Iris POV
Shadowpaw territory is nothing like Silvercrest.
Where my old pack lives in comfortable wooden lodges near the river, Shadowpaw makes their home in caves carved into the mountainside. Dark stone tunnels wind deeper and deeper underground, lit by torches that cast dancing shadows on the walls.
Pack members stop and stare as we pass. I hear the whispers—some curious, some pitying, some openly skeptical.
That's the alpha's mate?
She's so small.
Give her a week. She'll run like Elena did.
The name makes Kael's shoulders tense, but he doesn't respond. He's walking ahead of me, Rowan at his side, while I follow with two other warriors flanking me like guards.
Or maybe like they're ready to catch me when I inevitably bolt.
We descend deeper into the mountain until the air grows cooler and the torchlight dims. Finally, Rowan stops in front of a massive door reinforced with silver bars.
Alpha, he says quietly. You should rest. Let me take Iris to=
She stays with me. Kael's voice leaves no room for argument.
Rowan exchanges a look with the other warriors that I can't quite read. Then he sighs and opens the door.
The chamber beyond is larger than I expected, roughly carved from stone with a sleeping area in one corner, a small fire pit, and books scattered everywhere. It might have been comfortable once.
Now it's a prison.
Silver chains are bolted to the far wall, thick and heavy, with cuffs that still show bloodstains. The air smells like pain and burned flesh.
My stomach turns.
This is where you stay? I ask.
Kael moves to the chains without looking at me. During episodes, I need to be restrained. Silver is the only thing strong enough to hold me. He sits heavily, exhaustion finally catching up with him. The pack can't risk me getting loose and hurting someone.
How often do you have episodes?
Once a day. Sometimes twice. He holds out his wrists, and Rowan moves forward with a key. They're getting worse. Closer together. Soon it'll be constant, and then... He doesn't finish.
Then he'll be gone. The curse will win. And the man I'm looking at right now will cease to exist.
Lock them, Kael orders Rowan. The silver cuffs click shut around his wrists, and I see him flinch as they burn his skin.
Alpha, maybe we should
I said lock them! Kael's eyes flash gold. I can already feel another episode coming. Get Iris out of here. Now.
I'm not leaving, I say firmly.
Three pairs of eyes turn to me.
Excuse me? Rowan asks.
I'm staying. With my mate. I move further into the chamber. Kael said the episodes are getting worse because of the bond, right? Because he has something to fight for now?
Kael's jaw clenches. That's exactly why you need to leave
No. That's exactly why I need to stay. I face him, trying to look braver than I feel. If my presence makes the curse fight harder, maybe my presence can also help you fight back.
That's not how curses work
You don't know that. Nobody knows anything about this curse except that witch who cast it. I cross my arms. What happened earlier, when I touched you? The curse stopped. You said so yourself.
Kael's expression darkens. For thirty seconds. Then it came back worse.
But it stopped. That means something.
It means you're dangerous to me, he says harshly. Every time you're near, every time I feel hope that maybe things could be different, the curse feeds on it. It gets stronger. You're killing me faster just by existing in my space.
The words hit like a slap, but through the bond, I feel his real emotions. He's lying. Pushing me away on purpose.
Liar, I say softly.
His eyes widen. What?
You're lying. I can feel it through the bond. I take a step closer. You're not afraid of dying faster. You're afraid of me seeing you during an episode. You're afraid I'll look at you the way Elena did and run.
The silence that follows is deafening.
Rowan clears his throat. I'll just... give you two some privacy. He backs toward the door, the other warriors following. Iris, if you need anything, I'll be right outside.
The door closes, leaving us alone.
Kael won't meet my eyes. His hands are clenched into fists inside the silver cuffs, and I can see smoke rising from where the metal burns his skin.
Who was she? I ask quietly. Elena?
It doesn't matter
It matters to you. I move closer, sitting on the stone floor just outside his reach. Tell me.
For a long moment, I think he won't answer. Then his shoulders slump, and the fight drains out of him.
My fated mate, he says finally. Before the curse. We were planning our bonding ceremony when... He trails off. When I got cursed, she took one look at me and fled. Rejected the bond immediately. Couldn't stand to be mated to a monster.
Pain lances through my chest—his pain, bleeding through our connection.
She was a fool, I say fiercely.
His bitter laugh echoes off the stone walls. Was she? Look at me, Iris. Really look.
I do. I see the dark fur covering his arms and chest. The claws that could tear through steel. The face that's caught between human and wolf, neither one nor the other. The golden eyes that glow with barely controlled wildness.
And underneath all of it, I see him. Kael. The man who saved me three times tonight. Who's fighting a curse with everything he has. Who's terrified of being abandoned again.
I'm looking, I say. I see someone who's been hurt. Someone who's fighting. Someone who deserves better than what happened to him.
His eyes finally meet mine, and I see raw vulnerability there. Why aren't you afraid of me?
I am afraid, I admit. I'm terrified. But not of you. I'm afraid of losing you before I get the chance to know you.
Something shifts in his expression—hope warring with disbelief. You've known me for less than an hour.
And in that hour, you've shown me more protection and care than my own family did in twenty-two years. My voice cracks. So yes, I'm staying. Get used to it.
Kael stares at me for so long I start to think I've said the wrong thing. Then, slowly, he extends his chained hand toward me again.
You're the most stubborn, reckless, impossible woman I've ever met, he says.
Thank you. I take his hand, and again that silver light flares through our bond. Gentler this time, but still powerful.
That wasn't a compliment.
I'm choosing to take it as one.
Despite everything, his lips twitch. It's barely there, but it's real. I don't know what the Moon Goddess was thinking, pairing us.
Maybe she knew exactly what she was doing.
We sit like that, hands connected, the bond humming between us. And for the first time since the curse took hold, Kael feels something other than pain.
He feels hope.
The door opens, and an elderly woman enters carrying a medical bag. Her hair is silver, her face lined with age and wisdom, and her eyes are sharp as they take in our joined hands.
Well, she says dryly. This is unexpected.
Kael straightens. Sera. I didn't call for you.
Rowan did. Said the alpha's new mate needed to be checked for injuries. She moves toward me with surprising speed. Let me see your hands, child.
I reluctantly release Kael's hand and hold mine out. The scrapes from my fall earlier are minor, but Sera tsks over them anyway.
You're the healer? I ask.
For sixty years. She dabs salve on my palms with gentle efficiency. I've been with this pack since before the alpha was born. Delivered him myself, actually.
Sera, Kael warns.
She ignores him. I've also been researching curse-breaking methods since the day this one got himself hexed. Her eyes meet mine. And I may have found something.
My heart leaps. A cure?
Potentially. Sera finishes bandaging my hands and sits back. It's called the Moonfire Ritual. Ancient magic, very powerful. It allows a mate to channel the Moon Goddess's power directly through their bond to burn away any curse.
Then we do it! I turn to Kael. We can break
There's a price, Sera interrupts quietly. There's always a price with magic this powerful.
The hope in my chest crystallizes into dread. What price?
Sera's expression is grave. The mate performing the ritual must give up their wolf. Permanently. You would become fully human, no shifting, no pack bonds, no connection to the Moon Goddess. For an alpha, the loss would be devastating. For an omega...
I'd lose everything that makes me pack, I finish softly.
Yes. You'd age as humans do. Die young compared to shifters. You'd be vulnerable to any predator, any rival, any
But he'd live? I interrupt. Kael would be cured? Completely?
Sera nods. The curse would be burned away entirely. He'd be free.
I look at Kael. He's gone completely still, his eyes locked on me with an intensity that steals my breath.
No, he says flatly. Absolutely not.
Kael
I won't let you destroy yourself to save me! His voice rises, echoing off the stone. Your wolf is already weak. Losing it completely would make you defenseless. Mortal. I'd watch you grow old and die while I He can't finish.
While you live a full life, I say quietly. While you lead your pack. While you get the future you deserve.
Not at that cost. His eyes are blazing now. Iris, listen to me. I'm dying anyway. The curse will take me in thirty days—maybe less. But you? You could have a life. A real life. Find a pack that values you. Maybe even find a mate who isn't broken—
I have a mate, I interrupt. You. The Moon Goddess chose us.
Then she made a mistake!
The words hang in the air between us, sharp and painful.
Sera stands. I can see you two need to discuss this privately. Iris, think carefully about what you're willing to sacrifice. This isn't a decision to make lightly. She moves toward the door, then pauses. But for what it's worth? I've watched this alpha suffer for five years. He's given up hope. Given up fighting. Until tonight. Until you.
She leaves, and the silence feels suffocating.
Iris, Kael says quietly. Promise me you won't do the ritual.
I can't promise that.
Promise me!
No! I push to my feet, ignoring the pain in my injured knee. You don't get to decide what I sacrifice. That's my choice, not yours.
You barely know me
I know enough. I know you're worth saving. I know you're a good man trapped in a nightmare. And I know that for the first time in my life, I have the power to actually help someone. My voice breaks. Don't take that away from me.
Kael stares at me, and through the bond, I feel his emotions warring—love and fury and desperate fear all tangled together.
You're going to break my heart, he whispers.
Then we'll break each other's, I reply. But we'll do it together.
Before either of us can say more, an alarm blares through the cave system. Wolves start howling, not in celebration, but in warning.
Rowan crashes through the door. Alpha! The witch! Morganna's at our borders with an army of enchanted rogues. She's demanding we hand over Iris, or she'll kill everyone!
Through the bond, I feel Kael's fury ignite.
Over my dead body, he snarls.