POV: Kairo
The moment the wind shifted, I knew something was wrong.
Guards yelling.
A scent I hadn't smelled in centuries — metallic, dark… laced with shadow magic.
I didn't think. I ran.
By the time I reached the courtyard, the air was electric.
Two guards were down. A trail of ash scattered near the gate. And Lyra—
Lyra was standing face to face with a man I'd hoped was dead.
No.
Not a man.
A predator.
His obsidian armor reflected the fading sunlight, his silver eyes shining with recognition as they landed on me.
He grinned.
"Alpha Kairo," he drawled. "Still brooding, I see."
"Ronan." I stopped cold. My voice nearly cracked.
Lyra turned sharply toward me. "You know him?"
"I did," I said tightly. "Before he betrayed the Northern Pact. Before he vanished into the dark realms with half our sacred texts."
"Betrayed is such a sharp word," Ronan said casually, eyes still on Lyra. "Let's call it… choosing the winning side."
I stepped between them instinctively. "Get away from her."
He tilted his head. "Still guarding her like she's fragile. Like she's not the weapon."
I growled low in my throat, feeling my wolf stir under my skin. "You're not welcome here."
He ignored me completely, eyes locking back on Lyra. "Has he told you yet?"
"Told me what?"
"That the bond between you?" He smiled coldly. "Isn't just some cosmic accident."
Lyra froze.
Ronan took a slow step forward. "You weren't chosen because of fate. You were created. Bred from bloodlines and curses, prophesied by flame to finish what the last version of you started."
"Stop," I warned.
But she was listening now.
"Your fire was never meant to heal," Ronan continued, his voice silky and dark. "It was meant to burn this world to ash… and rebuild it in your image."
"Liar," I snapped.
He chuckled. "Am I? Then why haven't you told her what happens when the bond completes?"
Lyra looked at me.
I couldn't meet her eyes.
"Tell me," she said, voice trembling.
"She's not ready."
Ronan laughed. "Ah. There it is. The sweet taste of manipulation. How long do you think you can keep her in the dark before she becomes the dark?"
I lunged at him — but he vanished in a cloud of black mist, his voice echoing in the silence.
> "Tick-tock, Alpha. The fire's waking up."
And just like that, he was gone.
Lyra stood frozen. Her hands clenched. Her aura pulsing so violently I could feel the earth tremble beneath my boots.
"Lyra—"
"Is it true?" she asked, barely above a whisper. "Was I created to destroy everything?"
I stepped closer, but she backed away.
"I need to think," she said coldly. "Alone."
Then she turned — and walked into the woods beyond the training yard, her cloak fluttering behind her like shadowed fire.
And this time… I let her go.
Because I knew something I hadn't told her.
If she completed the bond…
It wouldn't be just her soul at risk.
It would be mine too.