KAI
Zara crashes through the temple door without knocking and I'm already on my feet before she speaks.
"Scouts at the eastern border." She's breathing hard. Ran here fast. "Silverpine Pack. Twenty wolves. Armed for war."
Twenty. That's not a tracking party. That's an assault team.
"How long until they reach us."
"Two hours if they come straight through. Four if they're cautious." Zara glances at Ivy standing behind me. "They're asking permission to search the territory. Very polite. Very official."
Which means they know she's here. Derek must have reported back the second he left.
I should have killed him when I had the chance.
My wolf snarls agreement. Wants to rip apart anything threatening our mate. I shove the instinct down hard. That kind of thinking gets people killed.
"Tell them no." I move toward the weapons cache. Start pulling out blades. "This is my territory. They don't get to just walk in."
"They'll come anyway." Zara follows me. "Twenty trained soldiers against two rogues and one untrained omega. Bad odds Kai."
She's right. In a straight fight we lose. But I didn't survive seven years in the Dead Lands by fighting fair.
I look at Ivy. She's watching me with those unsettling eyes. Purple light flickering underneath like barely controlled fire. The bond pulls at my chest. Demanding I protect her. Keep her safe.
Throw her to the hunters. That's the smart play. Let them take her. Problem solved.
My mouth opens and completely different words come out.
"You want to survive."
She nods slowly.
"Then you train. You fight. You follow every order I give without question." The Alpha in me rises. Floods the room with dominance that should make any omega submit instantly.
Ivy doesn't even flinch.
Instead she stands taller. Meets my eyes with pure defiance. "I don't take orders from anyone. Not anymore."
My wolf howls approval. Wants this fierce stubborn woman who refuses to bow. I fight the urge to smile because smiling would mean I'm already getting attached.
"Then we both die." I cross my arms. "Twenty trained wolves will tear through us in minutes. Your only chance is learning to control that power before they arrive."
"I'll figure it out myself."
"Like you figured it out for three weeks while running." Harsh. Cruel. But necessary. "How'd that work out for you."
Her jaw clenches. Hit a nerve.
"At least I'll die free."
The words stop me cold. Because I understand that sentiment down to my bones. Freedom is worth dying for. I proved that seven years ago when I chose death over watching the Council torture more innocents.
This woman gets it. Gets me in a way no one has since Mira.
Dangerous. So dangerous.
"Free and dead is still dead." I step closer. The bond hums between us. "But free and alive gives you options. Revenge. Justice. Actually making them pay for what they did."
Her eyes narrow. "What do you know about what they did to me."
"Magnus Castellan runs breeding programs. Forces bloodline wolves to produce children for his collection. I've seen the reports. The Council covers it up but everyone knows." My hands clench into fists. "Sound familiar."
She goes very still. "How do you know that."
"Because the Council tried the same thing with my sister. Called it genetic research. Really it was torture disguised as science." The memory burns. Always burns. "They destroyed her trying to force her power awake. When I tried to stop them they ordered my father to execute me for treason."
"So you killed them all."
"Every single one involved. Then I killed my father for being too weak to protect his own daughter." No regret in my voice. I'd do it again tomorrow. "The Council branded me rogue. Exiled me here. Tried to hunt me six times. I'm still breathing."
Ivy studies my face. Looking for lies maybe. She won't find any.
"Why tell me this."
"Because I want you to understand what you're up against. The Council doesn't stop. Doesn't forgive. Doesn't forget. They'll hunt you until you're dead or captured." I move even closer. Can smell her scent now. Rain and lightning. "Unless you become strong enough to fight back."
"And you'll teach me." Skeptical. Smart.
"I'll teach you to survive. To kill if necessary. To use that power instead of letting it use you." I pause. Let the next words sink in. "But I want something in return."
There it is. The catch she's been waiting for.
"What."
"Six weeks. That's how long until the Lunar Summit when every major Alpha gathers in one place." I've been planning this for two years. Waiting for the right moment. "I need to infiltrate that Summit. Steal the original archives that prove the Council's crimes. Broadcast the truth to every pack in North America."
"That's suicide."
"Probably. But I'm dying anyway." I gesture at the empty temple. "This isn't living. It's just slow death in a prettier cage. At least this way I take them down with me."
Understanding flashes across her face. She knows about slow death. About cages.
"What do you need me for."
"Your power breaks pack bonds. I've never seen anything like it." I saw what she did to my Alpha command earlier. How it just slid off her like water. "The Summit will be crawling with Alphas using command to control security. You could walk through it all untouched."
"I can't control it."
"Not yet. But you will." I let some certainty show. "Six weeks of training. You help me get into that Summit. Help me destroy the Council. After that we go our separate ways and never see each other again."
The bond screams in protest. My wolf claws at my control. The idea of separating from our mate is physically painful.
But it's necessary. Everyone close to me dies. I won't add her to that list.
Ivy searches my face. "You really think we can just walk away from this." She gestures between us. The connection that's obvious to anyone looking.
"Bonds break. People leave. It happens." I keep my voice flat. Emotionless. "We're allies. Partners. Nothing more."
"You're lying."
"Doesn't matter if I am. Those are the terms. Take it or leave it."
She thinks for a long moment. I watch calculations run behind her eyes. Weighing options. Measuring risks.
Finally she nods. "Fine. Six weeks. We train. We infiltrate the Summit. We separate. Deal."
Relief and regret hit simultaneously. I'm making a huge mistake. I know it in my bones.
But watching her get captured by Magnus would destroy something inside me I didn't know still existed.
"Deal." I extend my hand.
She looks at it. Then at me. Suspicion clear on her face. "That's it. Just shake and we're partners."
"Just shake."
She takes my hand.
Electricity explodes through me. Not metaphorical. Actual crackling energy that races from her palm up my arm straight to my chest. The mate bond flares so bright I actually see it. Silver light wrapping around both our hands. Binding us together.
Her eyes go wide. She feels it too. Gasps as the connection slams into place ten times stronger than before.
My wolf roars MINE with such intensity I have to physically fight to stay still. Every instinct screams to pull her close. Mark her. Claim her. Make sure every wolf in existence knows she belongs to me.
I pull my hand away instead. Break the contact before I do something stupid.
The bond doesn't let go though. Just stretches between us like an unbreakable chain. I can feel her heartbeat. Her confusion. Her fear mixed with something that might be hope.
"What was that." Her voice shakes.
"The bond accepting the deal." My hand tingles where we touched. "We're linked now. Partners."
"That felt like more than partners."
"It's not." I step back. Put distance between us. "Get some rest. Training starts at dawn. If you can't keep up I leave you for the hunters."
Cold. Brutal. Exactly what she needs to hear so she doesn't get attached.
Except Zara is watching me with a knowing smirk. She sees right through the act.
Ivy stands there with her hand still extended. Staring at her palm like she can't believe what just happened.
"Six weeks." She says it to herself more than me. "Then we separate."
"Forever."
"Right. Forever."
Neither of us believes it. The bond won't let us.
But we'll pretend. For six weeks we'll pretend this is just temporary. Just business. Just survival.
Then the Summit comes and everything falls apart.
I can already see it happening. The bond pulling tighter. Her getting under my skin. Me falling for someone I can't protect.
History repeating itself with a different victim.
Zara clears her throat. "Hate to interrupt this moment but we still have twenty wolves headed this way. What's the plan."
Right. The assault team. I almost forgot.
I look at Ivy. At this small fierce woman who just agreed to help me commit suicide in six weeks.
"We show them why the Dead Lands are called dead." I move toward the door. "Zara set the perimeter traps. Full layout. I want them bleeding before they get within a mile of this temple."
"On it." She disappears into the ruins.
Ivy follows me outside. "What about me."
"You stay inside. Hidden. Don't use your power unless absolutely necessary. That glow gives away your position."
"I thought we were partners."
"We are. Partners who know their strengths." I grab weapons off the rack. Knives. Short swords. Things designed for close combat. "You're untrained. You'll die in the first thirty seconds."
"So will you if it's twenty against one."
"I've survived worse odds." I have scars proving it. "Besides I'm not trying to win. Just make them think twice about coming back."
She grabs my arm before I can leave. The contact sends that electric shock through me again. Weaker this time but still there.
"Don't die." Her voice is quiet. Serious. "You're the only chance I have at revenge. If you die I lose everything."
It's practical. Logical. Exactly what an alliance partner would say.
So why does it feel like she means something more.
"I'll try my best." I pull away gently. "Stay inside. If things go wrong run east. There's a river. Follow it out of the Dead Lands."
"Kai."
I stop but don't turn around.
"I meant what I said. I don't take orders." Her voice is steel. "But I do listen to advice from people trying to keep me alive. So I'll stay inside. This time."
A smile tugs at my mouth. I crush it. "Good enough."
I leave before she can say anything else. Before the bond can make me promise things I can't deliver.
Zara meets me at the perimeter. "Traps are set. They'll hit the first line in about forty minutes."
"How many can we take down before they adapt."
"Five maybe. These are professionals though. They'll learn fast."
Five out of twenty. Better than nothing.
"What about the omega." Zara asks carefully. "She really staying inside."
"She better."
"You know she won't right." Zara grins. "That one doesn't strike me as the hiding type."
She's probably right. Ivy has three weeks of running and fighting behind her. Telling her to hide goes against every survival instinct she's built.
"If she comes out and gets herself killed the deal's off."
"Sure it is." Zara's tone says she knows I'm lying. "Nothing to do with the mate bond at all."
"There is no mate bond." The words taste like ash. "Just a temporary alliance."
"Keep telling yourself that boss." She moves into position. "Meanwhile I'll start a betting pool on how long before you two stop pretending."
I don't answer. Can't. Because she's right and we both know it.
The bond is real. Growing stronger every second. In six weeks it'll be unbreakable.
Which is why I have to make sure we separate before then. Before I fall completely. Before she becomes another person I fail to protect.
Before I destroy her like I destroyed everyone else.
Movement in the trees. The assault team is early.
I pull my blades and smile. At least violence I understand. Violence has rules. Kill or be killed. Simple.
Not like these emotions tearing me apart.
The first wolf breaks through the perimeter. Hits a trap. Silver spikes shoot up through his paws. He howls.
Nineteen left.
Let's see how badly they want her.