Maren's POV
The stone room has no windows.
No light except what bleeds under the door.
No sound except my own breathing and the slow drip of water somewhere in the darkness.
And no escape.
I've been in here for hours maybe more, maybe less, time moves differently in the dark and Lira hasn't come back. That should be good. It should mean I'm safe.
But it doesn't.
Because every second she's gone is another second she's out there, spinning lies, poisoning Kael's mind against me.
The bond pulses weakly in my chest. I can feel him somewhere close but not close enough. His emotions bleed through: exhaustion, grief, rage at himself for failing to protect the sanctuary.
And underneath it all, doubt.
Small. Stubborn. Growing.
He doesn't want to believe I'm innocent.
But he's starting to wonder.
I press my palm against the cold stone wall and close my eyes. The Ember Gift hums in my blood, restless and confused. It doesn't understand why I'm locked up. Why I'm not healing anyone. Why I'm just... waiting.
I'm not waiting, I think fiercely. I'm planning.
The lock on the door is iron. Old. Strong. But iron can rust. Iron can weaken.
And the Ember Gift doesn't just heal bodies.
It heals damage.
Which means if I can convince it that the lock is damaged that it needs fixing maybe I can make it break down faster. Age it. Corrode it from the inside out.
It's a long shot.
But it's all I have.
I place my hand against the door, right where I know the lock sits on the other side. The Ember flares gold, warm, searching for injury to heal.
I push the thought at it: Broken. Damaged. Needs fixing.
The gold light flickers.
Then spreads.
I feel it the lock on the other side, groaning as rust crawls through it like disease. Metal cracking. Weakening.
Almost there
The door slams open.
I stumble back, the Ember dying instantly.
But it's not Lira.
It's Kael.
He stands in the doorway, backlit by torches, his face carved from shadows. His grey eyes find mine, and for a moment something raw and terrible crosses his face.
Then it's gone.
Get up, he says.
I don't move. Why?
Because I'm giving you a choice. He steps inside. The room suddenly feels too small. And you're going to take it.
What choice?
He pulls something from his belt a key. Old iron. The same one Lira used to lock me in here.
You were right, he says quietly.
My heart stops. What?
About Lira. His jaw tightens. I didn't want to believe it. I spent seven years trusting her. Seven years thinking she was loyal. But then I went through her quarters. Found letters. Payments. Proof.
Relief floods through me so fast I almost collapse. You believe me.
I believe the evidence. He tosses the key onto the floor between us. Lira's been working for Councillor Serath since before the sanctuary even existed. Everything the auction, the attack, the deaths all of it was planned.
Where is she now?
Gone. The word is bitter. Ran the moment I started asking questions. She's probably halfway to Council territory by now.
You have to go after her! She'll tell them everything
She already has. Kael cuts me off. The Council knows where we are. They know how many of us survived. They know we're vulnerable. He looks at me. Which is why I need you.
I blink. What?
The plan, he says. The one I was going to propose before everything went to hell. I still need it. Maybe more now than ever.
I don't understand.
He crouches down so we're eye level. The Council won't recognize the sanctuary as legitimate territory unless I present them with a bonded pair. Proof that even a rogue can form something sacred. Something they can't ignore.
But we are bonded.
Not completely. His eyes hold mine. Right now, we have the first stage the recognition. The pull. The connection. But it's not finished. Not permanent. If one of us dies, the bond dies with them. The Council won't accept that.
My stomach twists. What are you saying?
I'm saying we finish it. His voice is steady. Certain. Publicly. In front of Council witnesses. We complete the mate bond in a ritual that makes it undeniable, unbreakable, and impossible to fake.
You want to... bond with me? For real?
I want to save two hundred wolves who have nowhere else to go. He stands. And you're the only way I can do it.
I stare at him. At this man who bought me for twelve thousand marks. Who saved my father even though he didn't deserve it. Who just admitted he was wrong about me but still won't apologize.
What do I get? I ask.
What?
You need something from me. Fine. What do I get in return?
Kael's eyes narrow. What do you want?
Freedom, I say immediately. Real freedom. Not just 'you're not in chains anymore' freedom. I want autonomy. Safety. And I take a breath. help going after the people who destroyed my life.
Your father's dead.
Not him. My hands curl into fists. Councillor Serath. The man who paid Lira. The man who orchestrated all of this. I want him to pay.
Something flickers in Kael's eyes. Respect, maybe. Or recognition.
Deal, he says.
Just like that?
Just like that. He holds out his hand. You help me save the sanctuary. I help you destroy the man who took everything from you. And when it's done when the Council recognizes this place and Serath is dealt with you're free to leave. No strings. No obligations.
I stare at his outstretched hand.
The bond hums between us, warm and certain.
And if I say no? I ask.
Then you're free to leave now. He says it like he means it. I'll give you supplies. A map. Safe passage to the border. You walk away, and I never come after you.
You'd really let me go? After everything?
I'm not your father, Kael says quietly. I don't own you. I never will.
The words hit harder than they should.
I look at his hand. At his face. At the exhaustion written in every line.
He's not lying. The bond would tell me if he was.
He's offering me a partnership. Not ownership. Not slavery.
A choice.
What happens after we complete the bond? I ask. What does it mean?
It means we're connected. Permanently. We'll feel each other's emotions. Be able to sense each other across distances. And He hesitates. we'll be vulnerable to each other in ways neither of us will like.
Vulnerable how?
If you die, I'll feel it. If I die, you'll feel it. The bond will try to protect us both, which means it'll influence our decisions. Make us... protective. Possessive, even.
You mean I won't be able to control my own feelings.
None of us can control our feelings, Kael says. The bond just makes them louder.
I chew my lip. And after? When the Council vote passes and Serath is dealt with?
Then you leave. And the bond will hurt Moon Goddess, it'll hurt like nothing else but you'll survive it. We both will.
You've thought about this.
I've thought about nothing else. He lowers his hand slightly. So What's your answer?
I should say no.
I should walk away. Take the supplies. Cross the border. Start over somewhere far from councils and rogues and bonds that burn.
But I don't want to run anymore.
I want to fight.
I have conditions, I say.
Of course you do.
You never touch me without asking first.
Agreed.
You never treat me like property.
Agreed.
And if you ever act like my father if you ever use me as a tool or a weapon or a bargaining chip I'll burn this sanctuary to the ground myself.
Kael's lips twitch. Almost a smile. Noted.
I take his hand.
The bond flares gold bright and hot and alive.
Deal, I say.
His grip tightens. Just once. Then we start tomorrow.
Start what?
Playing the part. He releases me. The Council will send representatives. We need to convince them the bond is real. That we're mates. That this sanctuary deserves to exist.
How do we do that?
You move into my cabin. We act like a bonded pair. And when the Council arrives His eyes harden. we give them a show they'll never forget.
My stomach flips. Wait. Move into your cabin? As in live with you?
Can't be bonded mates if we're not together.
But
Relax. His voice is dry. The cabin has two rooms. You'll have privacy. I'm not asking you to share my bed.
Oh. I feel my face heat. Right. Of course.
Unless you want to, he adds, deadpan.
I throw the key at his head.
He catches it without blinking. The corner of his mouth quirks upa real smile this time, small and sharp.
Come on, he says. I'll show you where you'll be staying.
He turns to leave.
I follow because what else can I do? And the bond hums between us like a promise.
Or a warning.
We step out of the stone room into cool night air. The sanctuary is quiet now. Most of the wolves have gone to sleep. Only a few remain, standing guard, watching the tree line.
Kael leads me through the ruins toward a cabin that somehow survived the attack. It's small. Simple. A single light burns in the window.
He opens the door.
And I freeze.
Because sitting at the table inside, calm as death, is Lira.
Her black eyes meet mine.
She smiles.
Hello, Maren, she says softly. Miss me?
Kael goes rigid. His hand moves to his weapon.
But Lira is faster.
She holds up a small vial filled with dark liquid. Recognize this?
My blood turns to ice.
Because I do recognize it.
Nightshade extract. Enough to kill twenty wolves.
One drop, Lira says pleasantly, in the water supply. That's all it takes. She swirls the vial. And I've already put in three.
Kael's face goes white. You're bluffing.
Am I? Lira stands. Check the well if you don't believe me. But by the time you do, half the sanctuary will have drunk from it. She tilts her head. Tick tock, Rogue King. How fast can you run?
Then she throws the vial.
It shatters against the wall.
And Lira jumps through the window.
Gone.
Kael and I stare at each other for one frozen second.
Then we run.
Toward the well.
Toward two hundred wolves who might already be dying.
And toward the horrible realization that Lira isn't done destroying us yet.