Cassian's POV

I changed back into my human form and pulled my coat over my shoulders. The wind at the border was freezing. My mind had been restless all night, and my Lycan was pacing inside me, driving me to run wild along the edge of our territory like a caged beast.

Suddenly, a sharp smell of blood hit my nose.

"Blood," my Lycan growled low in my head.

At first, I thought it was just a wounded animal or a rogue hunting near the boundary lines. But as I took a step closer to the treeline, a strange force pulled hard at my chest. It was a heavy, magnetic pull that made my soul ache and urged me to run towards it.

I ran as fast as I could through the dark woods, following the heavy smell of fresh blood. I pushed past the thick bushes and stopped dead in my tracks.

My heart completely stopped.

Lying lifeless on the cold earth was the body of a woman. Her black dress was torn and soaked in her own blood with her pale hands resting limply in the dirt.

" No.... Mate! That is our mate!" my Lycan screamed inside my head, roaring in pure agony. “ Save her…save our mate.”

My knees hit the ground hard beside her, my hands were shaking as I gently brushed the bloody, damp hair away from her face.

When I saw her face, my breath hitched I knew this face.

Iris…the heir of Moonstone Pack.

Her body was completely cold, her neck was bruised with dark purple finger marks and her skin was drained of all color. The mate bond in my chest was beating wildly, screaming in pain over the half dead woman bleeding out in front of me.

"No, no, no," I choked out, my voice breaking as she heaved a sigh that sounded like she took her last breath. "Open your eyes, I'm here now look at me."

I bent down and put my face near her neck, trying to hear a heartbeat or catch any scent of life. But all I smelled was her blood, mixed with a sharp and repulsive odor that made my teeth grind with rage. It belonged to one wolf I despised with my entire existence.

The disgusting scent of that Dark Fang Alpha covered her skin. And mixed right beside it was another scent. A female scent.

I bit my jaw together so hard it hurt, I looked around the dirt. There was no sign of a struggle, there was no blood from Kael anywhere near the scene. If they had been ambushed together, he would have fought back and he would have bled too. But he was nowhere to be found neither was there any trace of his blood. From the looks of things he had left her to die or he had been the reason she died.

"What a fucking coward," I whispered, feeling a dark, burning rage fill my whole body. "How could he do somethingso evil."

I pulled her small body into my arms and wrapped my heavy coat around her to shield her from the wind. She was so light and fragile.

"I am not going to let you die like this, Iris," I said, my voice cracking "I just found you, II will not lose you."

I stood up, holding her tightly against my chest and ran.

I ran faster than I had ever run in my life. My legs burned and the trees were just a blur, but I did not stop for a single second. I carried her deep into the mist of the mountains, straight to the sacred river where the lycan witches lived.

Years ago, I had protected the coven of Lycan witches who guarded the River of the Goddess from being slaughtered by rogues. They owed me a debt that could never be repaid.

I burst through the thick fog surrounding the sanctuary. The high priestess of the coven stepped out from the shadowy trees, her glowing eyes widening as she saw the dead girl in my arms.

"King Cassian," the old witch murmured softly, her voice full of pity as she looked at Iris. “ Who is this ?”

“ She is my mate,” I said immediately, “Please save her.”

"She is already gone… her soul has slipped past the veil."

"Do not tell me she is gone!" I roared, my voice shaking the ground beneath our feet. "You owe me a favor, your coven has a direct connection to the Moon Goddess. Pray to her, ask her to bring my mate back to life.”

The priestess shook her head sadly. "The dead cannot simply walk back into the lives they left behind, My King."

"Then send her back,” I demanded, staring down at Iris's pale face as I held her tight against my chest with her blood all smearing all over me. "Send her back to the day of her wedding… but change it. Instead of marrying Kael, rewrite the thread. She and I will get married."

The witches gasped, whispering nervously to one another in fear.

"To twist time and rewrite the fate of the Goddess comes with a steep price, Cassian," the high priestess warned, stepping closer to the water's edge. "Even if the Goddess grants this wish, things will change. When she wakes up in the new timeline, she will not feel the mate bond with you. The pull that connects your souls will be completely severed on her end. She will see you only as a stranger."

Those words hit my chest like a heavy iron blade.

She would not know me,she would not feel the electric spark when I touched her hand. She would look at me with fear or indifference, while my heart would bleed for her every single day. And it was all my fault… for years she tried to make an alliance between my pack and her, but I always declined but she never gave up. She used every chance and tactic just to try to invite or ssee me in person… stupid me made sure she'd rethink her decision. And maybe it was the work of the Moon Goddess, she was trying to bring me my mate and I pushed her away.

I looked down at her,then at the dark bruises on her neck and her quiet lips that would never smile again if I did nothing.

"I do not care if she hates me," I whispered, my chest heaving with heavy, painful regret. "I do not care if she looks at me like a stranger for the rest of my life. As long as she is breathing. As long as her heart beats inside her chest... I will bear the pain. Whatever it takes."

The priestess looked at me for a long moment, then bowed her head softly. "So be it. Step into the river with your mate."

I walked slowly into the glowing, crystal-blue waters of the Goddess. The icy water went up to my waist, soaking through my clothes. The witches stood along the bank, holding hands and chanting in a low, ancient tongue.

The river started to shine with a bright, blinding light. The quiet sound of the wind faded and everything grew muffled, as if we were sinking deep underwater. The glowing light slowly wrapped around Iris, warming her skin and washing away the dark blood on her body.

I lifted her up and pressed my forehead firmly against hers, feeling her cold skin one last time before the magic took over.

"I am sorry I was too late to save you in this life," I choked out. "But in the next one... I will protect you from everything."

A massive wave of pure white light exploded from the center of the river, swallowing us whole.

My head throbbed with a terrifying pressure… and suddenly everything went pitch black.