Kael bellowed into the chamber.
This wasn’t the snarl of an Alpha asserting dominance.
It was the cry of a man whose body had turned against him.
He fell to one knee, fingers clawing at the polished wooden floor as he felt the agony rip through every vein.
His mate mark burned under his skin like molten silver.
Each heart beat made it worse.
His wolf howled within his mind.
Not in a rage.
In perplexity.
In sorrow.
“What… Another wave of pain hit, unbearable, and Kael’s voice cracked….did you…”
He raised his eyes.
His scarlet eyes fixed on Seraphina….do with me?”
There was silence in the room.
Rain pounded against the windows outside.
Within…
The silence was broken only by Kael’s panting breath.
Seraphina remained right there.
She wanted to go.
To help him out.
To kneel to him as she would have done before.
But the memory of his hand, outstretched a moment before, still clung like a phantom about her throat.
She made herself breathe.
Gradually.
Quietly.
“I ain’t done nothing.
Kael laughed harshly.
There was no amusement in the sound.
Then explain this.
Another wave of pain drove him on.
His entire body quaked.
Through his wet shirt the mark over his heart glowed scarlet.
Seraphina gazed.
She’d never seen a mate mark react like that.
Neither had her wolf.
Something’s different.
“I know.
Seraphina answered the thought unspoken .But not by me.
Kael got to his feet.
Simply.
His legs trembled beneath him.
He took one careful step toward her.
This time she didn’t back away.
Not because she was convinced of the moment
Because she would no longer be governed by fear.
“What are you hiding from me?”
He spoke in a softer voice now.
More dangerous.
She looked him in the eye without hesitation.
“The truth.” “And what is that truth?
“That not all that happens to you is my fault.”
Outside the windows lightning flashed.
For one brief, fleeting moment both shadows stretched across the room.
Side-to-side.
Like buddies.
Then darkness took them again.
A heavy knock broke the silence.
“Alpha!” Rowan’s voice.
“You game? Kael closed his eyes for a moment. Enter.”
The Captain opened the door.
The instant he saw Kael’s condition, his face changed.
Moon Goddess….”
He crossed the room right away.
“Alpha, what is it?”
Kael said nothing.
His eyes never left Seraphina.
Rowan followed him.
His face flickered with confusion.
“My Lady? Seraphina was composed. The Alpha was seized with a sudden violent pain. That is obvious.”
Rowan crouched down beside Kael.
“I meant why.
Finally Kael spoke.
It began…” “…when I went after her.”
The room went quiet.
Rowan looked slowly back and forth between them.
One lesson more than any other his years of captaincy had taught him.
“Coincidences were rare within Alpha bloodlines.
“You think Lady Seraphina did this? Kael paused. Logic. He said no. Pain said yes to him.I don’t know what I believe.”
That was the most honest answer he’d given all night.
The rumor flew through the manor with terrifying speed.
Half an hour later…
The healer of the estate arrived.
Then Lord Vale.
Then three elder warriors.
No one understood why the alpha’s mate mark was still glowing.
The healer examined Kael carefully.
“No poison.
“No physical injury.” “I can not find any curse.”
He frowned deeply.
“”That shouldn’t be possible.
Lord Vale glanced up at Seraphina.
She stood near the window, arms folded, saying nothing.
He knew his daughter well enough to understand that silence meant something.
She was thinking.
Analysis.
Not hiding.
What was it like before the pain started?
Before anyone else could, Kael answered.
I went after her.
The room grew significantly colder.
Lord Vale saw the action.
““What? The elder hesitated. There are … old stories. ”What stories?
“That rejected mate bonds can be unstable.
Kael frowned.
“Our union was not denied.
“No.” The older man swallowed.
But it’s not been acting normal for years.
Those words rolled heavily in the room.
Kael frowned.
For many years…
He had accepted the strange space between himself and Seraphina.
He’d convinced himself some mate bonds were just weaker than others.
Now……
For the first time …
Had he been wrong? he asked himself.
Before anyone could say another word…
A guard rushed in.
My Lord!
Lord Vale whirled around.
What is this?“ ”“Here comes the envoy of the Council.”
And all stopped.
The guard continued.
He says he has an emergency order from the Council.
And…
“He brought a High Arcanist along.”
Seraphina’s wolf went on alert immediately.
Magic of the Council.
Kael straightened slowly, the pain still present.
Something in his gut told him this was no coincidence.
Somebody…
Thought tonight was coming.
The room was deathly still.
The only break in it was the rain on the windows.
A senior arcanist.
Council sorcery.
They both came with a purpose.
Lord Vale’s expression grew hard.
Bring them to the council-hall.”
The guard bowed and ran away.
The estate healer looked doubtful.The Alpha should stay in bed.”
Kael straightened, ignoring the dull ache that throbbed under his mate mark.
If the Council has been convened for this purpose…
He looked at Seraphina.
“. . . then I want to hear every word.”
The hall of the council was cold.
Rows of torches lit up the polished stone walls, engraved with the crests of generations past.
Two visitors waited near the center of the room.
The first was dressed in the dark silver uniform of the Council.
The second wore flowing white robes embroidered with glowing runes.
The old woman had a crystal staff in her hand, and her hair was silver and reached her waist.
The instant Seraphina saw the runes…
Her wolf was silent.
No fear.
Vigilant.
The old woman bowed her head respectfully.
My name is High Arcanist Selene.
“I was told an Alpha’s mate bond has become… unstable.
Kael stepped forward.
“You were told immediately.
Selene stared at him for a moment.
“Council magic monitors disturbances in Alpha bloodlines.”
Her eyes went to Seraphina.
Steady.
Then back to Kael .I have a tough question for you.
Kael nodded once.
“Inquire.
‘Do you think Lady Seraphina cursed you?’
The room was deathly quiet.
Every one of them.
All of the guards.
And every noble who was there waited for his answer.
Kael glanced at Seraphina.
She didn’t beg.
She didn’t make any defense.
She just looked at him.
Cool.
Steady.
Unshaken.
The image collided violently with the fear she’d displayed when he had reached for her.
He remembered the terror in her eyes.
Not the fear of a raid.
The horror of someone re-living an old wound.
The wolf in him growled softly.
She is scared of pain… not us.
Kael drew a deep breath .I don’t know what happened.
But I will not accuse anyone without proof.”
For the briefest of moments…
Seraphina’s expression relaxed.
Selene raised her crystal staff.
Then let the truth be told.
The runes carved into the staff glowed with a pale silver light.
Old symbols floated into the air, circling the chamber like lost stars.
All the wolves there shied away, instinctively.
The air grew thick.
Even breathing was difficult.
Selene’s voice had a quiet authority.
“By the First Moon…By the old covenant…”Root out corruption.”
The runes on the water turned aside.
They circled Kael once more.
His mate mark flickered with a faint glow.
Then they drifted to Seraphina.
Symbols were everywhere around her.
One long heartbeat….
Nothing came of it.
Then ….
The silver runes flashed white.
Not a symbol was concealed.
Not a single one.
The High Arcanist dropped her staff.
“The result is obvious.
She looked straight at Kael.
“Lady Seraphina is not cursed.” “No magic. ‘No forbidden spells.” No corruption of any sort.
There was a hum from the hall.
The older warriors looked at one another surprised.
Lord Vale sighed softly, a sigh of relief he had not known he was holding back.
But Kael did not budge.
If it wasn’t witchcraft.
So why had the bond almost ripped him in two?
One of the Council guards moved forward.
There must be a mistake.”
Selene’s eyes hardened.
No error.
“Never does the ritual fail.
The guard instantly lowered his head.
“I apologize.”
She turned back to Kael.
“What had occurred before the pain began?
Kael answered without missing a beat.
“I reached for her.
And?’ “She flinched.” “As if she was afraid of me.
Selene was silent.
There was something in those words that arrested her attention.
She walked slowly towards Seraphina.
“You thought he was really going to hurt you.”
It was not a question.
Seraphina glanced at the older woman.
“My reaction was faster than my thought.”
Selene nodded, thinking.
Then she looked at Kael.
“Tell me,….When she shrank back…“Did you get angry first…'”…or pain?”
Kael frowned.
He thought back to the moment.
Her voice, frightened.
Her withdrawal.
His hand hanging in the air.
Then— The fire.
“”No,” he said quietly.
“It wasn’t anger.” It felt like…
He looked for the proper word.
“…loss.”
Selene shut her eyes for a moment.
When she opened them up again…
Her face was different now.
Not scared.
Concern.
Great concern.
“‘I’ve only read about it once.’ The eyes of the hall were on her. Lord Vale strode forward. What is that ? Selene’s gaze flitted between Kael and Seraphina. It means your mate bond is no longer playing by the rules of ordinary law.”
Kael gritted his teeth.
““Explain.” “I can’t.
“Not quite.”
She paused.
“But I can tell you this. . . Her eyes went to the glowing mark on Kael’s chest. The pain was not a punishment.” Resistance .What are you resisting?
“Yes,” said Selene softly.
To be something else.”
The words hung in the room like a thundercloud.
Instinctively, Kael looked to Seraphina.
First time ever…
He looked at her, truly looked.
Not as the daughter of some allied family.
Not as a future Luna.
Not as a duty.
His pal.
His chest throbbed once with a strange ache inside.
And then again.
This time…
It didn’t burn.
It was like…
Still breathing.
His wolf spoke in only four words.
The bond’s breaking.
Kael’s eyes grew wide.
For the first time…
He believed it.