POV - Elara
I woke up in a stranger's arms, and my first reaction was to scream.
"Easy," the man said softly. "You're safe. I'm not going to hurt you."
But I didn't feel safe. I felt confused and frightened and like my whole body was buzzing with strange energy that didn't belong to me.
"Who are you?" I demanded, trying to pull away. "Where's Kieran?"
"My name is Cassian. And Kieran is currently running from Council hunters while carrying you." The man—Cassian—set me down gently on my feet. "Which means we need to move. Now."
My head spun. The last thing I remembered was running into the bush after watching Kieran announce his engagement. Then this stranger appeared and touched my face and everything went black.
"You kidnapped me," I said, anger pushing through the fear.
"I saved you," Cassian amended. "There's a difference."
"I don't need saving—"
An explosion of magic lit up the trees behind us. Through the trees, I saw flashes of light and heard fighting—snarls and screams and the awful sounds of wolves tearing each other apart.
"Kieran," I whispered, my hand automatically moving to protect my stomach.
"He's holding them off so we can escape." Cassian grabbed my arm. "But we need to run. They're not just after him anymore. They're after you too."
"Why would the Council want me? I'm nobody—"
"You're carrying Kieran's child," Cassian interrupted. "And you're the catalyst that ignited a forbidden blood ritual. Which makes you the most dangerous person in the Northern Territories right now."
None of this made sense. Blood rites. Council hunts. Cassian knowing things about me that should have been hidden.
But the fighting was getting closer, and my wolf instincts screamed at me to run.
So I ran.
Cassian led me deeper into the forest, moving so fast I could barely keep up. My lungs burned. My legs ached. The pregnancy test in my pocket felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
"I need to stop," I gasped after what felt like hours.
"Not yet. We're almost to the safe house."
"What safe house? Who are you really?" I grabbed his arm, forcing him to face me. "And how do you know Kieran?"
Cassian's golden eyes met mine, and something in them made my breath catch. They looked like Kieran's eyes. Not the same color, but the same shape. The same fury.
"Kieran is my cousin," he said softly. "And six years ago, the Elders performed a blood ritual on us that was meant to strengthen the Blackthorn Alpha line. It tied our souls together in ways we didn't understand. The link stayed dormant all these years..." He paused, his face unreadable. "Until you."
My skin went cold. "What does that mean?"
"It means when Kieran met you, the routine woke up. And I felt everything. Every moment he spent with you. Every time he touched you. Every time he—" Cassian cut himself off, teeth clenching. "I felt his love for you like it was my own."
Horror washed over me. "That's impossible."
"I wish it was." Cassian started walking again, slower this time. "But it's real. And when you give birth to Kieran's child, the rite will complete. All three of us will be bound together in a way that breaks every pack rule that exists."
"I don't want to be bound to anyone," I said desperately. "I just want to raise my baby in peace."
"Then we keep running," Cassian said simply. "Because the Council will never let that happen. They'll take your child or kill you or both."
We walked in quiet for a long time. My mind was spinning with impossible knowledge. Blood rites. Soul ties. Three people linked by ancient magic.
"Why are you helping me?" I finally asked. "If being near me completes this ritual, shouldn't you want me gone?"
Cassian stopped going. When he looked at me, his expression was raw with feeling I didn't understand.
"Because for six years, I've been alone with this bond. Feeling Kieran's emptiness echoing through our link. Feeling his pain and isolation like it was my own." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And then you appeared, and suddenly I felt joy through our bond for the first time ever. Happiness. Hope. You gave him something I never could—you made him feel human again."
Tears burned my eyes. "And then he chose politics over me."
"He chose duty," Cassian corrected gently. "Which is what Alphas are taught to do. But it's hurting him. I can feel it through our bond—his heart breaking a little more with every step he takes away from you."
"Good," I said sadly. "He should hurt. He destroyed everything."
"He did," Cassian agreed. "But he's also fighting right now to give you time to escape. Probably getting torn apart by Council fighters so you can be safe."
Guilt twisted in my chest. I hated Kieran for what he'd done. But I didn't want him to die.
We reached a small house hidden deep in the woods. Cassian pushed open the door, showing a simple space with basic furniture and supplies.
"You'll be safe here tonight," he said. "Tomorrow, we'll figure out our next move."
"What about Kieran?" I asked.
"He'll find us." Cassian's look was certain. "The link won't let him stay away. Not anymore."
I sat down on the bed, fatigue crashing over me. My hand moved to my stomach, where my baby was growing. Kieran's baby. The child that was meant to bring us together but instead tore everything apart.
"I saw another pregnant woman at the assembly," I said quietly. "Standing next to Victoria. She said she was carrying Kieran's child too."
Cassian's face darkened. "Lyra. Yes. Victoria drugged Kieran three months ago and planned that pregnancy to seal a political alliance."
"So he has two children coming." My voice cracked. "And he chose to be a father to hers, not mine."
"He didn't know you were pregnant when he made that choice," Cassian pointed out.
"Would it have mattered?" I asked bitterly.
Cassian opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly his eyes went wide. His hand pressed against his chest like something hurt.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Kieran," he gasped. "Something's wrong with Kieran. I can feel—"
He fell.
I ran to his side, trying to help him up. But Cassian's skin was burning hot, and his eyes were shining with that strange amber light.
"The bond," he choked out. "It's pulling too hard. If Kieran dies, it'll kill me too. And if we both die—"
"What?" I asked. "If you both die, what happens?"
Cassian looked up at me with pain-filled eyes.
"Then the rite claims you instead. And your baby becomes the vessel for all that old magic. The Council knows this. That's why they're trying to kill Kieran—so they can control you and your child."
Terror flooded through me. "No. No, that can't be true—"
The cabin door burst inward.
Victoria stood there with blood on her hands and death in her eyes.
"Found you," she said with a bad smile. "And now I'm going to finish what should have been done months ago."
Behind her, I heard Kieran's anguished howl ringing through the forest.
But he was too far away to save me.
And I was out of places to run.