Kael's POV
"You're under arrest for Vera's murder."
Luca's words hang in the air like poison. My cousin—my most trusted warrior—stands at my den entrance with five guards behind him. Their hands rest on their weapons.
"You can't be serious." My voice comes out deadly calm, but inside, my wolf is howling. "I've been here all night with Maya. I never left."
"Can she prove that?" Luca asks quietly. "Or will her word mean nothing because she's your mate and obviously protecting you?"
He's right. The clan won't believe Maya. They already think she's a dangerous witch who controls my mind.
Through the mate bond, I feel Maya's rage burning bright. She pushes past me, her purple eyes blazing. "He didn't kill Vera. Someone's framing him!"
"Step back, witch." One of the guards raises his spear. "This doesn't concern you."
Wrong move.
Maya's hands start glowing that terrifying golden light. "Call me witch again. I dare you."
"Enough!" I put myself between them. "Luca, you know me. Would I kill Vera like a coward in the forest? If I wanted her dead, I'd challenge her openly."
My cousin's face twists with pain. "I know. But the evidence—Kael, your fur was found at the scene. Fresh blood on it. The council is demanding your arrest until we sort this out."
My fur. Someone planted my fur at a murder scene.
The shoulder wound I got yesterday starts throbbing. I got it during a hunt when a wild boar gored me. The injury should have healed by now with my shifter abilities, but it's still bleeding through my shirt. Weakening me.
That's not normal.
"Your shoulder," Maya says suddenly, staring at the blood seeping through the fabric. "That wound is three days old, isn't it? From before I even woke up?"
"Two days," I correct. "Why?"
Her face goes pale. "Because shifter wounds heal in hours. Unless..." She grabs my arm, yanking me toward her. "Let me see it. Now."
"Maya, this isn't the time—"
"NOW!" She practically rips my shirt open, exposing the gash across my shoulder. It's ugly, red and festering. Black veins spread from the edges.
Luca curses. "That's poison. Kael, when did it get infected?"
"It's not infected." Maya's hands hover over the wound, glowing brighter. "It's cursed. Someone put dark magic in this injury to keep it bleeding. And I bet whoever did it collected his blood for the frame job."
My blood runs cold. During the hunt, Vera was there. She offered to clean my wound while I was in human form, said she had healing herbs. I let her because refusing would have been suspicious.
She poisoned my wound and collected my blood to frame me for her own murder.
But that means Vera knew she was going to die. She set this trap before someone killed her.
"We're running out of time," one of the guards says nervously. "The council wants him in holding NOW, or they'll send the whole warrior unit."
"He can't go anywhere with that curse," Maya snaps. "It's draining his strength. In an hour, he'll be too weak to defend himself if someone attacks him in that cell."
She's right. My legs already feel shaky. The blood loss is catching up to me.
"So fix it," Luca challenges. "Prove you're a healer and not just a weapon."
Maya looks at me, and through the bond, I feel her internal war. She hates me. Has every reason to let me rot in a cell. If I'm arrested, she might even be able to escape.
But saving me is a system quest. I saw it in her eyes when she read her interface earlier.
"Fine." She places both hands directly on my wound. "But you owe me. Big time."
Golden light explodes from her palms.
The pain hits first—like fire racing through my veins, burning away the infection. I grit my teeth to keep from screaming. My wolf thrashes inside me, not understanding why our mate is hurting us.
Then the warmth comes. Gentle, soothing, completely opposite to the violent power she used on the shadow beasts. This is pure healing, flowing from her hands into my body. The black veins fade. The wound closes, flesh knitting together like it was never torn.
In thirty seconds, it's gone. Not even a scar remains.
Maya staggers backward, breathing hard. "There. Happy now?"
Everyone in the den stares at her. At me. At my perfectly healed shoulder.
"Impossible," one guard whispers. "That injury was cursed with death magic. Nothing should break that except—"
"Except a Moon Bride," Luca finishes, his eyes wide. "The system really did choose her."
Maya smiles, but it's not friendly. It's the smile of a predator showing its teeth. "See? I can be useful... when I choose to be."
The emphasis on "choose" isn't lost on anyone. She just proved she could heal me anytime. Which means she could also choose NOT to heal me.
That kind of power is terrifying.
"You're still under arrest," Luca says to me, but he sounds less certain now. "The evidence—"
"Was planted by Vera before she died," Maya interrupts. "She poisoned Kael's wound, collected his blood and fur, then someone killed her and arranged it to frame him. This is a setup."
"Then who killed Vera?" a guard demands. "And why?"
Before anyone can answer, a howl splits the night. Then another. Then dozens.
My blood freezes. I know those howls.
"The Emberpeak clan," Luca breathes. "That's their war cry."
We rush outside. The three moons illuminate hundreds of beast-men pouring out of the forest. Fire beasts, their bodies wreathed in flames. At their center is someone I hoped never to see again.
Draven Emberclaw. The warlord Maya supposedly poisoned during negotiations.
"KAEL STORMFANG!" His voice booms across the clearing. "You sent your witch-mate to murder my warriors! Now you've killed the only female who could have testified against her crimes! I claim blood debt!"
My heart stops.
This is why Vera was killed. Someone needed to remove the witness who could prove Maya poisoned Emberpeak's warriors. Now Draven thinks we're covering up Maya's crimes by murdering Vera.
"It's a trap," Maya whispers beside me. "Someone orchestrated all of this. Vera's death, your framing, Draven's attack—it's all connected."
"But who?" I ask desperately. "Who could plan this?"
That's when I see him. Standing at the edge of Draven's army, half-hidden in shadows.
Elder Torin.
The mysterious guide who supposedly helps chosen females. His eyes meet mine, and he smiles.
Through the mate bond, Maya's terror crashes into me. "Kael," she gasps. "The system just gave me a warning. Elder Torin isn't who he claims to be. He's—"
Torin raises his hand. Golden light—the same color as Maya's healing magic—shoots from his palm.
But it doesn't heal.
It hits Luca square in the chest.
My cousin's eyes go wide. His mouth opens in a silent scream. Then his body starts turning to stone, spreading from the impact point outward.
"LUCA!" I lunge for him, but it's too late.
In five seconds, my cousin is a perfect stone statue, frozen in horror.
Maya screams. "He has my powers! He can heal and curse like me, but he's had centuries to master it!"
Torin steps forward, his smile widening. "Wrong, little Moon Bride. You have MY powers. Every healing ability you possess came from me." His form flickers, showing something ancient and monstrous underneath. "I am the system. And you are my forty-seventh sacrifice."
Draven's army charges.
Maya's hands ignite with golden light.
And Luca stands frozen in stone, maybe dead, maybe trapped forever.
The battle for my clan—for Maya's life—has begun.
And the real enemy has finally revealed himself.