The weight of betrayal

CHAPTER 5 — The Weight Of Betrayal.

They walked in silence until Lena’s voice broke through, sharp enough to prick.

“You want to know what I was doing out there?”

Kael glanced, but said nothing.

She forced the words out, one by one, her throat tight. “I was running. From them. From him. From everything I thought was mine.”

His steps slowed.

“My father turned his back on me. My best friend betrayed me. And Damien—” She bit the name like it poisoned her mouth. “The love of my life chose someone else. Chose Selene. In front of everyone. Laughed at me with her lips on his. And the pack…” She shook her head, tears cutting down her cheeks. “They all looked at me like I was dirt. Like I didn’t matter.”

Her voice broke into a whisper. “And Selene. She doesn’t just hate me. She wants me gone. She wants me erased.”

Kael stopped walking. His silver eyes caught hers in the dark. His voice was steady, without edge or softness. Just truth.

“She does want you dead.”

Lena’s stomach clinched “Why?”

“I don’t know.” His jaw clenched, the muscle twitching there. “All I know is what I felt when I escaped her ritual. She marked me. She wanted me bound to her. But I lived. I slipped away. I don’t remember everything, but I know this—she doesn’t forgive what she can’t control. And now she looks at you the same way.”

Lena’s fingers dug into the pendant at her chest. “So she’ll never stop.”

“No.” His voice was iron. “She won’t.”

The weight of it pressed between them until Kael finally shifted. “Come. If she’s hunting you, you can’t stay soft. You need to fight.”

He didn’t turn back toward the cave. Instead, he motioned for her to follow.

They walked for a long while, through tangled trees and jagged rocks. Moonlight spilled in silver streams across the path. The air was sharp, quiet, almost holding its breath.

At last, Kael stopped and pulled aside a branch. Beyond it lay a wide clearing, open to the night sky. It wasn’t just empty ground. Targets scarred with arrows leaned against trees. Wooden dummies, their frames hacked and split, stood in crooked lines. A log piled with blades, staffs, and bows stretched across one side.

Lena blinked. “Woah” how many places do you have?

“Second place,” Kael said, his voice low. “When the den is too small, I come here.”

She stepped forward slowly, her eyes tracing the old cuts in the wood, the weapons, the marks of use. “It feels like… a training ground.”

“It is,” Kael replied. He picked up a staff and tossed her another. “And it’s where you’ll learn not to die.”

He struck first. The staff cracked against hers, jolting her arms. She nearly lost her grip, but caught herself in time.

“Again,” he ordered.

She lifted the staff, blocking his swing. He twisted, nearly ripped it from her hands.

“Stronger.”

She braced, pushed back. The second strike rang louder. Her wolf stirred, urging her forward. She dropped low, drove her fist into his chest, and with a sharp sweep of her leg, sent him crashing flat to the ground.

“That’s one,” she said, breathless, holding the staff above him.

He sat up slowly, smirking. “Beginner’s luck.”

“Really?” Her mouth curved. “Want me to prove it wasn’t?”

The second time, she waited for him. When he lunged, she sidestepped, caught his arm, and with her weight behind it, flipped him hard onto his back. The thud echoed through the clearing.

“That’s two.” She grinned, standing over him. “You’ve got so many moves, Kael. How many do you even have?”

He rolled onto his elbow, rubbing his shoulder. “I don’t even know. I just have them. That’s a fact.”

She laughed. “Wow. I wish I had them like you.”

“You’re learning,” he said simply.

They went round after round until sweat clung to her skin and her arms ached. Kael fought like a storm, but she was catching on, each strike sharper than the last. Until finally, she caught him clean—hooking his leg, pushing his weight, and slamming him hard to the ground.

This time she didn’t stand back. She dropped the staff and collapsed against him, laughing too hard to hold herself up.

Kael’s body tensed beneath her, rigid, but he didn’t push her away.

Her palms pressed to his chest, feeling the scars through his shirt. Slowly, her hand brushed up his throat to his jaw. “It’s been so long since anyone touched me. Since anyone cared to. I’ve missed this.”

His breath caught. His hand hovered, then closed around her arm, hesitant but firm.

“And you,” she whispered, leaning closer, “you haven’t been touched in a long time either.”

His eyes darkened, stormy, his silence louder than words.

Her fingers slid into his hair, soft strands curling between them. She stroked once, then again, as though she could soothe the pain out of him. Her hand trailed down to his temple.

The instant she touched him there, Kael jolted. His eyes flared, silver blazing bright.

“Kael?” she gasped.

But he wasn’t seeing her anymore.

The memories ripped through him like fire.

He was bound in chains, dragged into a circle of flames. The heat blistered his skin. Selene’s voice rose above the chanting, her eyes black, her blade carving into his chest. The marks burned, bled, seared.

Submit, she commanded.

He roared, pulling against the chains until they cut deep. He refused.

The scene split. He stood in a great hall, the weight of a crown pressing into his hands. Gold heavy with blood. Wolves knelt, hundreds of them, heads bowed low. Their voices thundered his name. His name.

Then Selene again, her hand reaching. Her power pressing against him. He broke it. Broke her circle, broke her spell. He tore himself free of the fire and ran.

Kael’s body arched beneath her, breath ragged. His silver eyes snapped back to hers, molten, alive.

“I remember,” he whispered, voice raw.

Her heart hammered. “Remember what?”

His hand shot up, gripping the back of her n

eck, pulling her closer until their foreheads nearly touched. His words shook with truth.

“I remember who I am.”