Kael Draven's blood thundered in his veins as the massive black wolf emerged from the shadows beyond Ironhowl Keep's broken gate. Its violet eyes glowed like twin moons, locking onto Eira with a hunger that made his wolf snarl in warning. The courtyard was a maelstrom of fire and steel, Frostfang warriors clashing with rogue invaders under the blood moon's crimson glare, but that wolf it wasn't one of theirs. It wasn't even a rogue.
It was something else, something that made the runes on the keep's walls flicker and die.
"Eira, get back!" Kael roared, his blade raised as he shoved through the fray. She didn't listen—typical. Her silver hair whipped in the wind as she faced the wolf, her stolen dagger gleaming, her pendant blazing like a star against her chest. He'd felt that hum again, that impossible pull in his soul when the Shadowclaw figure had taunted him about a bond. He didn't believe in fate, not after what it had done to his parents, but whatever tied him to this rogue girl was no ordinary instinct.
The wolf's low growl vibrated through the stones, and the air thickened, heavy with a power Kael couldn't name. His warriors faltered, their movements slowing as if the moon itself pressed down on them. Eira stood her ground, her violet eyes mirroring the wolf's, her body tense but unyielding. "Stay out of this, Alpha," she snapped, her voice sharp despite the chaos. "This isn't your fight."
"The hell it isn't," Kael growled, closing the distance between them. His arm still bled from the rogue's claws, but he ignored the pain, his focus split between her and the wolf. The Shadowclaw figure had vanished, but their words,her power, to end the mate system echoed in his mind.
Eira was no ordinary rogue, and this wolf was no ordinary beast.
He grabbed her arm, pulling her behind him as the wolf advanced, its massive paws silent on the blood-slick stones. "You know what that thing is," he said, his voice low, urgent. "Tell me."
She yanked free, her eyes blazing with defiance. "You wouldn't believe me if I did."
The wolf lunged, faster than any beast had a right to be, its jaws snapping inches from Eira's throat. Kael moved on instinct, swinging his blade in a wide arc. The steel bit into the wolf's shoulder, drawing a spray of dark blood, but it didn't flinch.
Instead, it turned those violet eyes on him, and a voice not a growl, but a voice slithered into his mind: She is ours, Alpha. Release her, or we all burn.
Kael staggered, the words like ice in his veins. He'd heard of old magic, whispers of the First Moon Queen's power, but this was something else—something alive, ancient, and tied to Eira. Her pendant pulsed brighter, and she gasped, clutching it as if it burned. "No," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Not yet."
Before he could demand answers, a shout rang out from the ramparts. "Alpha! The Council's riders are moving!" Torin's voice was strained, his figure silhouetted against the firelight as he pointed toward the keep's inner courtyard. The Council's delegation—three cloaked figures flanked by armored guards—was retreating toward the stables, their faces hidden but their urgency clear. They weren't here to help. They were here for her.
Kael's grip tightened on his blade. The Council had demanded a report on the bond rejections, but their riders' arrival just as the rogues attacked was no coincidence. They knew something about Eira, about her power. And if they took her, he'd lose any chance to understand why his pack was fracturing or why his wolf wouldn't let her go.
"Torin, hold the gate!" Kael ordered, his voice cutting through the chaos. He turned to Eira, who was backing away, her eyes darting between the wolf and the side gate. "You're not running," he said, stepping into her path. "Not until I know what's going on."
Her laugh was bitter, almost desperate. "You think you can control this? You're out of your depth, Alpha." But her voice cracked, and her hand hovered over the pendant, its glow pulsing in time with the wolf's growls.
The wolf circled, its violet eyes never leaving Eira, and the chanting from beyond the gate grew louder, a guttural rhythm that made Kael's skin crawl. The rogues weren't just fighting they were summoning something. The air shimmered, and the wolf's form flickered, its edges blurring as if it were more shadow than flesh. Eira's pendant flared again, and she stumbled, her face pale, her breath ragged.
"Eira," Kael said, softer now, his hand reaching for her before he could stop himself. "What is it doing to you?"
She met his gaze, and for the first time, he saw fear—raw, unguarded fear. "It's not just a wolf," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "It's her. The Queen."
The words hit like a blow, stirring memories of old pack legends: the First Moon Queen, whose blood could reshape the world, whose power could unmake bonds and break Alphas. Kael's mind reeled, but before he could press her, the wolf howled a sound that shook the keep's walls and sent his warriors to their knees. The blood moon pulsed brighter, and Eira cried out, her pendant's light exploding outward, a silver wave that knocked Kael back and sent the wolf reeling.
For a moment, the battle stilled, the rogues and Frostfangs frozen as the light faded. Eira stood at the center, her hands trembling, her eyes wide with horror. The wolf recovered, its form solidifying, and it lunged not at Eira, but at Kael, its claws aimed for his heart.
Instinct took over. Kael rolled, his blade flashing, but the wolf was too fast, its claws raking his chest. Pain seared through him, but he didn't falter, driving his blade into the beast's side. It snarled, retreating, but its eyes stayed on Eira, and that voice slithered into his mind again: She will claim her birthright, or you will fall with her.
Eira moved, darting toward the side gate, but the Council's riders were there, their cloaks billowing as they blocked her path. One raised a crossbow, its bolt glinting with silver. "The heir!" the rider shouted, his voice carrying over the chaos. "Take her alive!"
Kael's heart stopped. Heir. They knew. And as Eira froze, caught between the wolf and the riders, the blood moon flared, and a new vision hit him—her, standing in a moonlit grove, her hands glowing, his wolf howling at her side. The bond, undeniable, roared through him.
"Eira!" he shouted, lunging toward her as the crossbow fired.