The Shadow’s Bargain

Chapter 6:

 The Shadow's Bargain

Liora 

The first thing I felt was cold. Not the gentle cold of morning air, but the bone-deep cold that comes from being underground where sunlight never reaches. My head pounded like someone had been using it as a drum, and when I tried to move, metal clinked against stone.

Chains. Heavy ones wrapped around my wrists and ankles.

I forced my eyes open, blinking against the darkness until shapes began to form. I was in a cave, the walls rough and dripping with moisture. Torches flickered from iron brackets, casting dancing shadows that made everything look alive and threatening.

"Finally awake, I see."

The voice made me jump, sending my heart racing. A figure stepped out of the shadows, tall and broad like the triplets but different somehow. Dangerous in a way that made my wolf - wherever she was hiding, want to curl up and whimper.

He had dark hair that fell across his forehead and skin that looked like he'd never seen sunlight. But it was his eyes that made me freeze. They glowed red in the torchlight, not the warm gold of the triplets, but the deep red of fresh blood.

"Who are you?" I whispered, my voice coming out cracked and scared. "What do you want with me?"

He smiled, showing teeth that were just a little too sharp. "My name is Kael. And what I want is what was stolen from me."

"I don't understand." I tugged at the chains, but they were solid iron and didn't budge. "I don't even know you."

"No, but you know them." His eyes flashed brighter. "The triplets. Rowan, Damon, Riven. Your precious mates."

The way he said the word 'mates' made it sound like something dirty.

"They're not my mates," I said quickly. "I never wanted them. They took me against my will."

Kael laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Oh, little wolf. You have no idea what you've been dragged into, do you?"

He walked closer, his footsteps echoing in the cave. I pressed back against the stone wall, wishing I could disappear into it.

"Let me tell you a story," he said, crouching down so we were eye level. This close, I could see scars on his neck and arms, old ones that had healed badly. "Once upon a time, there were four Alpha brothers. The strongest, most powerful wolves in the northern territories."

My breath caught. "Four?"

"Four," he confirmed. "Rowan, Damon, Riven, and me. We ruled together, shared everything. Including the right to claim the next Luna when she appeared."

"But there are only three of them," I said, confused.

His expression darkened. "Because they banished me. Cast me out like I was nothing. Broke the ancient pact that bound us together."

"Why?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.

"Because I found out what they really were." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Murderers. Killers who destroyed entire packs for sport. When I tried to stop them, they turned the other Alphas against me. Made me an outcast."

I stared at him, my mind spinning. The triplets had admitted to killing my parents, but hearing about other packs made my stomach turn.

"They stole my birthright," Kael continued, standing up again. "My right to claim the Luna. My right to rule. Everything that should have been mine."

"I'm not a Luna," I said weakly. "I can't even shift. I'm broken."

"You're not broken." He knelt down again, his red eyes boring into mine. "You're suppressed. Those monsters who raised you have been poisoning your wolf since you were a child. But I can fix that."

"How?"

"By breaking the mate bond they forced on you." He reached out like he was going to touch the mark on my neck, and I flinched away. "The bond is what's keeping your wolf trapped. Break it, and she'll be free to emerge."

Hope fluttered in my chest like a trapped bird. "You can really do that?"

"I can," he said softly. "But I need something in return."

Of course he did. Nothing was ever free. "What?"

"Help me reclaim what's mine. The pack, the territory, the power. Help me destroy the triplets, and I'll free you from their hold forever."

I stared at him, my heart pounding. The triplets had taken me from my home, marked me without permission, locked me up like a prisoner. They'd killed my parents and probably countless others. Maybe they deserved to be destroyed.

But something about Kael felt wrong. The way his eyes glowed, the way his smile never reached his eyes, the way the very air around him felt heavy and dangerous.

"I don't know," I whispered.

"Think about it, little wolf." He stood up, backing away toward the shadows. "They killed your family. They stole you from your home. They marked you like property. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life as their plaything?"

The words hit like physical blows. Everything he was saying was true. The triplets had done all of those things. They'd never asked what I wanted, never cared about my feelings. They'd just taken and taken and taken.

"What would I have to do?" I asked quietly.

Kael's smile widened. "Nothing too difficult. Just get close to them again. Make them trust you. Then, when the time is right, help me get past their defenses."

"You want me to betray them."

"I want you to choose freedom over slavery," he corrected. "Choose yourself over the monsters who destroyed your life."

I closed my eyes, trying to think. My head still hurt, and everything felt confused and twisted. The mark on my neck pulsed with heat, like it was trying to remind me of something.

That's when I heard it. A sound that made my blood freeze in my veins.

Howling. Deep, powerful howls that echoed through the cave system like thunder. They were far away but getting closer.

Kael's head snapped up, his nostrils flaring. "Faster than I expected."

"What's that?" I asked, though part of me already knew.

"Your mates," he said, his voice suddenly urgent. "They're tracking you."

The howls came again, closer this time. I could hear three distinct voices calling out in harmony, and something deep inside me responded to the sound. The mark on my neck grew hot, almost burning.

"How did they find me so fast?" I gasped.

"The mate bond." Kael's eyes were blazing now, bright red in the torchlight. "I should have cut it immediately, but I wanted you to choose freely."

The howling was getting closer. I could hear other sounds now too, paws on stone, heavy breathing, the scrape of claws. They were moving fast, and they were definitely coming this way.

"We need to go," I said, pulling at the chains again.

"No." Kael turned to face me fully, his expression intense. "This is perfect. They're coming straight into my trap."

"What trap?"

"The cave system is riddled with silver deposits," he said, his smile turning cruel. "The very walls will weaken them. And I have other surprises waiting."

Fear shot through me. Not for myself, but for the triplets. Whatever I felt about them, whatever they'd done, I didn't want them to die.

"You can't," I whispered.

"I can and I will." He knelt down one more time, his face inches from mine. "Unless you agree to help me. Save them from the trap, and they live. Refuse, and I'll let the silver and my other gifts finish what should have been done years ago."

The howling was so close now I could feel it vibrating in my chest. They would be here in minutes, maybe seconds.

Kael's eyes glow brighter as he says, "They're coming. Choose now, little wolf, or I'll make the choice for you.”