Kael POV
Pain woke me before dawn.
Not just my shoulder—though that throbbed like someone was driving hot knives through the muscle. This was different. Deeper. The infection Zara had fought back was returning, spreading through my blood like poison.
I was dying. Slowly. And I had less than two weeks before Mordak came to claim Maya.
No. I won't let that happen. I can't.
I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. The world spun sideways. Nausea rolled through my stomach.
"Don't move, you stubborn idiot."
Maya's voice cut through the haze. I forced my eyes to focus and found her kneeling beside me, pressing a cool cloth to my forehead. Dark circles shadowed her eyes—she hadn't slept.
"How long?" I managed to ask.
"Since Mordak left? Six hours." She wrung out the cloth and pressed it to my burning skin again. "Your fever spiked an hour ago. Zara's worried the infection is resistant to her medicines."
Six hours gone already. Out of three hundred thirty-six. The math was brutal.
"Maya." I caught her wrist, ignoring the pain the movement cost. "If I die—"
"You're not dying."
"Listen to me." I tightened my grip. "If I don't make it, you run. Don't honor that deal with Mordak. Just take whatever supplies you can carry and run east to the Green Valley Tribe. Tell them—"
"Stop." Her voice shook with fury, not fear. "Stop planning for your death. I didn't bet everything on you just to watch you give up."
"I'm not giving up. I'm being realistic—"
"Realistic?" She yanked her hand free. "You want realistic? Fine. You're right. The infection is spreading. Your body is shutting down. In three days, maybe four, you'll be too weak to even stand. And in two weeks when Mordak returns, he'll take me without a fight because you'll be dead."
Each word hit like a physical blow. Not because they were cruel, but because they were true.
"But here's what else is realistic," Maya continued, her honey eyes blazing. "I'm a trained engineer. I solve impossible structural problems for a living. And keeping you alive? That's just another problem to solve."
Despite everything, I felt my lips twitch toward a smile. "How?"
"First, we figure out why Zara's medicine isn't working." Maya stood and walked to where the healer was grinding herbs. "Zara, what exactly are you using to fight the infection?"
Zara listed several plants I didn't recognize. Maya listened carefully, her face intent.
"Those are all antibacterial," Maya said. "But what if it's not just bacteria? What if the razorback's claws carried something else? A fungal infection or a toxin?"
Zara's eyes widened. "I didn't consider that. We don't see many razorback wounds—most males die from them."
"So we need antifungal treatment too. What plants have those properties in this world?"
They fell into rapid discussion, speaking a language I barely understood. Medical terms mixed with botanical names. Maya's engineer mind was dissecting the problem like she would a faulty building design—identifying weak points, testing solutions, calculating odds.
I watched her work and felt something shift in my chest. Not the fate-bond, though that hummed constantly between us now. Something deeper. Admiration. Respect. The growing certainty that this small human female was the strongest person I'd ever met.
"Found it!" Zara held up a purple root. "Nightshade fungus. It's toxic in large doses, but in tiny amounts it kills internal parasites and fungal infections. I never thought to use it because the dosage has to be perfect."
"Then we make it perfect." Maya took the root and a stone mortar. "Walk me through the measurements."
For the next two hours, they worked. Maya's hands were steady despite her exhaustion, her focus absolute. She measured, mixed, tested on small samples of my blood that Zara collected.
Finally, she held up a cup of dark liquid. "This should work. But Kael, it's going to hurt. A lot. The medicine has to burn out the infection from the inside."
"Do it," I said without hesitation.
She helped me sit up, supporting my weight even though I could feel her broken ankle causing her pain. Then she held the cup to my lips.
I drank.
Fire exploded through my veins immediately. Not the fever heat—this was different, sharper, like liquid lightning racing through my body. I bit back a scream, my claws extending involuntarily, shredding the blankets beneath me.
Maya held my face between her hands, forcing me to look at her. "Breathe through it. Just breathe. I'm right here."
Her voice anchored me as the pain crested, peaked, then slowly began to fade. The burning settled into a steady warmth that actually felt... good. Cleansing.
"It's working," Zara breathed, checking my shoulder wound. "Look—the inflammation is already decreasing."
Over the next hour, my fever broke. The pain in my shoulder dulled to a manageable ache. I could feel my body starting to heal properly for the first time since the razorback attack.
"You saved my life," I told Maya. "Again."
"We're even now." She smiled, exhausted but triumphant. "You saved me from the Bloodfang. I saved you from infection. That's how partnerships work."
"Partnership." I tested the word. "Is that what we are?"
"I don't know what we are yet." She settled beside me, finally allowing herself to rest. "But we're figuring it out together. That's enough for now."
I wanted to say more. Wanted to tell her that she was more than enough, that she'd become essential to me in ways I didn't fully understand. But exhaustion was pulling at me—the good kind, the healing kind.
"Sleep," Maya ordered softly. "I'll keep watch."
"Your ankle—"
"Will heal. Just like you will. Now shut up and rest."
I obeyed, drifting into the first peaceful sleep I'd had since the razorback attack.
When I woke, the sun was high overhead. Maya sat at the cave entrance, sketching something in the dirt with intense concentration. The four Bloodfang guards watched from their post, bored but vigilant.
I felt stronger. Not healed—that would take days still—but the infection had truly broken. My body was fighting back instead of shutting down.
"What are you drawing?" I asked.
Maya jumped, startled. "You're awake! How do you feel?"
"Better. Much better." I moved to sit beside her, pleased that the motion didn't make me dizzy. "Now answer my question."
She gestured to the dirt sketches. "Training plans. You need to regain your strength, but we can't wait for you to fully heal before starting combat preparation. So I'm designing a progressive exercise program that works around your injury."
I stared at the detailed diagrams—exercises I recognized from war training, modified for someone recovering from severe wounds. She'd thought of everything.
"How do you know combat training?" I asked.
"I don't. But I know physics, leverage, and efficient movement. Combat is just applied biomechanics." She pointed to one sketch. "See? This exercise builds shoulder stability without stressing the wound. And this one improves footwork while you're still weak."
My wolf stirred inside me, not with possessive hunger but with something softer. Pride. Wonder. She wasn't trying to change me or fix me. She was working with me, using her unique strengths to compensate for my weaknesses.
"You're remarkable," I said quietly.
Color rose in her cheeks. "I'm just doing what needs to be done."
"No. You're doing what no one else could do. Not just the medicine or the training plans. You see solutions where others see only problems. You build hope where others see only death." I caught her hand gently. "That's remarkable, Maya. You're remarkable."
She looked away, uncomfortable with the praise but not pulling away. "We still have thirteen days to go. Don't celebrate yet."
"I'm not celebrating. I'm acknowledging the truth."
Before she could respond, Finn came running into the valley, his fox ears flat against his head in distress.
"Kael! Maya! We have a problem!"
Dread coiled in my stomach. "What kind of problem?"
"Mordak's guards just received a message. The Bloodfang tribe is under attack from the Iron Claw Tribe—a major assault. Mordak is recalling all his warriors."
"So?" Maya asked. "That means the guards will leave, right?"
"Yes," Finn said. "But it also means Mordak sent new orders. He can't wait two weeks anymore. He's moving up the challenge."
My blood went cold. "When?"
"Five days." Finn's voice was grim. "You have five days to heal and prepare, not fourteen."
The remaining color drained from Maya's face. "That's not enough time. His shoulder needs at least eight days to—"
"I know." I forced myself to stand, testing my balance. Better than this morning but still weak. Nowhere near strong enough to fight Mordak and win.
We'd just lost more than half our time. Five days to accomplish what we'd planned for fourteen.
The math said it was impossible.
Maya stood beside me, staring at her training sketches like they were battle plans. Which, I suppose, they were.
"Five days," she said finally. "Then we work five times harder. Zara, can you accelerate his healing with your medicines?"
"I can try, but it's risky. Push too hard and the wound could reopen."
"Then we'll be careful but aggressive. Kael, how much can you move right now?"
I tested my shoulder, lifting my arm. Pain, but manageable. "Some. Not much."
"Some is enough to start." Maya's engineer brain was already calculating, adjusting, planning. "We begin training immediately. No rest days. No holding back. Every hour counts now."
One of the Bloodfang guards called out from his post. "The weak wolf will die trying! Save yourself the pain and just hand over the female!"
I looked at Maya. She looked back at me. Something passed between us through the fate-bond—not words, but understanding. Agreement.
We'd survived building collapses, sabertooth attacks, razorback wounds, and deadly infections.
Five days against impossible odds?
We'd faced worse.
"Let's get to work," I said.
Maya nodded, picked up a training staff, and handed it to me.
The countdown had begun.