Chapter Four-The Truth Between Us
1636 Words
The garden fell silent.
Kael stared at me, his dark eyes unreadable. The moonlight cast shadows across his sharp features, making him look more beast than man. But I wasn't afraid.
I had already died once.
What more could he possibly do to me?
"Your death," he repeated slowly. "Explain."
I took a breath. This was the moment. The moment I decided how much to trust the man I had just promised to marry.
"Five years from now," I said quietly, "Crown Prince Lucien will pour poison into my wine. He will watch me choke on it. And he will walk away without looking back."
Kael's expression didn't change.
But his hands clenched at his sides.
"Five years from now," I continued, "Seraphine will be the most powerful woman in the kingdom. She will have destroyed my reputation, turned my husband against me, and orchestrated my family's ruin. And she will do it all while smiling like a saint."
"You're speaking of the future as if you've already lived it."
"Because I have."
Silence.
Kael studied me for a long, long moment. I could see the war in his eyes—suspicion, disbelief, and something else. Something deeper.
Then he spoke.
"The night of the ball," he said slowly. "When you walked up to me and asked me to marry you. You weren't just making a political move, were you?"
"No."
"You were choosing me because you knew something. Something about what was coming."
"Yes."
He stepped closer. His presence was overwhelming—tall, broad, radiating heat and power. I could feel his wolf lurking just beneath the surface, watching me with those dark silver eyes.
"And what do you know about me, Aurelia Vale?"
I met his gaze without flinching.
"I know you're not cursed."
Something flickered in his eyes.
"I know your wolf isn't a monster," I continued. "I know the stories about you are lies. I know someone framed you—someone powerful. And I know that in my first life, you were blamed for a political disaster that you didn't cause. You were executed for it."
Kael went completely still.
"Executed," he repeated.
"Yes. They burned you alive in the town square. I watched from the crowd." My voice trembled—just slightly. "I didn't know you then. I believed the lies. I thought you were a monster. So I stood there and watched you die."
I swallowed hard.
"And I did nothing."
RAGNAR STIRS
For a long moment, Kael didn't speak.
Then I felt it.
A low rumble—not from him, but from somewhere deeper. From the beast inside him.
His eyes flickered. For just a second, they weren't human. They were silver. Dark, ancient, impossibly bright.
And then they were human again.
I gasped.
"What—"
"Ragnar." Kael's voice was rough, strained. "He's... reacting to you."
"Reacting?"
"He's never done this before." Kael's jaw tightened. "He doesn't trust anyone. He never has. But with you..."
He trailed off, shaking his head.
"With me what?"
"He wants to protect you."
The words hung in the air between us.
I stared at him, my heart pounding. "Your wolf wants to protect me?"
"I don't understand it." Kael's voice was barely a whisper. "I've never known him to care about anyone. He's always been cold. Distant. He doesn't even trust my family. But you—" He ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. "He's been restless ever since the ball. Ever since you walked up to me."
I didn't know what to say.
"I know you're hiding something," I finally said. "About your curse. About what was done to you. And I know you don't trust me enough to tell me the truth. That's fine. I don't expect you to."
Kael looked at me sharply.
"Then what do you expect?"
"I expect us to be allies." I met his eyes. "We don't have to trust each other. We don't have to love each other. But we do have to survive. And the only way we do that is if we work together."
Kael was quiet for a long moment.
Then he did something I didn't expect.
He laughed.
It was a low, bitter sound—but it was real.
"You're extraordinary, Aurelia Vale," he said. "You know that?"
"I've been told."
"No." He stepped closer. "I don't think you understand. You walked away from a crown prince. You proposed to a cursed monster in front of the entire court. You told me you died—and you expect me to believe you. And now you're standing here, asking me to be your ally like it's the most reasonable thing in the world."
I lifted my chin. "It is reasonable. Because we're both running out of time."
His eyes sharpened. "Explain."
"Seraphine knows something's different about me," I said. "She used magic on me tonight at the festival. I felt it. She's already suspicious. And if she finds out I've been reborn—"
"She'll try to destroy you."
"Yes."
Kael's expression darkened. "Then we move the wedding."
"What?"
"Three weeks is too long." His voice was hard, decisive. "I'll have the ceremony in seven days. Before anyone can stop it."
My eyes widened. "Seven days? Kael, that's—"
"Necessary." He met my gaze. "Seraphine has already made her move. If she's using magic on you in public, she's not afraid to act. We don't have time to wait."
I opened my mouth to argue.
But then I saw the look in his eyes—the cold, calculating intelligence that had kept him alive for so long.
He was right.
I hated it.
But he was right.
"Seven days," I repeated.
"Seven days." He extended his hand. "I'll protect you, Aurelia. I don't know why Ragnar trusts you—but he does. And that's enough for me. Whatever you need, whenever you need it, I'll be there."
I stared at his hand.
This was it.
The moment I decided whether to trust the cursed prince.
I took his hand.
His grip was warm, strong, steady. I felt something spark between us—something ancient and powerful, something I didn't understand.
But I knew one thing for certain.
I had made the right choice.
THE FIRST ASSASSIN
It happened that night.
I was walking back to my chambers, my mind still spinning from my conversation with Kael. The castle was quiet—too quiet. The guards had been dismissed for the night, the servants asleep in their quarters.
And then I heard it.
A footstep behind me.
I spun around, my heart racing.
A figure emerged from the shadows—tall, cloaked, carrying a blade that glinted in the moonlight. I couldn't see their face. I couldn't see anything but the weapon.
And the way they were moving toward me.
"You're not supposed to be alive," the figure hissed.
I backed away. "Who sent you?"
"Does it matter?"
"It matters to me."
The figure laughed—a cold, empty sound. "The Saintess sends her regards."
My blood went cold.
So she had already made her move.
I reached behind me, searching for a weapon, anything to defend myself. But there was nothing. Just empty air and stone walls.
I was helpless.
And the assassin was getting closer.
"Any last words, Lady Aurelia?"
I closed my eyes.
And then—
A roar.
A sound so deep, so primal, so terrifying that the walls seemed to shake. I opened my eyes just in time to see a massive black shape launch itself at the assassin.
Wolves.
No—wolf.
One wolf.
Huge. Terrifying. With eyes of dark silver.
Ragnar.
He tore through the assassin like they were nothing—a blur of black fur and teeth and claws. The assassin screamed once—just once and then fell silent.
I stood there, frozen, my heart hammering against my ribs.
The wolf turned to face me.
His silver eyes locked onto mine.
And then he began to shift.
His massive form twisted, contorted, shrinking down until—
Kael stood before me.
Naked. Covered in blood. His chest heaving.
But alive.
AFTERMATH
"You're bleeding," I whispered.
Kael looked down at himself. There was a deep gash across his ribs—the assassin's blade had found its mark before Ragnar destroyed them.
"It's nothing," he said.
"It's not nothing." I stepped forward, my hands trembling. "Kael, you're—"
"Don't." His voice was sharp. "Don't fuss over me. This is what I told you would happen. This is what my world is like. People trying to kill you because of me."
"This wasn't because of you." I met his eyes. "This was Seraphine. She doesn't want me to marry you because I'm a threat to her plans."
Kael stared at me.
"You followed me," I continued. "You knew someone was coming for me."
"I told you I would protect you."
"You told me Ragnar trusted me." I stepped closer. "Why do you trust me?"
Kael was silent for a long moment.
Then he answered.
"Because I've been alone for twelve years," he said quietly. "And you're the first person who ever looked at me without fear."
His voice cracked—just slightly.
And in that moment, I saw it.
The pain he'd been hiding for so long. The loneliness. The desperation.
He wasn't cursed.
He was just broken.
Like me.
I reached out and took his hand.
"Kael Draven," I said softly. "I'm not afraid of you. I've never been afraid of you. And I never will be."
He stared at me.
Then he closed his eyes.
"Seven days," he whispered.
"Seven days," I repeated.
We stood there in the moonlight, two broken people holding onto each other.
And for the first time since I died, I felt something I thought I'd lost forever.
Hope.
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