POV: Kael
I can hear her breathing down the hall.
The mate bond lets me feel everything her confusion, her fear, her racing heartbeat. It's been screaming at me since the moment I caught her at the funeral. Four years of keeping it locked down, and now it's roaring like a caged animal finally set free.
I stare at my bedroom ceiling, knowing sleep won't come. It never does anymore.
Seraphina is thirty feet away. In my house. Sleeping in my guest room.
My mate.
My brother's widow.
The woman I've loved in silence for four years, and now pack law says I have to claim her or watch her die.
This is hell.
I give up on sleep at dawn and head to my office. Coffee. Work. Anything to stop thinking about her.
My phone rings before I finish my first cup. Finn, my Beta.
Council meeting in one hour, he says without greeting. They want you there. It's about the Luna situation.
Of course it is. I'll be there.
Kael, Finn's voice drops lower. Are you okay?
He's the only one who knows about the bond. The only person I told when Marcus brought Seraphina home and my entire world tilted sideways.
No, I admit. But I will be.
The Council chamber feels like a courtroom. Six Elders sit behind a long table Damien in the center, Teresa and Roland flanking him, three others whose names I barely remember.
They're here to judge whether I'll do my duty. Whether I'll mate my dead brother's wife like a good little soldier.
War Chief Silvercrest, Damien begins. His voice is oil-smooth. Thank you for coming.
I don't sit. Don't give them the satisfaction. What do you want?
Straight to business. I appreciate that. Damien folds his hands. As you know, Alpha Marcus died without producing an heir. Pack law is clear
I know the law, I cut him off. Seventy-two hours. Mate the Luna or she's exiled. You already told her last night.
Teresa's eyes narrow. Then you understand your duty.
My duty. I taste the word like poison. You mean forcing a grieving woman into a mating bond three days after her husband died?
We're not forcing anything, Damien says smoothly. She has a choice. Accept the bond or leave pack territory.
That's not a choice. That's a death sentence.
The law exists for a reason, Roland says quietly. To maintain pack stability. To ensure strong leadership. Silvercrest cannot appear weak right now.
I want to flip this table. Want to tell them all to go to hell. But I'm War Chief. I enforce pack law, even when it's brutal.
Even when it's ripping me apart.
What if I refuse? I ask.
Damien's smile doesn't reach his eyes. Then you both face exile. The pack needs an Alpha and Luna who will lead together. If you're not willing to fulfil that role, we'll find someone who is.
Threat received. They'd replace me. Install someone more obedient.
The seventy-two hours began last night at sunset, Teresa adds. You have until sunset in two days. We expect the mating ceremony to be public, to prove the legitimacy of the bond.
Public. Of course. Turn our private nightmare into a spectacle.
And if Seraphina refuses? I ask.
Then she leaves at sunset in two days, Damien says. No exceptions. No extensions.
I leave the Council chamber before I do something I'll regret. Like showing them exactly why I'm called the War Chief.
Finn catches up with me in the hallway. That bad?
Worse. I keep walking. They want a public ceremony. Want to parade us in front of the pack like we're some fairy tale.
What are you going to do?
Give her the truth. Let her choose.
Finn grabs my arm, stopping me. Kael. You've been in love with her for four years. If she says no
Then I help her escape before they exile her. The words hurt to say. She deserves better than being forced into this.
Even if it means losing your mate?
I lost her the day Marcus brought her home. I pull free. This doesn't change anything.
I find Seraphina in the small garden behind my wing. She's sitting on a bench, staring at nothing. Her hair catches the morning light, and the bond pulls so hard I have to force myself to stay back.
Seraphina.
She jumps, turning. Her violet eyes are red from crying. It guts me.
Did they tell you? I ask. About the timeline?
She nods. Seventy-two hours. Mate you or die.
Hearing her say it makes it real. Makes it worse.
I won't force you, I say. The words feel like swallowing glass. If you want to refuse, I have contacts in other territories. I can get you out before the deadline.
She stares at me. Why would you do that?
Because you deserve a choice. Your whole life just fell apart. I won't be another person taking your power away.
Seraphina stands, moving closer. At the funeral. When you looked at me She pauses, searching my face. I felt something. Like my chest was burning. Like I couldn't breathe. Like I was being pulled toward you.
My heart stops. She felt it. After four years of nothing, she finally felt it.
You felt it too, she whispers. Didn't you?
This is the moment. The truth or another lie.
Yes, I admit. I felt it.
What is it? What does it mean?
I take a breath. It's called a mate bond. The Moon Goddess connects two wolves at the soul level. It's supposed to happen once in a lifetime. Instant. Undeniable.
Her face goes pale. But I was married to Marcus for four years. I never felt this with him.
Because he wasn't your mate. The words taste bitter. I was.
What?
The day Marcus brought you home, I felt the bond snap into place. I force myself to hold her gaze. You were human-raised. You didn't feel it yet. And Marcus was already in love with you.
Four years, she breathes. You've felt this for four years?
Yes.
Why didn't you say anything?
Because you looked happy, I say quietly. Because Marcus was my brother and he loved you. Because I thought watching you be happy with someone else was better than destroying what you had.
Tears stream down her face. I wasn't happy. I was trying to be. But something always felt wrong. Missing.
That was the bond, I tell her. Dormant. Waiting.
And now?
Now it's awake. And it won't go back to sleep.
She wraps her arms around herself. Last night, my mother's letter started glowing. It said I'm Moonborn. That people will kill to possess my gift. Do you know what that means?
Ice floods my veins. Moonborn. That's why her eyes are violet. Why her wolf is pure white.
Why someone might have killed Marcus to get to her.
It means you're in more danger than I thought, I say. Moonborn Lunas were hunted to extinction. If someone knows what you are
A scream cuts through the morning air.
We both run toward the sound. Pack members are gathering near the main house, pointing and shouting.
When I push through the crowd, my blood turns to ice.
Marcus's office now mine as acting Alpha has been broken into. Papers everywhere. Files destroyed.
And on the desk, written in what looks like blood:
THE MOONBORN DIES IN 72 HOURS
Seraphina gasps behind me. I turn to shield her from the sight, but it's too late. She's seen it.
Someone knows, she whispers. Someone knows what I am.
And they just declared war.
The same timeline as the mating deadline. That can't be a coincidence.