Chapter 74 Killing Mira
Kael pov
"So you corrupted us instead?" She laughed bitterly. "How noble."
"I never promised you anything." I crouched in front of her. "Never gave you reason to think we were more than physical."
"You gave me hope." Her eyes blazed with madness. "Every time you came to my bed, every time you touched me, I thought maybe you could love me."
"I didn't." I whisper screamed. "I don't and I never will."
Something shifted in her expression. From desperate hope to cold calculation.
"Then I'll tell the pack everything." She pushed to her feet. "About how you treated Lira, about your father's crimes. About every dark thing you've done."
"Do it." I stood to my full height. "I don't give a fuck anymore. The only thing that matters is getting my mate back."
"You can't." Her smile turned vicious. "She's gone. And when she finds out the truth, she'll hate you even more. Because you still chose me, Kael. Even knowing she was your mate, you still fucked me."
The rage snapped my control.
My shift was instant, violent. Fenris tore free with a roar that shook the walls.
"Kael, don't" Thomas started.
Too late. I lunged at Mira, my jaws closing around her throat before she could shift.
She managed a partial transformation, her wolf trying desperately to fight back. But she'd never been a match for an alpha, and rage made me unstoppable.
Her wolf whimpered and died beneath my teeth.
When I shifted back, her blood coated my hands, my chest. She lay broken on the floor, her neck torn open, her eyes staring at nothing.
She was dead. The room was silent except for my ragged breathing.
"Well." Thomas finally said. "That's one problem solved."
"It solved nothing." I stared at my bloodied hands. "Lira's still gone. The bond is still fractured, and I just proved I'm the monster she always feared."
"You killed someone who tried to murder your mate." Aria knelt beside Mira's body, checking for any signs of life. "The pack will understand."
"Will they?" I looked at her. "Or will they see an unstable alpha who can't control his rage?"
"They'll see justice." Thomas gripped my shoulder. "Mira committed treason. She manipulated pack law, attempted murder, and destroyed a sacred mate bond. Death was always the consequence."
"I need to find Lira." I moved toward the door. "Need to tell her the truth before someone else twists it."
"Kael." Aria stood, blocking my path. "You're covered in blood and radiating rage. If you go to her like this, you'll only prove you're dangerous."
"I am dangerous." I gestured at Mira's corpse. "I just killed someone with my bare hands."
"You killed someone who deserved it." She corrected firmly. "But Lira doesn't need to see you like this. Not yet. Not when she's already terrified of your violence."
"Then what do I do?" The question came out broken. "How do I fix this?"
"You start by cleaning up this mess." Thomas gestured at the room. "Then you call a pack meeting. Explain what happened, show them the evidence. Make it clear Mira was the traitor, not Lira."
"And then?"
"Then you find your mate." Aria's voice softened. "And you grovel like your life depends on it. Because it actually does."
I looked down at Mira's body one last time. Felt nothing but cold satisfaction.
She'd destroyed my bond with Lira. Had driven my mate to flee into the wilderness. Had manipulated me into becoming the very thing I'd sworn never to be.
Her death was justice. But it wouldn't bring Lira back.
"Help me move the body." I told Thomas. "Then get word to the council. I want everyone assembled in one hour."
"What are you going to tell them?" He asked as we wrapped Mira in sheets.
"The truth." I lifted her body easily. "All of it. My mistakes, her manipulations, everything."
"That's risky." Aria warned. "The pack could see it as weakness."
"I don't care." I carried Mira toward the preparation room where bodies were kept before burial. "I'm done hiding and pretending that I have it all together."
We worked in silence, cleaning up the blood, removing evidence of the violence. By the time we finished, you'd never know a murder had occurred. Just like all the other secrets buried in Darkfang.
The pack assembled quickly, sensing something major had happened. They filled the great hall, whispers spreading like wildfire.
I stood on the raised platform, Mira's body laid out before them in ceremonial wrappings.
"Mira Voss is dead." I let my voice carry to every corner. "Killed by my hand for treason against this pack and its Luna."
Shocked gasps rippled through the crowd.
"What treason?" Eldric demanded from his seat. "What evidence do you have?"
"Aria." I gestured for her to come forward.
She held up the vials of Mira's blood. "There was no pregnancy. Mira faked symptoms using herbs and bribed a rogue healer for false confirmation. She manipulated our alpha with lies."
More gasps as Eldric's face darkened.
"Furthermore." Aria continued. "She confessed to poisoning herself at the feast to frame Luna Lira. She forged the letter from Darion Nightshade. And she attempted to murder the Luna with a silver knife in the caverns."
"These are serious accusations." Selene spoke from her high seat. "But confession from a dead wolf cannot be verified."
"I have witnesses." Thomas stepped forward. "I was there when she confessed. Heard every word before Alpha Kael executed justice."
"As did I." Aria added.
"This is convenient." Eldric sneered. "The Luna runs away, and suddenly all evidence points to Mira being the villain?"
"Lira ran because I failed her." My voice cracked. "Because I chose to honor a fake pregnancy over my mate's suffering. Because I was too blind to see Mira's manipulation until it was too late."
The pack fell silent, stunned by my admission.
"Luna Lira was innocent." I continued. "Of every charge, every suspicion. And I punished her anyway because I was a coward."
"Then you're unfit to lead." Eldric stood. "An alpha who can't recognize manipulation, who abandons his mate, who kills in rage—that's not leadership. That's instability."
"You're right." I met his eyes steadily. "I failed as an alpha and as a mate. But I'm going to fix it."
"How?" He challenged. "Your Luna is gone, your pack is divided. Your judgment is compromised."
"By finding her." I stepped down from the platform. "By bringing her home. By proving I'm worthy of her forgiveness."
"And if she won't return?" Selene asked quietly.
Then I felt it, through the bond that I'd thought was severed. Terror. Pure, absolute terror flooding through our connection.
Lira was in danger.
"She's in trouble." I was already shifting, my clothes tearing. "I have to go."
"Kael, wait" Thomas called.
But I was already gone, Fenris tearing through the packhouse doors.