Chapter 26 The First Attempt to Take Her
The clearing fell silent after the creature’s last whisper.
The fire flickered.
The wind stilled.
Even the trees seemed to hold their breath.
Kael didn’t release Lina’s hand.
Not even for a second.
His wolf prowled just beneath his skin — she could feel it in the tension in his muscles, the controlled rise and fall of his chest, the way his eyes flashed gold with every breath.
Riven crept closer, blades drawn. “Alpha… whatever that was, it wasn’t just scouting.”
Yara nodded, face pale. “It was measuring us. Testing how close it can get.”
Kael’s grip tightened. “It can get close to me. It will never get close to her.”
But Lina felt it.
Something in the air shifted.
A low hum.
A pulse through the ground.
She inhaled sharply. “Kael… something’s wrong.”
He moved instantly — turning fully toward her, hands on her arms. “Lina?”
But she wasn’t looking at him.
Her gaze snapped to the trees.
A thin line of darkness slithered across a tree trunk — not a creature, not mist, but a crack in the air itself.
A rift.
Small.
Thin.
But growing.
The bond between them jolted, a wave of cold shooting down Lina’s spine.
Kael spun toward it, positioning himself between her and the crack. “Riven, Yara — flank it.”
Riven swore under his breath. “It’s opening faster than the one in the sanctum.”
Yara raised her dagger. “Kael, what do you want us to—”
She didn’t finish.
Because the rift split open with a shriek — a tearing sound that made the forest echo like a living thing crying out in pain.
Black mist poured out.
Not smoke.
Not fog.
A sentient mass of shadow — writhing, seeking, hungry.
Lina stumbled back.
Kael caught her, arms locking around her waist. “I’ve got you.”
The shadows hissed.
Not at Kael.
At her.
It lunged.
Kael didn’t move out of the way.
He moved into it.
He shifted halfway — bones cracking, muscles expanding, claws ripping through his skin — a monstrous, half-wolf form built for killing.
He met the shadow head-on and slammed it backward.
The impact shook the clearing.
Lina’s heart lurched painfully. “Kael—!”
He snarled, ripping into the shadow, golden claws blazing with Alpha energy.
But the creature didn’t fracture this time.
Didn’t recoil.
It slipped around him — fluid — reforming behind him like a snake of living darkness.
Riven swore loudly. “It’s going for Lina!”
Kael spun.
Too slow.
It reached her.
Black tendrils shot toward her chest—
straight for her heart—
straight for the bond.
Lina froze.
She felt it.
Cold fingers brushing her magic.
Searching.
Pulling.
“No—!” Kael roared.
He launched himself at her, shifting completely mid-air, landing between her and the shadow in full wolf form — massive, golden-eyed, monstrous.
He bared his teeth and sank them into the darkness.
The creature shrieked — a psychic wail that rattled Lina’s bones.
Kael pinned the shadow to the ground, crushing it with sheer Alpha force.
But the shadow didn’t fight back.
It wasn’t trying to kill him.
It was trying to reach her.
One tendril slipped from beneath Kael’s paw and brushed Lina’s wrist.
A shock of ice shot up her arm.
She screamed.
“LINA!” Kael’s wolf howled.
Light burst from her chest — silver, blinding — her magic reacting violently to the intrusion.
Kael sprang to her, shifting back into human form as he grabbed her arms.
“Lina—Lina, stay with me!” His voice was rough, terrified.
The shadow hissed and retreated, forming a narrow trail back toward the rift.
Yara and Riven struck at it, forcing it back, trying to sever the connection.
But Lina could barely hear them.
She felt something inside her—
A hand.
Cold.
Pulling.
Trying to drag her magic out of her skin.
“No,” she rasped, clutching Kael’s shirt. “Kael—I can feel it—”
“Look at me,” he begged.
His hands cupped her face.
“Focus on me. Focus on the bond. Don’t let it pull you.”
She tried.
She did.
But the connection ripped again—
harder.
Her knees buckled.
Kael lifted her before she hit the ground.
His forehead pressed to hers, breath shaking.
“Lina, come back to me.”
Her vision blurred.
“Kael—”
Her voice trembled.
“It’s calling. It’s inside my magic. I can feel it.”
He growled, low and broken. “Then I’ll tear it out.”
He wrapped one arm around her waist, the other around the back of her neck — anchoring her, holding her to him like she was the only thing keeping him alive.
“Breathe with me,” he whispered. “Match me.”
She inhaled.
He inhaled.
She exhaled.
He exhaled.
Their magic brushed.
The bond pulsed.
The shadow hesitated — the pull weakening — the rift flickering.
Riven threw a dagger into the mist. “It’s retreating!”
Yara slashed through another tendril. “Push it back, push it back!”
Kael stayed locked on her.
“Lina,” he whispered, “listen to me.”
Her shaking slowed.
“Do you feel me?”
She nodded faintly.
“Good.”
His voice was rough.
“Now give me your magic.”
Her breath hitched. “Kael—”
“Trust me,” he pleaded. “Give me your magic. Just for a heartbeat.”
She closed her eyes.
Silver rushed from her chest straight into Kael’s hands — pouring into his skin, lighting under his palms.
Kael threw his head back.
His wolf howled.
Golden flame exploded from him — merging with her silver — a burst of light so bright it blinded all of them.
The shadow recoiled with a shriek.
It fled back into the rift.
The crack snapped shut behind it.
Silence fell.
Lina collapsed against Kael’s chest.
He sank to his knees with her, arms locked around her as if he could physically keep the magic inside her body by holding her tight enough.
He buried his face in her neck.
“Lina—gods—are you hurt? Talk to me. Talk to me.”
She trembled, breath shallow.
“I… I think I’m okay.”
He leaned back, gripping her shoulders, eyes frantic.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he whispered. “Don’t ever let it touch you. I can’t—”
His voice broke for the first time.
“I can’t lose you.”
She reached up and touched his cheek.
“Kael… I didn’t let it. It forced itself through.”
He shook his head fiercely. “It targeted you through the bond. Through me.”
“No,” she whispered back.
“It targeted me because I exist. Because I’m Valerius.”
Kael cupped her face, his thumb trembling against her cheek. “I will protect you. Even from it. Even from the Veil.”
Her breath tangled in her chest.
“Kael…”
His forehead pressed to hers, desperate and tender all at once.
“You’re mine to protect,” he murmured.
“And I will not let anything take you. Not shadow. Not magic. Not fate.”
The bond pulsed.
Warm.
Steady.
Alive.
Behind them, Riven muttered, “That was our first attack… wasn’t it?”
Yara sighed shakily. “Yeah. And something tells me it won’t be the last.”
Kael didn’t look away from Lina.
He lifted her gently, cradling her against his chest.
“We’re leaving now,” he said.
His voice had changed — deeper, colder, full Alpha.
Riven blinked. “Where?”
“To the old Valerius Lands,” Kael said.
“Before it finds another way to reach her.”