Lyra's POV
Shadow Vale appears through the trees like a graveyard.
Every wolf in the pack stands in the clearing. Silent. Waiting. Watching.
Damon's body lies on a funeral pyre in the center. Surrounded by white flowers that look like snow.
I killed him. Now I have to face his entire pack.
My hands shake. The bond thrums with anxiety.
Stay close, Kael whispers, his hand finding mine. Warm. Steady. Don't let them separate us.
We step into the clearing together.
Every single eye burns with hatred. Three hundred wolves wanting me dead.
Thomas Blackwood Damon's father stands at the front. Grief has carved deep lines into his face, aged him decades in days.
Beside him is Marcus. The uncle. The suspect.
Marcus smiles coldly when he sees us. A predator's smile.
You brought her. The murderer, Thomas says, his voice breaking. To my son's funeral.
She'll stand trial, Kael corrects firmly. But not here. Not like this.
She killed my son! Thomas roars. The pack howls in agreement, the sound raising every hair on my body.
Kael's dominance slams out, forcing them quiet. The power makes the air vibrate. Pack law requires due process
You speak of law while protecting your mate? Marcus steps forward, and there's something calculated in his eyes. Everyone here knows the bond formed. How very convenient for the murderer.
Whispers ripple through the pack. Suspicious. Angry.
The bond changes nothing about justice, Kael says.
Then execute her now, Marcus demands. Let Shadow Vale witness true justice for once.
The pack roars approval. The sound is deafening.
My heart pounds against my ribs. This is it. This is how I die.
Kael doesn't move. Where is Mira Ashwood?
Marcus blinks, and for a second, he looks genuinely confused. Who?
Lyra's sister. Your wolves kidnapped her. Where is she?
I don't know what you're talking about, Alpha King.
He looks truthful. Which means someone else is pulling the strings.
Someone we haven't identified yet.
The wolves who kidnapped us were from Shadow Vale, Kael announces loudly. Three of them. All dead now. Throats slit to keep them quiet. Someone here is a traitor to the pack.
Shock ripples through the assembled wolves. Gasps. Denials.
Lies! Thomas shouts, but there's uncertainty in his eyes now.
Kael shows photos of the dead kidnappers on his phone. Recognize them?
Thomas goes pale as ash. Staggers. That's my nephew. Marcus's son. But they couldn't have they wouldn't
Someone ordered them to kidnap an innocent girl. Then killed them to hide the evidence.
A wolf howl splits the night. Distress signal from the forest.
Something crashes through the trees.
Mira.
My sister stumbles into the clearing, bloody and barefoot. Barely standing.
MIRA! I try to run but Kael holds me back with iron strength.
Wait. Something's wrong, he whispers urgently.
He's right. Mira's eyes are wild. Unfocused. Drugged.
She doesn't see me. Doesn't see anyone.
Help me, Mira slurs, falling to her knees. Please... help...
She collapses face-first into the dirt.
I break free from Kael and run to her. Drop beside her. You're safe now! You're safe!
Her hand suddenly grabs my wrist. Too hard. Bruising.
I look down.
She's holding a detonator.
No. No, no, no
I'm sorry, Mira whispers, tears streaming down her bruised face. They said if I don't do this... they'll kill you both... I'm so sorry, Lyra... I love you...
Mira, don't
She presses the button.
Explosions rock the clearing.
The funeral pyre erupts in silver flames deadly to wolves. Spreading fast.
Wolves scream. Panic. Shift and run in all directions.
Kael grabs both Mira and me, pulling us away from the flames.
But we're surrounded. Silver fire on all sides, boxing us in.
Through the smoke and chaos, I see her.
Isla.
Walking through the flames like a demon. Unburned. Smiling.
Hello, Alpha King, she calls out cheerfully. Miss me?
Kael snarls, pushing Mira and me behind him. I trusted you for ten years.
I know. That was the fun part. She gestures casually. Twenty wolves emerge from the smoke. Armed with silver weapons. Rogues with glowing red eyes.
Controlled rogues. That should be impossible.
You used Mira, I breathe, holding my drugged sister. Drugged her. Strapped a bomb to a child.
I needed chaos. Distraction. Just like I needed you to kill Damon. Isla's smile widens. You played your part beautifully, Lyra. Such emotion. Such anguish. Very convincing.
Rage burns through me hotter than the silver flames. The bond flares with it.
Why betray me? Kael demands, and I hear the hurt beneath the anger. What did I ever do to deserve this?
You were never meant to be king. Your brother Riordan should have ruled. He was strong. Ruthless. Perfect. When he died because of his weak, pathetic heart for that traitor mateI knew you'd be the same.
My brother died because someone manipulated his mate, Kael growls dangerously. Someone poisoned Seraphina against him. Was that you?
Isla's smile confirms it before she speaks. Does it matter now? You're about to join him in death.
The rogues advance in perfect formation. Trained. Disciplined.
We're trapped. Wounded. Outnumbered twenty to two.
Any last words? Isla asks, almost politely.
Kael looks at me. Through the bond, I feel his plan forming. Wild. Desperate.
Insane enough to work.
Lyra, he says calmly. Do you trust me?
I look at Mira unconscious in my arms. At the scattered pack. At Isla closing in with her army of controlled rogues.
At certain death approaching from all sides.
Yes, I say firmly. I trust you.
Hold on tight. Channel everything through the bond.
Kael's eyes glow pure silver. Brighter than I've ever seen.
Power explodes from him like a shockwave.
But he's not just using his own power.
He's channelling the bond. Our bond. Drawing on my strength combined with his.
I feel my energy pouring into him willingly. His flowing into me.
The silver fire responds.
Not to Isla's control anymore.
To ours.
Kael raises his hand slowly. The flames rise with it, like he's conducting an orchestra of destruction.
Isla's smile vanishes. That's impossible! Silver fire can't be controlled!
You thought the bond made me weak, Kael says, his voice resonating with power. You were wrong, Isla. Dead wrong.
The silver flames erupt outward in a massive wave.
Straight at the rogues.
They scream. Scatter. Run.
Even controlled rogues fear silver fire.
Isla's eyes widen with genuine fear for the first time.
This isn't over, Kael! She shifts into a gray wolf and runs.
The rogues follow her into the forest.
The silver fire dies at Kael's command, leaving smoking ground.
We stand in the destroyed clearing. Breathing hard. Alive.
Shadow Vale wolves stare at us in absolute shock.
Thomas approaches slowly, reverently. You controlled silver fire together. That's only possible for
He stops. Goes deathly pale.
True mates, Kael finishes quietly. Bonded and united in power.
Marcus steps forward, and he's looking at us differently now. With awe. And fear.
The prophecy, he breathes.
What prophecy? I demand.
An old legend, Thomas says shakily. About a bonded pair who could command the element that kills us. Silver. They would either save all the wolf packs from destruction or destroy them all ourselves.
Everyone stares at us.
Waiting to see which we'll be.
Saviors or destroyers.
Which will you be? Thomas asks the question everyone's thinking.
Mira gasps suddenly. Seizing in my arms.
The drug, Kael says urgently. It's poisoning her system. She needs a healer. Now.
Our healer just tried to kill you both, Thomas points out grimly.
Then find another! I scream, holding Mira as she convulses. She's dying!
Marcus pulls out his phone. I know someone three hours away
She doesn't have three hours!
Mira's lips are turning blue. Foam at her mouth.
Minutes. She has minutes.
The bond, Kael says suddenly, kneeling beside us. We controlled fire. Maybe we can heal.
We don't know how!
We learn. Right now. Together.
He places his hand over Mira's heart. Reaches for mine with the other.
The bond opens between us like a door.
I feel everything. His fear for Mira. His determination. His wolf howling to save the innocent.
Our combined power flows into my sister's small body.
Please work. Please, please work.
Her seizure slows. Breathing steadies.
It's working, Kael breathes. Keep going.
But something's wrong.
The healing is draining us. Fast.
Too fast.
If we don't stop, we die.
But if we stop, Mira dies.
Kael, I gasp, feeling my strength failing. We can't maintain this
We can. We have to. Together, Lyra.
He's wrong. I feel us both fading.
But I can't let Mira die. Not after everything.
I push more power through the bond. Everything I have left.
Kael does the same.
The world blurs at the edges. Darkness creeping in like fog.
Worth it. To save her.
The last thing I hear before unconsciousness takes me is Thomas's shocked voice:
They're dying. The bond is killing them both.
Someone stop them!
How? If we break the connection, the girl dies!
Darkness swallows me whole.
And I don't know if any of us will wake up.