Chapter 5 Some Bonds Don't Break

Arya wasn't used to being seen. Not anymore.

But with Lucas, it was different.

He didn't push. He didn't pry. He just showed up offering easy conversation, quiet company, and the kind of silence that didn't need filling. It caught her off guard, how simple it was to fall into step beside him.

One week into patrol duty with him, and it was starting to feel... dangerous.

Not because he suspected her. But because she found herself forgetting, sometimes, that she wasn't really Ryn. That she wasn't just some soldier with a strange past and quick reflexes. She was Arya. She was Kael's rejected mate. She was the girl who used to run barefoot through these woods with someone who called her sister by heart.

And today, the ghosts caught up with her.

Training had ended early-something about the Alpha being summoned to the council. Arya wandered toward the river at the far edge of the compound, the one that used to cut through the back of the village where the pups played.

She needed air. Space.

Her boots crunched softly over dried leaves. The wind was light, tugging at the edge of her uniform. For a moment, she closed her eyes and let herself remember the way it used to smell here-before everything went wrong.

Then she heard footsteps. Light and somewhat familiar.

She turned-and her breath caught in her throat.

"Ryn?" the girl asked, brow furrowed.

She'd grown taller, leaner, but Arya would have known that voice anywhere.

Mira.

Her best friend. Her secret-keeper. The only person who'd held her while she sobbed after Kael's rejection, right before she disappeared.

Arya's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Mira took a slow step forward, staring harder. Then her eyes widened.

"Arya?" she whispered.

Arya glanced around, heart racing. "Mira, not here-"

But Mira just rushed forward and threw her arms around her.

Arya froze.

Then hugged her back.

Tight.

Like she'd been holding it in for years.

---

When they finally pulled apart, Mira's eyes were glassy.

"I thought you were dead," she whispered. "No one ever found your body. Damon said you must've gone rogue, or worse..."

"I was close," Arya murmured. "But I survived."

Mira wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to steady herself. "Why are you back like this? As a-what, a soldier? In disguise?"

Arya looked away. "I had to. If I came back as me, they never would've let me in. Kael... Damon... it would've ended before it even began."

Mira nodded slowly. "What are you planning?"

Arya didn't answer.

But Mira saw enough in her eyes.

"You don't have to tell me," she said after a beat. "But I won't say a word. I swear it. You were my sister long before any of them knew your name."

Arya smiled then, soft and real.

"Thank you," she said, voice low.

Mira reached over and tugged her hood lower. "Just be careful. Damon's been watching you. He's suspicious of everyone, but with you... it's different. I see it."

"I know," Arya said. "I'll be careful."

---

Later that evening, Arya found Lucas leaning against the fence near the barracks, arms folded, watching the stars.

"Long day?" she asked.

He smiled when he saw her. "I was starting to think you ran off."

"I just needed space. This place gets loud sometimes."

He nodded. "Yeah. It does."

There was a pause between them-comfortable now. Like they didn't need to fill every second.

Then Lucas looked over at her, expression unreadable.

"You're not like the others," he said quietly. "Something about you... it's different."

Arya's heart skipped.

"Is that a good thing?" she asked carefully.

Lucas shrugged, but his smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.

"It might be."

Arya turned her gaze back to the sky, swallowing the lump in her throat.

So much had changed.

But maybe... not everything was broken.

Not forever.

---

The next morning, Arya woke before dawn, slipping away from the barracks while the others still slept. The world was quiet then. No barking orders, no clashing steel. Just mist curling low across the grass and the echo of her own breath.

She found Mira waiting where they agreed-beneath the old willow tree near the east ridge, half-hidden from sight. Mira always did love quiet corners.

Arya approached without a word, and Mira handed her a piece of warm bread wrapped in cloth. Just like old times.

"So," Mira said casually, sitting on the flat stone that had once been their secret meeting spot as kids. "Want to know what happened after you left?"

Arya glanced at her. "You know I do."

Mira let out a breath. "It didn't last long."

Arya blinked. "Kael and Camila?"

Mira nodded. "They were mated within a week of you leaving. Ceremony, blessing, all of it. But... it was weird. Forced. People smiled, but it didn't feel right. Kael wasn't the same."

Arya stayed silent, watching the sunlight drip through the leaves above.

"She cheated," Mira added. "Three months in. Got caught in the Beta's house with some rogue envoy she was 'negotiating' with. Kael didn't say much. He just... ended it."

"How?"

"She was gone the next morning. No trial. No goodbye."

Arya let the silence sit between them for a while.

Then finally, she said, "Good."

Mira smiled faintly. "Yeah. It was."

--

Later that evening, Arya wandered beyond the southern ridge to clear her head. She didn't plan to see anyone. She just needed space to breathe.

But when she neared the riverbank, she heard something-soft, broken.

A sound people don't usually make in front of others.

Crying.

She crept closer, careful not to snap a twig. And there, under the pale hush of twilight, she saw him.

Lucas.

Sitting at the water's edge, shoulders hunched, fists clenched at his sides like he was trying not to fall apart.

He didn't hear her. Not until she stepped forward and said softly, "You okay?"

He jumped, wiping at his face quickly, trying to cover it up. "Ryn-sorry-I didn't know anyone was out here."

She didn't say anything. Just sat beside him without asking.

They listened to the river for a while, and eventually, he exhaled and said, "This was her favorite place."

Arya glanced at him.

"My mate," he added quietly. "I lost her two years ago. Rogue ambush."

Her chest tightened. "I'm sorry."

He nodded, eyes distant. "We were only bonded for a few months. She was gentle. Not like most warriors. She made me softer without even trying."

Arya stayed still. Letting him talk.

"I should've protected her. I should've been faster."

"You were just one person," Arya said. "That's not your fault."

Lucas gave her a tired smile. "That's what everyone says. Doesn't make it feel true."

She looked at him-really looked. There was always something steady about him, calm like a deep lake. But here, now... the surface had cracked.

"You know," she said, "some things... don't stop hurting. You just learn how to carry them."

Lucas turned toward her, meeting her eyes for a long moment. Whatever he saw there-pain, maybe understanding-made his expression soften.

"Thanks," he said, voice quiet.

"For what?"

"For not pretending I'm fine."

Arya gave a small, sad smile. "Pretending takes too much energy."

They sat there a little longer, saying nothing.

And in that silence, something between them shifted.

Not loudly. Not romantically.

Just... trust.

---