Chapter seven
993 Words
Kael didn’t wake until the next morning.
I’d kept watch all night, barely blinking, listening for footsteps in the dark. But the assassin’s body had vanished by the time I checked again—dragged off by his kind, or something darker.
Now, Kael stirred beneath the soft morning light slipping through cracks in the ruin’s dome.
“Where…?” he rasped.
I knelt beside him, relief flooding me. “You’re safe. I healed you.”
He blinked slowly, then looked down at the now-faded wound on his ribs. “How?”
“I remembered something. From the vision. The root—it countered the poison.”
His gaze snapped to mine. “You saw her again?”
I nodded. “My wolf.”
Kael sat up, grunting slightly. “She’s part of you now. The bond’s getting stronger.”
His eyes lingered on me, full of something fierce and unreadable. For once, he didn’t try to fight it.
“I thought I lost you,” I whispered.
“You won’t,” he said.
Then his hand brushed my cheek, and I leaned into the warmth. We were inches apart. I could see every scar on his face, every shadow in his eyes. This was the closest we’d ever been without the bond getting in the way.
And when he leaned in, he didn’t stop this time.
His lips brushed mine—gentle at first, then hungry.
It wasn’t just a kiss.
It was a promise.
Until the sound of wings shattered the moment.
We broke apart as a huge hawk dove from the sky, talons clutching a silver scroll bound in black wax. Kael caught it mid-air and ripped it open, his expression tightening with every word.
“What is it?” I asked, heart thudding.
Kael looked up, voice low and hard. “A message from the Council.”
“What do they want?”
His eyes darkened.
“They know you’re alive.”
He handed me the scroll.
The words were burned into the parchment, magical and final.
The girl is a threat to the peace of the packs.
You have one cycle of the moon to surrender her to the High Council.
If you do not comply… Nightfang will burn.
My blood ran cold. “They want to kill me.”
“They’re afraid of what you’ll become,” Kael said. “You’re a living secret. One that could unravel every lie the Council built its power on.”
He stood, jaw tight. “We need to go. Now.”
The journey back to Nightfang was brutal.
The weather turned, thunder chasing us through the forest. My body ached from the energy it had taken to awaken part of my wolf, but I didn’t complain. I couldn’t. Kael barely looked at me the entire ride back, his mind clearly a storm of calculations and fear.
By the time we reached the outer gates, the entire pack was waiting.
And they weren’t smiling.
Jace stepped forward, tension in every line of his body. “You were gone for two days, Kael. The Council sent a hawk here too. They’re demanding an answer.”
Kael dismounted. “They’ll get one. Just not the one they want.”
His eyes flicked to me. “Prepare the council hall. I’ll speak to the pack tonight.”
As the others scattered, Mira appeared—arms crossed, eyes cold.
“So the Riven girl lives.”
I met her stare. “Still think I’m a mutt?”
She smiled without humor. “No. Now I think you’re a bomb waiting to go off.”
Kael stepped between us. “Enough. She’s under my protection.”
“Then I hope you’re ready to die for her,” Mira snapped.
Kael didn’t blink. “I am.”
That night, the great hall was packed.
Wolves of every rank and age stood shoulder to shoulder, watching as Kael stepped forward. I stood behind him, every nerve in my body buzzing.
He held up the scroll.
“This came from the High Council,” he said. “You’ve all heard the rumors. Let me confirm them now.”
He turned slightly toward me.
“She is the last of the Riven bloodline. The power she carries is real. And the Council wants her dead because of it.”
A ripple of shock passed through the crowd.
Kael raised his voice. “They’ve given us an ultimatum. Surrender her… or burn.”
Silence.
Then a voice rang out from the crowd.
“She’s not one of us!”
“She’ll bring war!”
“I lost my brother to the Council’s hunters!” another shouted. “We can’t fight them!”
My throat tightened. They were right. What had I brought here except danger?
But then Kael’s voice thundered across the hall.
“Enough!”
Silence fell again.
“I didn’t ask for your fear,” Kael growled. “I didn’t ask for your permission. She is mine. The bond chose her. And the moon doesn’t make mistakes.”
Gasps echoed. A few wolves dropped their heads in respect.
Kael turned to face me fully. “And if the Council wants to take her—”
His eyes burned silver.
“—they’ll have to come through me.”
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
Kael stood by the window of his room, shirtless and tense, his back to me. I stepped up behind him quietly.
“You put everything on the line for me.”
He didn’t turn. “I always will.”
I reached for his hand, lacing my fingers through his. His grip tightened instantly.
“You said the Council would come,” I whispered.
“They will.”
“Then we fight.”
He finally turned to face me, his expression unreadable. “You’re not afraid?”
“I’m done being afraid.”
He stared at me for a long time.
Then nodded.
“Then it begins.”
- Writer
