The Whispering Creek was no longer whispering. The heavy rains had turned the border into a rushing torrent of grey water, mirroring the storm brewing on its banks.
Kaelen led the way, his presence a dark anchor against the gale. Behind us marched a dozen Obsidian warriors, their silence far more intimidating than the rowdy boasts of the Silvermoon pack. As we reached the clearing, the scent of pine and expensive cologne hit me,Jace.
He was standing on the opposite bank, flanked by his father, Alpha Marcus, and a line of Silvermoon Enforcers. When Jace's eyes found me, they didn't hold regret. They held a twisted kind of possessiveness, the look of a man who had thrown a toy in the trash and was now angry that someone else had picked it up.
"Kaelen!" Alpha Marcus shouted over the roar of the water. "You are harboring a fugitive. By the laws of the Great Council, Elara Vance is still technically under Silvermoon jurisdiction until she clears the border zones. Hand her over, and we can forget this provocation."
Kaelen didn't stop until he was standing at the very edge of the mud. He didn't look at Marcus; he looked at Jace. "She isn't a fugitive. She's a guest. And according to the scent on the wind, she was rejected in a public ritual. That makes her Packless, Marcus. She belongs to no one."
Jace stepped forward, his face flushed. "She's mine to dispose of, Kaelen! The rejection wasn't finalized in the scrolls. She's still Silvermoon property."
The word *property* stung worse than the cold rain.
Kaelen leaned back, a low, mocking chuckle vibrating in his chest. "Property? You stood in a circle and told the Moon Mother she was 'rot.' You broke the bond. You can't un-shatter a mirror just because you realized you need to see your own reflection."
"Elara!" Jace yelled, ignoring Kaelen. "Stop this nonsense. Come back across the bridge. You're an Omega,you won't last two days in the Obsidian pits. They'll eat you alive. If you come back now, I'll... I'll make sure you have a place in the servant's quarters. I'll protect you from the exile."
I felt Kaelen's heat behind me. He didn't command me to stay. He didn't hold me back. He simply waited, his golden eyes watching me with a terrifying neutrality. He was giving me the choice.
I stepped past Kaelen, walking until my boots were inches from the rushing water. I looked at Jace,the boy I had loved, the man who had crushed my heart into the mud,and I didn't see a hero anymore. I saw a coward hiding behind his father's title.
"A place in the servant's quarters, Jace?" my voice was quiet, but in the sudden lull of the wind, it carried. "You want me to come back so I can watch you mate with Selene? So I can scrub the floors of the house that was supposed to be mine?"
"It's for your own good!" Jace argued, his desperation showing. "You're weak, Elara. You need a pack."
"I have a pack," I said.
I reached back and took Kaelen's hand. The moment our skin touched, the Blood-Bond flared. It wasn't just a hum this time; it was a roar. I let the power flow through me, not hiding it, not dampening it.
On the other side of the river, the Silvermoon wolves recoiled. Their horses,the ones the Enforcers rode,reared back, sensing a predator far higher on the food chain than a standard Alpha.
"Look at her eyes," one of the Silvermoon warriors whispered in terror.
My silver-grey eyes were no longer dull; they were glowing with a fierce, pearlescent light. The rain around me seemed to slow, the droplets suspended in the air by the sheer pressure of the Oracle's awakening blood.
"The bond you broke was a gift you didn't deserve," I told Jace. "Kaelen didn't find a stray. He found what you were too blind to see."
Kaelen stepped up behind me, his massive hands resting on my shoulders in a clear, undeniable claim. He looked at Jace with the pity a wolf might show a limping rabbit.
"The parley is over," Kaelen growled. "If a single Silvermoon claw touches Obsidian soil, I won't just kill the intruder. I will march on your village and burn the Silvermoon banners until there is nothing left but ash."
"You would start a war for an Omega?" Alpha Marcus roared, his face purpling.
"No," Kaelen said, leaning down to press a lingering, possessive kiss to the side of my neck, right over the spot where the Blood-Bond pulse was strongest. "I would start a war for my Queen. Now get off my land before I forget I'm a King and start acting like the Savage you call me."
Jace looked like he wanted to shift and lunge across the water, but the sight of the Obsidian warriors drawing their black-steel blades stopped him. He watched, helpless and fuming, as Kaelen turned me around and led me back into the safety of the dark pines.
As we walked away, the adrenaline began to fade, leaving me shaking. Kaelen kept his arm around me, pulling me into his side.
"You did well, little wolf," he murmured.
"He won't stop," I whispered. "Jace is arrogant. He thinks he's been robbed."
"Let him think it," Kaelen said, his eyes darkening as we approached the fortress. "But he's the least of our worries. Look."
He pointed to the gates of the Obsidian stronghold. One of the guards,the man who had been standing tall only hours ago,was slumped against the stone. His skin was turning a translucent grey, and a black, vein-like rot was climbing up his throat.
The sickness. The Rot.
The power I had felt at the river suddenly felt heavy. Kaelen looked at me, the mask of the Savage King slipping to reveal a desperate leader.
"The parley was a distraction, Elara. The curse is accelerating. If you truly are the Oracle, you need to do more than just stand up to your ex-mate."
He gripped my hand, his thumb pressing into the wound he had made. "You need to save my people. Or we'll all be ghosts before Jace ever gets the chance to fight us."
The transition from the heartbreak of my past to the life-and-death stakes of my future was complete. I wasn't just a rejected mate anymore. I was a lifeline.
"Take me to him," I said, looking at the dying guard. "Take me to the Chamber of Tides."