Kade POV
I was dying.
No—I was dead.
The world had gone cold and dark, and I felt my heart give one final, weak beat before stopping completely. Somewhere far away, I heard Raven screaming. Heard her saying "no" like it actually mattered to her.
Sorry, I thought to her, even though she couldn't hear me anymore. Sorry I couldn't be better when it mattered.
Then everything exploded with light.
Power slammed into my chest—ancient, wild, overwhelming. It felt like lightning and starfire and moonlight all at once. My dead heart lurched, stumbled, then started beating again with painful force.
I gasped, dragging air into lungs that had forgotten how to breathe. My eyes flew open, and the first thing I saw was Raven.
She knelt over me, her hands pressed to my chest, her eyes glowing solid violet. Power radiated from her in waves—shadow wolf magic so strong it made the air shimmer.
"Come back," she was saying, over and over like a prayer. "Come back, you idiot. You don't get to die protecting me. You don't get to make me feel guilty. Come back RIGHT NOW."
"Raven," I croaked out.
She froze, staring at me like I was a ghost. "Kade?"
"You... you brought me back." My voice was barely a whisper. "How?"
"I don't know!" Tears streamed down her face—angry tears, not sad ones. "Your heart stopped and something inside me just... reacted. My wolf wouldn't let you die."
Her wolf. Not her. The distinction hurt more than dying had.
I tried to sit up, but my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Darius appeared, helping me lean against the wall. His face was bruised and bloody, but his eyes were sharp and assessing.
"That was shadow wolf healing magic," he said quietly. "Something that hasn't been seen in generations. You brought him back from actual death, Raven. Do you understand what that means?"
"It means I'm an idiot who can't even let people die properly," Raven snapped. She stood up, putting distance between us. "Don't read into it. My wolf acted on instinct. That's all."
But I could feel it—the mate bond, which had been dying and broken, now pulsed with new life. Weak, yes. Damaged, definitely. But alive.
She'd saved the bond by saving me.
"The three Alphas are waking up," one of Darius's guards reported. "What do you want us to do with them?"
"Let them go," Darius said. "With a message. Any Alpha who enters my territory hunting for Raven will face the same fate. Haven City protects its own."
The guards dragged the unconscious Alphas out. I watched them go, my mind still trying to process what had happened. I'd died. Actually died. And Raven had pulled me back.
"Why?" The word came out before I could stop it. "Why save me? You rejected me. You wanted me gone."
Raven's face went hard. "I didn't want you dead. There's a difference."
"Is there? Because you made it pretty clear—"
"You died protecting me!" She whirled on me, fury in her eyes. "You could barely stand, and you threw yourself at three Alphas because they were threatening me. What was I supposed to do? Let you actually die when you were being... being..."
"Being what?"
"Better," she whispered. "You were being better. And I couldn't let the first decent thing you've ever done for me be the thing that killed you."
The words hit me hard. She didn't forgive me. Didn't even like me. But she'd saved me anyway because I'd finally done one good thing.
It wasn't much. But it was something.
"I'm still rejecting the bond," Raven said firmly. "Saving your life doesn't change what you did to me for years. It just means I'm not a murderer."
"I know." I leaned my head back against the wall, exhaustion hitting me. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm just... grateful. That you're safe. That I got to do one thing right before..."
"Before what?"
"Before dying. I did die, Raven. Your magic brought me back, but the damage is done." I met her eyes. "My heart is failing. My wolf is barely hanging on. You saved me tonight, but it won't last. I'll be dead within days anyway."
Her face went pale. "What? But I healed you—"
"You restarted my heart. But the mate bond rejection already destroyed too much." I tried to smile, but it came out sad. "At least I got to see you fight. See you be powerful. That's worth dying for."
"Stop talking like that," she snapped. "You're not dying. I won't allow it."
"It's not your choice anymore. It's just... biology." My vision was getting blurry around the edges. "Tell me something before I pass out. Why did you really save me? Not your wolf's instinct. You. Why?"
Raven was quiet for a long moment. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible. "Because everyone deserves a chance to be better. Even you. And watching you die right after you'd finally started trying felt... wrong."
It wasn't love. Wasn't even friendship. But it was more than I deserved.
"Thank you," I whispered. "For giving me that chance. Even if it's only for a few more days."
My eyes closed, and darkness took me again—not death this time, just exhausted sleep.
When I woke up hours later, I was in a bed. Soft sheets, clean bandages, the smell of antiseptic. A private room in what looked like a medical facility.
Darius sat in a chair beside the bed, reading something on his tablet. When he noticed I was awake, he set it aside.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I died," I said honestly. "Because I did."
"Yes. You did." Darius studied me carefully. "Which makes what happened next very interesting. Raven's magic didn't just restart your heart. It reformed the mate bond. Partially."
I sat up too fast, pain shooting through my chest. "What?"
"The bond you two share now is different from a normal mate bond. It's weaker, more fragile. But it's there." Darius leaned forward. "Here's what I think happened: when you died protecting her, you proved your worth through action instead of words. Her wolf recognized that and responded instinctively. The shadow wolf magic accepted you as worthy of a second chance."
"But she still doesn't want me."
"No, she doesn't. And that's her right." Darius's expression was unreadable. "But the bond is alive again. Which means you're not dying anymore. Your heart will heal. Your wolf will recover. You'll live, Kade."
I should have been happy. Relieved. Instead, I felt hollow.
"She saved me because I was finally decent to her for five minutes. That's not the foundation of anything real."
"Maybe not. But it's a start." Darius stood. "You have a choice now. Go back to Moonridge, accept that you'll never have your mate, and live with that regret. Or stay here in Haven City, prove through your actions that you've actually changed, and maybe—maybe—earn something real."
"She'll never forgive me."
"Probably not. But she might respect you. And sometimes, respect is the first step toward something more." Darius headed for the door. "Think about it. You have time now. Use it wisely."
He left me alone with my thoughts and the weak but steady pulse of the mate bond in my chest.
Raven had given me a second chance at life.
The question was: what was I going to do with it?
A knock at the door interrupted my spiral. "Come in."
The door opened, and I expected Darius or a nurse.
Instead, Celeste walked in, her arms crossed, her expression cold.
"Hello, Kade," she said sweetly. "We need to talk about what you're going to do to fix this mess you've created."
My stomach dropped. "How did you find me?"
"Your father sent me. He has a plan to bring you home and make Raven accept the bond through legal means." Celeste smiled, and it made my blood run cold. "Whether she wants to or not."