Kael's POV
I'm going to rip Finn's throat out.
My youngest warrior has his hand on Maya's shoulder, grinning like an idiot while she heals the gash across his chest. She's laughing at something he said—actually laughing, her purple eyes bright with amusement.
She never laughs with me.
My wolf howls inside my mind, demanding I drag her away from him. From all of them. The warriors surround her like moths to flame, each waiting their turn to be touched by her glowing hands.
To be touched by MY mate.
"Alpha?" Drake's voice cuts through my fury. "You're shifting. Your claws are out."
I look down. He's right. My hands are halfway between human and wolf, black claws extending from my fingertips. The mate mark on my neck burns like fire.
"She's supposed to be healing warriors," I growl. "Not entertaining them."
"She's doing both." Drake crosses his arms. Since Maya broke his curse an hour ago, he's been different. Confident. Strong. "The clan respects her now. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
No. Yes. I don't know what I want anymore.
Luca is dead. My cousin's dust is still scattered across the battlefield. Torin murdered him with a snap of his fingers, and I couldn't do anything to stop it.
And now Maya—the one person who might be powerful enough to fight Torin—is surrounded by males who look at her like she's the answer to all their prayers.
Finn leans closer, whispering something that makes her smile.
That's it.
I storm across the clearing, shoving warriors aside. "Get away from her. Now."
The laughter dies. Maya's smile vanishes as she looks up at me. "Excuse me?"
"I said get away from my mate." I bare my teeth at Finn, who scrambles backward. "All of you. She needs rest, not your attention."
"I'm healing people, Kael." Maya's voice is cold. "You know, doing the thing your precious system demands?"
"You've done enough." I grab her wrist, trying to pull her to her feet.
Golden light explodes from her hand. The healing magic burns against my palm—not enough to injure, but enough to hurt. I release her with a hiss.
"Don't. Touch. Me." Each word is sharp as a blade. "I'm not yours, Kael. This mark doesn't make me your property."
The warriors go silent. Nobody challenges an Alpha like this. Nobody.
My wolf rages, wanting to assert dominance, to make her submit. But through the mate bond, I feel her emotions—exhaustion, grief, and white-hot fury that matches my own.
She's mourning Luca too. She barely knew him, but she feels my pain through the bond.
And I just treated her like breeding stock in front of the whole clan.
"Maya—" I start, but she cuts me off.
"No. You don't get to do this." She stands, facing me without fear. "You murdered the woman whose body I'm trapped in because she refused to be owned. Now you're acting exactly like the monster who killed her."
The words hit like a physical blow.
She's right.
I'm becoming my father. The male who controlled my mother so tightly she couldn't breathe. Who killed anyone who looked at her wrong. Who taught me that love means possession.
"I'm sorry," I force out. The words taste foreign on my tongue. Alphas don't apologize. "You're right. I was wrong."
Her eyes widen in shock. So do the warriors'. Apparently nobody expected me to back down.
"Finn," I say to the young warrior, "continue your healing session. Maya, I'll... I'll wait until you're finished."
I turn to leave, my pride in shreds.
"Kael, wait." Maya's voice stops me. "There's something you need to see."
She gestures to Drake, who steps forward and removes his shirt. His back is covered in scars—decades of abuse from the curse that weakened him in every fight.
"Torin cursed him twenty years ago," Maya says quietly. "Made him weak on purpose. How many others in your clan has Torin cursed without you knowing?"
Ice floods my veins. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying Torin has been manipulating Frostclaw for decades. Maybe longer." She meets my eyes. "Luca died because Torin wanted to hurt you. To break you before his final move tonight."
"What final move?"
"The system warned me. Torin's coming for me tonight with an impossible choice." Her hands shake slightly. "Either I become his prisoner forever, or everyone I've healed today dies. Including your entire clan."
No. Absolutely not.
"Then we fight him," I snarl. "We gather every warrior—"
"He killed Luca with a snap of his fingers!" Maya's voice breaks. "He has centuries of power. My healing magic, but stronger. How do we fight that?"
I have no answer. For the first time in my life as Alpha, I don't know how to protect my people.
Drake speaks up. "There might be a way. When I was cursed, Torin said something strange. He said only 'true sacrifice' could break his magic."
"What does that mean?" I demand.
"I don't know. But Maya broke my curse, which means she did something Torin didn't expect." Drake looks at her with something close to worship. "Maybe she can do it again."
A commotion erupts at the edge of camp. Warriors rush forward, carrying someone between them.
My blood freezes when I see who it is.
Vera.
But Vera's dead. We found her body torn apart in the forest.
Except this Vera is alive, conscious, and screaming.
"Help me! Please, somebody help me!"
The warriors dump her at my feet. She's covered in wounds, her clothes shredded, but very much breathing.
"That's impossible," I breathe. "We found your body. You were dead."
"That wasn't me!" Vera sobs. "It was my sister, Vixen! We're twins—you know this! Someone killed her and left her body to frame you!"
My world tilts.
Vera has a twin sister. I forgot—Vixen left the clan years ago after a mating dispute. But if Vixen was the one murdered...
"Who killed her?" I grab Vera's shoulders. "Who's setting me up?"
"I don't know! I came back to warn you, and I found Vixen's body. Then something attacked me in the forest. Something that smelled like..." She trails off, her eyes widening as she looks past me.
At Maya.
"It smelled like her. Like healing magic mixed with death."
The warriors shift uneasily, looking at Maya with suspicion.
"That's a lie," I snarl. "Maya was with me all night—"
"Was she?" Vera's voice turns sly. "Or did she slip out while you slept? How do you know, Alpha? You were unconscious during her system purge."
I look at Maya. Through the bond, I feel her shock and confusion. She's as blindsided as I am.
But doubt creeps in. Could she have left while I was sleeping? The system gives her quests. What if one of them required violence?
No. I refuse to believe it.
"Maya's innocent," I declare. "Torin is behind this. He's framing her just like he framed me."
"Then prove it," Vera challenges. "Let the council question her properly. Unless you're afraid of what they'll find?"
Before I can respond, Maya gasps. Her eyes go pure white—the system taking control again.
"WARNING: TORIN HAS ACCELERATED HIS TIMELINE," the voices boom through her. "THE CHOICE COMES NOW. MAYA BENNETT MUST DECIDE IN THE NEXT SIXTY SECONDS."
"Decide what?" I roar. "What choice?"
Maya's body lifts off the ground, floating in midair as golden light surrounds her. The system speaks through her lips:
"OPTION ONE: SURRENDER TO TORIN WILLINGLY. BECOME HIS VESSEL. YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS WILL BE ERASED, BUT YOUR LOVED ONES WILL LIVE."
No. Absolutely not.
"OPTION TWO: REFUSE TORIN. HE WILL KILL EVERYONE IN FROSTCLAW CLAN AS PUNISHMENT. YOU WILL WATCH THEM DIE, THEN BE TAKEN ANYWAY."
The warriors around us start panicking. These are both death sentences.
"OPTION THREE: ACCEPT THE SECOND MATE BOND IMMEDIATELY. THE COMBINED POWER OF TWO BONDED MALES MAY BE ENOUGH TO SHIELD THE CLAN FROM TORIN'S ATTACK—BUT ONLY IF THE BOND IS COMPLETED WITHIN SIXTY SECONDS."
"What second mate?" I demand. "Who?"
Maya's eyes clear for just a moment. She looks directly at me, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm so sorry, Kael. I should have told you."
A figure steps out of the forest shadows. Tall, built like a warrior, with copper skin that seems to glow in the moonlight.
The newcomer's eyes lock onto Maya with unmistakable recognition.
"Hello, little healer," he says softly. "I've been looking for you."
The mate mark appears on his neck—glowing golden, identical to the one connecting Maya to me.
"FORTY-FIVE SECONDS TO DECIDE," the system announces.
And I realize with horror that Maya's second fated mate just arrived.
The male who can save everyone.
If she bonds with him right now, in front of me, while our mate bond is barely formed.
If she chooses him over me.