12.
1007 Words
No one spoke after that.
The forest remained trapped in a strange, suffocating silence while the truth settled heavily between us.
The bond needed Kael.
And somehow…
Kael needed the bond too.
I hated it.
Every part of me hated it.
After everything he had done, after the humiliation, the rejection, the way he stood there and watched me break in front of the entire pack—
Now fate expected me to stay near him to survive?
It felt cruel.
Like the Moon Goddess was laughing at me personally.
“I’m not staying with him,” I said sharply.
The second the words left my mouth, the bond reacted.
Pain sliced suddenly through my chest.
I gasped softly and instinctively grabbed the fabric over my heart.
Kael moved before he could stop himself.
“Lira—”
He stopped halfway.
But too late.
Everyone saw it.
The immediate reaction.
The instinct.
The concern.
Kael noticed too, and something unreadable crossed his face.
Theron’s expression darkened.
“The bond is rejecting emotional separation.”
I looked at him in disbelief despite the pain.
“What does that even mean?”
“It means your instincts no longer align with your decisions.”
“That makes no sense.”
“For ordinary wolves? No.”
The silver beneath my veins flickered violently again.
Kael took another step closer instinctively.
The pain eased almost immediately.
I froze.
So did he.
The realization settled over both of us at once.
This was getting worse.
Far worse.
One of Kael’s warriors finally broke the silence nervously.
“Alpha… this isn’t natural.”
Kael’s gaze never left me.
“No,” he said quietly.
“It isn’t.”
The way he said it made my stomach tighten.
Not disgusted.
Not afraid.
Focused.
Like he was trying to understand me instead of push me away now.
That shift terrified me more than rejection ever did.
Because Kael Draven was not a man who obsessed over mistakes.
Yet the longer he looked at me, the more I felt the bond tightening instead of weakening.
Theron suddenly stepped between us again.
“That’s enough.”
Kael’s expression hardened instantly.
“You don’t give me orders.”
“And you don’t understand what you’re triggering.”
The pressure between them intensified sharply again.
Alpha dominance.
Silver instinct.
Collision.
I felt it immediately.
The bond surged painfully.
“Stop it!” I snapped again.
This time the effect was instant.
Both forces weakened at once.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
Theron looked thoughtful.
And I suddenly realized something even worse.
The bond wasn’t just responding to emotions anymore.
It was responding to me directly.
The silver glow faded slightly beneath my skin as my breathing steadied.
Kael noticed immediately.
“You can influence it.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“But you are doing something.”
I hated how calm his voice sounded now.
Like his fear had turned into calculation.
The dangerous kind.
A howl suddenly echoed through the forest behind the warriors.
Urgent.
One of the patrol wolves rushed through the trees moments later before dropping to one knee in front of Kael.
“Alpha.”
Kael didn’t look away from me.
“What happened?”
The patrol wolf swallowed hard.
“There’s movement near the northern border.”
Kael’s expression remained cold.
“Rogues?”
“No.”
The warrior hesitated.
Then quietly said:
“They’re asking about the silver wolf.”
The forest went still again.
I felt every warrior tense immediately.
Kael’s eyes darkened.
“Who is asking?”
The patrol wolf looked visibly uncomfortable now.
“Other packs.”
Cold spread through my chest instantly.
Theron cursed quietly under his breath.
Kael noticed immediately.
“You expected this.”
Theron’s gaze sharpened.
“The moment her power awakened, it became inevitable.”
My pulse quickened painfully.
“What does that mean?”
Theron looked directly at me.
“It means they know.”
Fear curled violently in my stomach.
“How?”
“Moon-Blood energy cannot stay hidden once awakened.”
Kael’s posture changed slightly beside me.
Protective.
The realization hit me hard enough to make my chest tighten.
Not because he intended it.
Because it happened instinctively.
And Kael noticed too late.
His jaw tightened sharply.
One of the warriors stared at him in shock.
Because everyone saw it.
The Alpha who publicly rejected his mate was now standing between her and danger without even realizing it.
Kael ignored them completely.
“What packs?”
The patrol wolf lowered his head slightly.
“Red Hollow.”
Theron’s expression immediately darkened.
“That’s bad.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
“You know them.”
“They hunted Moon-Blood survivors generations ago.”
Silence crashed into the forest.
I felt sick instantly.
Survivors.
Not myths.
Not legends.
People.
Kael’s voice lowered dangerously.
“How many know about her?”
Theron answered honestly.
“Unknown.”
The bond pulsed sharply again.
This time not emotional.
Instinctive.
Danger.
Kael stepped slightly closer to me automatically.
Protective again.
My breathing slowed despite myself.
And that scared me more than anything else tonight.
Because some part of me had started responding to his presence like safety again.
After everything.
Kael looked down at me briefly.
Then back toward Theron.
“She can’t stay exposed here.”
The words were immediate.
Certain.
Alpha command slipping naturally back into his tone.
Theron crossed his arms slowly.
“And where exactly do you think she should go?”
Kael answered without hesitation.
“With me.”
My head snapped toward him instantly.
“No.”
The bond reacted violently again.
Pain ripped sharply through my chest.
Kael cursed under his breath immediately.
And before I could stop him—
He grabbed my wrist.
The effect was instant.
The pain vanished.
Completely.
The entire forest froze.
Including me.
Because the second his skin touched mine—
The fractured bond pulsed once.
Deep.
Alive.
And somewhere beneath all the fear and confusion…
Something inside both wolves recognized the contact like home.
- Writer
