Chapter One Hundred

Chapter One Hundred
Sky’s POV

I stood there, angry, but I didn't really know who I was angry at.

Eron or Kael.

My hand still stung where it had connected, my heart thudded too loud, and their faces were frozen in a way I couldn’t shake. Kael stunned but simmering, trying with all he had to keep the wolf inside him caged, Eron on the other hand was caught between guilt and bruised pride.

Everything felt suspended.

Kael didn’t speak. His eyes had gone darker, like something under his skin was ready to snap. He stood perfectly still, all control and coiled danger, if he moved, I knew he could tear Eron apart, and that made it worse. Even furious, he kept looking at me, not with hate, but with a possessive heat I couldn’t ignore.

I drew a breath and forced myself steady. “Please,” I said, quieter. “Let me talk to him. For a moment.”

Kael’s silence answered me. His jaw tightened and that was enough.

I nudged Eron’s wrist. “Come,” I said softly, pulling him away.

He hesitated, glancing between us, then followed willingly. The crunch of his boots on the ground was the only sound as we left the Kael behind and walked until I couldn't hear his breathing and I was sure it was just the wind and the weight in my chest.

When we stopped I faced him. “You shouldn’t have said that,” I said, low. “About rescuing me.”

He blinked. “I said what I felt. You looked trapped, Sky. If he’s done anything—”

“He hasn’t.” I cut him off, sharper than I meant to be. “Kael isn’t like that anymore.”

Eron scoffed. “Changed? Men like him don’t change. He’s the Alpha King who locked you up, used you—”

“Stop.”

The word surprised us both with how firm it was. He fell quiet and watched me.

“You don’t know him,” I said, softer this time. “Not like I do.”

He shook his head. “I only know what he’s done. I saw you as more than what they called you. I remember.”

That landed in me. Eron has always been fire and care braided together, the boy who once slipped me bread when everyone else turned away, who sheltered me when the world offered only chains.

I stepped closer, fingers brushing his sleeve, hesitant. “I haven’t forgotten, alright?” I said. “I remember everything. How you protected me, shielded me, gave me a place to stay, nurse me back to health and... you even fed me. I’ll never forget that, Eron. Never!”

He met my eyes, full of a wanting that it hurt so bad. “Then why do you stand by him?”

“Because he’s trying,” I whispered. “He’s changed. He doesn’t see me as a thing anymore. He’s fighting for something bigger now, to stop the markets, to help people who are still trapped, looking for a way out.”

He studied me the way he used to, like he was searching for the old truth. “And what if it costs you? What if standing by him puts you back in chains? What if it's worst than that?”

“It won’t.” My voice trembled a little but I held it. “I’m not the same girl I was. And neither is he.”

Something in that reached him. He stopped arguing and just looked at me with that tired sorrow we both carried, the kind that comes from things neither of us escaped.

“You’re stubborn,” he murmured. “You know that, right?”

“Maybe,” I smiled faintly, looking down briefly before returning my gaze to his face. “But you liked that once.”

He gave the smallest smile in return, a brief softening. Then his hand hovered, hesitated, and brushed mine. “I’d still give anything for you,” he said quietly. “I’d give up the throne if I had to. I just can’t bear seeing you with him.”

His words didn’t make me angry this time. They hurt, because they came from the same place my own compassion did, from a shared past we couldn’t walk away from.

I leaned my forehead to his chest. “I know,” I breathed weakly. “I’m grateful. More than you can know, Eron.”

His heartbeat thudded under my ear and for a moment, with the wind and rain smell in the air, it almost felt simple, like before titles and battles and chains. But that simplicity was gone. Too soon.

I pulled back. “Eron, I need you to do something for me.”

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes licking onto mine.

“Talk to your father, Eron. Convince him to let Kael move through your lands. Kael plans to raid the markets still trafficking people. It’s dangerous, but I need this. I need to save those who helped me escape.”

He frowned, fingers tightening around mine. “You’re not using me, are you?”

“No.” I said firmly. “I didn’t plan this. But if helping Kael saves lives, I’ll stand by him. I’ll fight for anyone who wants to end that suffering.”

He sat with that, looking past me as if weighing everything. Slowly, reluctantly, he nodded. “Alright. I’ll speak with him.”

Relief eased through me and all I could whisper out was a simple... “Thank you.”

He smiled, small, broken. “You always get what you want, Sky.”

“Not always,” I said. “But I try.”

He chuckled, a real, soft sound. “Then maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

I smiled too, but something heavy settled in my chest. Every choice was pulling us toward a war that wouldn’t spare anyone. No matter how kind Eron’s smile was, or how gentled Kael’s gaze had become…

I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was going to bleed before this ended.

(Thank you for reading up to this point, your support and comment are appreciated. However, it's only going to get more intense from here on... So please, keep supporting and buckle up. The ride's gonna be wild)