Chapter Seventeen - The Path of Fire ( Kael's POV)

The safehouse breathed with silence after the vow, every shadow heavier than the last. Kael’s arms remained locked around me, his warmth the only shield against the icy truth that had just unraveled. Darius hadn’t moved from his post against the wall, but the weight of his words lingered like smoke after a fire.

I should have felt steadier with answers, at least we knew why the Council hunted us. Instead, the ground beneath me had only grown more treacherous, the scope of it stretching beyond my comprehension. Prophecy. The First Alpha’s blood. Entire packs turning against us.

My child wasn’t just mine. They were the Council’s obsession, Kael’s legacy, a symbol of rebellion.

And I was the vessel carrying it all.

“Aria.” Kael’s voice pulled me from the spiral. His thumb brushed over my cheek, grounding me in a way only he could. “We’ll find a way. Together.”

But even in his certainty, I felt the storm twisting in his chest. His wolf clawed at its cage, both ready to tear the world apart and terrified of failing.

I stepped back from him, needing space to breathe. “Together,” I echoed, though my throat tightened around the word. “But you can’t keep me blind anymore. If I’m to survive this, if our child is to survive this, I need to know everything.”

His jaw flexed. I could almost hear the war between his instinct to protect me and the Alpha within him that understood I was no longer a fragile secret.

Darius finally pushed away from the wall. “She’s right,” he said, his tone clipped, professional. “Every step forward from here demands clarity. And we don’t have much time. The Council’s eyes will already be searching this region. Hunters don’t work alone. They send scouts first. Which means this safehouse is temporary.”

Kael growled low in his chest. “You think I don’t know that?”

“I think your rage is louder than your reason,” Darius countered. “You’ve been running on instinct, Kael. That’s why you’ve survived. But instincts won’t win a war.”

The tension between them spiked again, sharp as daggers, and I couldn’t take it anymore. “Enough.” My voice cracked like a whip. “We can’t keep circling each other. Either we work together or we all die separately. Which is it?”

For a moment, silence hung thick as fog. Then Kael forced his shoulders down, though his wolf still rumbled beneath his skin. “Together,” he bit out.

Darius gave a single, sharp nod. “Then we start tonight.”

The hours bled into planning, though nothing about it felt solid. Darius spread maps across the worn wooden table, pages marked with ink and scars of travel. He traced routes through mountain ranges and valleys, pointing out strongholds, old pack territories, even human towns that unknowingly brushed against wolf borders.

“The Council thrives on shadows,” Darius said. “But shadows leave trails. If we can trace their movements, find where they gather, we’ll find their archives. Proof.”

Kael leaned over the table, his eyes glinting gold in the dim firelight. “And you think the records still exist?”

“They exist,” Darius said firmly. “The Council keeps everything. They’re too arrogant to burn their own history. They believe it gives them legitimacy.” His eyes flicked to me. “And arrogance can be used against them.”

I folded my arms, unsettled. “Even if we find these records… how do we make anyone believe us? They’ve painted Kael as a rogue, a traitor. They’ll say the same about me. About the child.”

“That’s why proof matters,” Darius answered. “Not whispers. Not prophecy. Documents. Names. Orders. The Council’s corruption in their own words. Once you have that, allies will have no excuse to look away.”

Kael shook his head. “You make it sound easy.”

“It’s not,” Darius admitted. “It will require deception. Infiltration. Maybe betrayal.”

The word scraped across my skin like glass. Betrayal had chased us from the start, hunters at the cabin, shadows in every pack. How much more could we survive?

I pushed the thought down. “So we find the records. Then what?”

Kael’s gaze found mine, burning steady. “Then we decide whether to run or burn the Council to the ground.”

Later, when Darius took watch outside, the house settled into uneasy quiet. Kael sat by the fire, sharpening a blade with deliberate, restless movements. The rhythm grated against me until I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the prophecy?” I asked softly, though the words still sliced.

The scrape of metal halted. His shoulders tensed. “Because it was never supposed to be your burden.”

“It became mine the moment this child existed,” I said, hand instinctively pressing to my stomach. “Keeping it from me didn’t protect me. It only made me weaker.”

He flinched at the truth. For all his strength, Kael’s weakness was me, was us. I could feel it in the bond.

“I wanted you to believe we could have something normal, even for a moment,” he admitted, voice low. “But normal doesn’t exist for us. Not anymore.”

I crossed the room and sank beside him. “Then stop shielding me from the fire. If we’re going to survive this, I need to stand in it with you.”

His eyes closed briefly, a flicker of pain and pride warring in him. When they opened, they glowed like embers. He set the blade aside and pulled me into his lap, his hand steady over mine on my belly.

“You’re stronger than I ever gave you credit for,” he murmured. “Maybe stronger than me.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The child shifted beneath my palm, and in that moment I knew, they were listening, too.

The first howl came at dawn.

Low. Distant. But not far enough.

Kael was on his feet instantly, pulling me behind him as Darius stormed back inside.

“They’ve found us,” Darius barked. “Scouts.”

My pulse spiked. “How many?”

“Too many for comfort. Not enough for an army,” he answered grimly. “But enough to flush us out.”

Kael grabbed the pack he’d kept ready by the door, shoving weapons and provisions inside with brutal efficiency. “Then we don’t give them a chance. We move.”

Darius nodded sharply, already moving to douse the fire and strip the safehouse of any trace of our stay.

But Kael froze at the doorway, his head tilted, wolf ears catching what mine couldn’t. His eyes burned gold. “They’re closer than I thought.”

The next howl shattered the morning air, louder, sharper, an alarm call.

“They know,” Kael growled. “They know we’re here.”

My heart thundered. The safehouse, once our fragile refuge, had become a trap. The prophecy wasn’t waiting for us to find proof. It was already hunting.

“Go,” Darius snapped, his hand already on his weapon. “I’ll cover you.”

Kael snarled, “You won’t survive alone.”

“Then don’t let me die for nothing,” Darius shot back. “Get her out.”

The command in his voice left no room for argument. Kael grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the back exit as shadows moved in the trees beyond the glass.

I stumbled, clutching my stomach, fear clawing my throat. “Kael....”

“I’ve got you,” he swore, his grip iron around mine.

Behind us, the first crash of wood splintering echoed through the safehouse walls.

The hunters had arrived.

And this time, there would be no running blind.