KAEL
Ember's weight in Kael's arms felt wrong and right at the same time.
Wrong because she was his prisoner. A rogue who murdered his Luna. A wolf who deserved execution.
Right because she was his mate. His wolf purred at finally holding her close. At her scent filling his lungs with every breath.
Kael hated both feelings equally.
The silver chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles glowed faintly in the moonlight. They burned her skin where they touched. He saw the red marks forming. Smelled the singe of wolf flesh.
His wolf whined in distress. Hated seeing their mate hurt.
Kael forced himself to keep walking. The chains were necessary. Ember proved she would kill him the second she got a chance. She fought like someone with nothing to lose. Like death would be a relief instead of a punishment.
He fought hundreds of wolves in his life. Rogues. Rival Alphas. Challenges for territory and dominance.
None of them fought like Ember.
She aimed only for kill spots. Throat. Heart. Major arteries. No wasted movement. No hesitation. Pure efficiency designed to end a fight in seconds.
She got a blade across his ribs before he even registered the attack. The cut still bled, hot and stinging. His wolf wanted to be proud of her skill. His human side wanted to know who trained her to be such an effective killer.
Then he remembered. She spent ten years learning to hunt Alphas. Learning to kill wolves stronger and faster than her. She survived through skill and ruthlessness.
And she was beautiful doing it.
Kael shoved that thought away hard. The mate bond was messing with his head. Making him notice things he should not notice. Like how her amber eyes burned like living fire. How she moved like violence wearing skin. How even unconscious and chained she looked fierce.
He was losing his mind.
"Alpha." Ronan fell into step beside him. His Beta's voice was carefully neutral. "We need to talk about what just happened back there."
Kael kept his eyes on the path ahead. They were cutting through the Forsaken Lands, heading toward Silvercrest territory. His four remaining enforcers formed a protective circle. Marcus and the other wounded wolf were being carried by their packmates.
Two enforcers down because of Ember. His pack would demand her blood for that alone.
"Not now, Ronan."
"Yes now." His Beta's voice hardened. "You just protected a rogue from your own wolves. You stopped me from killing Seraphina's murderer. The pack will hear about this. They will ask questions."
Kael's jaw clenched. "Let them ask."
"And what will you tell them? That the Moon Goddess bonded you to the wolf who gutted your Luna?" Ronan moved in front of Kael, forcing him to stop. "That you cannot kill her because your wolf will not allow it?"
The other enforcers pretended not to listen but their ears were angled toward the conversation. Wolves had excellent hearing. They caught every word.
"I will tell them she is my prisoner." Kael's voice came out cold. Alpha authority that demanded obedience. "I will tell them I want answers before she dies. They will accept it or challenge me."
Ronan's dark eyes searched Kael's face. Looking for the friend he grew up with. The Alpha he swore loyalty to.
"You are making a mistake. This bond will destroy you."
"I know."
"Then kill her now. Before it is too late."
Kael looked down at Ember's unconscious face. Peaceful in sleep. The hate and rage smoothed away to show the girl underneath. Young. Broken. Alone.
His wolf stirred protectively.
"I cannot."
Ronan's expression shifted to something like pity. "Then the Goddess help us all."
They walked in silence after that. The Forsaken Lands gave way to neutral territory. Then the borders of Silvercrest came into view.
Home.
Kael should have felt relief. Instead his stomach twisted with dread.
He was bringing Ember Blackthorn into his territory alive. The rogue every wolf in the Northern Territories wanted dead. His pack spent three years mourning Seraphina. Demanding justice. Waiting for their Alpha to fulfill his blood oath.
He was about to walk in with her killer in his arms instead of her corpse at his feet.
This would not go well.
The border guards spotted them first. Two young wolves on patrol duty. Their eyes went wide when they saw what Kael carried.
"Alpha!" The taller guard rushed forward. "You caught her. The Black Ember. You actually caught her."
The shorter guard was already linking the pack. Spreading the news through the mental connection all pack wolves shared. Within minutes every wolf in Silvercrest would know.
"Sound the gathering horn." Kael's voice was steady despite the chaos in his head. "Full pack meeting in one hour."
The guards looked confused. "Should we not execute her immediately, Alpha? The pack has been waiting for this."
"The pack will wait one more hour."
Something in Kael's tone made both guards drop their eyes in submission. They did not understand but they would obey.
Kael continued toward the pack house. Every step felt heavier than the last.
Ember stirred in his arms. The pressure point strike was wearing off. Soon she would wake furious and fighting. The silver would slow her down but not stop her completely.
Nothing seemed to stop her completely.
His ribs throbbed where she cut him. The wound was shallow but it would scar. A permanent reminder of the night he found his mate and lost his certainty about everything.
The pack house came into view. A massive structure that housed the Alpha family and served as the heart of Silvercrest territory. Kael grew up in these halls. Became Alpha in the ceremony room. Married Seraphina in the gardens outside.
Now he was bringing her murderer through the front doors.
Wolves poured out of nearby houses. Word spread fast. They gathered in the courtyard, voices rising in excited chatter. Finally their Alpha delivered justice. Finally the rogue would pay.
Then they saw Ember was alive.
The chatter died. Confusion rippled through the crowd.
"Why is she breathing?" someone shouted.
"Kill her!" another voice cried.
"Make her suffer for what she did!"
The crowd grew louder. Angrier. Wolves pushed forward, wanting to see the prisoner up close. Wanting blood.
Kael's Alpha power crashed over them like a tidal wave.
Every wolf dropped to their knees. Even Ronan submitted under the crushing weight of dominance.
"Enough." Kael's voice carried across the courtyard. "I am still your Alpha. She is my prisoner. Touch her and you answer to me."
Silence fell hard and absolute.
Then a voice cut through the quiet. Female. Trembling with emotion.
"How could you?"
Lyanna pushed through the crowd. Seraphina's sister. Beautiful and broken-looking with tears streaming down her face. She always cried pretty. Kael noticed that even through his exhaustion.
"How could you bring that monster here?" Lyanna's voice rose. "She murdered my sister. Your mate. You swore a blood oath, Kael. You promised Seraphina justice."
The crowd murmured agreement. Several wolves nodded.
Kael met Lyanna's green eyes. He saw accusation there. Betrayal. And underneath it all, something that looked like possessiveness.
Lyanna loved him. He knew that. She hid it well after he married Seraphina but the feelings never went away. She probably hoped he would turn to her after Seraphina's death.
The mate bond with Ember destroyed that dream.
"Justice will be served." Kael's voice was hard. "But I will have answers first. I will know why she did it. What drove her to kill a Luna."
"She is evil!" Lyanna shouted. "She does not need a reason. Kill her now or you dishonor Seraphina's memory."
Other wolves echoed her words. The crowd was turning. Kael felt control slipping through his fingers like sand.
Ember chose that moment to wake up.
Her eyes flew open. Amber fire in the darkness. She looked at Kael first. Then at the crowd surrounding them. Then at the silver chains burning her wrists.
Understanding dawned on her face. Followed by rage.
She thrashed in Kael's arms. Wild and violent. The silver slowed her but she still had strength. Her knee came up hard and fast. Kael barely twisted in time to protect himself.
"Let me go!" Her voice was raw. Furious.
The crowd gasped. A rogue speaking to an Alpha with such disrespect.
Kael tightened his grip. "Stop fighting or the silver gets tighter."
"I would rather burn."
She meant it. Kael saw truth in her eyes. She would let the silver eat through her skin before she submitted to him.
His wolf whined. Hating that their mate was in pain.
"Take her to the cells." Ronan's voice was firm. Practical. "Lock her up before she hurts someone."
It was good advice. The logical choice.
But something in Kael resisted. The cells were underground. Dark and cold and isolated. His wolf hated the idea of putting their mate in a cage.
The mate bond was poison.
"The cells," Kael agreed finally.
Lyanna's face twisted with vindication. "Good. Let her rot down there until execution."
Kael carried Ember toward the pack house entrance. The crowd parted reluctantly. Hostile eyes tracked their movement.
Ember fought the entire way. Twisting and snarling like a trapped animal. The silver burned brighter. The smell of scorched flesh made Kael's stomach turn.
"Stop." His voice came out rougher than intended. "You are hurting yourself."
"Good." Ember's eyes blazed. "I hope it scars. I hope every mark reminds you that I will never be yours."
The rejection hurt. Physical pain in his chest.
Kael descended the stairs to the underground cells. Cold air rose to meet them. The smell of stone and damp earth.
He passed three empty cells before stopping at the fourth. The largest one. Reinforced bars. Silver coating that would burn if she tried to escape.
He set Ember down carefully. Unlocked the cell door. Guided her inside.
She jerked away from his touch the second the chains came off. Backed into the far corner and glared at him with pure hate.
The bond pulled tight between them. Begging him to go to her. To comfort and claim.
Kael forced himself to step back. To close the cell door. To lock it.
Ember wrapped her arms around herself. The silver burns on her wrists were already healing but slowly. Her wolf was strong but the silver poisoning would slow recovery.
"You will answer my questions." Kael's hands gripped the bars. "You will tell me everything about the Blackthorn massacre. About why you killed Seraphina."
"And then you will execute me." It was not a question.
Kael could not answer. Could not promise her death when his wolf screamed to keep her alive.
Footsteps on the stairs. Ronan appeared with a look that said they had bigger problems.
"Dorian Ashford is here. With an armed escort of fifty wolves." Ronan's voice was grim. "He heard you captured the Black Ember. He is demanding extradition."
Kael's blood went cold.
Dorian was a rival Alpha. Ambitious and ruthless. He wanted Silvercrest territory and had been waiting for Kael to show weakness.
Bringing Ember home alive instead of dead was exactly the weakness Dorian needed.
"He claims Ironclaw Pack has jurisdiction because Ember killed their wolves too." Ronan continued. "He wants to take her for public execution. He says if you refuse, he will consider it an act of war."
Ember laughed from inside her cell. Bitter and sharp.
"Looks like your problems just got worse, Alpha. Maybe you should have killed me when you had the chance."
Kael stared at her through the bars. His mate. His enemy. The wolf who would destroy everything he built.
Ronan was right. This was a mistake.
But it was too late to fix it now.
"Tell Dorian I will see him." Kael's voice was empty. "And prepare the pack for war. Because I am not giving her up."