Chapter 3: Aftermath on both Parts

 (KENDRICK POV)

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It was still dark when I returned to Lunaria.

I didn’t want attention—not for myself, and definitely not for her. Not yet.

So I didn’t bother with the front entrance.

Cradling her close, I leapt straight to the terrace outside my room. My landing was silent, easy, and I slipped through the open window like a shadow.

She didn’t stir.

That worried me more than anything.

I laid her down carefully on my bed, brushing her tangled hair from her face. She was too pale. Too still.

I hated it.

I left the room and headed into the bathroom. My hands shook a little as I filled a bowl with warm water and grabbed a clean cloth. When I returned, she hadn’t moved an inch.

I lay beside her, propping myself up on one elbow, and dipped the cloth into the bowl. Slowly, gently, I began to clean the dirt from her skin—her face, her neck, her arms.

My jaw tightened as I took in her dress. If you could even call it that.

A rough, shapeless grey sack that hung off her body like punishment. The coarse fabric had bruised her skin. She looked like she’d been living in torment.

She had.

My eyes found the faded scars along her arms. My wolf growled inside me, restless and furious.

Kael did this.

He sent his men after her—why? Because she escaped? Because she dared to leave whatever hell he forced her into?

I clenched the cloth in my hand until my knuckles turned white. If she ran from him, it was because she had no choice. She was abused. Hurt. Neglected.

And he would pay for every bruise.

I exhaled slowly, trying to calm the storm building in my chest. I set the bowl aside and pulled her gently toward me, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She was so small in my arms. So fragile. But even in her stillness, she felt strong.

Perfect.

My eyes roamed over her face—soft, delicate features, lashes fanned across her cheeks, lips slightly parted. I could feel it in my bones—she was made for me.

My mate.

Her lashes fluttered suddenly, and my heart stopped. I waited, hoping, but she only mumbled something I couldn’t understand and went still again.

I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to hers.

“I can’t believe I found you,” I whispered, stroking her cheek with the back of my fingers. “I’m never letting you go.”

I’d waited years. I’d trained, led, fought, ruled… all while a part of me was missing. And now that I had her, I’d never let the world steal her from me again.

I pressed my nose to her neck, breathing her in. Honey and wildflowers. Sweet and grounding, heady and warm. The scent hit me like fire and I let it fill my lungs.

I wrapped myself around her, fitting my body to hers as if we were made to lock together.

“Mine,” I murmured, the word rolling off my tongue like a vow.

Then I closed my eyes, holding her close as sleep finally pulled me under.

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MEANWHILE IN ALPHA KAEL'S MANSION

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(Alpha Kael POV)

I paced my room like a caged beast, glaring out the window every few minutes.

Hours had passed. Still no sign of the lycans I’d sent after Astrid. And the longer I waited, the worse it felt.

If she’d escaped them… Moon help me. That girl was more dangerous than I’d realized.

I should’ve killed her years ago.

Back when I found her as a baby outside Iron Claw’s gates, the mark on her palm meant nothing to me. Just a crescent moon—looked like a birthmark. I figured it was nothing.

But last night… everything changed.

I found an old scroll buried deep in the pack library—hidden knowledge long sealed away. The mark wasn’t ordinary. It was ancient. Rare. Feared.

The Keeper’s Mark.

The moment I saw it in the scroll, I felt something I hadn’t in years—pure fear. I’d called my advisors immediately. We agreed on one thing.

She had to die. Quietly. Before word spread. Before anyone found out who—or what—she really was.

Now… she was gone.

I stalked to the window, eyes scanning the forest below. Still nothing. No movement. No familiar scents. Just silence.

I was about to shift and go after them myself when one of the younger shifters burst into my room, panting, eyes wild.

“Alpha Kael!” he gasped. “You’re needed—immediately.”

I didn’t wait for details. “Did they bring her back?” I demanded as I shoved past him.

No answer.

That was all the answer I needed.

When I reached the pack’s entrance, my gut twisted.

Only one had returned.

Kane—one of my strongest warriors—was sprawled on the ground, bleeding, barely conscious.

I crouched beside him, grabbing his shoulder. “Kane. What happened? Where are the others?”

He shook his head weakly, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. His chest heaved with effort.

“Alpha…” he rasped, voice raw.

“Speak,” I snapped. “Tell me what happened!”

He coughed, body convulsing. “The… Blackthorn brothers…”

His words hit me like ice water.

My entire body stilled.

“One of them…” Kane choked out. “He… killed the rest… t-took the girl. She’s… his mate…”

The ground might as well have disappeared beneath me.

Blackthorn.

Everything inside me turned to stone. I stood up slowly, as if moving too fast would shatter what little control I had left.

“Which one?” I asked, my voice sounding distant in my own ears.

Kane’s eyes rolled back. He was slipping. Damn it.

“Which Blackthorn?” I roared, grabbing his tunic and shaking him. “Which brother attacked you?!”

“I don’t… I don’t know…” Kane gasped. “He didn’t say… just sent a warning…”

“What warning?”

Kane’s breathing grew ragged. “Said you hurt his mate… he’ll kill you…”

Everything went silent.

I stepped back, blood pounding in my ears. My advisors were behind me, but I didn’t look at them. I couldn’t. My thoughts were spinning.

Not only had I failed to eliminate Astrid—but I had crossed one of the Blackthorn brothers.

I was now a target.

I turned away, struggling to breathe normally. My hands trembled at my sides.

“Take him away,” I muttered.

But then Kane screamed.

I turned, eyes narrowing as he writhed on the ground, howling in pain. His body arched violently, blood pouring from his mouth and eyes.

Then—stillness.

Dead.

I stared into the glazed emptiness of his eyes. Not even a flicker of life left. It didn’t surprise me. The Blackthorn brothers were merciless. Every enemy they touched ended up this way.

“Bury him,” I said to no one in particular, and walked away.

My advisors scrambled after me, panic thick in their voices.

“Alpha Kael, what do we do?”

“We need to flee—before they come.”

“We can’t fight them, Alpha. The Blackthorn brothers are too powerful.”

I spun around and silenced them with a glare. “Go home. Let me think.”

They hesitated, but I didn’t wait for their excuses. I stormed toward my house and slammed the door behind me.

The moment I entered the sitting room, I found Gerald lounging on the couch like nothing was wrong.

“Father,” he said, standing up, “I’ve been looking for you. I found out earlier today that I was paired with that omega girl—Astrid. I rejected her, though. I figured that’s what you’d want.”

He looked proud of himself.

I stared at him, too many thoughts crashing in my head at once. Gerald had no idea what he’d done. No idea who she really was… or who her mate had turned out to be.

There was only one option now.

I had to send him away. Far away. If I didn’t, he’d be the next body left to rot in the forest.

Because the Blackthorn brother was coming.

And when he did, no one would be safe.