Chapter 26

Kael’s pov

Night had fallen across the clearing, stars glittering like shards of ice above us. My body ached, the poison still lingering in my veins like a bad memory. But that wasn't what kept me awake.

It was Raven.

She slept fitfully against the trunk of an oak tree, her bandaged shoulder stark white against her dark clothes. Even in sleep, pain etched itself across her face, pulling her brows together, tightening her jaw.

I'd failed her. Again.

The image of that silver light bursting from her skin replayed in my mind like a broken record. The prophecy mentioned the "Moon's Daughter," but nothing about this... power.

Something rustled in the bushes behind me. I tensed, claws extending reflexively.

"Just me," Eira whispered, emerging from the shadows. Her red hair was tangled with leaves, her face smudged with dirt. "You look like hell."

"You're one to talk," I muttered, retracting my claws. "What did you find?"

She dropped beside me, exhaustion evident in every movement. "Nothing good. Council hunters are everywhere. They've set up blockades on all paths to neighboring territories."

"What about the Spire? Our allies—"

"The Spire has fallen," she cut me off, her voice hollow. "Anyone loyal to you has either been locked up or forced to run."

The news hit like a physical blow. My home. My pack. Gone.

"So we're trapped."

"Pretty much."

I glanced at Raven, watching the unsteady rise and fall of her chest. "She needs a healer."

"What she needs is a miracle," Eira said bluntly. "That wound isn't just deep, it's... strange. I've never seen anything like it."

"What do you mean?"

She hesitated. "It's... glowing. Silver. Just like that light."

I rubbed my face, feeling the stubble scratch against my palm. "We need shelter. Somewhere safe to regroup."

"Safe?" Eira snorted. "There's no 'safe' anymore."

An idea struck me then, a memory from childhood. "There might be one place."

"Where?"

"Dad's old hunting cabin. Deep in the Whispering Woods."

Her eyes widened. "The one nobody knows about?"

"The Council never found it. Never even knew it existed."

Eira looked unconvinced. "That's a day's journey at least. Can she make it?"

We both turned to Raven, who chose that moment to stir. Her eyes fluttered open, instantly finding mine, as if pulled by some invisible thread. The connection between us pulsed, stronger than before.

"Make what?" she rasped, struggling to sit up.

I moved to help her, noticing how her skin briefly shimmered silver at my touch. I didn't mention it, but our eyes met, and something passed between us. Understanding. Fear.

"How bad is it?" she asked, glancing at her shoulder.

"You'll live," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "If you stop being so stubborn."

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "Not likely."

The sky was beginning to lighten, dawn approaching too quickly.

"We need to move," I decided. "I know a place we might be safe. It's a day's journey, maybe more in our condition."

"Then we better get going," Raven said, pushing herself to her feet with a grimace.

Eira raised an eyebrow at me, clearly impressed by Raven's resilience.

"Lead the way, Alpha," Raven said, her voice steady despite the pain I knew she was in.

And so I did.

The forest was dense, sunlight filtering through the canopy in dappled patterns. Our progress was slow, each step a battle against exhaustion and pain. Raven stubbornly refused help despite her injury, her jaw set in that determined way that both annoyed and impressed me.

"You're limping," I pointed out after she stumbled for the third time.

"I'm fine," she snapped.

"You're not fine. You're bleeding through the bandage."

"Are you always this annoying?"

I caught her arm as she tripped over a root. "Only when people I care about are being idiots."

She froze, her eyes locking with mine. "People you care about?"

The words had slipped out without thought. But I didn't take them back.

"You're my wife, aren't you?" I said, trying to sound casual.

"By arrangement," she reminded me.

"Does that matter anymore? After everything?"

She looked away first. "We should keep moving."

Eira rolled her eyes behind Raven's back, mouthing "hopeless" at me.

We walked in silence after that, each lost in our own thoughts. The weight of everything pressed down on me—my pack under Council control, the rogues, the prophecy. And Raven, with her glowing wounds and silver light.

When she stumbled again, I caught her without comment, knowing her pride wouldn't accept pity. This time, she didn't pull away.

As we neared the cabin, a familiar scent caught my attention. Fresh. Human.

Someone had been here. Recently.

I signaled for silence, approaching cautiously. The wooden structure stood partially hidden among the trees, its windows dark. The door was slightly ajar.

"Stay here," I whispered.

"Like hell," Raven hissed back.

I growled low in my throat. "For once, just listen—"

"Both of you shut up," Eira whispered fiercely. "Someone's coming out."

We ducked behind a cluster of bushes as the cabin door swung open wider. A figure stepped onto the porch, silhouetted against the dim interior light.

Paul.

I almost called out before my instincts kicked in. Something wasn't right. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't hiding. He was just... waiting.

"You can come out now," he called, his voice carrying across the clearing. "I know you're there."

I exchanged a glance with Raven, whose hand had gone to the dagger at her belt. Slowly, I stood.

"How did you find this place?" I asked, stepping into the open.

Paul smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "The same way I find everything. I watch. I listen." He gestured toward the cabin door. "Come in. It's safer to talk inside."

Against my better judgment, I followed him in, Raven and Eira close behind.

The cabin was small but well-maintained. A fire crackled in the stone hearth, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. And spread across the table was a map, marked with red ink.

"Took you long enough," Paul said without looking up from the map. "I was beginning to think you'd never figure it out."

"Figure what out?" Raven asked, moving closer to see what he was studying.

The map showed the territories—all of them. But marked in red were locations I didn't recognize. Outposts. Patrol routes. Safe houses. Information that could only come from someone deeply embedded in their operations.

"How do you have this?" I demanded.

Paul finally looked up. "I told you there were secrets," he said quietly. "It's time you learned who I really am."

Raven moved to stand beside me, her shoulder brushing mine. "And who is that, exactly?"

Before Paul could answer, Eira burst back in through the door, her face pale. "Council patrol," she gasped. "Heading this way. We have minutes, maybe less."

"Damn it," Paul muttered, quickly folding the map. "I thought we'd have more time."

I grabbed his arm. "Time for what? What haven't you told us?"

His eyes met mine, serious and intent. "Everything that matters."

Raven cursed under her breath, moving to the window to peer outside. "They're getting closer. We need to go. Now."

I looked at Paul and the map he was tucking into his jacket. "When we're safe," I promised, "you're going to tell us everything."

He nodded once. "If we live that long."

As we hurried to gather what supplies we could, I caught a glimpse of writing on the back of Paul's map. Just a single phrase, but it made my blood run cold.

"The prophecy lies. The fox shall rise."

I didn't have time to question him before we were moving again, slipping out the back door and into the forest just as the Council patrol reached the clearing.

"This way," Paul whispered, leading us along a path I couldn't see. "There's a river to the north. We can use it to mask our scent."

"Why should we trust you?" Eira demanded.

"You shouldn't," he replied simply. "But right now, I'm your only option."

As we fled deeper into the forest, I kept my eyes on Paul's back, the phrase from his map burning in my mind.

The prophecy lies.

If that was true, what else had been a lie? The alliance? The marriage?

I glanced at Raven, who caught my look and raised an eyebrow in question.

No. Whatever else was a lie, what I felt for her wasn't. Couldn't be.

We'd figure this out. Together.

If we survived the night.