Kael carried Aria through the dark forest with a strength that belied the weight of his injuries. The scent of silver still lingered on her skin, and her pulse thudded unevenly against his chest. She was conscious, barely, but fading fast. Every breath she drew was shallow, threaded with pain.
He didn't stop running until they reached a hidden cavern nestled beneath an overhanging cliff, a safehouse used long ago by his father's generation, abandoned and forgotten. Only an alpha would know it still existed.
He laid her gently on a flat rock and stripped the shredded cloth from her skin. Her wounds had begun to close, but sluggishly silver always lingered, poisoning even the strongest wolves if not flushed out in time. Her mark, the crescent-moon flame on her shoulder, pulsed with a faint red glow.
"Stay with me," he said, brushing his knuckles across her jaw. "You're safe now."
Her eyes fluttered open, silver irises hazed with exhaustion. "You're not safe. Not with me."
"I don't care." His voice was low and rough. "I won't leave you."
The air between them shifted the pull of the mate bond thickened, heavy with something primal. Something that went beyond words.
His wolf stirred beneath his skin, aching to be closer, to heal her not just with touch, but with connection to the sacred, feral bond that only mated wolves could share when the soul called louder than logic.
Aria tried to sit up. "Don't."
"You're hurt."
"I'm also dangerous."
"You think I don't know that?" Kael growled softly, leaning closer. "I've tasted your fear. I've felt the fire in your blood. I don't run from danger. I was born in it."
She turned her head, trying to resist, but the bond wouldn't let her. It tightened between them, pulling her toward him with every breath. Her body was weak, but her desire surged like wildfire.
The tension was unbearable.
Then his hand moved to her ribs, just beneath the wound. His touch was warm, steady, grounding. But beneath it was something electric, untamed.
Feral.
She gasped as the bond flared through her, a raw and intimate heat licking down her spine.
His voice dropped to a whisper. "Let me in. Let me help you."
"I don't know what will happen if I do."
"You're afraid of what's inside you."
"No." She looked him in the eyes. "I'm afraid of what I'll become if I stop holding it back."
Kael didn't flinch. Instead, he leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers. The moment their skin touched, a jolt of energy sparked between them, wild and ancient.
The mate bond surged.
Heat blossomed where their skin met not lust alone, but something older, something pure. Her body arched involuntarily, drawn toward his. Her claws threatened to emerge, her wolf on edge, caught between agony and desire.
"Let go," he whispered.
Her breath trembled. "What if I burn you?"
"Then I burn."
She closed her eyes.
And let go.
The pain, the fear, the weight of years hiding who she was, it all spilled out in a wave of heat and power. Her wolf emerged within her, not in a shift, but in energy, in presence. It wrapped around Kael like a tidal force, and he welcomed it.
Their souls collided.
The moment was raw and feral, not purely physical, but elemental. Kael's hand on her bare shoulder. Her palm against his chest, feeling his heartbeat in perfect rhythm with hers. The air thickened with the scent of pine and storm.
The bond deepened, linking them further. Deeper.
And for the first time, Aria wasn't afraid of it.
She was claiming it.
She moved, pressing her mouth to his not gentle, not sweet, but demanding. Kael met her with equal fire, their kiss a clash of power and promise. Their wolves howled inside them, yearning to complete the bond fully, to claim, to mark, to seal.
But before the moment could become more…
A low, distant growl echoed through the cave entrance.
Kael instantly pulled back, his body going rigid.
Aria sat up, pain forgotten. "You heard it too?"
"Yes." He rose, shifting slightly, eyes glowing amber. "Someone's close."
Another growl closer now. A snarl followed.
Then footsteps.
Slow. Deliberate.
Kael pushed Aria gently behind him, shielding her with his body. "We're not alone anymore."
From the mouth of the cave, a shadow stepped into the flickering torchlight. Broad shoulders. Yellow eyes. The scent of blood, metal, and something darker.
Kael's lip curled. "Fenric."
Aria's blood froze.
Fenric. Kael's cousin. Exiled. Rogue. A former alpha who had once tried to overthrow Kael's father and failed. Rumor said he now worked for the Hollow Fang… or worse.
"Well, well," Fenric purred. "Is this her? The blood-moon wolf?" His eyes flicked to Aria. "She's lovelier than the legends say. No wonder you've gone feral."
Kael's claws emerged slowly. "You shouldn't have come here."
"Oh, but I had to." Fenric grinned, sharp and cold. "They sent me to bring her in. Alive. And if you try to stop me…" He licked his lips. "I get to put you down like the mutt you are."
Kael's voice dropped, dangerous and low. "Try."
With Fenric now standing between them and freedom, will Kael be forced to choose between vengeance and protecting his mate or will Aria's awakening powers change the tide of battle forever?