Chapter 17: Forced Meeting

Kael's POV

I send the message through Mira.

Private negotiation. Neutral ground. Just us.

The response comes back within an hour.

Border cabin. Two days. Come alone.

So she agrees. I don't know if that's encouraging or terrifying.

Probably both.

The journey takes two days on foot. I could shift and make it faster, but I need the time. Need to think through what I'm going to say when I see her.

What I can possibly say that matters after everything.

Mira doesn't ask where I'm going. She just hands me supplies and tells me not to do anything stupid.

Too late for that.

The forest closes in around me as I walk. Dense trees, damp earth, the kind of silence that makes every thought echo louder in your head.

I spend most of the first day remembering.

Nyra as she was five years ago. Quiet. Careful. Always watching for escape routes even when standing still. The way she used to duck her head when alphas passed. The way her hands trembled during the Moon Ascension ceremony when our eyes met and the bond snapped into place.

The way she looked at me like I was salvation.

And then the way she looked at me after I rejected her.

Broken. Hollow. Like I'd reached inside her chest and torn something vital out.

I did that.

The second day is harder. Rain starts before dawn and doesn't stop. Cold, relentless, soaking through my jacket and dripping down my neck.

I keep walking.

Because I need to see her. Need to understand what she's building and why. Need to know if there's any part of the girl I knew still existing beneath the goddess she's become.

And I need to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do with the Council's ultimatum.

Three days. That's what they gave me.

Bring her to heel or lose everything.

The cabin appears through the rain just before dusk. Small, weathered, tucked between ancient trees. Smoke rises from the chimney, which means she's already here.

My wolf surges forward, desperate and uncontrolled. I force him back down.

This isn't a reunion. It's a negotiation.

I tell myself that as I approach the door. As I raise my hand to knock.

The door opens before I can.

Nyra stands in the doorway.

Her silver hair is plastered to her face from the rain. Her clothes are soaked through. Her eyes are bright with moonlight even though it's barely evening.

The sight of her steals my breath.

She's more beautiful than I remember. More dangerous. More everything.

And I hate myself for noticing.

"You're late," she says.

"The rain slowed me down."

"You could have shifted."

"I needed to think."

She steps aside. "Come in before you freeze."

I enter the cabin. It's small, barely more than one room. A fire crackles in the hearth. Two chairs sit facing each other with uncomfortable precision.

This is going to be exactly as awkward as I feared.

Nyra closes the door and moves to stand by the fire. She doesn't sit. Doesn't offer me anything. Just watches me with those unsettling silver eyes.

"You called this meeting," she says finally. "So talk."

I should have prepared a speech. Should have thought through exactly what to say.

Instead, I just ask the question that's been burning in my chest for weeks.

"What do you want, Nyra?"

"I already told you. Choice."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer I have."

"You're dismantling the Council. Taking trade agreements. Building sanctuaries. There has to be an endgame."

She tilts her head slightly. "Does there?"

"Yes."

"Why? Because you need everything to fit into a neat strategic plan? Because you can't function without understanding the whole board?"

The words sting because they're true.

"I need to understand what you're trying to accomplish," I say carefully. "So I can figure out how to. . ."

"How to stop me?"

"How to help you."

The laugh she makes is sharp and humorless. "Help me. That's rich."

"I'm serious."

"So am I." She turns to face me fully. "You can't help me, Kael. You can't fix this. You can't strategize your way into my good graces or negotiate away five years of consequences."

"I know that."

"Do you? Because you're standing in this cabin right now trying to find an angle. A way to make this work for you."

"That's not. . ." I stop. Force myself to be honest. "Maybe it is. But not the way you think."

"Then how?"

"The Council gave me an ultimatum. Bring you in or lose my position as alpha."

She doesn't react. Doesn't even blink. "And you came here to decide which one you're going to choose."

"No. I came here to tell you I'm not choosing either."

Now I have her attention. Her eyes narrow slightly.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm done letting the Council dictate my choices. Done sacrificing people to maintain a system that's rotten from the inside."

"Very noble." Her voice drips sarcasm. "What changed?"

"You did. Watching you build something better. Watching you protect wolves our system abandoned. You changed."

"So this is about me inspiring you? About making you a better alpha?"

"No. This is about me finally understanding that I made the wrong choice five years ago. And I'm not making it again."

Silence fills the cabin. The fire crackles. Rain drums against the roof.

Nyra's expression is unreadable.

"You don't get to do this," she says finally.

"Do what?"

"Show up here with pretty words about choosing differently. About understanding your mistakes. You don't get to be the hero of this story, Kael."

"I'm not trying to be the hero."

"Then what are you trying to be?"

The question hangs between us.

I take a step closer. She doesn't retreat, but her body tenses.

"I'm trying to be someone who doesn't fail you again," I say quietly. "I'm trying to figure out how to stand beside you instead of against you. I'm trying. . ."

"Trying to ease your guilt."

"Yes." The admission comes out raw. "That too. Is that so wrong?"

"It is when your guilt isn't my problem to solve."

She's right. I know she's right.

But that doesn't stop the bond from screaming between us. Doesn't stop me from wanting to close the distance and touch her just to make sure she's real.

"What do you want me to do?" I ask.

"I want you to leave me alone."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I. . ." The words stick. "Because the bond won't let me."

"The bond is corrupted."

"I know."

"It's broken and wrong and it will never be what it should have been."

"I know that too."

"Then why are you here?"

Because I can't stay away. Because seeing her hurts less than not seeing her. Because every time I close my eyes I see her walking away and it feels like dying.

But I can't say any of that.

So instead I just stand there, soaked and exhausted and completely out of words.

Nyra watches me. Studies me like I'm a puzzle she's trying to solve.

Then she moves. Three steps closer. Close enough that I can smell the rain on her skin and see the silver marks glowing faintly beneath her wet clothes.

"You want to know my endgame?" she asks.

"Yes."

"I want to burn down every system that tells wolves they don't matter. I want to rebuild from ashes. And I want to do it without needing anyone's permission or approval."

"Including mine."

"Especially yours."

The words should hurt more than they do.

Instead, they just feel honest.

"Then I'll stay out of your way," I say.

"Will you?"

"I'll try."

"That's not good enough."

"It's all I have."

She stares at me for a long moment. Rain continues to fall outside. The fire burns low.

Then she turns back to the hearth without another word.

I stand frozen, watching her silver hair catch the firelight. Watching the way she holds herself. . .strong and alone and achingly familiar despite everything that's changed.

The sight of her steals my breath.

And I hate myself for it.