LOGINKael's POV
I was preparing a meal for Sapphire to eat outside of the tent. Elira walked up to me and helped me cut some herbs for her to drink.“I admire your devotion to her.”. She said calmly.“I'd do anything for her, anything”.“I hope you'd be ready to let her go soon”. She said as she looked at me with concern.“What do you mean by that?”.“You know exactly what I mean Kael. You can't protect her from him forever.”I gritted my teeth. I was about to lash out on her when I heard Sapphire's blood curdling scream coming from the tent.I stood up immediately, grabbed my sword and ran as fast as I could to the tent. I thought she was being attacked but when I got in I saw her staring into space looking frightened, her hands clutching her stomach like someone was about to yank it away from her.“Sapphire are you okay? What happened?”. I asked as I dropped my sword and came closer to her.Kael's POVMy breath caught in my throat as I looked into the dark eyes of the man I called Alpha. He had a small smile on his face, but I could tell he was not pleased from the clench of his fist and the furrow in his brows."I asked a question, Kael," he prompted, raising a brow."Alpha Alberto, it's an unexpected visit you've paid us." I decided to go for playing oblivious instead. My heart was already beating rapidly within my chest. How was I supposed to help us escape him? Every tactic I knew, he knew already. Everything I could do, he could do better. This was a lose-lose, but Sapphire did not need to know that. I made a promise to her, and I was going to keep it."Don't be a fool," Alberto snapped, his smile gone from his face. "I didn't come here to play games. Sapphire, let's go.""I'm not going anywhere with you," she responded, causing both of us to glance her way immediately."What?" Alberto asked.
Kael's POVI was preparing a meal for Sapphire to eat outside of the tent. Elira walked up to me and helped me cut some herbs for her to drink.“I admire your devotion to her.”. She said calmly.“I'd do anything for her, anything”. “I hope you'd be ready to let her go soon”. She said as she looked at me with concern.“What do you mean by that?”. “You know exactly what I mean Kael. You can't protect her from him forever.”I gritted my teeth. I was about to lash out on her when I heard Sapphire's blood curdling scream coming from the tent. I stood up immediately, grabbed my sword and ran as fast as I could to the tent. I thought she was being attacked but when I got in I saw her staring into space looking frightened, her hands clutching her stomach like someone was about to yank it away from her.“Sapphire are you okay? What happened?”. I asked as I dropped my sword and came closer to her.
Sapphire’s POV Kael sighed and sat beside me. "A long time ago, when I served under Alberto, I wasn’t just a guard. I was trained for something else, something darker. The High Council used me to find and silence threats. I was an enforcer, Sapphire. I did things I’m not proud of. I followed orders without question. Even when it meant hurting people who didn’t deserve it."My breath hitched. I didn’t expect that. But I didn’t feel fear. I felt sadness. For the boy he used to be. For the man still carrying those ghosts."Are you saying you were sent after me?""No," he said quickly, firm. "When I met you at the slave camp, it wasn’t part of any mission. I didn’t know who you were then. But when I realized it, I chose not to report it. I broke protocol. I stayed because I wanted to. Because I knew you didn’t deserve any of this."I stared at him, heart thudding, unsure if I should be relieved or more afraid."Why didn’t you tell me sooner?""I thought you’d leave," he admitted. "Or wor
Sapphire's POVThe moment I jolted awake, I knew something was wrong.The pain wasn’t sharp like a wound or sudden like a cramp. It was a deep, rolling nausea that started in my spine and crept through my entire body like crawling fire. My bones ached and my skin burned. And my heart, gods, my heart felt like it was being pulled from my chest by invisible claws.I stumbled, collapsing to the ground with a loud thud. Kael was beside me in seconds.“Sapphire,” he whispered, gripping my shoulders. “What’s happening?”“I don’t know” I gasped, bile rising in my throat. “It hurts Kael, it hurts.”He looked into my eyes, and his face went pale. “The bond. He used blood magic.”My stomach turned again, this time not from the pain, but the truth of it. The insides of my stomach felt pulled to something ND all I could think of was Alberto. “We have to move. Now,” Kael said, already throwing our packs over his shoulder. “He’s close.”“But the child—” I clutched my belly, the baby stirring rest
Alberto’s POVThe moon was high and it casted an eerie glow on the road as I rode through the marshes alone. I had lied to everyone to leave the pack house. I needed to see a witch who would help me find Sapphire. The guards believed I was heading to the northern borders for council. Fools. I had no interest in politics tonight. My soul itched with rage, and my blood burned with the need to find her. At this point, I cared less about any other thing. She ran from me. From me. And no one runs from the Alpha Supreme without consequence.I reached the base of the Hollow Hills just before midnight. The trees parted like they were making way. A faint hum hung in the air. It sounded low and ancient. I dismounted and approached the stone arch carved with runes long forgotten by my kind. She was waiting.The witch I mean.She stood by a fire that burned without smoke. Her robes were dark, her face was veiled, but I could feel her eyes.“You came alone,” she confirmed.“This stays between
Sapphire's POVPain shot through my head like a dagger. My body seized. My throat burned as a scream tore out of me. I wasn’t awake. I wasn’t asleep. I was stuck.Flashes of the colour red clouded my eyes. After so much struggling, I could tell it was blood. It soaked the ground. Wolves howled in agony. Fire tore through trees. I tried to move, to speak, to do anything, but I couldn’t. My vision dragged me forward like it had a grip on my soul. Almost as if that was what was controlling me. Then I saw Gonzalo. He just stood there at the center of the madness, arms raised, chanting words I didn’t understand. Symbols glowed beneath his feet. Around him, wolves knelt, trembling in terror. Then, the sky cracked open. Something ancient and monstrous broke through. I could feel the power of it deep in my chest. I couldn’t breathe. Then I saw myself. But older. My stomach was rounder. And beside me stood a child. No more than six years old. Their eyes were glowing silver. The storm circl







