For three more weeks, I moved with the silent, desperate precision of a cornered animal, preparing my escape. The tension in the Alpha Hall was a knife-edge. Kael's presence was overwhelming: following my scent, watching me from afar, his wolf circling the healer's hut every night, a silent, frustrated guardian. I knew he was close to breaking—planning to publicly reject Selene and seize his mate and heir.
But that moment would be too late. Selene, sharp and politically shrewd, had confirmed her suspicions; her cold glances followed me like daggers, and her allies in the council looked at me with open hostility. I knew the moment Kael made a move, she would unleash the council and their political firestorm. I wouldn't survive it, and neither would our unborn child.
So, at almost seven months pregnant, under the cloak of a pre-dawn storm, I executed my plan. With a satchel containing minimal supplies and my belly heavily cloaked, I slipped out through the Eastern Woods, heading for the uncharted territories far beyond the Dominion's borders.
I didn't make it two miles before the familiar, potent scent of cedar and wildfire hit the wind, overpowering the scent of wet earth and pine.
Kael emerged from the shadows of a massive oak, rain dripping from his black hair, his clothing minimal and soaked. He looked less like an Alpha and more like a furious, heartbroken warrior who had run until he bled.
"Running again, little wolf?" His voice was hoarse, raw with exertion and palpable pain from the mate bond I had strained. "Did you truly think a border could stop me from following my own soul?"
"Go back!" I hissed, stumbling backward, desperately trying to put distance between us. "If you're caught outside the official borders, the council will question your loyalty to the Dominion. You will give Selene the exact proof she needs to depose you!"
He advanced, his presence crushing, relentless. "You left my territory. You carry my child. You are my mate. I am done caring about the Dominion. My loyalty lies with my blood."
"You have a Luna!" I screamed the words, needing him to understand the political reality. "You swore an oath! You chose the crown!"
"A Luna I marked to protect you!" he roared, closing the final distance. "The elders were watching, Aria! If I had rejected Selene that night, they would have accused me of treason and exiled you before I could draw breath! I chose the crown to buy us time, to keep you safe in my territory under my protection!"
His words, filled with genuine anguish and the fierce integrity of the Alpha, cracked the last of my defenses. My heart desperately wanted to believe his sacrifice.
"Kael, a bastard heir still means war," I pleaded, tears mixing with the rain. "Your ancient oaths, your power… Selene knows about your Sacred Pact. She will use them to destroy you if you claim us. She will execute the oath!"
"That child is the true Alpha," he stated, his eyes dropping to my belly, filled with reverence that made my breath catch. "And I will give up every oath and every crown to see him born safe and free. I am done pretending. I am claiming what's mine, no matter the cost."
He pulled me into his chest, sheltering me from the storm. The bond flared, powerful and possessive, washing away the cold and the fear.
"Well, isn't this touching?" The cold, mocking voice sliced through the moment.
Selene emerged from the tree line, drenched, furious, yet terrifyingly composed. She had tracked him perfectly, waiting for the moment of their reunion.
Her gaze swept over me, freezing on my pronounced stomach. "So it is true. The half-breed carries the Alpha's child. A scandal fit for a traitor."
Kael pushed me behind him, his wolf rising to the surface, a low snarl rumbling in his chest. "Watch your tongue, Selene. I will tolerate no disrespect toward my mate."
Selene smiled, utterly devoid of fear. "You claim her now, Alpha, and I will execute the Sacred Pact with the council. I have the evidence of your breach. They will remove you, exile you as a traitor, and strip you of every asset. You will be a rogue in the wilderness. You lose your entire legacy."
She paused, allowing the gravity of the political weapon to settle. "Or, you return with me, and I keep your secret. We eliminate the bastard child, and you keep your Dominion."
Kael stood rigid, his powerful body shaking with internal conflict. He was being asked to choose his life's work against his mate and child.
"I choose my mate," he said, his voice a broken whisper of finality, an earth-shattering pronouncement. "You can have the throne, Selene. I will break every oath and burn every asset. But you will never, ever touch my family."
Selene's triumph vanished, replaced by pure, lethal vengeance. She raised a silver whistle to her lips. "Fine. You chose war."
She blew the whistle—a sharp, piercing sound—and vanished back into the woods, leaving the echo of her betrayal hanging in the air.
Kael turned, his face etched with fury and grief, but his eyes were resolute. "She has won the crown. But I have you, Aria. And I will fight the world for that."
He pressed his forehead to mine, a silent vow, a confirmation of his ultimate sacrifice. Just as the mate bond sealed their choice, a sharp, ragged sound cut through the forest.
A rogue howl. They had company.