The Bond That could Not Be Forced

For several seconds, nobody moved.

The clearing was unnaturally quiet.

Kael could hear his own heartbeat.

He could hear Rowan's breathing.

He could even hear the nervous shifting of the warriors surrounding them.

But above everything else, he could hear his wolf.

Mate.

Kael clenched his fists.

"No."

Lucien's expression remained calm.

Kael took another step backward.

"I don't know you."

"I know."

"You don't know me."

"You're right."

"Then why does everyone keep acting like this..." Kael gestured between them. "...means something?"

Lucien glanced at the silver light glowing beneath his skin.

"Because it does."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"I don't want it."

The words landed heavily.

Lucien's wolf immediately protested.

Mate.

Lucien silenced it.

Then he looked at Kael.

"Then I won't force it."

Kael blinked.

He had expected resistance.

He had expected the arrogance he had heard about from powerful Alphas.

Instead, the King simply stood there.

Waiting.

Kael didn't know what to do with that.

Most Alphas he'd encountered in stories would have treated the appearance of a mate bond as a victory.

A fated Omega.

A powerful Alpha.

A perfect political alliance.

But Lucien wasn't moving toward him.

He wasn't commanding him.

He wasn't even using his Alpha aura.

That unsettled Kael more than aggression would have.

"You're serious?"

Lucien nodded.

"Yes."

Kael studied him carefully.

"Even though I'm an Omega?"

Lucien's eyebrows drew together.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because that's how your world works."

"My world?"

"Alphas rule."

Lucien's expression hardened.

"Some Alphas rule."

Kael scoffed.

"That's convenient."

"Blackfang does not treat Omegas as property."

Kael stared at him.

"You're an Alpha King."

"I am."

"And you're telling me an Omega can refuse you?"

"Yes."

Kael searched his face for a lie.

He couldn't find one.

Before he could respond, Rowan stepped between them.

"Enough."

Lucien looked at him.

"You must be Rowan."

The older Alpha's hand tightened around his sword.

"You know my name?"

"I know more than your name."

Rowan's expression became guarded.

Lucien glanced at the Moon Seal beneath Kael's collarbone.

"You've been hiding him for eighteen years."

Kael turned sharply.

"Hiding me?"

Rowan said nothing.

Kael looked between them.

"You know each other?"

"No," Rowan answered.

Lucien's gaze remained on Rowan.

"We've never met."

"But you've heard of me."

"I've heard stories."

Rowan's jaw tightened.

"Then you know enough to leave."

Lucien's wolf growled.

Darius stepped forward.

"My King"

Lucien raised a hand.

The Beta stopped.

Lucien looked around the clearing.

Bodies lay scattered across the ground.

Some belonged to the Silver Fang.

Others were wounded members of Moonwood.

He turned toward the masked warriors.

One of them was still alive.

Lucien walked toward him.

The warrior tried to rise.

Lucien's Alpha aura suddenly pressed down.

The man dropped to his knees.

"Who sent you?"

The warrior laughed beneath his mask.

"You think your crown makes you powerful?"

Lucien crouched.

"No."

His crimson eyes hardened.

"I know what makes me powerful."

The warrior's smile disappeared.

Lucien grabbed his armor and lifted him effortlessly.

"Who sent you?"

The man remained silent.

Darius drew closer.

"My King, we should interrogate him elsewhere."

Lucien released the warrior.

"Take him."

Two guards seized the man.

As they dragged him away, the warrior shouted:

"You cannot protect him forever!"

Kael looked toward him.

The warrior's eyes met his.

"Every kingdom will come for the Moon-Chosen."

Then he disappeared into the forest.

Kael felt cold.

Lucien turned toward him.

"He's right about one thing."

Kael looked at him.

"The kingdoms will come."

"Because of me?"

"Because of what they believe you are."

Kael's expression hardened.

"I'm not a prophecy."

Lucien nodded.

"I know."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

Kael didn't expect that answer.

Lucien continued.

"Whatever the prophecy says, you're still Kael."

Something about hearing his name from Lucien's lips made his chest tighten.

He immediately looked away.

Later that night, the wounded were gathered inside the Moonwood settlement.

The dead were carried toward the Moon Shrine.

In Moonwood, death was treated differently from the royal kingdoms.

There were no grand funerals.

No political speeches.

The pack simply gathered beneath the trees and returned the bodies to the earth.

Kael stood quietly beside Rowan.

Lucien stood several feet away with Darius.

The two men spoke in low voices.

Kael couldn't hear them.

He found himself watching Lucien anyway.

The Alpha King looked different without the crown.

He wore dark traveling clothes beneath his armor, his black hair falling slightly across his forehead.

He wasn't smiling.

He rarely seemed to.

But there was something controlled about him.

Dangerous.

Yet restrained.

Kael hated that he noticed.

His wolf was worse.

Mate.

"Stop."

You like him.

"I don't."

Liar.

Kael frowned.

"You're supposed to be on my side."

I am.

"Then stop."

His wolf gave an almost amused growl.

Kael looked away.

Unfortunately, Lucien had noticed.

Their eyes met.

Kael immediately looked down.

His face felt warm.

Ridiculous.

A moment later, footsteps approached.

Lucien stopped a few feet away.

"Can I speak with you?"

Kael looked at Rowan.

Rowan nodded reluctantly.

Kael followed Lucien toward the edge of the clearing.

They stopped beneath an enormous oak.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then Lucien said:

"I owe you an apology."

Kael frowned.

"For what?"

"When we first arrived, my aura overwhelmed you."

Kael hadn't expected him to notice.

"I know."

"I should have lowered it sooner."

Kael looked at him.

"You didn't know."

"I should have."

There was no arrogance in his voice.

Kael folded his arms.

"You're strange."

Lucien almost smiled.

"So I've been told."

"You don't act like an Alpha King."

"I am an Alpha King."

"Exactly."

Lucien looked toward the trees.

"A crown doesn't make someone better than everyone else."

Kael studied him.

"Then why become king?"

Lucien's expression changed.

"Because someone had to."

"What does that mean?"

"My father died when I was twenty-two."

Kael remained silent.

"Blackfang was unstable. Neighboring kingdoms were preparing to attack. The Council wanted a puppet king."

"And you refused."

"I refused."

Lucien looked at him.

"I became king because I wanted my people to have a ruler who would protect them."

Kael nodded slowly.

"So you actually care about your kingdom."

"I wouldn't call it a kingdom if I didn't."

Kael smiled faintly.

It was the first genuine smile Lucien had seen from him.

And it hit him harder than any weapon.

His wolf went completely still.

Beautiful.

Lucien immediately pushed the thought away.

Kael noticed his expression.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You looked..."

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

Kael hesitated.

"Never mind."

A small smile appeared on Lucien's lips.

Kael's heart skipped.

He quickly looked away.

A sudden scream shattered the night.

Both men turned.

"Rowan!"

Kael ran toward the settlement.

Lucien followed.

The Moonwood villagers had gathered around the edge of the clearing.

Rowan was standing before the Moon Shrine.

His face was pale.

Kael pushed through the crowd.

"What happened?"

Rowan pointed.

The silver tree was glowing.

Its roots were covered in lines of light.

And at the center of the shrine—

stood a silver wolf.

Kael froze.

He knew that wolf.

Or at least, he felt as if he did.

It was enormous.

Its fur shimmered like moonlight.

A crescent-shaped mark rested on its forehead.

The same mark as Kael's.

The wolf slowly turned.

Its eyes met Kael's.

Then it lowered its head.

Not in submission.

In recognition.

Everyone fell silent.

The wolf walked toward Kael.

Rowan immediately reached for his sword.

"Don't."

Kael stopped him.

"Wait."

The wolf came closer.

Kael could feel something pulling at his chest.

Not the same sensation he felt with Lucien.

This was older.

Deeper.

The wolf stopped before him.

Then it bowed.

Kael's breath caught.

"What are you?"

The wolf raised its head.

For one impossible moment, Kael heard a voice inside his mind.

Moonblood.

Kael staggered backward.

Lucien caught his arm.

Their skin touched.

The Moon Seal on Kael's chest blazed.

Lucien's wrist answered with the same silver light.

The silver wolf suddenly looked toward the eastern sky.

It growled.

Everyone followed its gaze.

Far beyond the forest, red flames appeared against the horizon.

Rowan's face changed.

"That isn't a fire."

Darius stepped forward.

"Then what is it?"

Rowan's eyes narrowed.

"Signal fires."

Kael looked at Lucien.

"For who?"

Lucien's expression became grim.

"An army."

The silver wolf howled.

And from somewhere beyond the mountains, thousands of wolves answered.

Lucien looked toward the darkness.

"The kingdoms know."

Kael's stomach dropped.

"They know I'm here."

Lucien moved closer.

This time, Kael didn't step away.

Lucien lowered his voice.

"Then we need to get you out of here."

Kael looked into his crimson eyes.

"And where exactly do I go?"

Lucien held his gaze.

"With me."

Kael's heart pounded.

Not because he trusted Lucien.

Not yet.

But because for the first time since he was born, the path ahead no longer belonged only to him.

The Moon had chosen a direction.

And somewhere beyond the mountains, an army was already marching toward them.