The pack gathered at dawn.
Snow lay thick over the clearing, the wolves standing in a half-circle around Kael. His presence was thunder, his broad frame towering, his green eyes burning. But for the first time, all eyes shifted past him—toward her.
Aradia stood at his side, her cloak trailing in the snow, her fire flickering faintly at her fingertips. The Seer's words still rang in her ears. Witch reborn. Alpha reborn. Promise reborn.
Kael's voice carried like a growl of the storm. "The shadow rises again. It spreads, twisting wolves into monsters, corrupting men into husks. It will not stop. But we will not fall. Not this time."
The wolves rumbled their agreement, claws digging into the snow.
He gestured to Aradia, his green eyes blazing. "She is not your curse. She is your fire. Your shield. Your Queen."
Whispers rippled. Some bowed their heads. Others bared their teeth, fear and anger still alive in their eyes.
Aradia stepped forward, her fire glowing brighter, her voice steady though her heart raced.
"You fear me. I feel it in every breath, every stare. But know this: I fear myself more. Yet every time I burn, I burn for you. I have died for you before. I will again, if I must. But this time—we live."
Her fire blazed higher, painting the snow in gold. For the first time, the pack howled—not in fear, but in defiance.
And Kael's hand caught hers, his lips brushing her knuckles as he whispered low enough only for her: "They bow because you are mine. But I bow because you are you."