Chapter 59 Under Kael Watchful Eyes
Kael POV
"I said get out!" The windows rattled with the force of my command.
She fled. I heard her footsteps echoing down the hallway, We need to find Lira, Fenris demanded. Now.
"And do what?" I slumped against my desk. "Drag her back? Force her to stay?"
Make her understand. His voice turned desperate. Make her see we need her.
"She knows we need her." I touched the bond, feeling her concentration. "That's the problem. She wants to be wanted. Chosen, not needed."
Then choose her.
"I have." But saying it to my wolf wasn't enough.
I grabbed my jacket and headed for the eastern border. Screw pride. Screw strategy. I needed to see her.
The clearing was three miles out, just beyond pack territory. I approached quietly, using skills learned in exile.
And stopped dead at what I saw.
Lira moved through combat forms with deadly grace. Her body flowed from stance to stance, each movement precise and powerful. Sweat dampened her shirt, her hair was tied back, and her eyes glowed with barely contained energy.
Dmitri circled her, calling corrections. "Lower stance, use your center of gravity. You're smaller than most opponents—make it an advantage."
She adjusted instantly, dropping into a crouch that looked impossible. Then exploded forward, her fist stopping inches from Dmitri's throat.
"Better." He smiled, proud. "Again. Faster this time."
They'd been at it for hours. I could see it in Lira's exhaustion, in the way she favored her injured ribs. But she didn't stop. Didn't complain.
"You're thinking too much." Dmitri demonstrated a move. "Let your wolf guide you, I bet she knows these forms instinctively."
"Selwyn wants to rip your throat out for making me repeat this fifty times." But Lira grinned, wild and free.
I'd never seen her smile like that, not once since I'd marked her.
"Your mother said the same thing." Dmitri's expression softened. "Right before she pinned me in under five seconds."
"I'm not my mother." Lira reset her stance.
"No." He moved behind her, adjusting her shoulders. "You're stronger. She had a full pack supporting her. You've survived alone."
His hands lingered too long on her skin. Fenris snarled inside me, territorial rage building.
That's our mate. Our female. He has no right to touch her.
I almost revealed myself. Almost charged in and ripped them apart.
But then Lira spoke.
"Kael thinks I'm weak." Her voice was quiet. "That the bond is a burden he's forced to carry."
"Then Kael's a fool." Dmitri stepped back. "You're the strongest wolf I've ever trained."
"You've only been training me three hours." But she smiled slightly.
"I've been watching you for years." He turned serious. "Watching you survive torture that would break grown alphas. Watching you keep your humanity when most would go feral. You're not weak, Lira. You're extraordinary."
She ducked her head, uncomfortable with praise. "I don't feel extraordinary."
"Because your mate makes you doubt yourself." Dmitri's voice hardened. "Makes you question your worth. That's not love, little wolf. That's control."
"He's been hurt." Lira defended me despite everything. "Exile changed him, made him afraid to trust."
"And you've been tortured." Dmitri challenged. "But you're still trying. Still fighting. Still choosing to be vulnerable despite the pain."
"Maybe I'm just stupid." She laughed bitterly.
"Or maybe you're braver than he deserves." Dmitri handed her a water flask. "Rest. Then we'll work on channeling fire without burning the forest down."
They sat on a fallen log, close but not touching. I stayed hidden, watching. Hating myself for spying. Hating him for making her laugh. Hating that he was right.
I was a fool.
"Tell me about her." Lira's voice carried across the clearing. "My mother. Not the prophecies or the power. Just... her."
"She loved wildflowers." Dmitri's expression turned distant. "Used to fill the packhouse with them. Your father pretended to be annoyed, but he'd sneak out before dawn to pick more for her."
"What was he like?" Lira leaned forward, hungry for details. "My father?"
"Dmitri Ashborne was the kindest alpha I ever knew." He smiled sadly. "Strong enough to break bones, gentle enough to comfort pups. He believed wolves were meant to protect, not dominate."
"That's not how most alphas think." Lira's eyes found the tree line where I hid.
Could she sense me through the bond?
"No." Dmitri followed her gaze. "Most alphas think strength means fear. Control means safety. But your father knew better, he knew that real power comes from trust."
"And my mother trusted him?" Lira asked. "Completely?"
"With everything." Dmitri turned back to her. "That's how the mate bond should work. Not one wolf dominating the other, but two equals choosing partnership."
"That sounds like a fairy tale." Lira stood, wincing slightly. "Real bonds are messy. Complicated."
"They don't have to be." He stood as well. "Not if both wolves are willing to be vulnerable."
"Kael doesn't do vulnerable." She moved to the clearing's center. "He does angry and possessive and terrified. But never vulnerable."
"Then he's not worthy of you." Dmitri's words were final.
Something in me snapped. I stepped from the trees, done hiding. "That's not your judgment to make."
Lira spun toward me, shock and anger warring in her expression. "How long have you been watching?"
"Long enough." I moved into the clearing, every muscle tense. "Long enough to see you training with a rogue. Alone. Without permission."
"Permission?" Her eyes flashed. "I don't need your permission to learn about my family."
"You need my permission to leave pack territory." I stalked closer, Fenris pushing at my control. "Especially with males I haven't vetted."
"Vetted?" She laughed, sharp and cruel. "Like you vetted Mira? How's that working out for you?"
The barb hit home. "That's different."
"How?" She got in my face despite our height difference. "How is this different than you spending time with your ex-lover? The one who tried to murder me?"
"I'm protecting you." But the words sounded weak even to me.
"You're controlling me." She poked my chest, hard. "There's a difference."
"Lira." Dmitri's warning came too late.
I grabbed her wrist, pulling her against me. "You want to know the difference? I'll show you."
I kissed her hard, claiming, desperate. Poured every ounce of fear and rage and need through the bond until she gasped.
When I pulled back, her eyes were glazed with desire.
"That's the difference." My voice came out rough. "That's what she'll never have."
"That's possession." Lira jerked free, breathing hard. "Not love."
"Maybe I don't know how to love." I admitted the truth finally. "Maybe exile broke that part of me. But I know how to claim. How to protect, how to kill anything that threatens what's mine."
"I'm not a thing." Tears threatened but didn't fall. "I'm not property you can own."
"You're my mate." I reached for her again. "My Luna. My"
"Your burden." She stepped back. "Your responsibility, your curse. But never your choice."