Chapter 5 ADRIAN'S CONFUSION

Adrian held Layla like she might disappear if he blinked. His grip wasn't rough, but it wasn't gentle either. It was the kind of hold someone used when they were terrified of losing something they didn't understand.

Layla's knees threatened to buckle, the shock of the mate mark still vibrating under her skin. She forced herself to steady her breath, to push down the panic clawing at her throat.

The alley was quiet now.

No rogues.

No footsteps.

Just her racing heartbeat and Adrian's uneven breathing.

He stepped back slightly but kept her within reach as if his instincts wouldn't allow him to move too far.

"Layla..." Adrian said, his voice low, strained. "Start talking."

He wasn't yelling.

He wasn't cold.

He wasn't trying to intimidate her.

He just sounded... lost.

And that scared her more than anything.

Layla looked away first, hugging her arms around her body. "I shouldn't be here."

"You can't leave," he said immediately.

Layla's breath froze. "I have to."

Adrian shook his head. "No. Not after what I just saw. Not after... this." He placed a hand on his chest, right over the mark. "Every time you walk away, it feels like something is ripping out of me."

Layla swallowed hard. "That's the bond."

"I don't want a bond," he snapped softly.

Her chest tightened.

She knew.

She expected that.

Humans weren't meant to feel mate bonds.

And wolves didn't survive rejection from the wrong mate.

But Adrian wasn't human.

And Layla wasn't the wrong mate.

She was the forbidden one.

She forced herself to meet his gaze. "You don't get to choose it."

Adrian's eyes darkened. "Then tell me what it is. Tell me what I am. Tell me why those things were after you."

Layla's lips parted, but the words stuck in her throat.

How did she explain a world he didn't belong to?

How did she tell him he was part of a species he didn't know existed?

How did she tell him his entire life was built on a lie?

Adrian ran a trembling hand through his hair. It was the most human thing he'd done since the alley.

"Layla..." His voice broke. "This isn't normal. I'm not normal. I felt something inside me when those wolves attacked. It wasn't fear. It was... instinct."

Layla nodded slowly. "Because your wolf is trying to come out."

"My what?"

"Your wolf."

Adrian stared at her like she had grown two heads.

"Say that again," he demanded.

Layla took a deep breath. "You're a wolf, Adrian."

He blinked. Then he blinked again.

"A wolf."

"Yes."

"As in..." He gestured vaguely. "Sharp teeth, fur, howling at the moon?"

Layla nodded once.

Adrian stared at the ground for a long, silent moment.

Then

"Absolutely not." He turned away. "No. No, Layla. I run a corporation. I negotiate international deals. I give speeches. I don't..." He spread his hands helplessly. "I don't shift into animals."

"You do," Layla said softly. "You did. Earlier."

"That was stress."

"That was your wolf."

"I don't have a wolf!" he exploded, not out of anger at her, but at reality itself.

Layla flinched. Adrian closed his eyes, forcing control back into his voice.

"Layla..." He lowered his tone again. "I can't accept that. I don't live in whatever fantasy world you came from."

"It's not fantasy."

"Then explain it."

Layla hesitated.

She could feel the bond tightening, tugging, insisting she tell him the truth. Her wolf hated every second of this separation between them. She wanted him close. Safe. Protected.

And Adrian...

His wolf was awakening fast. Too fast. Faster than any normal wolf should.

She didn't understand it.

And she didn't like it.

She stepped closer, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Adrian, you are not from the human world. Not fully."

He listened. He didn't believe her, but he listened.

"You were born a wolf," she continued, "but something, someone suppressed your wolf side when you were a child. They hid your identity. They hid your scent. They hid your bloodline."

Adrian stiffened. "Bloodline?"

Layla nodded. "Yes. Wolf bloodlines are... complicated. They carry power. Status. History"

"Stop." Adrian breathed in sharply. "Bloodline? What bloodline?"

She looked down. "I... don't know exactly. Not yet."

But she did know.

She recognized the silver glow in his eyes.

The power in his voice.

The way his presence filled space and demanded it bend to him.

Ironmoon.

The strongest bloodline that ever existed.

Adrian exhaled shakily, leaning one hand against the brick wall. "I can't be this. I can't be..." He didn't finish the sentence. "This is insane."

Layla stepped forward tentatively.

"Maybe it is," she whispered. "But it's real."

He looked at her, and for the first time, she saw the fear he was hiding.

Not fear of wolves.

Not fear of rogues.

Fear of himself.

"Adrian..." Layla reached for him but stopped before touching. "What you felt tonight? The strength? The instinct? That wasn't human. You know it."

Adrian's jaw clenched. "I don't want to believe it."

"But you do," Layla whispered. "A part of you does."

He didn't deny it.

He looked at her like someone drowning, someone who didn't want to be saved but didn't want to sink either.

"I can't go back to my life after this," he whispered. "Everything feels wrong."

Layla's heart tightened painfully. "I know."

"No," he said, eyes troubled. "You don't. You grew up in this world. I didn't. I never asked for any of this. I don't even know who I am anymore."

Layla swallowed, her voice soft.

"I know exactly how that feels."

Adrian looked at her sharply.

"I didn't choose this life either," she said. "The wolves, the danger, the bond... it all came after me whether I wanted it or not."

Adrian didn't breathe for a second.

"And now what?" he said quietly. "We're stuck like this? Connected? Tied together?"

Layla hesitated.

The truth was heavy.

"Yes," she whispered. "We're tied."

His breath caught. "Why?"

Layla's lips parted.

This was the moment.

The truth hovered on her tongue.

"Because we're mates."

Adrian froze.

Layla held her breath.

He looked at her with disbelief... then something like anger... then something softer and darker that made her heart stutter.

He stepped back.

Layla's chest tightened painfully.

"Adrian"

But before he could respond

before either of them could say or do anything

A sudden wave of heat pulsed under their skin.

The mark lit up again.

Layla gasped.

Adrian grabbed the wall to steady himself.

Their hearts synced.

Their breaths synced.

Their wolves cried out inside them.

The bond was strengthening.

Growing.

Fusing.

Layla whispered between shaky breaths

"This is only the beginning..."