Theron's POV
Blood dripped from my wounds as I shifted back to human form, but I didn't care.
We'd made it across the border. Barely, but we'd made it.
Keira collapsed against me, her breathing ragged and uneven. Through our mate bond, I felt her exhaustion, her terror, and underneath it all—the wolfsbane poisoning burning through her system.
Three years of that poison. How was she even standing?
"Your Majesty!" My border captain rushed forward. "We heard the commotion. Are you—"
"I'm fine." I caught Keira as her knees buckled. "Get the healers. Now. She's been poisoned with wolfsbane for years. Her system is shutting down."
Across the border, Marcus paced like a caged animal. His grey wolf was massive, powerful, but he couldn't cross without starting a war. The territorial laws were absolute.
Helena appeared beside him, shifting back to human form. Even from this distance, I saw the cold calculation in her eyes.
"Theron Nightfang!" she called out. "You've made a grave mistake. That woman is a criminal. A traitor to her pack. Return her immediately, or face consequences."
"Consequences?" I laughed, the sound harsh. "You murdered her parents, stole her birthright, and tried to kill her tonight. And you're threatening me with consequences?"
"I have proof she's unstable! Dangerous! The Wolf Council will—"
"The Wolf Council will hear both sides of this story." I pulled Keira closer as she swayed. "And I guarantee they'll be very interested in how a low-ranking widow managed to become Luna, then conveniently had her new mate die shortly after changing his will."
Helena's face went pale. "You have no proof."
"Don't I?" I smiled coldly. "I'm the Alpha King of Shadowcrest. I've been gathering evidence on Silverpine's corruption for years. The question isn't whether I have proof. It's whether you can survive what happens when I present it."
Marcus snarled, his wolf pushing forward. "This is an act of war! You kidnapped our pack member!"
"I saved my mate." I let that word hang in the air. "Under the Old Laws, a fated mate can claim protection for their partner from any threat. Keira chose to come with me. That makes this a legal claim, not a kidnapping."
"She's not your mate!" Marcus roared. "She's—"
"Mine." I let my Alpha power roll over the border, making every wolf on both sides feel it. "The mate bond doesn't lie, Marcus. Every wolf here can sense it. Keira Ashford is my fated mate, and she's under Shadowcrest's protection now. Challenge that and you challenge me directly."
Silence fell. Challenging an Alpha King to direct combat was suicide, and Marcus knew it.
Helena grabbed Marcus's arm, pulling him back. "This isn't over," she said quietly, her voice carrying across the border. "You've made powerful enemies tonight, Theron Nightfang. And Keira—" her eyes found my mate, "—you'll regret running. I'll make sure of it."
"Is that a threat against my mate?" My voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "Because if you're threatening my mate, Helena, then we don't need to wait for the Wolf Council. We can settle this right here, right now."
Helena went very still. She might be ruthless, but she wasn't stupid. Threatening an Alpha King's mate was grounds for immediate execution.
"No threat," she said finally. "Just a promise. This situation will be resolved. Legally."
She turned and stalked back into Silverpine territory, dragging Marcus with her. But I saw him look back, his eyes locked on Keira with pure hatred.
"They're going to come for her," Dante said quietly, appearing at my side. He was bleeding from multiple wounds, but alive. "You know that, right? This is just the beginning."
"I know." I looked down at Keira, who was now unconscious in my arms. "But she's worth it."
Dante raised an eyebrow. "You barely know her."
"I know enough." The mate bond pulsed between us, growing stronger now that we were safe. "She survived three years undercover in enemy territory. She gathered evidence while playing servant. She stood up to Marcus even when she thought she'd die. That takes courage I rarely see, even in my own warriors."
"She also lost everything tonight," Aria said softly, joining us. Her wolf was covered in blood—most of it not hers. "Her evidence. Her plan. Three years of work, gone."
"Plans can be rebuilt. Evidence can be regathered." I started walking toward my waiting vehicle, Keira limp in my arms. "But she can't come back from the dead. I made the right choice."
"Did you?" Dante moved to open the vehicle door. "Because now Shadowcrest is harboring Silverpine's 'traitor.' The other packs will question your judgment. Some might even side with Helena."
"Then they'll learn what happens when they question me." I settled Keira carefully in the back seat, her head resting against my shoulder. "Get us to the palace. Fast. And send word ahead—I want our best healer ready and waiting."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As we drove through Shadowcrest territory, I studied Keira's face. She looked younger in sleep, less guarded. For three years, she'd worn a mask every single day. Never showing her real self. Never letting anyone see her pain.
How exhausting that must have been.
The mate bond let me feel her dreams—nightmares, really. She was reliving her father's death, her mother's "accident," the moment Cassandra betrayed her. Each memory made her whimper softly.
Without thinking, I pulled her closer and whispered, "You're safe now. I promise."
Her nightmares eased slightly.
"You're getting soft," Dante observed from the driver's seat.
"I'm getting strategic," I corrected. "A True Alpha as my mate strengthens Shadowcrest's position. When we expose Helena and Marcus, I'll have legitimate claim to influence over Silverpine. It's a political advantage."
"Keep telling yourself that."
I chose not to respond. Because the truth was more complicated than strategy.
Yes, claiming Keira benefited Shadowcrest politically. But when I'd seen Marcus's wolves closing in on her, when I'd felt her terror through the mate bond, strategy hadn't mattered.
I'd only thought: Protect her. Save her. She's mine.
That protective instinct was dangerous. I'd spent fourteen years building walls around my emotions, ruling with logic instead of feeling. Attachments made you weak. Made you vulnerable.
But the mate bond didn't care about my walls.
We reached the palace just as Keira started convulsing.
"Healer!" I shouted, carrying her out of the vehicle. "NOW!"
An elderly woman rushed out, her hands already glowing with healing magic. "Wolfsbane poisoning. How long?"
"Three years."
Her eyes widened. "That's impossible. No wolf survives that long—"
"She's a True Alpha. Her power kept her alive." I laid Keira on a stretcher as the healer's assistants took over. "But it's killing her now. The poison is finally overwhelming her system."
"I'll do what I can." The healer gestured to her team. "Take her to the medical wing. Prepare the purification ritual. We'll need—"
Keira's eyes snapped open. They glowed amber—pure True Alpha power finally breaking free. Her hand shot out, grabbing my wrist with impossible strength.
"Theron," she gasped, her voice barely human. "Something's... wrong. The wolfsbane... it's not just poison. There's something else. Something Helena put in me. I can feel it. It's—"
She screamed.
Her back arched as silver light exploded from her body. The healers stumbled back, shielding their eyes.
"What's happening?" I demanded.
"A binding curse!" The head healer's voice was horrified. "Helena didn't just poison her. She cursed her! If Keira's True Alpha power fully awakens, the curse activates!"
"What does it do?"
"It's a tracking curse. The moment her power breaks free completely, Helena will know exactly where she is. And—" the healer checked Keira's pulse, her face going pale, "—it's designed to kill her within twenty-four hours of activation."
My blood ran cold. "Can you break it?"
"Maybe. But I need time. Days, possibly weeks to—"
"You have six hours." I met her shocked gaze. "Because in six hours, every major Alpha in the region will sense a True Alpha's awakening. They'll come investigating. And if Helena gets here first, we're all dead."
Keira convulsed again, silver light pouring from her eyes, her mouth, even her skin. The True Alpha power that had been suppressed for three years was exploding to the surface all at once.
And it was killing her.
"Get started," I ordered the healers. "Whatever it takes. Save her."
They rushed Keira inside, leaving me standing in the courtyard covered in blood and breathing hard.
Dante approached carefully. "Theron. If every Alpha senses her awakening..."
"I know." I watched the medical wing's windows light up with healing magic. "It means war is coming whether we want it or not."
"Helena will claim we kidnapped and cursed one of her pack members."
"And we'll claim we rescued our rightful mate from murder."
"Who will the other packs believe?"
"Whoever presents the better evidence." I turned to face my Beta. "Which means we need to move fast. Gather our intelligence on Helena. Contact every ally we have. And prepare for siege—because Helena won't wait for a formal Council hearing. She'll strike first and ask forgiveness later."
"Understood." Dante paused. "For what it's worth... I think you made the right choice tonight."
"Saving her, or claiming her as mate?"
"Both." He grinned slightly. "It's been fourteen years since I've seen you care about anything besides revenge and strategy. Nice to know you're still capable of it."
He left before I could respond.
I stood alone in the courtyard, feeling Keira's pain through our bond. The healers were working, but the curse fought them every step.
Twenty-four hours. That's all she had if they couldn't break it.
Twenty-four hours to save the mate I barely knew but couldn't imagine losing.
Inside the medical wing, Keira screamed again—a sound of pure agony.
And I realized with cold certainty: Helena had planned this. She'd known Keira's power would eventually break free. So she'd planted a curse that would either kill Keira or force her to return to Silverpine for the cure.
It was brilliant. Ruthless. And exactly the kind of trap I would have set myself in her position.
Which meant I knew how to beat it.
I walked into the medical wing, my mind already working through possibilities. The healers looked up as I entered, their faces strained.
"The curse is embedded in her soul," the head healer said. "We can slow it down, but we can't remove it without killing her in the process."
"What if we don't remove it?"
"Your Majesty?"
"What if," I said slowly, "instead of fighting the curse, we redirect it? Give it what it wants—Keira's True Alpha power—but channel that power through something else? Someone else?"
The healer's eyes widened. "The mate bond. You want to share the curse through your mate bond."
"Will it work?"
"Theoretically... yes. If your bond is strong enough, you could absorb half the curse's damage. It wouldn't kill Keira, but it would..."
"Would what?"
She hesitated. "It would bind you to her permanently. Not just as mates, but as one shared life force. If she dies, you die. If you die, she dies. Forever."
Silence fell in the medical wing.
"Your Majesty," Dante said from the doorway, "you can't seriously be considering—"
"Do it," I told the healer. "Whatever ritual you need. Whatever cost. Link me to the curse."
"But you'll be giving up your independence! Your safety! Everything you've built to protect yourself!"
"I know." I looked at Keira, unconscious and dying on the healer's table. "But she's my mate. And I don't let what's mine die. Not ever."
The healer nodded slowly. "Then we begin. But Your Majesty... once this is done, there's no going back. Your fate and hers become one. Are you absolutely certain?"
I thought about fourteen years of cold calculation. Fourteen years of trusting no one. Fourteen years of being alone because it was safer that way.
Then I looked at Keira and felt the mate bond pulse with life.
"I'm certain," I said. "Begin the ritual."
As the healers started chanting and silver light filled the room, I took Keira's hand.
And prayed I wasn't making the biggest mistake of my life.