Chapter thirteen
736 Words
Pain.
That was the first thing I felt when I opened my eyes.
It wasn’t sharp, like a blade. It was deep, ancient—like something inside me had cracked open.
Kael was beside me, still breathing heavy from the ritual. His bare chest rose and fell, glowing faintly beneath the moonlight streaming through the cabin’s window.
The bond had changed us.
I could feel him now—his pain, his thoughts, his fear. A thread stretched between our souls, unbreakable, humming with wild, raw power.
And something else.
Something darker.
He stirred, eyes flickering open.
“You feel it too?” he whispered.
I nodded.
We weren’t just connected.
We were becoming something else.
“I dreamed of fire,” I said. “But it wasn’t ours. It was… everything burning.”
Kael sat up, sweat glistening on his skin. “The Hollow.”
I shivered. “It’s waking.”
There was no time to rest.
No time to breathe.
Kael dressed quickly and passed me my clothes, his eyes lingering on the fresh mark over my heart. It wasn’t a scar—it was a sigil, shaped like a crescent moon inside a wolf’s eye. The same one he now had burned over his spine.
We were sealed.
We were claimed.
But that meant the Council would come faster.
And the traitors would come from within.
Back in the compound, unease crackled through the air like lightning. Everyone felt the shift in Kael’s aura. Stronger. Wilder. Even more dangerous than before.
And when I walked beside him, heads bowed.
But not all in respect.
Some were in fear.
Some in hate.
And one pair of eyes—cold, blue, calculating—watched from the shadows.
His name was Theron.
Kael’s war general.
His oldest ally.
His secret rival.
“We’ll meet with the Elders,” Kael announced later that evening in the war room. “We need to form an alliance with the remaining rogue packs. If the Council is planning to move on us, we’ll need numbers.”
Damon was the first to speak. “The rogues won’t follow you unless they know what you’ve become.”
“They’ll know,” Kael said, voice hard as iron. “The bond was sealed.”
The room fell silent.
“You’ve doomed us,” Theron said coolly.
Everyone turned to him.
He stepped forward slowly, like a serpent uncoiling. “You mated a girl the Council has hunted for years. One born of a cursed bloodline. You’ve tethered your soul to hers—and now you expect us to follow you into war?”
“I don’t expect anything,” Kael said, standing. “But I will lead. With or without your approval.”
Theron laughed softly. “You’ve become soft, Kael. Blinded by a girl and an ancient bedtime story.”
Kael’s eyes gleamed gold. “Say that again.”
“I said—”
Before he could finish, the air thickened with power. I stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly with silver fire.
“She’s not just a girl,” Damon whispered in awe.
Something inside me flared.
Not just magic—legacy.
Blood of queens. Blood of wolves. Blood of flame.
Theron’s face changed. His expression slipped for just a moment—into something like fear.
But I saw it.
And I knew then:
He was hiding something.
Later, as the moon rose and cast silver light over the war-torn land, I stood at the edge of the cliff behind Kael’s territory, trying to calm my racing thoughts.
Kael joined me.
“I’m sorry about Theron,” he said quietly.
“He’s going to betray you.”
“I know.”
I turned to him. “Then why let him live?”
“Because we need to know who he’s working with. He’s not acting alone.”
I nodded, understanding. “The Council?”
“Or worse.”
We stood in silence, side by side, the wind carrying the scent of coming storm.
“What’s happening to me, Kael?” I whispered.
“You’re waking up.”
“To what?”
“Who you’re meant to be.”
And then, he kissed me—fierce and claiming. Not like before.
This kiss was war.
This kiss was ours.
And behind us, hidden in the trees, a raven watched with glowing red eyes.
A spy.
A warning.
A sign of what was to come.
- Writer
