Chapter 71 Kael Confession
Lira POV
I forced my eyes open. He was breaking apart, tears streaming unchecked down his face.
"I love you." He said it like a confession. "I have from the moment I saw you in that cellar, looking at me like I was salvation instead of damnation. I was just too fucked up to accept it."
"Love isn't enough." The words were barely audible. "Not when you keep choosing others over me."
"I'm not choosing her." His voice turned desperate. "I'm trying to do right by a child who might be innocent in all this."
"By letting her manipulate you?" I coughed, more blood spilling. "By treating her like she matters while I bleed out in the dirt?"
"You matter more." He pressed his forehead to mine. "You've always mattered more. I just don't know how to show it without failing everyone."
Something shifted in the bond. Not healing, but a crack in the wall between us.
"Then stop trying to please everyone." I whispered. "Choose me. Just once, choose me first."
"I am." He kissed my forehead, my cheeks, my blood-stained lips. "I'm choosing you now. Choosing you always."
"Words." My eyes drifted closed. "Just words."
"Then let me prove it." He pulled me against his chest. "Let me take the pain. All of it."
Before I could protest, I felt him reaching through the bond. Felt him pulling my agony into himself.
The relief was immediate. The pressure on my chest eased, the bleeding slowed.
But through our connection, I felt what it cost him. Felt him gasp and convulse as the transferred pain hit.
"Stop." I tried to push him away. "Kael, you can't"
"I can." He gritted through clenched teeth. "I will, for as long as it takes."
"You're killing yourself." Aria's voice was sharp with alarm. "This isn't sustainable."
"I don't care." His eyes never left mine. "She lives. That's all that matters."
The bond stabilized slowly, precariously. The immediate danger passed, but I could feel the agony burning through him. Could feel what it was taking to keep me alive.
"Get her inside." Aria helped lift me. "Both of them, they need rest and healing."
They carried me to the Luna quarters. Kael refused to leave, collapsing in a chair beside the bed, his body still shaking from the transferred pain.
"Let it go." I whispered. "Give the pain back."
"No." His hand found mine. "Not until you're strong enough."
"I'll never be strong enough." I turned away. "Not for this. Not for watching you build a life with her."
"There is no life with her." His voice was hoarse. "There's only you. Only ever you."
"Then why does she still have access to you?" I made myself ask. "Why do you let her touch you? Speak to you like she has rights?"
"Because I'm trying to be responsible." He ran a hand through his hair. "If the child is real, if it's mine, I can't just abandon it."
"So you'll abandon me instead." Fresh tears spilled over. "Abandon our bond for a child that might not even exist."
"That's not what I'm doing." He moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Lira, please. Help me understand what you need. Because I'm drowning here."
"I need you to stop giving her hope." The words came out broken. "Stop being gentle with her. Stop treating her pregnancy like it's something precious when it's destroying us."
"You want me to be cruel to a pregnant woman?" His voice was careful.
"I want you to stop protecting her feelings over mine." I finally looked at him. "She's winning, Kael. Every time you worry about her comfort, every time you defend her, you prove I was right. I'm not enough for you."
"You're wrong." He touched my face gently. "You're everything. I'm just terrified of failing you and failing an innocent child."
"There is no child." I said with sudden certainty. "I don't know how I know, but I do. She's lying, Kael. And you're falling for it."
"We'll know in three days." He reminded me. "When the neutral healer arrives. Then we'll have proof."
"Three days." I echoed hollowly. "Three more days of watching her parade around with that satisfied smile. Three more days of you torn between us."
"I'm not torn." His voice was firm. "I choose you. I will always choose you. But I also can't ignore potential consequences of my past mistakes."
"Your mistake was touching her at all." Bitterness bled through. "Your mistake was looking at your mate and deciding she wasn't worth waiting for."
He flinched like I'd struck him. "I know. And I'll spend the rest of my life making that up to you."
"If I survive the next three days." I pulled my hand from his. "If watching you with her doesn't kill me first."
"Then I'll stay away from her." He stood, determination in his voice. "Completely, no contact unless absolutely necessary."
"She's carrying your supposed child." I pointed out. "The pack will expect you to care for her."
"The pack can deal with their expectations." His alpha presence filled the room. "You are my priority. My mate. My Luna. Everything else is secondary."
"Pretty words." I turned away. "Let's see if you mean them."
A knock at the door interrupted us. Thomas entered, his expression grim.
"Mira is demanding a private audience." He said quietly. "Says she needs to discuss the baby's welfare with you, Kael. Selene is insisting you meet with her."
I felt Kael tense beside me. Felt his conflict through the bond.
"Tell her no." He said finally. "Tell Selene that my mate needs me more than Mira's comfort does."
"She's claiming stress could harm the baby." Thomas pressed. "The council is concerned about pack heir safety."
"Then let Aria examine her." Kael's voice was strong. "Let healers care for her. But I'm not leaving Lira."
"Kael." I said tiredly. "Just go, prove me right about where your loyalties lie."
"My loyalty is to you." He grabbed my hand. "But if I go, will you believe I'm choosing duty over you?"
"Yes." I met his eyes. "Because you are. You're choosing the possibility of her child over the certainty of your mate."
He looked between me and Thomas, clearly torn.
"Go." I pulled my hand away. "But know that every minute you spend with her is another minute I learn to live without you."
"Lira" He started.
"Get out." My voice broke. "Just get out."
He stood there for a long moment, conflict written across his face. Then he left with Thomas, closing the door softly behind him.
Through the bond, I felt him walk toward wherever Mira waited. Felt his reluctance, his guilt, his divided attention.
But he still went.
I lay in the bed, blood still crusting around my nose and mouth, and felt something inside me die.