Kieran's POV
Pain was a language Kieran Blackthorn understood well. It had been his first teacher when his father shoved him into the Blooding Pits at age seven. His constant companion when rogue claws had torn open his throat during the Siege of Frostfang. But this pain this burning was new.
It started in his chest where the mate mark glowed like a brand and spread like wildfire through his veins. He'd felt it the moment the human woman's fingers brushed the obsidian shard in his shoulder. Elena. Her name flickered in his mind, unwelcome and persistent, as he limped through the forest. Dawn painted the trees in bloody light but the shadows clung to him, masking his trail.
Weakness he snarled at himself. You let a mortal see you
His wolf bristled. Mate it insisted. Protect
"Silence" Kieran growled aloud, his voice hoarse from disuse. The rogue's poison still swam in his blood, slowing his reflexes but he'd be damned before he showed vulnerability. Not here, not when his brother's followers hunted these woods.
A twig snapped behind him. Kieran spun, claws unsheathed, but it was only Alden. The old wolf emerged from the mist, his silver hair braided with onyx beads marking his rank as First Advisor.
"You reek of desperation" Alden said mildly, tossing Kieran a cloak. "And human soap"
Kieran caught the fabric, wincing as the movement tugged his half-healed wounds. "Why are you here? The council…"
"…is baying for your head. Selene claims you've gone soft. That you'd abandon the throne for a human" Alden's gaze dropped to Kieran's chest where the mate mark pulsed beneath his tunic. "Is it true?"
Kieran said nothing. The memory of Elena's hands on his fur steady, fearless flashed in his mind. He crushed it.
The Nightfang Citadel loomed ahead, its obsidian spires clawing at the sky. Kieran strode through the gates, ignoring the bowed heads of the guards. The throne room stank of ambition and wolfsbane incense. Selene waited atop the dais, her crimson gown pooled around her like spilled blood.
"Welcome home my prince" she purred. "Or should I say traitor?"
The nobles rustled, a pack of jackals scenting weakness. Kieran mounted the steps, his claws digging into the stone armrests of his throne. "Speak plainly Selene. My patience thins"
She smiled, all teeth. "A human wears your mate mark. The Blood Accords forbid such bonds. By law your claim to the throne is forfeit"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Alden stepped forward, his voice cutting through the noise. "The Accords also state that a mate bond once forged cannot be broken. To deny it is to invite madness"
"Then let him go mad" Selene's snarl echoed off the walls. "Or will you let this curse doom us all?"
Kieran's control snapped. He lunged, pinning Selene against the throne, his fangs at her throat. "You forget your place" he hissed. "I am your prince. Your king. And if I choose to burn the Accords and salt the earth they stood on you will kneel in the ashes"
The room froze. Selene's pulse thrummed against his claws but her smile didn't waver. "You'll regret this" she whispered.
That night Kieran stood at the citadel's highest tower, the wind sharp with the promise of frost. The mate mark seared his skin, pulling him toward the eastern woods toward her
"You should've killed me" came a voice behind him.
Lorcan.
Kieran didn't turn. His brother's scent smoke and rotting violets twisted his gut. "You're a ghost. Ghosts don't speak"
Lorcan laughed, stepping into the moonlight. His face was a mirror of Kieran's but warped: one eye milky white, the other glowing red. The scar Kieran had given him during the coup stretched like a serpent across his throat. "Still playing the noble prince? While our people starve? While rogues pick off patrols?"
"You're the one sending them" Kieran said flatly.
"And you're the one letting me" Lorcan leaned on the parapet, his claws tapping the stone. "That human of yours… she's pretty. Fragile. How long until my wolves find her cabin?"
Rage blurred Kieran's vision. He struck but Lorcan dissolved into shadows, his laughter echoing.
"Run to her little king. Let's see which bond breaks first yours to the crown or hers to breathing"
Kieran materialized at the edge of Elena's forest an hour later, his body trembling from the strain of shadow-walking. The cabin glowed in the distance, a beacon against the dark. He'd vowed never to return but Lorcan's threat coiled in his chest like a viper.
Stay. Protect his wolf urged.
Leave. Conquer his father's voice countered.
A howl tore through the night close, too close. Rogues.
Kieran's claws lengthened. He'd kill them all. He'd burn the world. But as he surged forward the mate mark flared and Elena's scream shattered the silence.