Chapter 23: Chapter Twenty -Three

Chapter 23:

Lia’s POV

The Ironclad camp was a fog of torchlight and suspicion, the air thick with the scent of smoke and restless wolves. My side ached where the Frostclad’s claws had grazed me in the clearing, but it was nothing compared to the weight of the elders’ eyes, their distrust of a blade at my throat. The journal’s secrets, my mother’s past, her connection to the Ironclad, the whispers of betrayal, burned in my mind, but it was the bond with Edgar, pulsing hot and heavy in my chest, that kept me grounded. Or maybe it was trapping me. I couldn’t tell anymore.

We were back at the clan’s stronghold, a cluster of cabins hidden deep in the forest, but the safety felt like a lie with Connor’s challenge looming at dawn and the Shadowfang and Bloodhowl packs aligning with the Frostclad. Elena had stayed behind to talk to the elders, her sharp eyes promising to dig into the clan’s secrets, but I was alone with Edgar now, his broad frame pacing the small cabin we’d been given. The bond thrummed, his tension bleeding into me, making my wolf pace too, restless and ready to snap.

“You shouldn’t have challenged that Shadowfang woman,” Edgar said, his voice low, but the edge in it cut like a claw. He stopped pacing, his dark eyes locking onto mine, glowing faintly with his wolf. “You’re not ready, Lia. You barely survived your first full shift. If you’d lost control out there, you could’ve died.”

“I didn’t lose control,” I snapped, stepping toward him, my voice sharp. “I fought, Edgar. I held my own. And I’m not going to sit back and let you fight my battles while the clan calls me a traitor’s daughter.”

His jaw tightened, the bond flaring with his frustration, a mirror to my own. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t just about you proving yourself. The clan’s on edge, Lia. They don’t trust you, your tribrid blood, your mother’s history. Every time you run into danger, you’re giving them more reason to turn on you. On us.”

“Us?” I laughed, bitter and sharp, my wolf growling in my chest. “You mean you, Edgar. You’re the alpha. They’ll follow you no matter what. I’m the one they’re whispering about, the one they think will betray them like my mother did. And you’re not helping, you’re caging me, telling me to stay back, to stay safe. I’m not fragile!”

He stepped closer, towering over me, his eyes blazing. “You think I want to cage you? I’m trying to keep you alive, Lia! The bond” He cut himself off, his hands clenching, the bond pulsing. “It’s tearing me apart every time you’re in danger. I can’t lose you. Not after the ritual, not after everything.”

My breath caught, the bond pulling me toward him, but my anger was stronger, fueled by the wolf and the weight of everything I’d learned. “Then stop treating me like I’m going to break!” I shouted, my voice shaking the small cabin. “I’m moonbound, Edgar. Your mate. I shifted, I fought, I survived. But you keep acting like I’m a liability, like I’m not Ironclad enough. If you don’t trust me to stand beside you, how am I supposed to prove it to the clan?”

“It’s not about trust. It’s about reality. You’re strong, Lia, stronger than you know, but you’re new to this. The clan’s elders want blood, proof you’re loyal, proof you’re not your mother. And Connor’s challenge tomorrow? It’s not just a fight. It’s a war. If you go out there, half-cocked, you’ll be playing right into his hands.”

I stepped closer, my claws digging into my palms, my wolf snarling at the implication. “Half-cocked? You think I can’t handle it? I’m not the one hiding secrets, Edgar. You knew about my mother, didn’t you? Maybe not everything, but you knew she was Ironclad, knew she was tied to your father. Why didn’t you tell me?”

His face went still, the bond tightening like a noose. “I didn’t know she was your mother,” he said, his voice low, but there was a crack in it, a hint of something he wasn’t saying. “I was a kid when she left, Lia. The clan said she betrayed us, broke the bond with my father, weakened us against the Frostclad. I didn’t connect it to you until the journal. I swear.”

“Swear all you want,” I said, my voice cold. “But you’re still keeping me in the dark. You and Elena, telling me to prove myself, to control my wolf, but no one’s telling me what my mother did, why the clan hates me for it. If we’re mates, Edgar, we’re supposed to be in this together. So why does it feel like you’re fighting me as much as you’re fighting Connor?”

“I’m not fighting you,” he said, his voice raw, stepping so close I could feel the heat of him. “I’m fighting for you. The clan, the Frostclad, the other packs, they’re all waiting for you to fail. I can’t let that happen. I won’t.”

“Then let me fight!” I shouted, my wolf pushing my voice to a growl, my claws lengthening as I shoved at his chest. He didn’t budge, his hands grabbing mine, holding them tight, the bond flaring at the contact. “I’m not your damsel, Edgar. I’m Ironclad, tribrid or not. I’ll face Connor, the clan, whoever, because I’m done being the outsider. If you can’t trust me to do that, then what’s the point of this bond?”

His eyes searched mine, a storm of emotions, fear, love, desperation, swirling in them. “I trust you,” he said, his voice breaking. “But I can’t lose you, Lia. The bond… it’s more than you know. If you die, it’ll break me.”

My heart stuttered, the bond pulling me closer, but my anger held me back. “Then teach me,” I said, my voice softer now, but no less fierce. “Train me, fight with me, not for me. Because I’m not running, Edgar. Not from Connor, not from the clan, not from you.”

He held my gaze. But before he could answer, a sharp howl split the night, Frostclad and Shadowfang scents mixing in the air. My wolf senses flared, the mark on my shoulder burning, and I knew the alliance was closing in, Connor’s challenge hours away.

“We’re out of time,” Edgar said, his voice steady now, his hands still holding mine. “We do this together, Lia. But you follow my lead. Promise me.”

I pulled my hands free, my wolf snarling but my heart softening. “I’ll fight with you,” I said. “But I’m not promising to obey. We’re equals, Edgar. Deal with it.”