Raven POV
"He'll live."
Darius's words should have made me feel relieved. Instead, they made everything more complicated.
I stood at the window of my room, staring out at Haven City as the sun rose. Somewhere in this building, Kade was sleeping in a medical bed. Alive because I'd saved him. Connected to me through a bond I'd tried to reject.
"This is a nightmare," I muttered.
My wolf disagreed. She was practically purring with satisfaction. Mate alive. Mate safe. Good.
"Mate is the reason we suffered for seventeen years," I reminded her. "Remember that?"
She did remember. But wolves were simple creatures—Kade had protected us when it mattered, and that apparently erased years of cruelty in her book.
I wasn't that forgiving.
A soft knock made me turn. "Come in."
Sara—the kind woman who'd welcomed me to Haven City—entered carrying a breakfast tray. "Darius thought you might be hungry. You used a lot of magic last night."
"I don't even know what I did." I accepted the food gratefully. My stomach was growling. "How did I bring him back from death?"
"Shadow wolf magic is tied to life and death. Your bloodline can heal, resurrect, even manipulate shadows themselves." Sara sat down, her expression gentle. "Your instincts took over when your mate was dying. It's natural."
"He's not my mate. I rejected him."
"Your wolf clearly disagrees." Sara smiled softly. "The bond reformed, Raven. Weaker than before, but it's there. You can probably feel it if you focus."
I didn't want to focus. Didn't want to acknowledge the thin thread connecting me to Kade. But curiosity won.
I closed my eyes and reached for the bond. There it was—fragile, pulsing weakly, but definitely present. And through it, I felt... peace. Kade was sleeping, his pain finally eased.
I yanked my awareness back. "This is wrong. I don't want this connection."
"Then break it again. You have that power." Sara's voice held no judgment. "But know this: if you reject him a second time while the bond is this fragile, it will kill you both. The magic won't survive another severing."
My blood went cold. "What?"
"Shadow wolf bonds are different from normal mate bonds. Once you've used your magic to reform one, it becomes permanent. You can choose not to complete it—stay at this distant connection forever. But you can't break it without destroying both of you."
I set down the food, suddenly not hungry. "So I'm trapped. That's what you're saying."
"You're connected. That's different from trapped." Sara reached out, touching my hand gently. "Kade can't force you to love him. Can't force you to forgive him. The bond just means you'll always know he's alive, and he'll always know the same about you. What you do with that knowledge is your choice."
It didn't feel like a choice. It felt like a cage with invisible bars.
After Sara left, I tried to eat but gave up. My mind kept spiraling—thinking about the bond, about Kade, about the fact that I'd apparently tied myself to my tormentor forever.
Another knock. This time, I didn't bother saying come in. The door opened anyway.
Kade stood there, looking terrible but alive. His face was still pale, bandages peeked out from under his shirt, but his eyes were alert.
"What do you want?" I demanded.
"To talk. Please." He stayed in the doorway, not entering without permission. "Just five minutes."
"You've already had your apology. I saved your life. We're even. There's nothing left to say."
"There's everything left to say." Kade's voice was quiet, tired. "Darius told me about the bond. That it reformed. That we're connected now whether you want it or not."
"I know. And I hate it."
"I know you do." He leaned against the doorframe like standing was taking all his energy. "I hate it too, for what it's worth. Not because of you—because I don't deserve this connection. I don't deserve anything from you except your anger."
I crossed my arms, waiting for the catch. There was always a catch.
"But we're stuck with it," Kade continued. "So I have a proposal. We make rules. Boundaries. You live your life, I live mine, and we stay out of each other's way. The bond exists, but we don't have to act on it."
"You'd really do that? Just... leave me alone?"
"Yes. Because that's what you want. And for once in my pathetic life, I'm going to give you what you actually want instead of what I think you should have." His eyes met mine, and for the first time ever, I saw no arrogance there. Just exhaustion and regret. "You saved my life. The least I can do is stay out of yours."
It was exactly what I wanted to hear. So why did it make me feel worse?
Before I could respond, Darius appeared behind Kade, his expression grim.
"We have a problem. A big one."
My stomach dropped. "What now?"
"Kade's father just filed a formal petition with the Council of Alphas. He's claiming that Raven used dark magic to manipulate the mate bond, and he's demanding a hearing." Darius's jaw was tight. "If the Council sides with him, they can order you to return to Moonridge Pack and complete the bond with Kade under supervision."
"That's insane!" I exploded. "I rejected him! That's my right!"
"Normally, yes. But shadow wolf magic complicates things. Your bloodline has a history of being regulated by the Council because of how powerful it is." Darius pulled out his phone, showing me a legal document. "They're using an old law—one that states shadow wolves must have their bonds approved by the Council to prevent misuse of power."
Kade had gone completely still. "My father is doing this? He's trying to force you back?"
"It gets worse," Darius said. "Alpha Thornwell has support from the three Alphas who attacked last night. They're all claiming you're too dangerous to be left unbonded and untrained. They want you controlled."
The word "controlled" made my wolf snarl with rage.
"When is the hearing?" I asked, forcing myself to stay calm.
"Three days. At the Council headquarters in Silverpeak." Darius looked between Kade and me. "You'll both have to attend. And Raven, you'll need to prove that reforming the bond was your choice, not manipulation."
"But it was instinct! I didn't even know what I was doing!"
"Then we'll have to make them understand that." Darius's expression softened slightly. "I'll stand with you. My pack will support your testimony. But the Council is old, traditional, and terrified of shadow wolf power. This won't be easy."
Kade pushed off the doorframe, standing straighter despite obvious pain. "I'll testify too. I'll tell them the truth—that Raven rejected me fairly, that she saved my life out of mercy, not manipulation. My father can't force this bond if I refuse to accept it."
I stared at him. "You'd go against your father? For me?"
"I'd do a lot more than that to fix what I broke." Kade's voice was steady. "You saved my life. Now I'm going to save yours. Even if it means losing everything else."
For a moment—just a heartbeat—I almost believed he'd changed. Almost let myself think that maybe, possibly, this boy who'd tortured me had actually become someone better.
Then my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
I opened it, and my blood turned to ice.
It was a photo. Of me. Taken from outside Darius's building just minutes ago. Someone had been watching.
Below the photo, a message: "Hello, little shadow wolf. Your mother sends her regards. We'll see you at the hearing. Try to run, and we'll make sure everyone you've helped—including your dying mate—pays the price. Come quietly, or watch them all burn."
My hands shook so badly I almost dropped the phone.
"Raven?" Darius was at my side instantly. "What is it?"
I showed him the message. His face went hard and dangerous.
Kade read it over his shoulder, and I watched all color drain from his face. "Your mother is working with the Council? She's threatening you?"
"She's not my real mother," I whispered, the truth I'd learned in the forest coming back. "She never was. And now she's going to use that hearing to take me back, to control me, to turn me into some kind of political tool."
"Not if we fight," Darius said firmly.
"Fight how? They have the Council. They have old laws on their side. They have—" My voice broke. "They have everything."
Kade stepped closer, and I didn't have the energy to move away. "They don't have your shadow wolf magic. They don't have the fact that you're stronger than all of them combined. And they definitely don't have me letting them take you without a fight."
"Why?" The question burst out of me. "Why do you care? I rejected you. Humiliated you. You should hate me."
"I did hate someone," Kade said quietly. "But it was myself. For being the kind of person who'd hurt someone like you. You want to know why I care? Because watching you fight last night—seeing you powerful and free and refusing to bow to anyone—that's when I finally understood what I destroyed. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm just asking for the chance to make sure no one ever controls you again. Including me."
The bond pulsed between us, and for the first time, I didn't pull away from it.
Maybe Kade really had changed.
Or maybe I was a fool for even considering the possibility.
Either way, in three days, I'd face the Council. Face my fake mother. Face every Alpha who wanted to own me.
And somehow, I'd have to convince them all that I was worth more than the power I represented.
The question was: did I believe that myself?