CHAPTER 6: THE ECHOES THAT FOLLOWS

KAEL'S POV

She moved again, to a new apartment, new locks she triple-checked before bed. I stayed back, as I always do. Far enough she couldn’t sense me directly, close enough to step in if she needed it.

My presence was a shadow in her life, silent and unseen. The pain struck first. I felt it even before she did like a ripple through the air, sharp and twisting, making her curl in on herself.

Carefully, I reached toward her. Not to frighten not to scare. Just enough to ease it. My touch was almost a thought, a warmth she couldn’t see, but it soothed the ache. I held it there until it melted away, she never saw me. She only felt the relief and the strange, unexplainable comfort, and I stayed hidden, letting her believe she was alone.

The danger is real. The Shadow Queen’s reach spreads farther than she can imagine, Her agent, creatures carved from darkness, shift between worlds looking for weakness. If they sense the bond, and if anyone touches her… the cost would be mine to bear but she doesn’t need to know that.

She must not see me as a threat. She must not feel hunted. So, I remain quiet. Still. Watching. Waiting. Protecting her in ways she will never understand.

Every night, I was there. Unseen. A steady presence keeping harm at bay. Even if she never knew, even if she never saw me. And yet, every night the pull of the bond twisted tighter in my chest. It was more than protection now. It was a hunger. A need I could barely control. The mate bond is cruel in its design, it tethers the soul before the mind understands. It forces me to care, forces me to act, and yet I cannot let her know how deep it reaches.

I had saved her before. Once, twice… too close. The golden eyes she glimpsed that night in the shadows had betrayed me, and I had seen the flicker of recognition in hers. She doesn’t understand it yet, but I do. The bond pulls at me, and it pulls at her, even when she refuses to believe it.

I am careful. Every action is measured. Every step I take is calculated to keep her safe and unaware. And yet, the instinct of my wolf pushes. It whispers to me in growls and shadows: protect, stay close, mark your territory… claim.

I bite back the growls, the temptation, the instinct to step into her world fully. She must remain free, even if only in illusion. Every day that passes, I feel the danger closing in. Shadows moving that she cannot see, agents of the Shadow Queen. If they find her, if they touch her, they’ll face me. They’ll find no mercy.

And I will not fail her.

I am Kael, the Wolf King. Bearer of the bloodline curse. Bound by the moon and the ancient laws no one escapes. And nothing, not the Queen, not her agents, not the dangers that move unseen will reach her while I am here.

She doesn’t know yet… but she will.

And when that day comes, the bond will no longer hide. And neither will I.