Chapter 149: Blood Debt

Seraphine's POV

The window exploded inward.

Glass shattered across the floor as Damien crashed through, landing in a crouch. His eyes blazed pure gold, wolf form rippling beneath his skin like something trying to claw its way out.

I stumbled backward, my hand reaching for anything, finding nothing. The bond flared in my chest, burning hot and sharp. Kaelen would feel this. He had to feel this.

"You screamed my name to your mate." Damien's voice was cold. "Stupid girl. Now he knows I'm here."

"Good." The word came out steadier than I felt. "He'll kill you."

"Maybe. But you'll be dead first."

He moved faster than I could track, crossing the room in a blur. His arm locked around my throat from behind, yanking me against his chest. Cold steel pressed against my ribs.

A knife. He'd come prepared.

"Don't move." His breath was hot against my ear. "Not an inch."

The door exploded off its hinges.

Kaelen stood in the doorway, grey-white fur already rippling across his bare shoulders. His four eyes blazed with lethal fury, gold and black swirling together. The scent of his rage filled the room, thick enough to choke on.

"Let her go."

"I don't think so." The knife pressed harder. I felt the tip break skin, warm blood trickling down my side. "We're going to walk out of here nice and slow. You follow, she dies."

Kaelen's scent exploded, flooding the room with raw power. The pressure made my ears ring. But he froze mid-step, his four eyes locked on the blade at my ribs.

He understood. If Damien killed me, the bond would kill him too.

"Smart boy," Damien said. "You know the rules."

Kaelen's muscles coiled like a predator ready to spring, but he held himself back. I'd never seen him restrained like this, never seen that kind of control fighting against pure rage.

He couldn't save me. Not without risking both our lives.

Damien started backing toward the window, dragging me with him. His grip shifted slightly as he adjusted his balance for the drop.

The bond pulsed between us. I felt Kaelen's fury through it, his desperation, his absolute refusal to let me die.

I met his four blazing eyes. Saw the calculation there. The trust.

Now or never.

I slammed my heel down on Damien's instep with everything I had. Bone crunched beneath my bare foot.

Damien roared. His grip loosened just enough.

I twisted hard, driving my elbow into his ribs. The knife sliced across my side as I tore free, pain flaring hot and sharp. I threw myself sideways, hitting the floor and rolling.

Damien didn't hesitate. He turned and dove through the window.

Kaelen exploded into motion.

Grey-white fur rippled across his body as he shifted mid-leap, the massive Shadowmere wolf crashing through what remained of the window frame. He landed in the courtyard below with lethal grace, already moving before his paws touched the ground.

I scrambled to my feet, pressing my hand against the bleeding cut. Through the broken window, I saw them in the courtyard below.

Damien hit the ground running, his body shifting as he landed. Brown fur erupted across his skin, bones cracking and reforming. A massive wolf streaking toward the tree line.

But Kaelen was already on him.

The Shadowmere wolf moved like smoke and fury, bigger and faster than anything I'd ever seen. Damien didn't stand a chance.

Kaelen caught him ten feet from the trees. The impact sent them both rolling across the stone, a tangle of fur and fangs. Damien twisted, snapping at Kaelen's throat. But Kaelen was already moving, avoiding the bite and slamming Damien into the ground with bone-crushing force.

Damien kicked free, scrambling backward. Desperate now.

Kaelen didn't give him another chance.

His jaws closed around Damien's throat. One brutal shake. The snap echoed across the courtyard, sharp and final.

Damien's wolf form went limp.

Kaelen held on for another moment, making sure. Then released, stepping back.

The brown wolf didn't move. Slowly, the fur began to recede, bones cracking back into human shape. I watched Damien's body settle into stillness, naked and broken on the cold stone.

He's dead.

Countless nights of scare. Of nightmares. Of waking up screaming with my mother's blood on my hands.

He's dead.

My legs buckled.

I don't remember climbing through the window. Don't remember the drop. But suddenly I was in the courtyard, stumbling across the cold stone toward Damien's body.

He lay on his back, eyes staring at nothing. Blood pooled beneath his head, dark and spreading.

The memory slammed into me. My mother's face. Her hand reaching for mine. The light fading from her eyes while I stood frozen, useless, unable to save her.

My knees hit the ground.

The sob tore out of me before I could stop it, raw and broken. I pressed my fists against my mouth, trying to hold it back. But it came anyway, years of grief and fury pouring out in gasping, shaking breaths.

For you, Mom.

I doubled over, forehead nearly touching the ground. Tears streamed down my face, hot and relentless.

I'm sorry I couldn't save you. But he's dead now. He's dead and he can't hurt anyone else.

Footsteps approached, slow and careful. Warm hands touched my shoulders.

"Seraphine."

Kaelen's voice, gentler than I'd ever heard it.

"He's dead," I choked out. "He's really dead."

"I know."

"She died and I just stood there and I couldn't—"

My voice broke. Another wave of sobs hit me, so hard I could barely breathe.

Kaelen pulled me up, turning me away from the body. "Don't look at him. Look at me."

I couldn't. My vision blurred with tears, my whole body shaking.

He pulled me against his chest, one hand in my hair, the other around my back. Holding me steady while I fell apart.

"Breathe," he murmured. "Just breathe."

I don't know how long I stood there, crying into Kaelen's bare chest while he held me. Long enough for the sobs to turn to gasps, for the tears to slow. Behind us, I heard wolves emerging from the shadows, low growls as they surrounded Damien's body.

Finally, I pulled back. My face felt swollen, raw.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"Don't." His four eyes met mine, still glowing faintly in the darkness. "You earned this."

I looked back at Damien's body one last time. The rage had burned out, leaving only emptiness behind.

"It doesn't feel how I thought it would."

"It never does."

Kaelen's hand touched my side, where blood had soaked through my shirt. A muscle feathered in his cheek.

"You're bleeding."

He didn't wait for an answer. Just scooped me up, one arm under my knees, the other around my back. Carrying me toward the guest house while his wolves dealt with the mess behind us.

Inside, he set me down on the bed. Grabbed what was left of a sheet and pressed it against the cut.

"He still cut you," Kaelen said, voice flat and cold. "In my territory. In a room I assigned you. You're moving to the main house."

I stared at him. "What?"

"Tonight. Or I'm moving here."

"You can't be serious."

"Someone broke into your room. Put a knife to your ribs." His four eyes blazed brighter. "You think I'm letting you sleep alone after that?"

I was too tired to argue. "Fine. Main house. But I want my own room."

"You'll have the east wing."

"Just a room. With a lock."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Fine."

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For killing him."

Kaelen's expression shifted, something dark and possessive swirling in those four eyes.

"I didn't kill him for you," he said. "I killed him for touching what's mine."

What's mine. Not who. What.

But tonight, I didn't have the energy to care about the distinction.

"Pack light," Kaelen said, releasing my side. "I'll send people for the rest tomorrow."

I nodded, moving toward the closet. My hands shook as I pulled out a bag.

It's over, I told myself. Damien's dead. Mom's been avenged.

But somehow, I didn't quite believe it.

Not yet.