Iris POV
The bond is a living thing inside my chest, screaming at me to go to him.
I'm still kneeling by the Moonstone Pool, tears streaming down my face, when I feel Kael's presence like a physical force. The mating bond pulls tight between us, and through it, his emotions slam into me—rage, denial, and something else I don't understand yet.
Terror.
Not of me. For me.
I look up, and he's standing at the edge of the clearing.
Up close, he's even more terrifying than he was from across the festival. Easily seven feet tall, his body is caught between wolf and man in the worst possible way. Dark fur covers his arms and chest. His hands end in claws that could gut me with one swipe. His face is all wrong—jaw too long, fangs extending past his lips, golden eyes that glow with animal intensity.
But it's those eyes that freeze me in place.
Because despite the monster's face, despite the fur and fangs and claws, there's intelligence burning in that golden gaze. Awareness. Humanity fighting against something dark and terrible.
You need to run, he says, and his voice is a rough growl that barely sounds human. Now.
I should. Every instinct I have screams at me to shift and flee. My weak wolf is whimpering, begging me to escape while I still can.
But through the bond, I feel what he's not saying. He didn't come here to hurt me. He came to make sure I'm safe. Even now, even as his body trembles with the effort of staying in control, his first thought is protecting me.
Why? The word comes out steadier than I expected. Why do I need to run?
His claws flex, digging furrows in the dirt. Because I'm cursed. Dying. And in about thirty seconds, I'm going to lose control completely. His golden eyes bore into mine. When that happens, I won't be able to stop myself from
A howl cuts through the night. Not Kael's voice. Something else.
His head snaps toward the sound, and his lips pull back from his fangs in a snarl. Rogues. They must have smelled your blood.
I look down. My hands are scraped from my fall earlier, leaving tiny trails of red on my skin. In the Veil Woods after dark, that's like ringing a dinner bell.
How many? I whisper.
Too many. He positions himself between me and the darkness. When I attack, you run for the festival. Don't stop. Don't look back. Promise me.
But you
PROMISE ME!
The command hits me like a physical force, and I realize he just used his Alpha authority on me. Even cursed, even barely holding on to his humanity, his power is absolute.
I promise, I hear myself say.
A rogue wolf explodes from the shadows, thin, scarred, with red eyes that glow wrong. It lunges straight for me, jaws snapping.
Kael moves faster than anything that size should be able to move.
He catches the rogue mid-air, claws sinking into fur and flesh. The rogue yelps and tries to twist free, but Kael's grip is iron. With a snarl, he throws it against a tree so hard the trunk cracks.
The rogue whimpers and runs.
Kael stands there, breathing hard, his whole body trembling. His claws are dripping with blood. His eyes are fully gold now, no trace of brown left.
Go, he growls without turning around. Run. Before I
His words cut off in a scream.
I watch in horror as his body convulses. Bones crack and shift under his skin. Fur spreads across his back, then recedes, then spreads again. His spine arches impossibly, and the sound he makes is pure agony.
He drops to his knees, claws tearing at the ground. LEAVE! The word is barely recognizable through fangs that are extending, changing shape. Can't... hold...
I should run. He told me to run. I promised I would run.
Instead, I move closer.
Don't, he gasps, his voice breaking. Please, Iris. I can feel you through the bond. Your fear. Your pain. It's making everything worse. If you stay, I'll
You'll what? I kneel just outside his reach, my heart hammering. Save me from another rogue? Because that's what you've been doing. Protecting me. Even while your own body is tearing itself apart.
His golden eyes find mine, and for a second, the beast recedes enough for me to see the man underneath. Lost. Terrified. Fighting a war no one else can see.
I'm a monster, he whispers.
No. The word comes out fierce. You're someone who's been cursed. That's not the same thing.
Through the bond, I feel his emotions shifting, confusion mixing with the pain, and underneath it all, something fragile and dangerous.
Hope.
You don't understand, he says. The curse... it feeds on connection. On caring. The more I— He cuts himself off, breathing hard. You being here, this bond, it's making me worse. I can feel it already. The episodes are coming faster. Stronger.
Because you want to survive now, I say softly, understanding flooding through me. You have something to lose. Someone to protect.
His expression twists with something that might be grief. I don't want to hurt you.
I know.
I'm going to die. Soon. There's no cure
We'll find one.
He laughs, a broken, bitter sound. You've known me for twenty minutes. Why do you even care?
The question stops me cold. Why do I care? This stranger, this cursed alpha, this man I should be terrified of, why does the thought of him dying make my chest ache?
Maybe it's the bond. Maybe it's destiny. Or maybe it's something simpler.
Because tonight, I got rejected in front of everyone I've ever known, I say quietly. My family didn't defend me. The man I loved chose someone better. And everyone just... watched. Like I was nothing. Like I didn't matter.
His golden eyes haven't left my face.
But you, I continue, my voice shaking, you saw me across a clearing, and your first instinct was to protect me. You broke free of silver chains. You fought a rogue while your own curse was eating you alive. All for someone you don't even know.
I move closer, close enough to see the brown trying to return to his eyes. Close enough to see him fighting with everything he has left.
So yeah, I care, I finish. Because someone should fight for you the way you fought for me.
For a long moment, neither of us moves. The bond between us pulses with emotion too complicated to name.
Then, slowly, carefully, Kael extends one massive, clawed hand toward me.
It's a question. A choice. Touch me, or run while you still can.
I don't hesitate. I take his hand.
The moment our skin connects, the bond EXPLODES.
Power surges through the connection between us, silver light that makes us both gasp. Kael's eyes flash from gold to brown and back again. His body stops convulsing, the curse pausing mid-transformation like it's confused.
We stare at each other, still connected, both breathing hard.
What was that? I whisper.
I don't know. His voice is more human now, rough but recognizable. His clawed thumb brushes across my knuckles with shocking gentleness. The curse... it quieted. When you touched me, it just... stopped.
Through the bond, I feel his wonder mixing with fear. Whatever just happened, it shouldn't be possible.
Does it hurt? I ask, looking at where my small hand is wrapped in his much larger, deadlier one.
No. His eyes meet mine, brown now with just flecks of gold remaining. You should hurt. You should terrify me. But you... He trails off, like he doesn't have words for what I make him feel.
I know, I breathe. Because through the bond, I feel it too. This pull. This impossible, terrifying, absolutely certain knowledge that we're meant for each other.
Even if we have no idea why.
The moment shatters as wolves burst from the forest—pack wolves, not rogues. A massive gray wolf leads them, transforming mid-stride into a man in his late twenties with sharp features and worried eyes.
Alpha! He sees Kael on his knees, sees me holding his hand, and his expression shifts to shock. What
Rowan. Kael's voice is steady now, commanding despite his position. Meet my mate.
The words send a thrill through me that I don't quite understand.
Rowan stares between us like we've both lost our minds. Alpha, the witch. Morganna. She's coming. The pack felt her magic moving through the forest. We need to get you both to safety. Now.
Kael's hand tightens on mine. The witch who cursed me, he explains quietly. She likes to watch when the curse flares. She's been following me for five years, waiting for me to finally break.
Cold dread pools in my stomach. And now she knows about me.
Yes. His golden eyes meet mine. Which means you're in danger. She'll use you to hurt me. To make the curse worse. You need to reject this bond and go back to Silvercrest where—
No.
Iris
I said no. I squeeze his hand, ignoring the way his claws prick my skin. We face her together. Or not at all.
Kael stares at me like I'm the most infuriating, beautiful, impossible thing he's ever seen.
You're insane, he says.
Probably.
This will end badly.
Maybe.
I could kill you.
But you won't. I don't know how I'm so certain, but I am. You're stronger than the curse, Kael. I can feel it.
For a second, I think he's going to argue. Then his expression softens into something that takes my breath away.
Foolish girl, he murmurs. But through the bond, I feel what he's really thinking: Brave. Impossible. Mine.
Rowan clears his throat. As touching as this is, we really need to move. Morganna could be here any minute, and the alpha isn't stable enough to fight her.
Kael releases my hand slowly, reluctantly. He stands, towering over me, still more beast than man but somehow less terrifying now.
Can you walk? he asks.
Yes.
Then stay close. If anything happens
I know. Run. You've mentioned it. I give him a small smile. But I'm not very good at following orders.
Despite everything, the curse, the witch, the danger closing in, Kael's lips twitch. It's not quite a smile, but it's close.
I'm starting to realize that, he says.
As the Shadowpaw warriors form a protective circle around us, as we start moving through the dark forest toward their territory, I feel the bond settling in my chest. No longer burning. Just... there. Connecting us. Binding us.
For better or worse, Kael Blackfang is mine. And I'm his.
Now we just have to figure out how to keep each other alive.