Chapter13
1350 Words
Kael’s Pov
Thoughts of her filled my head. Lately, they hadn’t stopped.
No matter how I tried to distract myself with duty, silence, or the weight of my title, she was there. Lylah. Willow. The name I gave her and the one I took. The way she looked at me, like I was something worthy of awe, echoed in the quiet chambers of my mind.
I stood at the edge of my bed, unfastening my bracers and placing them gently beside my folded cloak. The fire in the hearth had long since died, casting only faint flickers of orange across the stone walls. I ran a hand through my tangled hair, and her stare returned to me..vivid, unashamed.
She looked at me like I was some kind of god.
And I could’ve sworn… there’d been a little drool at the corner of her mouth.
I smirked. At least she found me attractive.
And she... she was perfect.
Those full, pink lips. The way her pale skin glowed against the furs. The sharp curiosity in her eyes when she tilted her head, confused. Her fingers, long and delicate, had gripped the edge of the bed like she was holding onto something real.
I tapped my foot against the stone floor, smiling to myself like an i***t, and sighed a deep, reluctant sound that snapped me out of it.
“What are you doing, Kael? What are you doing” I muttered aloud, raking a hand through my hair again. “What the hell are you thinking?”
She doesn’t know who you are.
She doesn’t remember what you did. What you failed to stop. The lives lost. The price paid. The crown buried.
“She doesn’t know you,” I whispered, my voice tight. “And she shouldn’t.”
I sighed again, harder, and bit my bottom lip until the sharp, coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. Good. I deserved worse.
With nothing but black night ahead of me, I left my chambers, bare-chested and silent letting the cold air of the halls wrap around me like punishment. The stone beneath my feet grounded me. I didn’t need direction. I just needed release.
The moment I stepped into the field beyond the gates, I shifted.
The transformation split through me like lightning. My spine arched, bones cracked and stretched, fur burst across my skin in silver waves. Painful, yes but welcomed. My wolf howled into the night, and the sound echoed off the mountain cliffs wild, unburdened, free.
I ran.
Faster than thought. Faster than memory.
The wind tore through my fur. The earth moved beneath my paws, firm and cold and real. I ran until my lungs burned, until my thoughts scattered behind me like ash.
Eventually, I slowed.
The moon hung high and full, painting the forest in silver and shadow. I turned my gaze back toward the castle, to the windows glittering like stars in the stone.
And then I saw her.
Her window was open. She stood there, framed in moonlight, arms resting on the sill. Her gaze locked onto mine.
My wolf stilled.
She was watching me.
Did she recognize me like this?
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t retreat. Didn’t even blink.
Most non werewolves are always intimidated when they see my real form.. His huge size and fangs
But she..Just… watched.
And gods, I watched her, too.
She looked like something pulled from a dream.
No fear in her face. Only curiosity. Quiet awe.
I took one slow step toward her.
And then another.
My wolf wanted to go to her, nuzzle her hand, bury his head in her lap like she was already his.
But I stopped myself.
She was not mine.
She didn’t belong to anyone..not anymore.
And even if she did... I wasn’t worthy of being the one she chose.
I lingered, her gaze still locked with mine, then turned and padded away,back into the darkness beyond her sight. Back into the silence I had carved for myself.
The wind tugged at my fur, cold and biting, but it was nothing compared to the heat that had flared inside me when I saw her.
Willow.
She stood at the window like a ghost wrapped in silver.
And those eyes… they caught me in my wolf form and didn’t flinch.
For a heartbeat, I let myself believe she saw me.
Not the Alpha. Not the cursed. Not the thief of her life.
Just… me.
But it was foolish to believe.
She didn’t know who I was.
Not yet.
I slowed my pace as I climbed into the hills, paws sinking into dew-drenched grass. The stars spread wide above me, constellations like scars across the sky. My wolf’s heartbeat slowed, rising and falling with each breath of mountain air.
Everything in me ached.
She thought she was safe now. And maybe she was.
But it had cost her everything.
At the edge of the cliffs, I shifted back,slow, seamless. The wind clung to my bare skin. The rocks beneath me were slick, ancient, worn by storms and time.
Just like me.
I raked a hand through damp hair and exhaled sharply.
I tilted my head toward the moon.
“Goddess,” I whispered. “Tell me what I’m supposed to do.”
The wind gave no answers. The moon only watched..cold and distant.
“I’ve followed every rule,” I muttered. “Upheld every law. Protected my people. Sacrificed everything.”
Even my beliefs. Even her.
A twig cracked behind me.
The wind shifted, carrying the scent of someone I did not want to see.
I didn’t turn.
“I figured I’d find you here,” Thorne said, voice low, sharp with something too polished to be warmth. “Brooding suits you, Alpha.”
My jaw tensed, but I kept my gaze on the mist-covered peaks.
“You’re far from the council halls,” I said. “What do you want?”
Thorne stepped forward. His boots crunched softly over stone, stopping a few paces back. I could feel his smirk without even looking.
“She’s awake, isn’t she?” he said. “Lylah.”
I didn’t answer.
“She looked out the window earlier,” he went on. “I saw her watching.”
My focus sharpened.
“You were near her wing?” I asked, voice low with warning.
He raised a brow. “I’m not the monster you want me to be.”
“No,” I said coldly. “You’re worse. A monster who wears a crown and calls it loyalty.”
I stood slowly. “What do you want, Thorne?”
“I heard from the guards,” he said. “No memories. No fear. Just soft eyes and obedient silence. Fascinating what a clean slate can do.”
Then, too lightly,“She’s still beautiful, isn’t she?”
My fists curled.
“Don’t.”
He tilted his head. “I wonder which version of you she’ll love. The savior or the coward.”
My voice dropped to a growl. “Leave.”
His amusement faded. “Of course, Alpha Kael.”
“You said it was the only way,” I said, voice quieter now. “You said erasing her memory was mercy.”
He paused. “And you agreed.”
“I said we should wait,” I muttered. “That maybe there was another way.”
Thorne’s gaze hardened. “And I remember you doing nothing while I carried her into Aetheria. Don’t pin your guilt on me, Alpha.”
“Careful,” I warned. “You’re walking a line.” “I should’ve killed you the moment you suggested the Rite.”
Thorne tilted his head. “You forget, Kael. I didn’t take her memories. Kaida did. And you let her.”
My teeth ground together.
“You should leave.”
He nodded once, slowly.
Then turned and walked back toward the winding path to the castle, his silhouette swallowed by mist and moonlight.
I stayed long after he was gone.
The wind had changed.
But his words still hung in the air like smoke.
- Writer
