The Mate That Shouldn’t Exist

Chapter 3 – Into the Borderlands

Kael wolfed a gust of wind, carrying it right through Ember and the dense forest border of Shadowmoon. Moonlight sifted through tangled branches, etching silver shadows upon the snow-laden surface. Ember stumbled once and caught herself, cheeks radiating with cold and fear.

"I... I've never been this far," she said with some tremor in her voice. "The Borderlands... it's unsafe."

Kael looked at her, with the jaw pulled down tight, eyes glancing into the blackness. "You have survived worse than this. You have survived exile, hiding from wolves that wanted you dead. This is a trifle to that."

Her lips trembled.

That was nothing compared to that? Memories of years in shadow, hunted and lonely, surged between her ribs. Her wolf snarled beneath her skin, protective, restless, angry at the constant pull toward Kael. Yes, she had survived-but survival had meant hiding, running, never showing any true strength. With Kael now, she felt exposed, vulnerable, but oddly... alive.

Kael then stopped at a small clearing, crouching low, nose to the wind. "We're being followed," he said through a growl. The whisper of those words was drowned just as the underbrush exploded into violent uproar. Rogue wolves, lean and hungry, eyes glinting ominously in the moonlight, sprang out of the shadows. The echoing snarls of those fiends filled the night and reverberated between the trees.

Ember froze; her heart thumping loudly. She had not engaged in a fight for years, ever since the Borderlands had swallowed her family and pack. Her wolf surged. Claws scraped at her palm under the skin. "I—I can't—"

Kael grasped her hand and pulled her close to him.

"You can," he said. "Trust me. Trust yourself."

Time stretched. The rogues circled, baring their fangs, but Kael darted like a shadow, calmly lucid, every strike calculated. In response, Ember's wolf took full throttle, exploding silver light through her skin; claws cut through one of the first rogues to jump in close. She gasped in shock at her own strength after so many long years of having it suppressed.

Kael caught the other rogue in mid-air, throwing him down with a grunt. His wolf let out a low, warning, essentially feral howl.

Ember followed suit, instincts syncing, their hearts pounding in unison. They moved as one, striking and dodging until the last rogue ran into the shadows, yelping with terror.

Ember collapsed against a massive tree, shivering—for adrenaline, for shock, and maybe even for cold. Kael knelt upon the ground beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You're stronger than you think," he said quietly but very firmly. "Stronger than what anyone ever gave you credit for."

She shook her head, tears spilling over her cheeks. "I... I didn't know I could do that."

"You could," he said, locking in her eyes. "And you will do more. If you survive this night, you will see what I see—the bond sees. You are not a mistake. You are not weak. You are... extraordinary."

Her heaving chest bellowed the feeling inside her—the pride, power, street of light—that was now engulfing her for the very first time in years. But the mocking distance was then broken as Kael's ears twitched. A different scent—new, electric, and piercing. He rose in an instant. "Someone's coming. And they're... not human."

Through the thick trees, a cloaked figure appeared, hood drawn low and casting shadows on the face. Kael frowned. "Stop." The figure halted.

"Identify yourself!"

The hood was pulled back just enough to allow a slight sway of silver hair from the wolf-step. Eyes in the faint moonlight glowed: "Kael Shadowmoon," she said without even a hint of casualness, but tempered with steel. "I have been sent to warn you. The curse you chase... it goes much farther than you think. Seraya is only the beginning".

Ember stepped back, trembling.

"Curse?" she whispered.

Kael's eyes narrowed. "What do you know?"

The silver-haired wolf looked at the two of them for long. “The double bond,” she said slowly. “It was never supposed to be created. Someone has been manipulating the magic and is feeding off the pain it causes. Your mate bond, Ember, is tied to ancient bloodlines... and a prophecy older even than the Shadowmoon pack itself.”

Ember felt her heart skip a beat.

Prophecy? Bloodlines? She wanted to run and hide or simply deny it all, but the truth responded through her veins, through its pull toward Kael and through the weird power her wolf had just unleashed.

“Who sent you?” demanded Kael.

“The High Priestess,” answered the wolf. “She knew this day would come. She wanted to guide you—but take heed, Kael. Not everyone within Shadowmoon is loyal, not even your father.”

Kael tightly clenched his teeth.

Not my father... The betrayal swept through him like ice water. He glanced at Ember, who was trembling under the weight of the revelation. "We have to move," he said. "Now."

Into the Borderlands they ran. The shadows engulfed rogue forests and treacherous cliffs. Ember's wolf emitted sudden bursts of howling pitches, responding in animalistic manner to danger, but still tethered to Kael's pulse. With every step further, more of the harsh beauty of the exile lands was revealed; twisted trees, frozen streams, caves with hollow echoes of distant howls.

With the dawn slowly rising, they finally found the ruin, a lonely place, with crumbling brown stones creeping with moss. It was there Kael decided to stop.

“We can rest here… but only briefly.” He glanced all around, alert. "They are tracking us, Ember. Both pack and rogue forces. We still have nowhere to be safe."

Ember sat on one of the fallen stones, shaking but full of joy. "I… I feel… alive," she whispered. "Even with the danger."

Kael observed her. Her wolf was calm now, almost tentatively resting. From her human eyes awakened a bit of strength. "Good," he said quietly. "You'll need it. What we face isn't just Seraya or the curse—it's the darkness inside the pack itself. The real enemy is closer than you think."

The howl broke the silence of the morning. Kael's wolf growled low. Ember's wolf surged back in reply. They shared a look that said: this fight is still far from over.

And at that moment, something had dawned on Ember that she had never dared speak aloud: she would follow Kael anywhere. Not because there was some destiny linking them—you know, the way they all speak of—but for the very first time, she finally had someone she could trust; someone who would fight alongside her rather than against her.

Kael reached out his hand. "We move together, Ember. No matter what comes, we face it as one."

She placed her hand in his one, trembling yet steadying herself. "As one," she whispered back.

They were gone; along with the rest of the world, swallowed by the Borderlands and branded targets of an ever-present and ever-blooming fate, politics, and forces older than either of them could comprehend.