Chapter 93 Healing the Bond
LIRA POV
I woke to the scent of blood and sweat. Mine. Kael's. All mixed together in the rumpled sheets. He lay beside me, chest rising and falling too quickly. The wounds from carrying me through the territory hadn't healed properly.
"You're still hurt." I reached toward the gashes across his ribs.
"I'm fine." He caught my wrist, but his grip was weak.
"You're bleeding through the bandages." I pulled free gently. "Let me help."
"You just survived silver poisoning." Kael tried to sit up but winced. "You need rest, not"
"Not what?" I placed my palm over the worst wound. "Not healing my mate?"
His eyes widened. "Lira, you said you can’t really control your healing. You don't know"
"I know I can't watch you bleed." Moonfire sparked beneath my fingers, silver and warm. "Stop arguing and let me concentrate."
He went still. The bond hummed between us, stronger now more insistent. I closed my eyes, remembering how I'd healed Joren. How the power had flowed through intention rather than force.
Silver flames spread across Kael's skin, not burning but soothing. I felt his pain through the bond, sharp and throbbing.
"Breathe." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "This will hurt before it helps."
"I've survived worse." But his jaw clenched as moonfire sank deeper.
The wounds began closing. Slowly, imperfectly, but closing. My power pulled at something inside me, draining reserves I didn't know I had.
"That's enough." Kael's hand covered mine. "You're shaking."
"Almost done." Sweat dripped down my temple. "Just a little more."
"Lira." His voice turned commanding. "Stop before you hurt yourself."
I pulled back, the flames dying. The gashes had closed to angry red lines. Not perfect, but better.
"There." I sagged against the headboard. "Now you won't bleed out in your sleep."
"Stubborn woman." But warmth filled his expression. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." I gestured at the barely-healed wounds. "My healing needs work."
"It kept me alive." He shifted closer, wincing slightly. "That's enough."
The bond pulsed between us, pulling us together like a tide. I felt his exhaustion mixing with mine, his pain fading to dull aches.
"I can feel everything." I touched my chest where the bond lived. "Your injuries, your emotions. All of it."
"The claiming deepened it." Kael's fingers traced patterns on my bare shoulder. "We're more connected now than before."
"Is that why I feel your guilt?" I looked at him directly. "About keeping me prisoner? About Mira?"
He flinched. "Yes."
"Good." I didn't look away. "You should feel guilty."
"I know." His thumb brushed my collarbone. "I've made unforgivable choices."
"Some of them, yes." I caught his hand. "But you also carried me for hours while bleeding, defending my decision about Eldric. Fought beside me."
"Basic decency." He tried to pull away. "Doesn't erase the past."
"No." I held firm. "But it's a start toward something better."
Silence stretched between us. Outside, dawn light crept through the windows.
"I don't know how to do this." Kael's admission came quiet. "How to be both alpha and mate without controlling everything."
"You learn." I shifted onto my side, facing him. "Same way I'm learning to lead without fighting everyone alone."
"Partnership." He said it like a foreign word. "Trusting each other."
"Terrifying concept." I almost smiled. "But maybe it's necessary."
His hand moved to my face, cupping my cheek. "You're different from anyone I've known."
"Because I fight back?" I leaned into his touch. "Or because you can't intimidate me anymore?"
"Because you see past the monster." His voice dropped. "And choose to stay anyway."
"You're not a monster." I pressed closer, feeling his warmth. "Just damaged. Like me."
"Two broken wolves." Kael's lips ghosted over mine. "Trying to build something whole."
"Maybe we don't need to be whole." I kissed him properly. "Maybe broken pieces fit together better."
He pulled me against him, careful of both our injuries. The bond sang between us, no longer fighting but harmonizing.
"I'm still angry with you." I murmured against his mouth. "About everything."
"I know." His hands mapped my spine. "You should be."
"And I don't forgive you yet." I nipped his bottom lip. "That will take time."
"I'll wait." He kissed down my throat. "However long it takes."
"Centuries, probably." I tilted my head, giving him access. "I hold grudges."
"I've noticed." His teeth scraped my pulse point. "Stubborn, grudge-holding, impossibly brave."
"Flattery won't make me forget." But heat pooled low in my stomach.
"Not trying to make you forget." Kael's voice turned rough. "Just showing you I'm trying."
"Try harder." I challenged, pulling him down.
Try harder," I snapped, and yanked him down by his shirt.
His mouth hit mine hard. The kiss was fierce, immediate—no hesitation, no gentleness. I tasted copper where his teeth had caught my lip, just a trace of blood mixing with the heat between us.
His breath came fast and uneven, spilling into my mouth as if he couldn't get enough air. Each exhale was scorching, desperate. I felt the rough press of his lips, the way they moved against mine with an urgency that made my head spin.
His hand came up to cup my jaw, fingers spreading across my cheek, holding me there like he was afraid I might pull away. But I didn't. I leaned into him instead, into the overwhelming heat of it, the way his mouth demanded everything from me.
When he pulled back just enough to breathe, his forehead pressed against mine. His chest heaved, then he was kissing me again, slower this time but no less intense—like he was memorizing the shape of my mouth, the taste of me, the small sound I made when his teeth grazed my bottom lip again.