.
"You knew Kyle traded me."
Ryan didn't look away.
"Yes."
Hazel stepped closer.
"So explain something to me."
Her eyes burned with controlled anger.
"If you knew all of this…"
"Why did you let it happen?"
Ryan was silent for a moment.
Hazel saw the hesitation.
"You could have stopped it," she pressed.
"Yes."
"And you didn't."
Ryan exhaled slowly.
"I needed confirmation."
Hazel blinked.
"Confirmation?"
"Yes."
"Of what?"
Ryan's gaze dropped briefly to the mark hidden beneath her sleeve.
"That the Eclipse bloodline was still active."
Hazel stared at him.
"You let someone sell me just to test a theory?"
Ryan's voice lowered.
"I reclaimed you before anything could happen."
Her laugh cut through the night.
"That's supposed to make it better?"
Ryan's expression hardened slightly.
"You were never in danger from Kyle."
"No," Hazel snapped.
"I was just a transaction."
Ryan stepped closer.
"You were never a transaction."
"Then what was I?"
Silence.
Ryan's voice was quiet when he answered.
"Proof."
Hazel's stomach twisted.
"Proof of what?"
"That the Eclipse heir survived."
The wind moved through the trees.
Hazel shook her head slowly.
"So you gambled with my life."
"I monitored every movement," Ryan replied.
"That's not protection."
"It was preparation."
Hazel stared at him for a long moment.
Then she said quietly:
"You're worse than Kyle."
The words landed hard.
Venom stirred violently inside Ryan.
She insults us.
Blade spoke colder.
She's wounded.
Ralph remained calm.
Let her speak.
Ryan's voice dropped.
"Kyle sold you for profit."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"I watched because I knew what you would become."
Hazel's mark pulsed suddenly.
Hard.
Pain shot through her wrist.
She winced.
Ryan noticed instantly.
"What did the Devourer say to you?" he asked.
Hazel hesitated.
Then answered.
"He said Eclipse heirs usually die as babies."
Ryan didn't deny it.
Hazel swallowed.
"So it's true."
"Yes."
Her voice lowered.
"Then why didn't I?"
Ryan held her gaze.
"Your mother."
Hazel froze.
"My mother?"
Ryan nodded once.
"Melissa McCall sealed your power the night you were born."
Hazel's mind raced.
"That's impossible."
"It was nearly fatal for her," Ryan said quietly.
The porch fell silent.
Hazel's heart pounded.
"What happened to her?"
Ryan's gaze shifted briefly toward the forest.
"When the seal was complete… her trail vanished."
Hazel frowned.
"Vanished?"
"No supernatural creature could find her scent after that night."
Ryan looked back at Hazel.
"It was like she disappeared from the world."
Hazel's chest tightened.
She thought about home.
About the quiet life she had lived.
About her mother cooking in the kitchen every morning.
Ryan had been searching all this time…
And he had never realized.
Her voice came out softer.
"So you knew her."
Ryan nodded.
"Yes."
Hazel studied him carefully.
"How?"
Ryan's answer was simple.
"I was there the night you were born."
Silence slammed between them.
Hazel blinked.
"You're lying."
"I watched the seal placed on your blood."
Hazel's pulse raced.
"Why were you there?"
Ryan hesitated.
That hesitation told her everything.
Her eyes widened.
"You've been watching me my entire life."
Ryan didn't deny it.
The realization hit hard.
Her childhood.
Her life.
Her choices.
Observed.
Her voice hollowed.
"So I was never just a girl living her life."
Ryan stepped closer.
"You were always more than that."
Hazel shook her head.
"No."
The mark on her wrist flared suddenly.
Pain rippled through her body.
"I was a child."
Energy surged around her.
The wooden railing beside her cracked.
Ryan grabbed her wrist instinctively—
The moment his skin touched the mark—
Energy exploded between them.
Both of them froze.
Hazel's breath caught.
Ryan's eyes darkened instantly.
The connection was powerful.
Ancient.
Recognizing.
Venom whispered darkly.
Mate.
Blade murmured.
Bound.
Ralph rumbled softly.
Ours.
Hazel jerked her hand away immediately.
The energy snapped.
Her breathing was uneven now.
"Don't," she said quietly.
Ryan didn't move.
"You felt it too."
Hazel refused to answer.
She turned and walked toward the house.
But her steps weren't steady anymore.
Behind her, Ryan watched carefully.
Because tonight had revealed something dangerous.
Hazel didn't trust him.
Not yet.
But the bond between them had just awakened.
And neither of them could pretend it wasn't there anymore.