Chapter 117 The sick
Lira pov
They brought a girl who couldn't have been more than sixteen. Her name was Lynn. The curse had her trapped in a waking nightmare, her eyes seeing horrors that weren't there.
I held her hands, channeling my powers gently. The dark magic fought back, tried to infect me but Selwyn's essence protected me. Burned the corruption away from the inside.
Lynn's eyes cleared. She blinked, confused but present.
"You're safe." I whispered. "The nightmare is over."
She burst into tears. I held her while she sobbed, feeling my own tears threatening.
"Sleep now." Aria gave Lynn a sedative.
I let Kael guide me back to the cot. My hands shook as my vision blurred.
"You did well." He brushed hair from my face. "But you need to pace yourself, the remaining wolves can wait a few hours."
"Can they?" I looked at the suffering around me. "Every moment they wait is agony."
"Every moment you push yourself is death." He said bluntly. "You're no good to anyone dead."
"Harsh." I tried to smile. "But probably true."
He sat beside me, his weight making the cot dip. "I should've stopped you sooner. Should've known you'd sacrifice yourself without hesitation."
"Like you wouldn't do the same." I pointed out. "You literally shared the pain of silver torture through our bond rather than let the pack see you interfere."
He flinched. "That was different."
"How?" I challenged. "How is my sacrifice different than yours?"
"Because I deserve suffering." His voice cracked. "For what I did to you, for what I almost did."
"We're not doing this again." I sat up despite my exhaustion. "You were cursed. Under dark magic influence it wasn't you."
"It was me enough." He wouldn't meet my eyes. "I remember every moment, Lira. Remember wanting to hurt you, wanting to break you."
"The curse wanted that." I cupped his face, forcing him to look at me. "Not you, it was never you."
"How can you be sure?" The anguish in his voice broke my heart. "How can you trust me after what I did?"
"Because I feel our bond." I pressed his hand to my chest. "Feel it. Feel what's between us. That's real not the curse."
He closed his eyes, and I felt his awareness travel through the mate bond. I felt him sense my trust. My certainty and my complete faith in him.
"I don't deserve you." He whispered.
"Probably not." I smiled slightly. "Good thing you're stuck with me anyway."
He kissed me then when he pulled back, his eyes held something I'd never seen before. Vulnerability raw and unguarded. "I need you to know something." His voice was rough. "What happened under the blood moon. What I said after, calling it biological necessity."
"Don't." I tried to pull away. "We don't need to revisit that."
"Yes, we do." He held me gently. "Because I lied, it wasn't just biology. Wasn't just the mate bond forcing us together."
My heart stopped. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I choose you." He met my eyes steadily. "Not because of the bond. Not because of prophecy or duty but because you're the strongest person I've ever met. Because you challenge me. Because you make me want to be better."
"Kael"
"I'm saying I love you." The words came out fierce. "And I need you to believe that because it's real."
Tears spilled down my cheeks. "I want to but how do I know the bond isn't influencing"
"Ask Selwyn." He said simply. "She's part of you now, she would know if I was lying."
I closed my eyes, reaching inward and Selwyn's essence responded. And felt her certainty, her absolute knowledge that Kael spoke truth.
"She believes you." I opened my eyes. "But I need time."
"Take all the time you need." He kissed my forehead. "I'll be here. Proving it every day."
A commotion from the entrance interrupted us. Thomas burst in, his expression grim.
"Alpha. We have a problem, the council just sent another messenger. They've moved up the deadline."
"What?" I stood too quickly, the world spinning. "They can't do that"
"They're invoking emergency protocols." Thomas handed Kael a second letter. "You have one week to appear before them. Both of you or they declare Darkfang rogue territory and send enforcement."
Kael read the letter, his expression darkening with every line. "This is Elias." He crumpled the paper. "He's forcing their hand, using his council connections to corner us."
"Then we fight." I said simply. "We refuse to submit."
"And condemn the entire pack to war?" Thomas shook his head. "Lira, enforcement means fifty alphas. Maybe more we can't survive that."
"So what do you suggest?" I demanded. "We just surrender? Let them examine me like some specimen?"
"We play their game." Kael decided. "We go to the council. Present our case, show them you're not a threat."
"I am a threat." I said flatly. "To everyone who participated in the massacre, to everyone who benefits from my family's death."
"Which is exactly why we need to be smart about this." He grabbed my shoulders. "No rushing in or emotional decisions. We plan and we win their political game."
I wanted to argue, I wanted to rage against the injustice but he was right, we had to be strategic. "One week." I said finally. "We have one week to prepare. One week to heal these wolves and one week to figure out how to survive a council that probably wants me dead."
"We'll manage." Kael's confidence felt forced. "We always do."
But as I looked at the suffering wolves around us, at Thomas's grim expression, at the crumpled letter declaring us rogue if we refused...
I wondered if this time, managing wouldn't be enough. "Kael." I grabbed his hand as he turned to leave. "If the council tries to take me what if they try to imprison me or worse"
"They won't." His voice was cold. "Because I won't let them bond or no bond, love or no love. You're mine to protect and I don't fail twice."
He left before I could respond. I laid back on the cot, exhaustion crashing over me. But sleep wouldn't come because I could feel it through the bond.