The storm had quieted, but Kael's mind hadn't.
He stood on the balcony of Blackridge's mountain keep, overlooking the stretch of pines and the dark horizon where Silvercrest's lands lay hidden beyond. The wind bit sharp and cold, tugging at his cloak, but the chill never reached him.
Behind him, Ryden's voice broke the silence for what felt like the tenth time that night.
"Kael, you need to explain it to me. Why her? Why are you risking everything for a Silvercrest wolf—an unmarked one at that?"
Kael didn't turn. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me," Ryden shot back, stepping closer. "You've been obsessed since the summit. You speak her name like it's a vow, not a mission. Tell me why, so I can stop questioning your sanity."
For a moment, Kael almost smiled. His Beta had always been blunt—that's why he trusted him. But this… this was something no warrior's logic could untangle.
He drew a breath, letting the cold air scrape down his throat. "When I was a boy, my father often traded with the Bloodbane Pack. They were strong allies then. My father brought me with him one spring—to learn diplomacy, he said." His gaze unfocused, drawn far into the past. "That's when I met her. Elara."
Ryden frowned. "You met her that young?"
Kael nodded once. "She couldn't have been more than eight. I was barely ten. But the moment I saw her, the bond… stirred." His hand clenched at his side. "It shouldn't have been possible. The Moon only reveals such ties when we come of age. But that day, when our eyes met, I knew. The pull was there—soft, faint—but undeniable. I thought I was going mad."
"The call of the Moon," Ryden murmured, understanding dawning.
"Yes," Kael said softly. "My father laughed when I told him. Said it was puppy love. But the next time we were to visit…" His voice broke slightly. "Bloodbane was gone."
He turned to face Ryden now, eyes shadowed with the weight of old grief. "We arrived too late. The fires had already burned low. Bodies everywhere. Houses collapsed into ash. The air reeked of death and smoke." He swallowed. "There was no sign of her. No scent. Nothing."
For years, Kael had searched in secret. Every whisper, every rumor of a lost pup, a lone survivor, had kept his hope alive—and crushed it again and again.
"That day, I made a vow to the Moon Goddess," Kael said quietly. "If she lived, I would find her. And if she didn't… then I wanted no other. I begged the Goddess not to bind me again. Not if it wasn't her."
Ryden's expression softened, all the teasing gone. "So you stayed unmated all this time… because of her."
Kael gave a short nod. "The others call it madness. Maybe it is. But when I saw her again at Silvercrest—alive—breathing…" His jaw tightened. "You'd burn the world for that too, wouldn't you?"
Ryden didn't answer immediately. Then he placed a hand on Kael's shoulder. "Now it makes sense. All of it."
Kael looked back to the horizon, his eyes cold but burning with purpose. "The Moon took her from me once. I won't let anyone take her again. Not Silvercrest. Not their scheming elders. Not even fate itself."