KAEL'S POV
I didn't think. I just moved.
My body shifted mid-leap—human to leopard in a heartbeat. I slammed into Moira before she could touch Aria. We hit the ground hard, rolling through dirt and dead leaves.
She laughed as my claws raked across her chest. No blood. Just black smoke pouring from the wounds.
"Brave little leopard," she cooed. "But you can't kill what's already dead."
She shoved me off with inhuman strength. I crashed into a tree, ribs cracking. Pain exploded through my chest but I forced myself up.
Thorne's dragon fire engulfed Moira. She walked through the flames like they were nothing, not even singed.
"Your fire can't hurt me, Dragon Lord." Her white eyes gleamed. "I'm beyond such mortal concerns."
Aria was backing away, her face pale. The black veins in her mark pulsed like a heartbeat.
No. I wouldn't let this monster take her.
I charged again. This time Moira caught me by the throat mid-leap, slamming me to the ground. Her grip was ice-cold.
"Stop," she said casually. "Or I'll break his neck."
"Don't!" Aria's voice cracked. "Don't hurt him!"
Moira's smile widened. "Then come with me. Right now. No fighting."
"Aria, don't—" I choked out.
"Quiet." Moira's grip tightened. Black smoke curled around my throat, burning like frostbite. "She needs to choose. Her heroic mate? Or her own survival?"
Aria stepped forward, hands raised. "Let him go. I'll come with you."
"No!" I tried to shift, to break free, but the cold darkness held me paralyzed.
"Smart girl." Moira released me. I collapsed, gasping.
Aria walked toward her, each step visibly costing her. She was terrified but doing it anyway. Always trying to save everyone else.
That's when I saw it—her mark wasn't dimming. It was building. Glowing brighter with each step, hidden beneath her clenched fist.
She wasn't surrendering. She was buying time.
"There's something I need to know first," Aria said, stopping five feet from Moira. "If I'm becoming like you... can it be stopped?"
Moira tilted her head. "Why would you want to stop it? Corruption is power. The ability to take life as easily as giving it. Why limit yourself to just healing?"
"Because taking life is wrong."
"Wrong?" Moira laughed. "Child, you've been taking life since you arrived. Every beast you killed in that battle. Every Shadow Beast you destroyed. They were living things too."
"They were trying to kill my friends!"
"And isn't that convenient? Violence is acceptable when you're the hero." Moira's expression turned cold. "But I see the truth. You enjoyed it. The power. The way they fell before your light. You felt strong. Alive. For the first time since dying, you felt like you mattered."
Aria flinched. The words had hit home.
"That's the corruption talking," Moira continued softly. "The hunger for more. More power. More control. More purpose." She extended her hand again. "I can teach you to embrace it. To use it. You'll never be weak again. Never helpless. Never useless."
"I was never useless," Aria whispered. But her voice shook.
I forced myself to stand. "Aria. Look at me."
She turned. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears.
"You're not useless," I said firmly. "You're not weak. And you're definitely not becoming her." I took a painful step forward. "That mark on your palm? It chose you because you're good. Because you save people even when it costs you everything. The corruption trying to take root in you doesn't stand a chance against who you really are."
"You don't know that," Aria said. "What if I can't fight it? What if I become—"
"Then I'll remind you who you are. Every day. Every moment." Another step. "You told me you're sick of watching people die. But do you know what I see when I look at you? Someone who refuses to let death win. Even when it's easier. Even when it hurts."
Moira's smile had disappeared. "How touching. But words won't save her from what's coming."
"Maybe not." Thorne landed beside me, shifting to human. His golden eyes were fierce. "But we will. All of us."
Ryder emerged from the trees, blood-soaked but alive. His pack followed—dozens of wolves forming a circle around us.
"The Shadow Beasts are gone," Ryder announced. "And we're not letting you take her."
Moira looked around at the assembled forces. For the first time, she seemed uncertain.
"You can't guard her forever," she said. "The corruption will spread. She'll hurt someone she loves. And when that happens—when she sees what she's becoming—she'll come to me willingly."
"You're wrong," Aria said. Her voice was stronger now. She unclenched her fist, revealing her mark blazing pure gold. No black veins visible anymore—just light. "I'm not becoming you. I'm becoming me. And that means fighting this with everything I have."
She thrust her palm forward. Golden light erupted—not violent, but cleansing. It washed over the clearing like a wave.
Moira shrieked. The light touched her and she recoiled, smoke pouring from her skin.
"Impossible! You're too new—you can't control—"
"I'm a nurse," Aria cut her off. "I spent ten years fighting death. You think a little corruption scares me? I've seen worse on a Tuesday night shift."
The light intensified. Moira's form began breaking apart, dissolving like the Shadow Beasts.
"This isn't over!" she screamed. "The darkness is already inside you! You'll see! You'll—"
She vanished in a burst of black smoke.
Silence fell.
Aria swayed. I caught her before she could fall.
"Did I... did I kill her?" she whispered.
"No," Thorne said grimly. "You banished her. She'll be back."
"But you hurt her," Ryder added. "Proved you're stronger than she expected."
Aria looked up at me, exhaustion written all over her face. "The black veins. Are they really gone?"
I checked her mark. The golden symbol blazed pure and clean. "They're gone. Your light burned them away."
She laughed—slightly hysterical. "I cleansed myself while trying to fight her. I'm either really smart or really lucky."
"Both," I said. Then, because I needed to: "Don't ever try to sacrifice yourself for me again."
"Why not? You'd do it for me."
"That's different."
"How?"
"Because losing you would kill me." The words came out raw, honest. "The mate bond isn't just magic, Aria. It's real. You're in my heart now. If you die, I die with you."
Her eyes widened. "Kael..."
"He's right," Thorne said quietly. "Mate bonds are soul-deep. That's why they anchor Lifebringers. Why they keep you from falling to corruption."
"So I need you," Aria said slowly. "To stay alive. To stay... me."
"You need all of us," Ryder corrected. "One mate isn't enough for a Lifebringer's power. The legends say they always had multiple bonds. Multiple anchors to life."
Aria stared at him. "Wait. Are you saying—"
"That you need more than just the leopard? Yes." Ryder's golden eyes were serious. "The gathering tomorrow isn't just political theater. It's survival. You need to form bonds with the strongest alphas in the territory. Bonds strong enough to hold you to this world."
"That's insane," Aria protested.
"That's the Beastworld," I said. It hurt to admit, but he was right. I wasn't enough alone. My bond with her was strong, but Moira had nearly taken her anyway. "You need a pack. A pride. A clan. Multiple males strong enough to ground you."
"I'm not some prize to be divided up—"
"No," Thorne interrupted. "You're a weapon that needs a team to wield it. And whether you like it or not, without more bonds, you'll either fall to corruption or burn yourself out trying to fight it."
Aria looked between us—me, Thorne, Ryder. "So what, I'm supposed to just... pick males to bond with? Like choosing from a menu?"
"You're supposed to let fate choose," I said. "The bonds form naturally between compatible souls. You can't force them."
"Then how do I know who's compatible?"
Ryder smiled slightly. "You'll know. The bond feels like..."
"Like coming home after being lost," I finished. "Like finding a piece of yourself you didn't know was missing."
Aria touched her chest, right over her heart. "I felt that. When you first touched me. When your light mixed with mine." She looked at me. "Is that what this is?"
"Yes."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Tomorrow's gathering. It's not just about politics. It's about finding more... mates?"
"Potentially," Thorne said. "If the bonds form."
"And if they don't?"
"Then you survive on willpower alone." His golden eyes were dark. "But I've seen that path. It doesn't end well."
Aria's shoulders slumped. "I just wanted to save people. How did this become so complicated?"
"Because power always comes with a price," Ryder said. "The question is: are you willing to pay it?"
Before Aria could answer, the ground beneath us trembled.
Then cracked.
Black smoke poured from the fissures. Not Shadow Beasts—something worse. The cracks formed a pattern. A symbol.
Moira's laughter echoed from nowhere and everywhere: "Did you really think banishing me would end this? I've marked your territory now, little sister. Marked your precious males. One of them is already mine."
The smoke formed words in the air: ONE OF THEM WILL BETRAY YOU
Then it vanished.
We stared at each other. Kael. Thorne. Ryder.
One of us was corrupted.
One of us would betray her.
But which one?