Chapter 6: Taken from the Battlefield

Kael didn’t ask.

He acted.

One moment I was standing in the fractured edge of the battlefield, the mark on my arm still pulsing faintly with leftover heat—

The next moment, his hand was on my wrist.

Firm. Controlled.

Not painful.

But impossible to ignore.

“You’re leaving,” he said.

I blinked at him. “I didn’t agree to that.”

“You don’t need to,” he replied.

Before I could protest, he pulled me.

Not violently.

Efficiently.

And the world blurred.

The noise of battle vanished behind us in seconds.

Wind slammed against my face.

My stomach dropped.

We were moving too fast—far faster than any normal run.

I realized then he wasn’t just leading me.

He was shifting.

Half-transformation.

His strength amplified, speed beyond human limits, he carried me with him through the outer grounds of Blackridge like I weighed nothing at all.

“Stop—!” I tried to pull back, but it was useless.

“Stay still,” he ordered sharply.

“That is not an explanation!”

“It is survival.”

That shut me up for half a second.

We crossed the broken southern perimeter in a blur of stone, smoke, and distant screams.

Then—

Silence.

Sudden.

Absolute.

Kael slowed.

Then stopped.

He released my wrist immediately, stepping away like even that contact had limits he refused to cross too long.

I stumbled slightly, catching myself.

We were outside the main pack grounds now.

The forest edge stretched before us—dense, dark, watching.

No warriors.

No rogues.

No war.

Just us.

My breathing was uneven.

“What was that?” I demanded immediately. “You can’t just grab me and drag me out of a battlefield like I’m—like I’m—”

“Like you’re going to die?” he finished calmly.

I glared at him. “That’s not the point.”

“It is the only point.”

That silence hit harder than I expected.

I exhaled sharply, trying to steady my pulse.

The mark on my arm still tingled faintly, but the intensity had dropped.

Distance helped.

I hated that I noticed that.

Kael turned slightly, scanning the forest edge.

Alert.

Always alert.

Even now.

Even with me.

“You are unstable near conflict zones,” he said.

“I’m not unstable,” I shot back.

His eyes flicked to me instantly.

That look alone made my words feel weaker.

“You threw a rogue across a battlefield without physical contact,” he said quietly.

My mouth closed.

“That’s not normal,” I muttered after a moment.

“No,” he agreed.

That single word made my chest tighten.

I looked down at my arm.

The mark was still there.

Faint now.

But alive.

“What is happening to me?” I asked quietly.

Kael didn’t answer immediately.

For once, he looked… uncertain.

Not lost.

But restrained by something he hadn’t fully defined.

Then he said, “You are becoming a conduit.”

I frowned. “A what?”

“A channel,” he clarified. “Between your body and the bond.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” I said immediately. “I don’t even know what bond you keep talking about.”

Kael stepped closer.

This time, I didn’t step back.

I was starting to notice the pattern.

Closer meant pain.

But also clarity.

He stopped at a controlled distance.

Careful.

Measured.

“The bond is not only between mates,” he said. “Some bonds are ancient. Pre-pack. Pre-law.”

I stared at him. “You expect me to believe I’m part of some ancient supernatural system now?”

His gaze sharpened slightly. “You already are.”

I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Convenient.”

Kael didn’t react.

He rarely did sarcasm.

That made it worse.

Because it meant he wasn’t unsure.

He believed it.

A rustle came from deeper in the forest.

Instantly, Kael shifted.

Protective stance.

I tensed.

But nothing emerged.

Just wind.

Still, his attention didn’t move away.

“Rogues followed us,” I said quietly.

“No,” he replied.

That made me pause. “Then what is it?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he turned slightly toward me.

And for a brief moment, the intensity in his eyes shifted.

Not softer.

But more focused.

On me.

“You should not have used it again,” he said.

I frowned. “Used what?”

“The reaction.”

I looked at my hand. “I didn’t choose it.”

“That is the problem,” he said.

My stomach tightened. “So what, I’m supposed to just get attacked and do nothing?”

“You are supposed to remain controlled,” he corrected.

“Controlled?” I repeated sharply. “You mean helpless.”

Kael’s jaw tightened slightly.

“No,” he said. “I mean stable.”

A silence stretched between us.

The forest around us felt too quiet now.

Like it was listening.

I crossed my arms. “You keep talking like I’m something dangerous.”

“You are,” he said immediately.

That hit harder than I expected.

My breath caught slightly.

Then I steadied myself.

“Or,” I said quietly, “you just don’t understand what’s happening, and I’m the easiest thing to blame.”

For a moment, something flickered in his expression.

Not anger.

But acknowledgment.

That alone unsettled me.

Kael looked away briefly, scanning the tree line again.

Then back at me.

“You are not being blamed,” he said. “You are being contained.”

I frowned. “That sounds worse.”

“It is safer,” he corrected.

I shook my head. “Safe for who?”

A pause.

Long.

Heavy.

Then he said, “For you.”

That word landed differently.

He wasn’t trying to convince me.

He was stating it like fact.

Like it had already been decided.

My voice softened despite myself. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“I know,” he said quietly.

That was the first time his tone changed.

Not fully.

But enough.

Enough for me to notice.

Enough for it to feel… real.

The wind shifted through the trees.

Kael’s gaze flicked upward slightly.

Then he said, “We are not safe here.”

I frowned. “We just left a battlefield. Where exactly is safe?”

“Nowhere,” he replied immediately.

That wasn’t comforting.

But it was honest.

He turned fully toward me now.

“This bond—whatever it is becoming—it draws attention,” he said. “Rogues. Hunters. Other packs.”

My chest tightened. “Why me?”

Kael didn’t answer immediately.

Then:

“I do not know.”

That honesty again.

It made everything worse.

Because if even he didn’t know…

Then no one did.

A sharp crack echoed somewhere in the forest.

Both of us turned instantly.

Kael moved in front of me without hesitation.

Not touching.

But shielding.

That instinct again.

I noticed it this time.

He wasn’t thinking.

He was reacting.

For me.

Another sound followed.

Closer.

Kael’s voice dropped slightly.

“Stay behind me.”

“I can defend myself,” I said quickly.

He didn’t look back.

“You already did,” he replied.

That shut me up.

Because he was right.

And I didn’t understand how.

The mark on my arm pulsed faintly again.

Not pain this time.

Just awareness.

Like it was listening.

Kael shifted slightly.

And I felt it immediately.

The connection tightened again.

Even at distance.

Even now.

His voice lowered further.

“If you use that power again without control,” he said, “it will not stop reacting.”

I swallowed. “And what happens then?”

Kael finally looked back at me.

And for the first time—

His expression wasn’t fully controlled.

“It will bind,” he said quietly.

A pause.

Then he added:

“Permanently.”

The word settled between us like a locked door closing.

And for the first time since this began…

I wasn’t sure if I was running toward danger.

Or already inside it.