Sophie's POV
The figure stood still—his hand stretched toward me.
Dark Kael.
Or… was it truly him?
The Guardian Spirit's voice echoed in my mind: "Will you trust him? Or fear him?"
I clutched the blade tighter, my breath sharp, the pull between instinct and trust burning like wildfire inside my chest.
Kael had protected me.
Fed me.
Carried me through fog and hunger.
But this thing… this shadow-Kael—his black eyes reminded me of the rogues. Of death. Of fear. Of that night when the wolves ripped through trees like demons.
My arm trembled.
"I-I'm sorry…"
I didn't even realize the blade had slashed the vision until it shattered like glass.
And with it—so did the forest.
The ground heaved beneath me. Screams echoed from beyond the trees. The Guardian Spirit turned his back on me, vanishing into golden mist.
Then silence.
The blade in my hand dimmed, the glow vanishing like a heart gone cold.
And I was alone.
I had failed.
Kael's POV
I felt it.
Like a heartbeat ceasing mid-thump.
The bond between Sophie and I flickered. Died.
Not completely… but a thread had snapped.
A trial had been presented.
And she had chosen fear.
My knees buckled—but I caught myself.
Ronan stood not far now, his spear dripping blood—mine.
"You feel it too, don't you?" he said. "She faltered."
"She's human," I growled.
"No, she's not. And you know that." He gritted his teeth, then paced. "But now she doubts you. And the prophecy only works if trust holds."
"I'll earn it back."
Ronan stopped. "Why?"
And then his eyes… shifted—not with hate this time, but something deeper.
Regret.
Ronan's Flashback – His POV
We were never the noble beasts the legends said we were.
Our pack wasn't built on loyalty—it was built on fear.
When the old king died, Alpha Thorne took his place—Kael's father. Ruthless. Brilliant. Obsessed with prophecy.
He believed his bloodline was cursed. He trained Kael not to love, not to feel. He told him that mercy was weakness—that prophecy was war wearing a crown.
Kael refused.
I saw him at thirteen, shielding an injured rogue pup during a training raid. The Alpha nearly killed him.
I admired Kael then.
But I chose loyalty over friendship.
When Kael lost control and caused the accident… the pack's punishment was cruel. Not just exile. Not just the curse. They buried the truth. Let the world believe he was born a monster.
"We will erase him," the Alpha had said to us. "Let the curse die with him… or let the forest consume him."
And I obeyed.
Not because I wanted to.
But because I was afraid.
Of the Alpha.
Of the prophecy.
Of what Kael really was—the key to a future I didn't understand.
Sophie's POV (Later That Night)
I curled under my blanket, beside the edge of a dried root.
Kael hadn't returned since our separation.
And I couldn't stop thinking about his eyes in that illusion. Or the blade in my hand. Or how I—chose fear.
I whispered into the dark. "I'm sorry…"
But the forest gave no answer.
Just the caw of a red-eyed crow watching from above.