10 Dates with Mr. Alpha (MXM)

Chapter 12

Kiel smiled faintly. "I think we were always circling this, even when we didn't know it."

Ronan leaned in, their foreheads meeting. "When I hated you... it was because I didn't know how else to react. My wolf always wanted you."

Kiel's voice dropped, his tone more vulnerable than it had ever been. "I wanted you, too. Even when I didn't understand why. You scared me—not because you were strong, but because you saw parts of me I didn't want anyone to see."

Ronan's thumb brushed Kiel's cheek. "I still see them."

"And now?"

Ronan exhaled. "Now I love them."

They kissed again—slow, reverent. This wasn't claiming. This wasn't primal. It was something far more dangerous.

Intimacy.

When they parted, Kiel rested his head on Ronan's shoulder again, watching the lake shimmer under the last light. He felt full. Of love. Of ache. Of everything they'd done under the moon. His body still remembered the knotting, the marking, the overwhelming pleasure. But it was his heart that felt most stretched—so wide it could barely contain what Ronan gave him.

"Do you think it'll stay like this?" Kiel murmured. "Peaceful?"

Ronan was quiet for a long moment. "No."

Kiel didn't flinch. "Because of the others?"

Ronan nodded. "There are still wolves who think I should've chosen someone else. Who think the bond forced me into this. That it wasn't real."

Kiel turned to face him fully. "But it is real."

Ronan's golden eyes locked on his. "That's why it scares them."

Silence stretched again, heavier this time.

"They're going to test us, Kiel," Ronan continued. "Try to pull us apart. Politically. Socially. Maybe worse."

Kiel inhaled sharply, but didn't back down. "Let them try."

"You're not scared?"

"I'm terrified," Kiel admitted. "But I'd rather face the storm with you than walk away and pretend we weren't real."

Ronan's eyes shone with something fierce and protective. "Then I'll stand in front of you, if it comes to that. Every time."

Kiel leaned forward, pressing his lips gently to Ronan's. "You won't have to."

The moment held.

And just as Ronan opened his mouth to say something else—

A rustle echoed from the treeline.

Their instincts flared in sync.

Ronan was on his feet first, body coiled, muscles tensed. Kiel stood beside him, scenting the air.

Someone was there.

Watching.

They didn't speak—didn't need to. They were hunters now. Protectors. Mates.

Then a figure stepped out of the trees. A familiar one.

Jareth.

Pack lieutenant. Ronan's cousin. And the wolf who had once been groomed to become Alpha if Ronan ever refused the title.

He didn't speak immediately. Just looked between them, eyes unreadable.

"I heard the howl last night," Jareth finally said, tone cold. "So it's true."

Kiel stepped forward. "Yes. We're mated."

Jareth tilted his head. "Convenient, isn't it? The enemy turned lover."

Ronan's growl was immediate. "Watch your mouth."

"I'm just wondering if this was your wolf talking," Jareth said coolly, "or your cock."

Kiel stepped in front of Ronan, chest bare beneath his open shirt, still showing the bruising bite marks.

"You have a problem with me," Kiel said calmly, "say it to my face."

Jareth's lip curled. "I don't have a problem. But the pack? They might."

And then—he was gone. Back into the woods.

The silence left behind felt colder than before.

Ronan exhaled. "It's starting."

Kiel reached for his hand. "Then we don't back down."

They stood like that for a while, hand in hand, watching the sunset finish its descent.

The date wasn't perfect.

But it was theirs.

And they'd face the rest together.