Chapter 168
Kane's POV
By the time I returned to the settlement from Caspian's quarters, the night had grown deep.
I moved as quietly as possible through the temporary camp. Moonlight filtered through cracks in the stone walls, casting mottled shadows across the crude tents. Our people had all fallen asleep, the silence broken only by scattered snores and occasional murmurs of dreams.
I headed toward my corner where animal pelts lay spread, my mind still turning over everything Caspian had said...
This seemingly prosperous underground city did indeed hide something far darker beneath its surface.
Just as I thought I could quietly lie down, a pair of gentle arms wrapped around my waist from behind.
My body tensed instantly. Blaze rumbled low in the depths of my consciousness, then recognized that familiar scent—lavender mixed with the faint smell of herbs.
My shoulders relaxed.
"Dorothy," I said softly, turning around.
In the moonlight, she looked up at me, her amber eyes full of worry.
She still wore the simple linen dress from earlier, her hair slightly disheveled—she'd clearly been waiting for me to return.
"Where did you go?" Her voice was quiet, careful not to wake the others. "I woke up and you weren't there..."
Instinctively, I wanted to lie, to say I'd just gone out for a walk to clear my head. But the words died on my lips when I saw that unconcealed concern in her eyes.
Besides, ever since we'd formed the mate bond, she could sense my emotional fluctuations through that invisible connection.
Dorothy shook her head gently, as if confirming my thoughts.
"You went off to carry the burden alone again, didn't you?" There was a trace of helplessness in her voice. "Kane, I can feel that something's weighing on you. The bond doesn't lie."
I fell silent for a few seconds, then finally nodded.
Her fingers gently brushed across my cheek. That warm touch allowed my taut nerves to relax slightly. Blaze made a satisfied purring sound deep in my consciousness, like a large cat being soothed.
"I know you've taken on too much pressure for the pack," Dorothy said. Though her voice was soft, her tone was firm. "I just want to help you, to keep you from being so exhausted. You don't need to shoulder everything alone, Kane. We're mates—we should face things together."
A complex surge of emotions rose in my chest—guilt, gratitude, and a warmth I couldn't quite name. I reached out and grasped her hand. That small hand felt so delicate in my palm.
"You've already helped me so much," I said quietly. "If you hadn't awakened on the battlefield, if you hadn't been willing to follow me to this godforsaken place..."
"That's not enough," Dorothy interrupted, her gaze more serious than I'd ever seen it. "Kane, I want to become a Luna who can truly fight alongside you, not just someone to be protected. I want to know what you're thinking, what you're worried about. I want to share your burdens."
Her words struck something deep within me. From Blood River to now, I'd grown accustomed to pressing all burdens onto my own shoulders, accustomed to facing danger and conspiracy alone. But now, this girl standing before me was using her own way to tell me I was no longer solitary.
The atmosphere grew subtly charged without either of us noticing. The snoring sounds from the camp seemed to fade away until the entire world held only the two of us and that increasingly heated mate bond between us.
Dorothy suddenly raised her hand, slender fingers lightly pointing to her pale neck.
"Here..." Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of shyness, but her eyes looked at me with determination. "It feels empty."
My breath caught instantly.
I understood her meaning all too clearly. That spot lacked my mark. In the werewolf world, marking was the most sacred promise, the vow that bound two souls together forever.
And I... I hadn't marked her yet.
Heat flooded my face, even my ears burning. Blaze roared frantically in the depths of my consciousness, urging me to mark our mate immediately, to let everyone know she belonged to us.
But my rational mind still struggled—our current situation wasn't safe enough, I hadn't given her a real home yet...
"Kane," Dorothy said softly. Her fingers gently touched my chin, making my gaze meet her eyes. "I don't care what we have right now. I only care that we're together."
Her words completely shattered my last line of defense.
The distance between us grew smaller and smaller. I could feel her warm breath against my face.
Finally, my lips gently pressed against hers.
The kiss started light, like a feather brushing across water, careful and tentative. But soon, those long-suppressed emotions surged forth like a breaking dam. My arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly into my embrace. Her fingers threaded through my hair, fingertips gently massaging my scalp.
The mate bond became unprecedentedly intense in that moment. I could clearly feel her heartbeat, her breathing, every drop of blood flowing through her body. And she could feel mine—my desire for her, my cherishing of her, and that fierce impulse to protect her forever.
Just as the kiss deepened, unwelcome memories suddenly intruded into my mind.
Ella's desperate eyes. Victoria's cold expression. The child I'd destroyed with my own hands. All the women I'd touched, all the mistakes I'd made...
I jerked my eyes open, my body rigid as stone.
Dorothy immediately sensed the change in me. She pulled back slightly from my embrace, looking at me with confusion.
"Kane? What's wrong?"
I took a step back, my eyes full of struggle and pain. Those memories coiled around me like venomous serpents, hissing in my ears.
"I..." My voice trembled. "I'll hurt you, Dorothy."
She frowned, wanting to step forward, but I retreated another step.
"I've destroyed every beautiful thing I've touched," my voice grew quieter, almost as if talking to myself. "I don't deserve—"
"Kane—"
"I don't deserve you," I cut her off, my voice carrying an almost desperate bitterness. "I don't deserve happiness. I only destroy everything."
Dorothy looked at me. Tears glistened in her eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness—they were tears of heartache. Looking at this powerful yet fragile man before her, her heart ached almost beyond bearing.
She didn't speak. She simply began slowly untying her dress.
I froze, completely unprepared for such an action. Moonlight filtered through cracks in the rock wall, falling on her and making her skin glow with a soft luster.
She presented herself to me without reservation, those amber eyes never leaving mine.
"Kane," she said softly, her voice gentle as spring rain. "The you of the past may have done many wrong things, but the you of now—you're my mate, the person I chose."
She stepped closer, placing my trembling hand over her heart. Through her warm skin, I could clearly feel her heart beating.
"Do you feel it?" she asked. "My heart beats only for you. I'm not afraid you'll hurt me, because I trust you."
"But I—"
"You deserve to be loved, Kane," she whispered in my ear, each word gently encouraging me. "You deserve happiness. Past mistakes don't define who you are now. You're no longer that person controlled by hatred and fear. You're my mate now, the Alpha of this pack. You deserve all the beautiful things."
Her words were like warm sunlight, melting the ice in my heart bit by bit. The struggle in my eyes gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented sense of release.
I realized that what Dorothy was offering me wasn't just her body, but complete trust and acceptance. She knew all my dark sides, knew all the mistakes I'd made, yet she still chose to trust me, to love me.
I finally let down all my defenses.
I gently lifted Dorothy in my arms, carried her to the crude bedding of animal pelts in the corner, and carefully laid her down. Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer.
"Don't run away anymore," she said softly. "I'm here. I've always been here."
Our union wasn't born of simple desire, but of two souls finally finding each other's refuge after a long darkness.
With the moon as witness, the mate bond blazed with unprecedented intensity as we intertwined, like a thread of flame binding us tightly together.
Blaze and Willow resonated in the depths of consciousness—two wolf souls completing their true fusion.
Encouraged by Dorothy, I finally dared to touch this beauty, to believe I deserved happiness. When my fangs gently pierced the side of her neck, leaving a permanent mark, Dorothy marked me at the same moment.
In that instant, the mate bond solidified completely. We became truly one at the soul level.
I could feel everything about her—her joy, her contentment, her unreserved love for me. And she could feel mine—that sense of finally finding home, that happiness of no longer being alone.
After the marking was complete, we lay embraced, our breathing gradually steadying. Dorothy's fingers gently traced the mark on my neck, those two clear rows of teeth marks gleaming faintly in the moonlight.
"I love you, Kane," Dorothy said those three words clearly for the first time. "From when you first protected me, from when you made me a birthday cake, from when you led us out of desperate straits... I've loved you."
My eyes grew moist.
For the first time in so many years, I felt the urge to cry. I held Dorothy tighter, as if afraid she might disappear.
"I love you too, Dorothy," I said, my voice hoarse but firm. "You're the light in my darkness. You make me believe I can still have beautiful things."
"We'll rebuild the Lightning Wolf Pack together," Dorothy said softly, her fingers gently stroking my cheek. "We'll protect our people together, face all difficulties together."
"Grow old together," I added, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Watch our children grow up together."
Dorothy smiled, that smile heartbreakingly beautiful in the moonlight.
We lay like that, listening to each other's heartbeats, feeling the warmth and security transmitted through the mate bond. Outside, countless dangers still awaited us—the threat of the Blood River Pack, the conspiracies of the Stone Ridge Pack, and darkness we hadn't yet perceived.
But in this moment, in this crude corner, we had each other.
That was enough.
I closed my eyes, falling into deep sleep in Dorothy's warmth. For the first time in years, I had no nightmares. I dreamed of an open grassland, dreamed of our children running in the sunlight, dreamed of Dorothy standing beside me, smiling as she watched it all.
It was a future I'd never dared hope for.
But now, I dared.