Kael's POV
The world explodes.
Golden light from the female's hand crashes into the dragon's black fire. The impact throws me backward. I hit the ground hard, rolling to protect my head. The sound is deafening—like lightning striking right next to your ear.
When I can see again, I blink in shock.
The dragon's fire is GONE. Just... gone. Erased by the golden light like it never existed. But that's impossible. Corrupted dragon fire can't be stopped. It burns everything it touches, turning living things into rotting corpses.
Yet this tiny, terrified female just destroyed it with a wave of her hand.
The dragon shrieks in rage and confusion. It circles overhead, clearly trying to understand what just happened. Its red eyes lock on the female again—on Mira, she said her name was—with even more hunger than before.
My wolf roars inside my chest. PROTECT. DEFEND. MINE.
I shake my head hard, trying to clear it. She's NOT mine. I don't have a mate anymore. Haven't had one for five years, since the Withering Curse took Sera and our cubs. I locked that part of myself away. Buried it deep where it couldn't hurt me again.
But my instincts don't care about logic. They only know: female in danger, female who smells like hope and power and something that makes my blood sing.
"Mira!" I shout. "Get down!"
She doesn't hear me. She's staring at her own hand in shock, watching the golden marks pulse and glow. She doesn't see the dragon diving again.
I run.
My legs eat up the distance. I grab her around the waist and throw us both sideways just as the dragon's claws rake through the space where she stood. We hit the ground rolling. I end up on top of her, covering her body with mine.
The dragon lands with a crash that shakes the earth. It's even bigger up close—twice the size of the largest bear-beast in our tribe. Corruption oozes from its scales like black oil. This thing isn't just dangerous. It's diseased. Dying. And apparently desperate enough to attack a Lifebringer.
"Why is it after me?" Mira gasps beneath me. Her voice shakes with fear.
"Corrupted creatures are drawn to Lifebringer power," I say quickly. "They want to consume it. Steal your ability to heal."
"That's insane!"
"Welcome to the Wildlands." I risk a glance down at her. Her dark eyes are wide with terror, but she's not screaming or fainting. She's thinking. I can see her mind working, trying to figure out how to survive.
Smart female. Good.
The dragon's head swivels toward us. Its mouth opens, revealing rows of black teeth. More fire builds in its throat.
"Can you do that light thing again?" I ask urgently.
"I don't know! It just happened!"
"Well, make it happen again or we're both dead!"
Maybe not the most encouraging words, but we're out of time. The dragon unleashes another stream of black fire.
I roll, still holding Mira, putting us behind a large boulder. The fire splashes against stone. I hear the rock starting to crack and rot.
"We can't keep dodging," I mutter. "It's too fast."
"Then let me try something." Mira pushes against my chest. "Let me up!"
Everything in me screams to keep her pinned, keep her safe, keep her MINE. But the determination in her eyes stops me. This isn't a helpless female. This is someone who survived her own death and woke up fighting.
I let her up.
Mira scrambles to her feet, her golden marks blazing bright. The dragon spots her immediately and shrieks in triumph. It thinks she's an easy target.
It's wrong.
"Hey, ugly!" Mira shouts. Her voice only shakes a little. "You want this power so bad? Come and get it!"
What is she DOING? My wolf howls in panic.
The dragon lunges, claws extended, mouth wide. Mira stands her ground. At the last possible second, she throws both hands forward.
Golden light erupts from her marks, but different this time. Not wild and panicked like before. Focused. Directed. Like a spear of pure power.
The light pierces straight through the dragon's chest.
The creature screams. Black corruption pours from the wound, smoking and hissing as the golden light burns it away. The dragon thrashes, trying to escape, but Mira doesn't let go. She grits her teeth, her whole body glowing now, and PUSHES more power into the creature.
I watch in awe as the corruption drains away. The dragon's black scales turn gray, then silver. Its red eyes fade to gold. The rot and disease that twisted it into a monster... disappears.
The dragon collapses to the ground, breathing hard but no longer corrupted. No longer dangerous.
Mira sways on her feet. The golden light fades. She looks exhausted, like she just ran for miles.
"Did I..." she starts to say, then her eyes roll back.
I catch her before she hits the ground. She's light as air in my arms, unconscious but breathing. Her heartbeat is strong against my chest.
The clearing is silent. Every beast—wolf, bear, eagle, serpent, even the lizard-fighters we were battling earlier—stares at what just happened.
Then Elder Torak speaks in a shaking voice. "She didn't kill it. She HEALED it. Purified the corruption completely."
Zephyr lands beside me, his golden wings folding. "No Lifebringer has ever had that much power. The last one could barely heal a flesh wound."
"She's not just any Lifebringer," Draeven says from the shadows. His purple snake eyes are fixed on Mira with unsettling intensity. "She's something more."
I pull her closer to my chest, suddenly very aware that every male here is looking at her with the same thought: claim her, keep her, BREED her.
My lips pull back in a snarl. "Back away. All of you."
"Kael—" Zephyr starts.
"I said BACK AWAY!" My alpha command rolls through the clearing. Most of the beasts flinch and retreat. But Zephyr and Draeven hold their ground.
"We're not your enemies," Zephyr says carefully. "We want to protect her too."
"No. You want to own her. There's a difference."
Draeven laughs, cold and sharp. "And you don't? I can smell your claim instinct from here, wolf. Don't pretend this is about protection."
He's right, damn him. My wolf is screaming MINE MINE MINE with every breath. But I remember what Mira said earlier: her male killed her rather than let her leave. She's terrified of being owned.
I won't be like him. I WON'T.
"She needs medical attention," I say, forcing my voice to stay calm. "Food. Rest. Safety. That's all I'm offering."
"In your den," Zephyr points out. "Under your control."
"She can leave whenever she wants."
"Will you let her?" Draeven challenges.
That's the question, isn't it? Could I watch her walk away? Let her go to another male, another tribe?
Before I can answer, Mira stirs in my arms. Her eyes flutter open. She looks up at me, disoriented.
"The dragon?" she whispers.
"You saved it," I tell her. "And terrified everyone in the process."
She manages a weak smile. "Good. Maybe they'll leave me alone now."
"Unlikely."
Her smile fades. She studies my face, like she's trying to figure me out. "You're going to lock me up, aren't you? Keep me in a cage for my own protection?"
The words sting because they're exactly what I was planning. "Would you rather I let you wander alone? There are hundreds of unmated males who would kill to possess you."
"There's always a cage," she says bitterly. "Just different bars."
Before I can respond, the ground trembles. Not from dragon or beast. From something worse.
The purified dragon lifts its head and speaks in a rumbling voice that shakes the air: "The Dark Ones are coming. They sensed the Lifebringer's power. Run, small healer. Run far and fast. They will not stop until they consume you."
Then the dragon spreads its silver wings and flies away, leaving us in shocked silence.
"Dark Ones?" Mira asks in a small voice.
Elder Torak's face has gone pale. "The ancient enemy. The source of the corruption curse. They've been sleeping for centuries, but if they're waking now..."
He doesn't finish. He doesn't have to.
I look down at the female in my arms—this impossible, powerful, terrified girl who just changed everything—and realize the truth.
Keeping her safe isn't just about protecting one female anymore.
It's about saving the entire world.
And something tells me she's not going to make it easy.