"Use everything your father taught you at the Guard Den. Train him well, shape him into a worthy heir, and you will be honored above all in the Alpha Court."
That year, Kael Ironcrest was ten.
He tucked a cricket cage deeper into his sleeve, tilting his head to study me.
His eyes gleamed bright as twin moons.
Something in my heart—so tightly bound by the hatred of my slaughtered den—loosened just a little.
He reached out and took my hand first.
That grip lasted seventeen years.
I had grown used to making excuses for him.
He never spoke of the mating bond because pack duties kept him too busy.
His wandering with others was just immaturity, nothing more.
But day after day, year after year.
From a young wolf to a full-grown Alpha.
I refused to lie to myself any longer.
And I refused to keep swallowing my silence.
I stepped forward and dragged the woman off his body.
Two sharp slaps cracked across her face.
"What do you think you are?"
"You dare bring your scent-stealing into my presence?"
The woman shrieked and scrambled behind Kael.
"Alpha Heir, she struck me..."
I let out a cold laugh. "That was barely a tap."
I drew the leather whip from my belt.
Raised it high.
My gaze caught the character carved into the handle—Kael.
My grip tightened without meaning to.
This whip had been a gift from Kael five years ago, for my name-day.
He had hunted the beast himself, cured the hide, braided the core.
He had even wrapped the handle in soft fur.
So I wouldn't hurt myself when I disciplined him, he said.
The Kael of those days.
Even when my palm struck his face, he never flinched. He would just grin and ask if my hand hurt.
Not like now.
Before the whip could fall, his fingers closed around it.
"Lyra."
A smile still curved his lips, but his eyes had turned to frost.
"She's young. She doesn't know any better. Show her some mercy."
The whip pulled taut between us.
Like all the years we had shared.
Suddenly, I felt nothing but weariness.
I let go.
Kael tossed the whip aside and gathered the woman into his arms, murmuring soft comfort.
"Easy now. Don't be afraid."
"I'm here. No one will dare touch you."
I watched him pull a handkerchief from inside his coat and dab the tears from her cheeks.
Watched him drop it carelessly to the floor.
One corner of the cloth bore a crooked embroidered word—Lyra.
I recognized it. The same cloth he had pressed to his wound seventeen years into his age, after a raid against rogues left him bleeding.
Back then, weak and pale, he had clutched my wrist.
"The blood... it'll stain... your gift... I can't bear to ruin it..."
He had taken that handkerchief so carefully, tucked it beneath his pillow.
Guarded it like something precious.
But now, he had probably forgotten every word he ever spoke.
What he once treasured, he could cast aside without a second thought.
My chest felt hollow, as if wind blew straight through it.
"Kael Ironcrest."
I spoke quietly.
He ignored me.
I continued. "If you truly want her, bring her back to the den."
"I will step aside."
Kael finally lifted his gaze to meet mine.
"Lyra."
His voice dropped low and heavy.
"Stop this madness."
"It isn't madness. I mean every word." My tone stayed level. "Kael Ironcrest, I'm done waiting for a bond you'll never offer."
"I don't want feelings that have gone sour."
"Let's release each other."
His eyes turned cold as a winter hunt.
His voice carried a warning growl. "Lyra Nightveil. Know when to stop."
I held his stare. "From this day forward, I sever all ties with the Ironcrest Alpha Court."
"Without me in your way, you can play however you like. Claim whoever you want."
He stared at me, then suddenly laughed.
"You think this will frighten me?"
"Do you still believe I'm the pup you could bend to your will?"
