Chapter 51: Will you?Kael stood with his back to the flap, shirtless, white bandages corseting his ribs and strapping one shoulder. Scars old and new slashed pale and copper across his skin. His wolf showed in every line—tensed shoulders, the live-wire set of his spine, the head slightly cocked as his ears caught the shift of air from the flap. He didn’t turn.“You’re not supposed to be here now,” he said, and the roughness in his voice was both warning and welcome. “I know,” Elias answered, stepping in and letting the flap fall shut behind him. “I came anyway.”Kael did turn then. His eyes were silver where they should have been gray, lamplight captured and thrown back. He took Elias in—the scarf, the tense jaw, the damp hair and something soft and dangerous moved under the surface of his face.“Elias,” he said, like the name cut his mouth on the way out.They stood, breath to breath and two heartbeats, measuring the new distance—the one Elias had built plank by plank since Thailan
Chapter 50: Listen to me, Kael “Elias, please...if you don’t stop him, he’ll die.”The words left Nadai’s mouth in a ragged whisper, but they hit like a blow. The camp was all shadow and ember light, its ring of fires drawn low to keep from tempting arrows. Canvas walls breathed in the cold, snapping softly with every gust. Beyond them, the fortress slept with one eye open. The wind brought the mineral breath of stone and the iron tang of sharpened steel.Elias turned toward her. He had a scarf wrapped high against the chill, his dark hair damp with mist. In the glow, his eyes looked like wet ink. “I won’t,” he said. The answer came too quickly, almost like a flinch.Nadai caught his sleeve before he could step away. “Don’t do this,” she said, pulling him under the lean shadow of a supply awning where the guards’ lamplight didn’t quite reach. “Don’t pretend you don’t hear me.”He tried to tug free, then stopped because he did hear her. Because even through the low hum of a thousand
Chapter 49: Kael, please don't fight again The night pressed heavy over Pennsylvania’s royal camp, its silence broken only by the occasional snapping of logs in the fire pits and the muted rhythm of sentries patrolling the perimeter. The wind carried the bite of autumn, cold enough to make the canvas tents shiver, cold enough to sink into the bones of even the hardiest shifter. Inside one of those tents, Prince Kael lay stretched across a low cot, his body battered and stitched with pain from the brutal skirmishes earlier that day.The smell of iron hung around him, faint traces of blood he had not managed to wash from his skin. The sharp tang of herbs filled the air—poultices applied by the healer Nadai had insisted on bringing. His ribs protested each breath, and the cut across his shoulder burned as though fire still danced along his nerves. But Kael’s face was calm, his silver eyes fixed on the tent’s roof, as though beyond the canvas he was staring at the stars themselves.Outsi
Chapter 48: Wounded The air in Pennsylvania felt heavy, as though the heavens themselves had lowered to press upon the earth. Dawn broke slowly, muted, almost unwilling to rise, its pale light crawling across the battlefield that had been carved into the heart of the kingdom. Soldiers lined the edges in formation, a sea of iron armor glinting under the weak sun. The scent of steel and sharpened blades mixed with the musk of beasts, fur, and sweat, creating an atmosphere both primal and suffocating.Drums beat low and steady. Each strike echoed across the valley like a warning bell, reverberating deep inside the chests of all who had gathered. On one side stood the knights and shapeshifters, battle-hardened and proud, eyes burning with the fire of loyalty to their king. On the other side, in the shadow of a modest tent, Kael prepared himself with Elias and Nadai by his side.Kael’s hands clenched and unclenched as he stared at the horizon. His face was stone, but his heart was a temp
Chapter 47: The Calm Before the Storm“You can’t do this, Kael!” Queen Serena’s voice broke the pre dawn silence, sharp with panic and frustration. She strode into the camp, her heels clicking sharply against the ground, eyes blazing. Her regal composure was gone, replaced by desperation. “You’re walking into certain death! The Knights… the shapeshifters—they’ll tear you apart! Don’t make me watch you die!”Kael, standing outside his tent with his hands crossed over his chest, did not flinch. The faint glow of the moonlight kissed the lines of his determined face, highlighting the fire in his golden eyes. He did not answer at once. The wind carried the distant roar of engines, the faint metallic scent of weapons, and the low growls of his R8 brothers, already preparing themselves.Delia, elegant yet panicked, stepped forward, clutching Serena’s arm. “Kael,” she implored, her voice breaking, “listen to your mother. You can’t possibly defeat them all. It’s not just a challenge—it’s a de
Chapter 46: The Storm ReturnsThe night in Pennsylvania was unusually still. The trees leaned toward each other as though whispering secrets, and the wind carried with it the faint metallic taste of rain about to fall. In the middle of that silence, Kael stood alone, shoulders squared, fists clenched at his sides. His wolf stirred restlessly inside him, growling with the same agitation that had been building in his chest for days.He could feel it, the invisible leash of his father’s command, the endless chase, the shame of being hunted like a runaway dog when he had once been heir to the throne. He had run long enough.Kael inhaled deeply, tilting his head back to the stars. The pale moonlight silvered his hair and painted the scars on his arms in stark relief. His heart thudded not with fear, but with resolve.“No more,” he whispered. His voice was low, but the night seemed to bend toward him, as though eager to carry his words. “I can’t keep running. If he wants me dead or alive, t