Chapter 19

*Kael*

The summit is months away, but it looms over me like an executioner’s blade.

The Moonlight Ball will open it. A night of diplomacy, showmanship, and subtle wars fought with polished smiles. It’s meant to be a celebration of legacy, unity, and the strength of the crown. 

But the council doesn’t care about celebration. They care about politics. They care about image.

About power.

About the throne needing a Luna. The throne needing an heir.

They’ve circled me like vultures ever since the rejection. Even my threats haven’t slowed them down. Whispers echo down every corridor. Offers from noble houses arrive daily, wrapped in silk and scented parchment. Eligible daughters dressed in ceremonial white paraded around. Promises of alliance, power, heirs.

But I feel for none of them. The parade disgusts me.

Because all I feel is her.

My wolf is fraying at the edges. He claws at me every night, howling into the darkness for what we lost. No matter how hard I push him down, how much I drink, fight, shift—he’s always there.

Wounded.

Snarling.

Unforgiving.

The throne room is quiet this morning, bathed in cold light as the storm clouds gather above the capital. I’ve been avoiding meetings. Avoiding Dax. Avoiding the mirror.

I can’t look into my own eyes without seeing hers. Without seeing the moment, I broke everything.

A soft knock draws me from my thoughts. Dax enters without waiting for permission. He never used to do that.

"You missed council again."

I don’t answer.

He waits. Then sighs. "They’re pressing. Harder now."

"I know."

He crosses the room and leans against the edge of the massive hearth, arms crossed. The fire doesn’t warm the room.

"You have to say something. Even if it’s a stall."

I stare at the empty throne. "Maybe I should just choose someone. End this. Let the bond break. Give them what they want."

Dax’s expression shifts sharply. "And what? Pretend none of this happened? That the Moon Goddess made a mistake, and you just fixed it with a political marriage?"

I say nothing. Because it sounds even more hollow when he says it out loud.

"Kael," he says, voice quieter now, more serious. "You might survive that decision. But your people won’t. The packs are already divided. Those devoted to the goddess are upset that you rejected a fated mate. And when they find out who your mate is..."

My head snaps up.

"They will," Dax says firmly. "She won’t stay hidden forever. And when she steps forward, if she does it with another at her side—if she comes to the summit, or worse, if she petitions the Council for acknowledgment as heir to the Nightshade line—"

"She wouldn’t." I snarl.

“She wouldn’t what, Kael?” He asks firmly. “She wouldn’t choose a mate after what you did? Or she wouldn’t petition for what is rightfully hers?”

I growl. My claws snap free at my sides. "I couldn’t betray the bond."

Dax straightens slowly. A low growl slipping from his wolf. "You already did."

The words hit like a blow to the gut. My wolf whines. 

"I’m not saying you did it out of cruelty. But you did it. You rejected her. And now the bond is tearing you apart. The goddess blessed you with an incredible mate. It is sacred, and you betrayed it."

I press my palms to the edge of the throne, trying to steady myself. My vision blurs at the edges, my wolf snarling so loud I can barely think.

"She’s in everything," I whisper. "I close my eyes, and she’s there. When I sleep, I see her. When I walk the halls, I smell her. I hear her name in the wind. I feel her in my blood."

I shake my head. "I made a mistake. But I don’t know how to fix it."

Dax doesn’t speak for a long time.

Then he finally says, "You can’t fix what you haven’t accepted."

He pushes away from the hearth and walks toward me. "You didn’t just make a mistake, Kael. You turned away from fate. Now you have to decide if you’re going to chase it down and beg it to forgive you—or let it burn you alive."

He sighs before he continues. “You need to decide what you are going to do. Because if word gets to her that you are taking another as a Luna… what is broken will never be able to be fixed. Set the council straight for good. Tell them you plan to repair the bond. Do something.”

I rub a hand over my face. I’m so fucking tired. Tired of pretending I know what I’m doing. Tired of carrying a crown that was won in blood.

I glance up. "News from the scouts?"

Dax nods. "Two returned this morning."

"And?"

"Nothing. No trail. No signs. The forest kept turning them around. Redirecting them. Eventually, it pushed them out completely."

I curse under my breath. If I was unsure of who she was before. That just confirmed it.

Dax holds up a hand. "Talon hasn’t returned. That could mean something. Could mean nothing. But I trust him. He was determined. If anyone could track her..."

He trails off. We both know.

The forest doesn’t want her found. Not until she is ready.

And still, the bond pulses.

My wolf stirs beneath my skin, a low, keening sound that might be mourning.

"If she comes to the summit," I say slowly, "and she demands justice—"

"Then the Council will have no choice but to hear her."

"And if she doesn’t?"

Dax meets my gaze. "Then you still have to live with the ghost of what you lost."

He leaves after that, the doors clicking shut behind him.

I stay in the throne room, staring at the flickering fire.

The Moonlight Ball will come. The nobles will gather. And they will all watch to see if I crumble or rise.

But all I care about is one pair of storm-gray eyes.

And whether she will ever look at me again.

Not with love.

But with mercy.