Evelyn had spent the rest of her day with Lily, they ate,watched cartoons together.
The house was quiet except for the soft murmur of Lily's giggles. She sat cross-legged on the bed, patiently braiding the little girl's hair and humming a gentle tune.
Kael lingered at the opened doorway, unnoticed, his gaze locked on the tenderness in her hands, the way her smile seemed to calm Lily's restless energy.
When the last braid was tied, she tucked Lily under the blanket and whispered, "Sweet dreams." Lily's eyelids fluttered shut within moments.
Only then did she turn and freeze when she saw him.
Kael stepped inside, his voice steady but carrying a weight that made her chest tighten.
"Her surgery will be in two days."
The words sank in, and before she could think, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him. It wasn't planned—just instinct, gratitude spilling over. Then she pulled off from the hug.
I'm sorry I'm just so happy because she will finally get the surgery done; Thank you," she whispered.
He stood still, his wolf suddenly alert, drinking in her scent. Warm. Soft. Tempting. Something primal inside him stirred, a low growl pressing at the edge of his control. He didn't let it show, but his eyes darkened slightly as he inhaled once more before she stepped back, flustered.
Kael walked away to his study ignoringthat she just thanked him, the dim light pooling over scattered documents, but he wasn't reading. His mind kept replaying the feel of her in his arms—the unexpected softness, the way her scent had wrapped around him like a tether.
She fits, his wolf murmured for the hundredth time. Ours. Keep her.
Quiet, Kael snapped back in his head, but the wolf only chuckled, whispering about her warmth, her heart, her place beside him.
A flicker of movement pulled him from his thoughts. He turned sharply—and froze.
Elder Brannor stood in the middle of the room, as though he had stepped straight out of thin air.
Kael's jaw tightened. "What are you doing in my house? You can't appear here whenever you please."
Why? Are you scared the human will find out her husband is a werewolf or an alpha.
Brannor's smile was thin and sharp. "The council has decided. They will test your human mate."
The words landed like a stone in Kael's chest. He knew what that trial meant—pain, fear, and a fight Evelyn couldn't win. His wolf snarled inside him, the sound almost slipping past his lips.
"She will not stand the trial," Brannor continued. "It is the way of our kind."
That was the breaking point. Kael's vision tinted, his wolf surging to the surface. His eyes shifted, the icy blue turned into a green, brighter, wilder eyes.
"No one," he growled, his voice layered with the beast beneath, "will lay a finger on my wife."
The air in the room thickened with his power, a warning that could crush bones. Brannor only arched a brow before vanishing like smoke, leaving leaving the scent of old magic in his wake.
Kael stood there for a long moment, his claws threatening to break through his skin, his wolf still raging.