Chapter 14
Kael’s warning hung in the air like a storm cloud, heavy and suffocating. My chest felt tight, my breaths shallow as I processed the magnitude of what had just happened—and what was still to come. The power that had surged through me was unlike anything I’d ever felt before, but it was also terrifying. I had taken a piece of the bond into my control, but at what cost?
The Alpha Heir would know.
“What does this mean?” I finally asked, my voice hoarse. “If he feels what I’ve done, won’t he come after me even sooner?”
Kael nodded, his expression grave. “Yes, and he’ll be furious. But that rage will blind him, and that’s where we gain the advantage. He’s used to controlling everything, but now, you’ve taken a piece of that control back. It will destabilize him.”
“Destabilize him?” Canary cut in, his voice laced with skepticism. “Or provoke him into doing something even more reckless? You’re gambling with her life.”
Kael’s dark eyes snapped to Canary, his calm demeanor unwavering. “This isn’t a gamble. It’s survival. If she doesn’t learn to harness her power, the Alpha Heir will consume her entirely. The bond won’t just be a connection—it’ll be a leash.”
The word sent a shiver down my spine. A leash. That’s what I had felt all along, wasn’t it? A constant tug, keeping me tethered to him, robbing me of my agency. But now… now it felt different. The leash was still there, but I held the other end.
“Kael,” I said, interrupting the tense standoff between him and Canary. “What exactly is this power? Why do I have it? Why is it tied to him?”
Kael hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. For the first time, he looked less like the confident stranger with all the answers and more like someone who was weighing how much to reveal. “It’s… complicated,” he said at last. “The bond isn’t just about the Alpha Heir’s claim on you. It’s tied to something older, something primal. Your lineage.”
“My lineage?” I echoed, frowning. “I don’t have a lineage. I’m an orphan.”
Kael gave a faint, humorless smile. “You may not know your lineage, but it knows you. The power you felt—it’s not from the Alpha Heir. It’s yours, passed down through bloodlines that were meant to remain hidden. He’s been trying to control it because he fears what it could do if you learned to wield it.”
I stared at him, the weight of his words settling like a stone in my chest. Bloodlines. Hidden power. It felt like the plot of a story I wasn’t meant to be part of, and yet here I was, standing in the middle of it.
“And what happens if I don’t learn to wield it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Kael’s expression hardened. “Then he’ll use it to destroy you—and everything you care about.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Canary’s presence at my side was grounding, but I could feel his unease radiating off him. He didn’t trust Kael, and part of me didn’t either. But what choice did I have? The Alpha Heir was a storm on the horizon, and I was woefully unprepared to face him alone.
“Fine,” I said, my voice steadier than I expected. “If you think you can help me, I’ll listen. But I want answers. Real ones. No more half-truths.”
Kael inclined his head, his expression unreadable. “Fair enough. But first, we move. The runes have masked us for now, but it won’t take long for him to track the disturbance.”
“Move where?” Canary asked, his tone sharp. “You dragged us into the middle of nowhere without any explanation. What makes you think we’re safe anywhere?”
Kael’s eyes flicked to Canary, his gaze sharp. “We’re not safe. We’ll never be safe, not as long as the Alpha Heir has the resources and the will to hunt her. But there’s a place—hidden, protected—where she can train without interference.”
I frowned, my skepticism rising. “And this place? How do you know about it?”
Kael hesitated for the briefest moment, and I caught the flicker of something in his eyes—regret, maybe. Or something darker. “Because I’ve been there before. It’s where I learned to fight back.”
Before I could question him further, a distant howl echoed through the forest. The sound was low and haunting, a warning carried on the wind. My blood turned to ice as the realization hit me.
“He’s coming,” I whispered.
Kael’s demeanor shifted instantly, his calm exterior giving way to urgency. “We need to go. Now.”
“Catnip,” Canary said, his voice low and steady as he placed a hand on my arm. “Are you sure about this?”
I looked at him, at the worry etched into his features, and nodded. “I don’t have a choice.”
Kael was already moving, his strides purposeful as he led us away from the clearing. The runes dimmed behind us, their light fading into the shadows as if they had never existed. The forest grew darker, the air colder, but I pressed on, the bond within me a quiet hum instead of the suffocating chain it had once been.
The howl came again, closer this time. My heart raced, but I forced myself to focus on the path ahead. Kael had said this was the first step, but it was clear that the journey was far from over.
And as the shadows deepened around us, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had made the right choice—or if I had just stepped into a trap far more dangerous than anything the Alpha Heir could have planned.