Chapter 137 CHAPTER 137
The cave fell into a quiet that felt heavier than any shout.
Not the peaceful kind. Not the relieved kind.
It was the kind of silence that came after truth had been spoken and rejected.
Kael sat near the far wall, his large body folded awkwardly beneath him, one paw lifted as he scratched absently at the side of his head. His brow was furrowed, ears tilted back - not in aggression, but in confusion so deep it bordered on pain.
The healer stood a short distance away, arms crossed, watching him carefully.
“So,” Kael said at last, breaking the silence. “That’s your story.”
No one answered immediately.
Kane was awake now.
Leaning against the stone wall near the healer, one paw braced in front of him for support. He was pale, his movements careful, as though his body still remembered pain even if it had stopped screaming.
He had been listening.
Watching.
Saying nothing.
Liam remained standing near the center of the cave, his posture stiff, exhaustion still clinging to him like a second skin. Lisa stood close by, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, her face open but tense. Celia hovered just behind her, eyes fixed on Kael with a quiet, aching hope she didn’t know how to hide.
Kael let out a low huff. “I don’t believe any of it.”
The words landed heavily.
The healer sighed. “Then tell me,” he said calmly, “what do you remember?”
Kael shifted, his claws scraping softly against stone. “I remember my human,” he said. “Sebastian.”
His voice softened when he said the name.
“I remember training with him. I remember guarding him. I remember knowing he would be Alpha one day.”
He paused, searching.
“And that’s it.”
Lisa’s breath caught.
The healer tilted his head slightly. “Do you remember his…. Your parents?”
Kael frowned. “Of course, why would you ask such a dumb question? If I knew he was going to be alpha…?”
“Do you remember your mate?” Celia asked quietly.
Kael looked at her then - really looked at her - for the first time.
“A mate?” he repeated. “No. Why would I?”
Celia swallowed hard. “Because we were supposed to be.”
The words trembled as they left her mouth.
Kael blinked. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“But it happened,” Lisa said softly. “You rejected us – well not you but your human rejected me.”
Kael shook his head immediately. “No. I wouldn’t do that.”
Liam stepped forward. “You did. We told you everything. About Sebastian. About his girlfriend. About the spell.”
Kael’s gaze hardened.
“I don’t remember any girlfriend, you’re making everything up.” he said flatly.
The frustration in the cave thickened.
The healer spoke again. “That’s because she bewitched you.”
Kael let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “You see? Every answer you give me comes with another explanation that sounds impossible.”
He rose to his feet slowly, towering now, his voice steady but strained.
“To me, you are strangers,” he said. “Strangers telling me I turned my back on my human. Strangers telling me I rejected my mate. Strangers telling me magic stole my memories.”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”
Celia stepped forward despite herself. “Do I look like your enemy?”
Kael studied her carefully. Then he asked the question that hurt most.
“How does an enemy look like? And if you’re my mate,” he said, “why can’t I feel you?”
The cave seemed to hold its breath.
Celia’s shoulders sagged. “Because a spell was cast.”
Kael’s jaw tightened. “There it is again – spells.”
He exhaled sharply. “Everything I ask leads to another excuse. Another story.”
Liam clenched his fists. “Then what do you think happened?”
Kael’s eyes flicked to him, sharp and searching.
“I think,” he said slowly, “that something happened to my human.”
Lisa stiffened.
“And I think,” Kael continued, “that you’re trying to stop me from finding out.”
The words landed like a blow.
“You think we hurt Sebastian?” Lisa asked.
“I don’t know,” Kael replied honestly. “Maybe you killed him. Maybe you brought me here so I wouldn’t attack you. Maybe you’re lying to protect yourselves.”
Silence followed.
Kane laughed.
It was short. Bitter. Nothing like humor.
“If that were true,” Kane said hoarsely, pushing himself more upright, “then explain something to me.”
Kael turned toward him, wary.
“Why was I the one lying unconscious?” Kane continued. “Why was my body breaking down while yours was healing?”
Silence spread through the cave.
Kane’s jaw tightened. “You were dying. The magic in you was tearing you apart. I tried to carry it so you wouldn’t.”
Kael stared at him. “That’s your version of the story.”
Kane’s eyes darkened.
“One minute,” Kael went on, “I was unconscious. The next, I woke up. I don’t remember magic. I don’t remember you healing me. I don’t remember any of this.”
He shook his head slowly. “So everything you’re saying is just words. And I don’t know how I’m supposed to believe them.”
The accusation hung there - not cruel, not malicious - just painfully logical.
Celia’s voice broke. “We wouldn’t…”
“You’re wolves,” Kael interrupted. “So am I. We all protect what we believe in.”
Kane’s body stiffened.
A low sound vibrated from deep in his chest - not quite a growl, but close enough that the stone beneath his paws seemed to feel it. His ears flattened back, tail lashing once against the ground before he forced it still.
“Kane,” Liam warned quietly.
Kane didn’t look at him.
The sound in his throat sharpened, rough and uneven, as if it took effort to keep it contained.
“This,” Kane said, his voice strained, layered with something feral underneath, “this is why we do it?”
He shifted his weight restlessly, claws scraping faint lines into the stone as he turned his head toward Liam, eyes bright with frustration and something close to fury.
“This is what being a Warden means?” he continued. “You carry what isn’t yours. You take the pain so the system doesn’t break and ended up getting this in return?”
His breath came heavier now, the growl threatening to return.
“I almost died,” Kane said, finally facing Kael again. “My body was failing because I took what was killing you.”
Kael held his ground. “That’s the story you’re telling.”
The words landed wrong.
Kane’s hackles rose visibly this time. A sharp, involuntary snarl broke free before he could stop it.
Liam stepped forward immediately. “Kane. Enough.”
Kane squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment, forcing the sound back down, forcing control into limbs that wanted release.
“When it’s over,” Kane said hoarsely, voice quieter now but heavier, “This….is the gratitude we get for keeping balance.”
He let out a slow, controlled exhale through his nose.
“I risked everything for you,” he said. “And I don’t even know if you believe I existed in that moment.”
The cave fell silent.
Even Kael didn’t speak.
Liam felt something cold settle in his chest. A thought had just crossed his mind.
If Kael returned to Sebastian like this - confused, loyal, trusting - he would tell him everything.
And if Sebastian heard it…
Sarah would hear it too.
Liam turned away slightly and motioned for the healer to follow him.
They stepped a short distance from the others.
“He can’t go back to his human like this, It’s risky.” Liam said quietly.
The healer studied him. “You’re asking me to imprison him.”
“I’m asking you to keep him safe,” Liam replied. “And everyone else – until he remembers everything, or at least something important.”
The healer’s expression darkened. “I don’t know if he’ll ever remember.”
Liam swallowed. “If things are as bad as we believe in the human realm… then right now, he’s a liability.”
The healer was silent for a long moment.
“There is a way,” he said finally. “As custodian of this realm, I can bar passage.”
Liam’s jaw tightened. “Then do it.”
The healer hesitated. “Keeping him here against his will may only convince him further that you’re lying.”
Liam closed his eyes briefly.
“I know,” he said. “But we don’t have another option.”
They returned to the center of the cave.
Kael watched them approach, eyes narrowed.
Liam glanced at Lisa. Then at Celia and Kane. They all seemed to share his thoughts.
He nodded once.
“I think,” Liam said carefully, “we should continue this discussion later. We need to return to the human realm.”
Kael straightened immediately. “Then I’m coming with you, I need to get to Sebastian – he will tell me what happened.”
Liam didn’t answer.
The healer stepped forward.
“No,” he said. “You’re staying here.”
Kael froze.
“What?”
“For now,” the healer added evenly.
Kael’s hackles rose. “You’re keeping me here?”
“Yes.”
The word echoed.
Kael’s eyes flicked from face to face.
“So that’s it,” he said quietly. “You tell me a story I don’t remember. You accuse my human of corruption. And when I say I want answers, you cage me.”
Lisa’s chest ached.
“This isn’t punishment,” she said softly.
Kael laughed bitterly. “It feels like one.”
The healer lifted his hand, and the air shifted.
The exits of the cave dimmed - not sealed by stone, but by something heavier. Final.
Kael stared at it.
Then he looked back at them.
“I will find my human,” he said. “With or without your permission.”
No one answered.