Chapter 17 Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Mira POV
The moon hung low over the forest as the rebels settled into a guarded rest. Tents lined the clearing in neat rows, shadows flickering across the canvas whenever the wind passed over the torchlight. Despite the appearance of calm, everyone remained alert. The Queen’s message had put every wolf on edge, and no one trusted the silence that followed. A storm lingered over us, unseen but felt in every breath.
I stood at the edge of the clearing, watching the treeline. My shadows curled around my boots, restless and alert. They responded to the tension in the air, to the tension inside me. My mind replayed the Queen’s words, her cold smile, and the sharp truth she had delivered without hesitation. She wanted Jason. She wanted me. She wanted control. And she would tear the kingdom apart to get it.
Jason approached from behind. I felt him before I heard him. His presence settled in the space beside me as if it belonged there. He did not speak immediately. He stood there, steady and patient, watching the same treeline I watched.
After a long moment, he said quietly, “You have not slept.”
“I cannot,” I replied.
“You should try,” he said. “You will need your strength.”
“So will you,” I said. “Yet you are here.”
He gave a faint shrug. “I cannot sleep either.”
We stood in silence for a while. The forest was calm, but the air between us was heavy. Since the kiss in the ruins, I had struggled to keep my thoughts clear. The memory of his lips, his voice, and the look in his eyes lingered far longer than I wanted.
He finally turned to me. “You are avoiding me.”
“I am thinking,” I said.
“You can think near me,” he said.
His voice was careful, steady, but there was something underneath it. Something uncertain and hopeful. I ignored it.
“Our meeting with the Queen did not give us the information we hoped for,” I said sharply. “All we have is a warning and a threat.”
Jason nodded. “And a target.”
“You,” I said. “You are the target.”
“You are too,” he said. “But she needs me first.”
I looked at him fully then. His face was drawn, tense, tired. Yet there was determination behind his eyes that had not been there years ago. The boy I knew was gone. A man stood beside me now. A king who had lost control of his kingdom and was trying to reclaim it piece by piece.
“I will not allow her to take you,” I said.
Jason studied me for a moment. “Why?”
The question froze me. My heartbeat tripped. He watched my face carefully, searching for something I was not ready to give.
“She cannot use you against me,” I said. “If she has you, she has leverage.”
His expression softened, but he did not smile. “Is that truly the only reason?”
My shadows flickered wildly at the edge of my vision. I looked away before he could see anything I could not hide.
“It does not matter,” I said. “We focus on the strategy.”
Jason stepped in front of me, blocking my path. His voice was calm but firm. “It matters to me.”
I clenched my jaw. “You are doing it again.”
“What?” he asked.
“Trying to make this personal,” I said. “We have more important things than feelings.”
“Feelings are part of what brought us here,” he said quietly. “And part of what almost destroyed us.”
I swallowed hard. “Exactly.”
He took a step closer. The moonlight caught the edge of his jaw and the tension in his shoulders.
“Mira,” he said softly. “You kissed me.”
I stared at him. “You kissed me first.”
“And you kissed me back,” he said. “You did not pull away. You did not push me aside. You held me.”
I felt my face flush with heat. “That was a moment of weakness.”
His gaze did not falter. “No. That was a moment of truth.”
“Truth?” I scoffed. “You think a kiss solves anything. You think it erases the years of pain, betrayal, and everything you allowed to happen. You think it changes who I became.”
“No,” he said quietly. “It only changes what we are now.”
His words hit harder than they should have. A part of me wanted to step back. Another part wanted to step closer. Neither side won.
“We cannot do this,” I said.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Because we are not safe,” I said sharply. “Because there is a war coming. Because the Queen will tear the kingdom apart. Because you are the king and I am the Shadow Wolf. Because our worlds will clash.”
Jason stepped closer until only a few inches separated us. “And yet here we stand.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but movement at the edge of the clearing cut me off. Riven approached quickly, his expression grim.
“Mira. Jason. We have a problem.”
I stepped forward immediately. “What is it?”
Riven exhaled sharply. “A patrol is missing.”
Jason stiffened. “How many?”
“Three,” Riven said. “They have not returned from their route and they missed their signal.”
“When did they last check in?” I asked.
“Just before sunset,” Riven said. “We sent a runner to track their path. He found blood.”
The camp shifted instantly. Worry rippled through the rebels like a cold wave. I felt my shadows tighten around me, reacting to my fear.
Jason straightened. “We go now.”
Riven nodded. “I gathered a team. We can be ready in minutes.”
“Not you,” I said firmly. “Not yet. We scout first. Small numbers.”
Riven frowned. “You are going alone?”
“No,” Jason said immediately. “She is not.”
I turned to him sharply. “This is my mission.”
“And I am part of it,” he said. “You will not go into danger alone.”
“I am not helpless,” I snapped.
“I know,” he said, voice softening. “But I am not helpless either.”
The tension between us crackled like lightning.
Riven looked between us, clearly torn between concern and curiosity. “I can send someone else if you wish.”
“No,” I said. “Jason and I will go.”
Jason nodded once, satisfied.
Riven gave a short bow. “I will keep the camp ready. Stay alert.”
As he walked away, Jason turned to me. “Try not to run ahead of me this time.”
I lifted my chin. “Try not to fall behind.”
He gave a faint smile. “I never do.”
We slipped into the forest, moving quickly and quietly. The air grew colder as we followed the missing patrol’s trail. The scent of blood hit my senses before Jason could detect it. My wolf rose inside me, alert and protective.
Jason moved behind me, close enough that I could hear his breath. “I smell it now.”
I nodded. “Be ready.”
We followed the trail until the trees opened into a small clearing. The moonlight revealed the remains of a struggle. Blood on the ground. Broken twigs. Deep claw marks across a fallen log.
Jason crouched beside one of the marks. “This is fresh.”
“Too fresh,” I said.
The forest suddenly fell eerily silent. No wind. No birds. No movement.
Jason rose slowly. “We are not alone.”
“We knew that,” I said.
Before I could finish speaking, a shadow moved at the edge of the clearing. A low growl echoed from the trees. Jason reached for his sword. I readied my shadows.
Three figures emerged from the darkness.
Not Council soldiers.
Not the Queen’s guard.
Wolves.
Their eyes glowed bright gold. Their forms shifted slightly in the moonlight, halfway between human and wolf. They were feral. Twisted. Controlled by magic.
Jason whispered, “This is not ordinary pack magic.”
“No,” I said. “This is the Queen.”
The wolves lunged at once.
Jason moved to my left, sword flashing in the moonlight. I moved right, shadows cutting through the air. We fought side by side, bodies in sync, instincts aligned. The wolves were fast, but we were faster. Jason’s blade struck cleanly. My shadows sliced through their attacks.
But one wolf broke through the line and charged directly at Jason from behind.
“Jason,” I shouted.
He spun too late.
I lunged.
My shadows wrapped around the attacking wolf, yanking it backward. I pulled Jason into me with my free hand, catching him before he fell. His body collided with mine, and the force of the impact sent us crashing against a tree trunk.
He braced his hands on either side of my head, breathing hard. Our bodies were pressed together, his heartbeat wild against my chest. His eyes locked onto mine with raw intensity.
“You saved me again,” he whispered.
“Someone has to keep you alive,” I said.
His gaze dropped to my lips. “Mira.”
“Focus,” I whispered.
“I am,” he said.
Before I could stop him, he kissed me again.
The world vanished.
There was only his mouth on mine, fierce and desperate, his hands gripping my waist, my fingers curling into his collar. I felt heat rush through my veins, stronger than magic, stronger than shadows. My wolf surged forward, wanting him, needing him, remembering him.
I pulled him closer.
He groaned softly against my lips, the sound low and dangerous. The kiss deepened, raw and consuming, as if the fear of losing each other had burst into flame.
I tore my lips away, breathless and shaken.
“Jason,” I said.
He rested his forehead against mine. “I am sorry. I cannot stop.”
I swallowed hard. “We cannot do this.”
“We already did,” he said softly.
The forest rustled.
The last wolf staggered toward us, wounded but alive.
Jason pulled away and lifted his sword.
I lifted my shadows.
Together, we finished the fight.
The clearing fell silent.
Jason wiped blood from his blade and looked at me with a mixture of fear, longing, and something deeper.
“Mira,” he said quietly. “Whatever happens next, I am with you.”
I looked away, unable to hold his gaze.
“We need to return,” I said. “The rebels must know what the Queen released.”
Jason nodded. “Then lead me.”
I walked ahead.
He followed close behind.
And every part of me felt the echo of his kiss.