Chapter 10 The Confrontation
Lira POV
My power flared, silver light flickering over my skin like a living flame. "Send me away, you mean."
"Temporarily relocate you to" Kael started, his voice hard.
"No," I cut him off flatly, my voice ringing with finality.
His eyebrows rose in surprise. "No?"
"I'm not going into hiding again," I said, my body trembling with fury. "I've spent twenty years locked away for my own safety. I'm done with that."
"You don't have a choice in this," Kael snapped, his wolf's presence rising behind his words like a storm front.
"I have every choice," I shot back, the silver light growing brighter in my palms. "And I choose to go to Silvermoon territory."
The words hit him like a physical strike. His expression shifted from surprise to fury in the span of a heartbeat.
"Absolutely not," he snarled, stepping closer with predatory grace.
"It's my birthright, Kael," I fired back, refusing to retreat even as his presence pressed against me. "My parents' lands."
"Your parents are dead," he said harshly, his tone unyielding as granite. "Their lands are cursed wastelands overrun by rogues."
"How would you know?" I demanded, my voice rising in the confined space. "When's the last time anyone actually went there?"
"Because it's been forbidden territory for twenty years," Kael barked, his voice like a whip crack. "The kind of place where search parties go in and nothing comes out."
I straightened, feeling Selwyn's presence rising behind my words. "Then I'll be the first to survive it."
"Over my dead body," Kael hissed, his wolf pressing closer to the surface.
"That could be arranged," I said, my voice dropping to a lethal whisper.
The threat crackled between us as Kael stepped forward, the raw edge of dominance thick in his stance.
"You seem to forget that you're my mate," he said, his tone dangerously low. "My Luna. You don't make decisions that put yourself in danger without my permission."
"And you seem to forget that I'm not your property," I shot back, my eyes flaring brighter with silver fire. "No matter what you demonstrated last night."
"What happened last night was necessary," Kael bit out, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. "You needed to understand the reality of being mated to an alpha."
"The reality being that you'll humiliate me whenever it suits your purposes?" I demanded, my voice shaking with rage.
"The reality being that I won't be controlled by sentiment or weakness," Kael said, his eyes going cold as winter steel. "I do what needs to be done. Always."
"Including using other women to remind me of my place?" I challenged, my voice raw with pain.
For a brief instant, regret flickered in his features. Then it was gone, replaced by cold arrogance.
"If that's what it takes," he said flatly.
I stared at him, something fundamental breaking in my chest. The mate bond twisted painfully, but the fragile hope I'd barely let myself feel began to die.
"I see," I whispered, my voice going very quiet. "Then you won't mind if I seek answers elsewhere."
Kael's eyes narrowed with sharp suspicion. "What do you mean?"
"Elder Garrick knows what really happened to my pack," I said, moving toward the stairs with determined steps. "What really happened to my parents. I'm going to question him."
"Lira, wait," Kael growled, his body going tense.
I paused without turning, my shoulders stiff with resolve. "What?"
His voice dropped lower, rough with threat. "What if there's nothing left to find? What if going to Silvermoon territory just confirms that you have nowhere else to go?"
I looked back at him then, my eyes reflecting pain and newfound determination. "Then at least I'll know the truth. Which is more than I can say about staying here."
The words hung between us like a final judgment. Kael's jaw tightened, but he didn't try to stop me as I climbed the stairs.
Behind me, I heard him punch the stone wall hard enough to crack it.
Elder Garrick hung in silver chains in the deepest part of the dungeon. The metal burned his skin wherever it touched, leaving angry red welts that refused to heal. But his eyes still held defiance when I descended the stone steps.
"Come to gloat, have you?" he rasped, his voice hoarse.
"I've come for answers." I stayed beyond his reach, silver light flickering around my hands. "About what really happened to my parents."
"Your parents were fools who got themselves killed. Nothing more to it," Garrick said, his voice rising with bitter mockery.
My eyes blazed brighter with controlled fury. "Try again."