Kael's POV
I wake to agony.
Every bone in my body screams. Every muscle feels shredded. The bond we pushed it too far. Burned too bright.
Mira's alive though. I hear her breathing steadily nearby.
But Lyra
She's beside me in the medical bed, unconscious. Pale as death. Barely breathing. Chest rising and falling so slightly I have to watch carefully to confirm she's alive.
How long? I rasp to whoever's in the room.
Three days, Alpha King. Thomas's voice. He stands with a healer I don't recognize.
Three days. We've been unconscious for three days.
Isla could be anywhere. Planning anything.
I try to sit up. Pain explodes through every nerve.
Don't move, the healer warns urgently. You burned through your entire energy reserves. Another hour and you'd have died.
Lyra
Worse than you. She pushed harder, gave more. Thomas looks at her with something like respect. Awe, even. She almost killed herself to save her sister. Would have, if we hadn't forcibly broken the connection.
The bond pulses weakly between us. Damaged. Fragile.
Will she survive?
I don't know, the healer admits. She should be awake by now. But she's not responding to treatment.
Fear claws at my chest.
No. I won't lose her. Not after everything.
The door bursts open violently. Marcus my uncle storms in, face dark with fury.
You're awake. Good. We need to talk. Now.
I'm not going anywhere. I can barely move.
He drops a thick folder on my chest. Papers scatter. Reports from every major pack. They all say the same thing. The Alpha King is compromised. Protecting a murderer because of a mate bond. You're weak, Kael. Weak like Riordan was.
Rage floods me despite the pain. I'm nothing like my brother!
Then prove it. Execute her. Show the packs you can still lead.
She's innocent!
She killed Damon Blackwood. Hundreds of witnesses saw it. That's not innocent.
She was forced
By who? Where's your proof? All I see is a bond clouding your judgment. Marcus leans closer. The packs are talking about challenging you. Multiple Alphas. In your current state, you'd lose. Do you understand what that means? Civil war.
He's right. I can barely sit up. In a challenge, I'd die in minutes.
And then chaos would consume us all.
What do you suggest? I ask through gritted teeth.
Give them Lyra. Public execution. Show strength. Show you're not controlled by the bond.
The bond screams its rejection so violently I gasp.
I can't do that.
Marcus's eyes flash with something like triumph. Then you're already lost. Just like Riordan. The bond will destroy you too.
He leaves, slamming the door.
Hours blur together. Pain. Worry. The bond aching.
When I wake again, it's night. Mira sits beside Lyra's bed, crying silently.
She saved me, Mira whispers, seeing I'm awake. She's dying because of it. Because of me.
She's not dying, I say firmly. Willing it to be true.
Mira looks at me with eyes too old for sixteen. You love her, don't you?
Do I?
I look at Lyra. The woman who killed her mate to save her sister. Who took a bullet for me. Who trusted me when she had every reason not to.
Yeah. I might.
The bond
Not the bond, Mira interrupts. You chose to save her. To die with her rather than let her go. That's not the bond. That's love.
Smart kid. Too smart.
Lyra gasps suddenly.
Her eyes fly open, wild with panic. Mira! The bomb
I'm okay, Mira says quickly, grabbing her sister's hand. You saved me. You're okay.
Lyra looks around frantically, sees me. Through the bond, I feel her fear turn to relief.
How long? she asks.
Three days.
Your uncle wants you to execute me. I heard through the bond while I was unconscious.
Of course she did. The bond hides nothing when we're this connected.
He can't make me, I say.
But he's right, isn't he? Lyra struggles to sit up. Mira helps her. The packs think you're weak. Compromised. They'll challenge you.
I'll heal.
What if you don't? Her storm-gray eyes bore into mine. You could lose everything. Your throne. Your packs. All because of me.
I feel her resolve forming. Terrifying in its certainty.
Don't even think about sacrificing yourself, I warn.
If my death saves you saves the packs from civil war
It'll destroy me! The words burst out. The bond won't let me survive losing you, Lyra. Not now. Not after we've gone this deep.
That's impossible. Mates can survive
Not true mates who've bonded this intensely. You know the stories. When one dies, the other follows within days. The bond shatters and takes us both.
Understanding floods her face. Horror.
We're truly bound now. For life.
Or death.
Mira quietly slips out, giving us privacy.
What do we do? Lyra whispers.
The door slams open again.
Thomas rushes in, face pale with fear.
We have a serious problem. Six packs just arrived at our borders. Armed for war. Demanding Lyra's execution. If we refuse, they attack at dawn.
My blood freezes. Which packs?
North Ridge. Silver Moon. Iron Fang. Blood River. Storm Claw. Frost Spine.
Six of the largest, most powerful packs in the territory. Ready for war.
This is it. The challenge Marcus warned about.
How long until dawn? I ask.
Four hours.
Four hours. And I can barely stand.
There's more, Thomas says, and his voice shakes. They have a leader. Someone organizing them.
Who?
Thomas goes even paler, if possible. Your brother, Alpha King.
The world stops spinning.
My brother is dead. I saw his body.
That's what we all thought. But the wolf leading them Thomas pulls out his phone, shows me a photo.
My heart stops.
Riordan. My brother.
Alive.
Standing in front of six armies. Eyes glowing red like the controlled rogues.
That's impossible, I breathe.
But through the bond, I feel Lyra's horror matching mine.
Understanding crashes over us both.
Isla didn't just manipulate Riordan's mate.
She faked his death. Hid him. Twisted him.
And now he's back.
With an army.
Coming for my throne.
Coming for me.
He says he's here to free the packs from corrupt leadership, Thomas continues. Says the bond made you weak. That you're unfit to rule. He's demanding your throne. And Lyra's head.
I look at Lyra. She looks at me.
Four hours until my dead brother attacks with six armies.
And I can barely walk.
This is what Isla wanted all along, Lyra says quietly. Riordan was her weapon. She's been planning this for years.
She's right.
And we just walked right into the final trap.
What do we do? Thomas asks desperately.
I look at Lyra. My mate. My partner. My equal.
We fight, I say.
You can't even stand!
Then I'll fight on my knees. I reach for Lyra's hand. Together.
Through the bond, I feel her fear.
And her acceptance.
We're going to war.
Against impossible odds.
And we'll probably die.
But at least we'll die together.
Fighting for something that matters.