The Alpha’s warning

I should have run.

Every instinct I had—every shred of common sense, every lesson drilled into me since childhood—told me to step away from Kael Draven and never look back. But fate doesn’t care about instincts or sense. Fate binds without asking permission.

And the bond between us was tightening by the hour.

By midday, every wolf in the pack had heard whispers. I could feel the stares digging into my spine as I walked through the grounds. Some were curious. Some fearful. A few pitying.

They all knew.

Or thought they did.

They knew Kael was cursed. They knew he was dangerous. They knew he should never have a mate. And now they thought I was the one doomed to tie my soul to a monster.

I tried to breathe through the pressure, but my wolf was restless—shifting beneath my skin, pushing at the edges of my control. Every flicker of Kael’s scent across the wind made her push harder, clawing, whining, wanting.

Mate… mate… mate…

“No,” I whispered under my breath. “Not now. You’ll get us killed.”

She growled softly, unhappy but quieting. For now.

I made it halfway across the clearing before Alpha Rowan’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

“Lira.”

I stopped, pulse jumping.

Alpha Rowan stood outside the strategy cabin, arms crossed, expression carved from stone. He was a massive wolf—broad, scarred, and radiating authority with every breath. His hair, dark streaked with silver, blew in the wind. His eyes, sharp and calculating, pinned me in place.

“Inside. Now.”

No room for refusal.

The cabin door shut behind me with a heavy thud. Rowan stood at the table covered in maps and patrol markers. But he wasn’t looking at the maps—he was looking at me.

“You saw him last night,” he said flatly.

There was no point lying. “Yes.”

His jaw clenched. “And you felt the bond awaken.”

My breath caught. “How did you—”

“I felt it,” he cut in. “Every Alpha in the territory did. Bonds between high-ranking wolves echo through the pack.”

I swallowed hard. “I didn’t ask for this.”

“No one does,” Rowan said. “That’s the point.”

He stepped around the table slowly, like he was circling something dangerous—and maybe he was. Maybe the danger was me now. Or the bond inside me.

“Kael’s blood carries something old,” Rowan said. “Something cruel. Something no healer or Elder has been able to purge.”

“The curse,” I whispered.

He nodded once. “The moment Kael’s emotions crack, the curse breaks through. Rage… grief… even love.” His expression hardened. “Especially love.”

My stomach twisted.

“Alpha,” I said quietly, “what happens if the curse takes him?”

Rowan didn’t sugarcoat. He never had.

“He loses himself. The wolf devours the man.” His voice dropped lower. “And once that happens, there is no bringing him back.”

I felt a coldness spread through my chest.

“Kael should never have returned,” Rowan said. “But he insisted. He said there was unfinished business here.” He paused. “Now I know what he meant.”

I forced my voice steady. “Alpha, I didn’t want this bond. I’m not seeking it.”

“I know,” Rowan said softly. “And that’s why I’m giving you a chance to walk away before it’s too late.”

My heart stuttered. “You want me to reject him.”

“I need you to reject him,” Rowan corrected. “For the safety of this pack. For your own life.”

I didn’t answer.

I couldn’t.

He stepped closer. His voice lowered. “Lira… he will break you.”

Something hot flashed through me—anger, fierce and fast.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know Kael,” Rowan said tightly. “Better than you do. Better than anyone does. I know what he became in the north. I know what he did to survive it.”

I swallowed. “He’s not evil.”

“No,” Rowan said after a long pause. “But the thing inside him is.”

Silence fell between us. Thick. Heavy. Suffocating.

Then Rowan’s voice softened unexpectedly.

“Do you feel the bond pulling you even now?” he asked.

I hesitated—then nodded.

“It will only grow stronger,” he said. “The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to sever.”

I felt the truth of that. The pull in my chest was no longer a whisper—it was a constant, aching pressure. A thread tightening with every breath.

“Reject him before your soul knots with his,” Rowan said. “Before the curse recognizes you as its target.”

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.

“I’ll call a rejection ceremony,” Rowan continued. “We’ll sever the bond cleanly. Safely.”

My stomach dropped. “Tonight?”

“Yes.”

My wolf snarled inside me—loud, fierce, panicked.

NO. MATE. NO.

I grit my teeth as pain stabbed down my spine. She pushed violently, like she wanted to tear free.

Rowan noticed. His expression darkened. “The bond is already strong.”

My breath came fast. Shallow. “I just… I just need time.”

“You don’t have time,” he said. “Kael is losing control. Last night, his aura nearly crushed half the pack.”

Because he felt the bond.

Because he felt me.

My voice was barely a whisper. “And if I refuse to reject him?”

Rowan’s eyes hardened.

“Then I’ll do it for you.”

A shiver ran through me. “You can’t—”

“I can,” he said coldly. “And I will. If it protects this pack.”

A knock rattled the door.

Rowan cursed under his breath.

“Enter.”

The door creaked open—and Kael stepped inside.

He filled the doorway like a storm. His presence swallowed the room. His eyes locked onto mine immediately, relief and fury flaring in equal measure.

Rowan tensed. “This is a private—”

“It concerns me,” Kael growled, cutting him off without looking away from me. “Everything concerning her concerns me.”

The bond snapped between us, sharp and bright.

Kael took a step toward me.

Rowan blocked him, voice like steel. “The girl is under my protection.”

Kael’s eyes went lethal. “She is not a girl. And she is not yours to command.”

“She is pack,” Rowan shot back.

“She is mine,” Kael said quietly—and the room vibrated with the power behind the word.

My breath hitched.

Rowan snarled. “You will not claim her.”

Kael’s aura flared, silver light cracking across the walls. “Try to stop me.”

The air trembled.

My wolf surged.

And I realized something with terrifying clarity:

Rejecting Kael might save me.

But it might kill him.

And choosing him might destroy us both.

I stepped between them before either could strike.

“Enough,” I whispered.

Rowan stiffened. Kael froze entirely.

My voice shook. “No rejection. Not tonight.”

Kael’s eyes darkened with something fierce and dangerous—hope.

Rowan exhaled sharply. “Lira—”

“I said no.”

Silence fell.

Kael’s gaze locked on mine—violent, tender, terrified.

The bond hummed between us.

Rowan’s voice, low and resigned, broke the tension:

“Then Goddess help us all.”

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