Chapter 9 — Bro Bowed And Broke My Brain
682 Words
“My Queen.”
Girl.
WHAT.
My entire wolf brain lagged.
The tunnel went dead silent.
Kael remained bowed in front of me.
Actually bowed.
Alpha Kael.
The same man who ripped heads off like opening soda bottles.
BOWING.
TO ME.
Nah because somebody needed to restart the server.
The Alpha King looked genuinely horrified.
And honestly?
That terrified me more than anything.
“No…” he whispered.
Selena looked between us like she’d just witnessed tax fraud in real time.
My wolf stood frozen.
Huge silver paws planted on broken stone.
And something inside me—
something ancient—
liked this.
Liked the submission.
OH ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Red flag detected inside my own soul.
Kael finally lifted his head slowly.
Silver eyes locked onto mine.
Not fear.
Not weakness.
Choice.
He chose to bow.
That hit weirdly hard.
“My Queen,” he repeated quietly.
My wolf reacted instantly.
The bond pulsed.
Heat shot through me.
And before my human brain could stop it—
I stepped toward him.
One paw.
Then another.
Kael stayed perfectly still.
Trusting me.
Which honestly was questionable judgment.
The Alpha King suddenly stepped forward.
“Kael, stand up.”
Kael ignored him.
Oops.
The King’s voice hardened.
“You cannot kneel to her.”
Kael’s gaze never left mine.
“I already have.”
The tension?
CRIMINALLY HIGH.
Then—
my wolf suddenly spoke.
Not out loud.
Inside my head.
MINE.
I froze.
Excuse me??
MINE.
The word echoed louder.
And horrifyingly—
it was talking about Kael.
Nah.
Absolutely not.
My wolf was simping.
For THIS man.
The Moon Goddess truly had questionable taste.
I tried to back away—
but the bond surged violently.
Silver light exploded around us.
Kael inhaled sharply.
And then—
the world tilted.
Suddenly I wasn’t in the tunnel anymore.
I gasped.
Dark forest.
Moonlit sky.
Cold wind.
What—
A memory.
Not mine.
Kael’s.
Oh hell.
I saw younger Kael.
Maybe sixteen.
Blood on his hands.
Rain falling.
And in front of him—
the silver-haired woman from the portrait.
His mother.
She was crying.
“No matter what happens,” she whispered, touching his face, “you must never let them use her.”
Young Kael shook violently.
“Mother—”
Footsteps.
Shouting.
Then another man appeared.
The Alpha King.
Younger too.
And furious.
“She belongs to the crown!”
The woman stepped protectively in front of Kael.
“She belongs to herself.”
Then—
blood.
Sudden blood.
A scream.
Kael’s scream.
The memory shattered.
I stumbled back into reality gasping.
The tunnel spun.
My wolf shifted violently—
and suddenly I was human again.
I collapsed.
Kael caught me immediately.
Strong arms.
Warm chest.
Way too comforting.
His face looked panicked.
“Ava?”
I stared at him.
Still seeing the boy from the memory.
The terrified son.
My chest tightened.
“You watched her die.”
Silence.
Kael froze.
The Alpha King looked away.
Oh.
So I was right.
Kael’s voice came out rough.
“You saw that?”
I nodded weakly.
Pain flashed across his face.
And girl—
that pain looked OLD.
Like grief that never healed.
Suddenly I understood why he looked at me like I was both treasure and catastrophe.
Because he already lost one prophecy wolf.
And history was trying to hand him another.
Before anyone could speak—
a violent explosion shook the tunnel.
BOOM.
Stone rained from above.
A guard burst through the entrance covered in blood.
“Alpha!”
Kael instantly stood.
The guard looked terrified.
“The rogues breached the lower grounds—”
He stopped.
Eyes widening at me.
Then he dropped to his knees.
“…My Queen.”
Oh no.
OH NO.
Another howl echoed outside.
Then another.
And another.
Hundreds.
The guard looked pale.
“They’re gathering.”
Kael’s expression darkened.
“Who?”
The guard swallowed hard.
Not rogues.
Not pack wolves.
Something worse.
“The Alphas.”
Silence.
Then the guard said the sentence that ruined everybody’s remaining peace:
“They want to see the Queen.”
- Writer
