The howl rolled over the mountains again—longer this time, deeper, vibrating through the stone beneath their feet. The air seemed to tighten around them, as if the world itself held its breath.
Kael's entire body went rigid.
Ysolde felt it through the bond—an instinctive response, ancient and visceral. Not fear. Not submission. But something sharper, a tension coiled like a blade drawn halfway from its sheath.
Keera pushed herself upright, blood smeared across her jaw.
"You hear it, don't you?" she rasped.
"You remember that voice."
Kael turned toward her with a snarl. "I remember breaking his jaw the last time he tried to command me."
Keera's smile widened despite the cut splitting her lip.
"He's stronger now."
Kael's growl shook frost from the cliffs.
Ysolde stepped closer, chest tightening. "Who is he?"
Kael didn't look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on the distant ridge.
"The Crimson Alpha," he said slowly. "The one who split from our kingdom generations ago. The Alpha who believes he should be king."
Keera let out a breathy laugh. "And he will be. Your people are already whispering. A cursed king… and a human girl bound to him." Her gaze slid to Ysolde, dripping with contempt.
"He will tear your bond apart."
Ysolde's stomach clenched.
Kael turned abruptly. Snow hissed under his paws as he lowered his head to Ysodde's height.
"He won't touch you," he said, and this time his voice wasn't snarling or monstrous. It was something steadier. Harder.
Sworn.
Ysolde swallowed. "Kael… what does he want with me?"
His eyes flickered—silver swirling with something darker.
"I don't know."
A beat.
"And that terrifies me."
Keera threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, he knows. He knows exactly what she is—what runs in her veins."
"What am I?" Ysolde demanded.
Silence.
Keera smiled through the blood.
"Old Blood."
The wind seemed to pause.
Ysolde stared at her. "That doesn't mean anything."
Kael's head turned sharply.
"It means everything."
Keera went on, voice almost reverent.
"Old Blood is the lineage that predates the first wolf kings. It's older than your curse. Older than the packs. It's the blood that once controlled magic itself."
Ysolde shook her head. "That's impossible. My mother—my life—none of that—"
Kael inhaled her scent, slow and deep.
Ysolde froze.
He leaned closer, his breath warm against her cheek, his massive form radiating heat.
"I smelled something in your blood during the ritual," he said quietly. "Something not human."
A chill crawled down her spine.
"And the ritual woke it up."
He wasn't asking.
He was stating.
Keera nodded eagerly. "The Crimson Alpha knew the moment the ritual activated. He felt the magic tear open. That's why he's riding here. To take her. To claim her before your bond cements."
Kael moved so fast Ysolde barely saw him.
One second he was beside her—
the next he was pinning Keera to the snow with one enormous paw.
"You will not speak of claiming her."
Keera coughed, snow spraying from her mouth. "But he will. He wants her power. He wants her blood. He wants the throne that should have been his—"
Kael pressed down harder until she gasped.
"Give me one reason not to end you now."
"Because he's nearly here."
Keera smiled through the pain.
"And if you kill me, you'll lose the only bargaining chip you have."
A new sound cut through the air.
Not a howl.
Hooves.
Dozens.
The ground trembled.
Kael's head snapped up.
Keera whispered, "He brought his guard. His elite riders."
Ysolde's breath caught as dark shapes emerged through the snowfall—figures mounted on enormous wolf-beasts, armored in deep crimson, each one bearing a spear tipped with obsidian.
Kael shoved Keera down and stepped in front of Ysolde.
No command. No hesitation.
Instinct.
His body was a wall of fur and muscle, shielding her with a single movement that felt older than language.
"Stay behind me," he said, his voice rough with the shift back toward human speech. "Do not run."
Ysolde's pulse thrashed in her throat. "I'm not leaving you."
For a moment—just a fraction of one—his eyes softened.
The first of the riders halted twenty feet away. Snow swirled around him in slow spirals as he dismounted. He was tall—taller than any wolf-shifter Ysolde had seen—with hair the color of ash and eyes burning a deep, unnatural red.
The Crimson Alpha.
He smiled when he saw Kael.
"Little brother."
Ysolde's breath vanished.
Kael didn't move. He didn't blink. His growl vibrated through the air, low and deadly.
"I am not your brother."
The Crimson Alpha laughed. "You think blood cares about what you deny?"
His gaze shifted to Ysolde.
And his smile sharpened.
"There she is."
Kael stepped forward, blocking his view entirely.
The Alpha tilted his head. "You move in front of her? Interesting. You barely protected your own mother with such speed."
Ysolde saw Kael's entire body flinch.
The Alpha chuckled. "Oh, there it is. The wound that never closed."
"Enough," Kael growled.
"It's never enough," the Alpha replied, voice smooth as snow over stone.
"Bring me the girl."
The riders lowered their spears, obsidian tips shimmering with enchantment.
Ysolde's heartbeat surged.
Kael's voice dropped, cold and lethal.
"I will kill you before I let you touch her."
The Crimson Alpha smiled slowly.
"You don't understand what she is. That bond tying you to her? Temporary. Fragile. A mistake the ritual forced."
His eyes glowed brighter.
"But with her blood, I can break the curse in you. I can take back the throne. I can make our kingdom whole again."
Kael snarled.
"Our kingdom is not yours."
"It will be."
The Alpha lifted his hand—
A command.
All the riders lowered their spears at once.
Ysolde's breath froze in her chest.
Kael moved in front of her fully, body tensed, claws flexing.
"Kael," she whispered, fingers brushing his fur without thinking.
His entire frame tightened—with restraint, not rage.
The Crimson Alpha saw it.
And his smile turned vicious.
"Oh. You're farther gone than I thought."
His gaze slid to Ysolde.
"Tell me, girl… did he tell you what happens when the curse binds fully? When you become the tether keeping him sane?"
Kael growled, "Do not speak to her."
The Alpha continued anyway.
"Did he tell you that if you die—"
He paused, savoring the moment.
"—the curse kills him within minutes?"
Ysolde's blood went cold.
Kael didn't deny it.
"Bring. Her. To. Me."
The Alpha's voice boomed across the ridge.
"No," Kael answered.