Lena's knuckles whitened around the knife, its rusted edge trembling in her grip as Rhea circled, her green eyes glinting with contempt.
The clearing was a warzone, Blackwood
Forest's dawn torn apart by snarls, blood, and betrayal. Kael fought Zane yards away, their claws slashing, fur and flesh ripping, his gold eyes flickering to Lena with desperate trust.
The mate bond burned in her chest, hot and fierce, Kael's kiss—I love you, still searing her lips, fueling her resolve. She wasn't running, not from Rhea, not from the wolves closing in, not from the truth clawing at her: she wasn't fully human, and this fight was hers too.
"Last chance," Lena said, voice low, steady despite the fear coiling in her gut. Her neck throbbed where Kael's mark pulsed, echoing the pendant's hum left behind in the frost.
"Back off, Rhea."
Rhea's sneer twisted, her silver braid swinging as she lunged, claws gleaming like daggers.
"You're no match, human." The word was venom, but Lena dodged, her sneakers slipping on icy grass, instinct kicking in where skill failed. She swung the knife, clumsy but fast, grazing Rhea's arm. Blood welled, dark against her sleeve, and Rhea hissed, her attack faltering.
The pause was enough. Lena's heart pounded, Kael's love a drumbeat, stay alive-and she tightened her grip, ready for Rhea's next move.
But a snarl broke her focus, not Rhea's but closer, feral. Vren, the lean scout who'd betrayed Kael, burst from the trees, his wolf form gray and wiry, yellow eyes locked on her.
He was smaller than Zane's brutes but faster, his jaws snapping as he charged, ignoring Rhea's shout to hold back.
Lena stumbled, the knife nearly slipping, her breath hitching. Time slowed, panic screaming run, but Kael's roar—raw, protective, cut through, grounding her. She wasn't helpless. Not anymore. Vren leaped, claws outstretched, and Lena acted, pure instinct, no thought. She drove the knife upward, sinking it into his side, the blade biting flesh with a sickening jolt.
Vren howled, crashing to the ground, blood pooling under him as he thrashed, his wolf form shuddering back to human. Lena staggered back, the knife slick in her hand, red dripping from its edge. Her stomach lurched, bile rising as she stared at Vren, his gray eyes wide with shock, then dulling. She'd stabbed him. Killed him. Her hands shook, the knife clattering to the frost, and she hugged her arms, gasping, "No, no, I didn't..."
"Lena!" Kael's voice snapped her head up.
He'd thrown Zane back, blood streaking his face, his jacket torn, but his gold eyes burned with pride, fierce and bright, even as worry shadowed them. He crossed the clearing in three strides, shoving Rhea aside as she hesitated, her gaze flickering between Vren's body and Lena. Kael's claws flexed, ready to tear through anyone else, but his focus was her, only her.
"You're okay," he said, voice rough, cupping her face with bloodied hands, his touch gentle despite the chaos. The bond flared, warm, binding, his love pouring through it, wild, unshakable. "You fought, Lena. You're stronger than you know." His thumbs brushed her cheeks, wiping tears she hadn't felt fall, and she leaned into him, trembling, needing his heat to chase the horror of what she'd done.
"I killed him," she whispered, voice breaking, her hazel eyes searching his, pleading for sense in the madness. "Kael, I... I'm not a killer.
I'm not like you." Yet her healed arm, the mark's pulse, the pendant's voice mocked
her words. She'd stabbed Vren, felt the blade sink in, and part of her, the part that wasn't human—had wanted to survive.
Kael's wolf whined, hating her pain, but his gaze stayed steady, gold sparking with awe.
"You're not a killer," he said, low, fierce. "You're a fighter. My mate. You did what you had to." He pulled her closer, his lips brushing her forehead, a soft anchor amid the blood and betrayal. "I'm proud of you, Lena. But l'm scared too, scared I can't keep you safe."
Her breath caught, his admission hitting harder than Vren's attack. She clutched his jacket, the bond humming, their heartbeats syncing despite the fight raging around them. "You're here," she said, voice raw, almost a confession.
"That's enough." It wasn't I love you, not yet, but it was close, and his eyes softened, seeing it, feeling it through their bond.
Zane's snarl shattered the moment, his gray wolf form lunging from the shadows, bloodied but unbowed. Kael spun, shoving Lena behind him, his claws slashing air as Zane dodged, circling with Rhea and Torin, their numbers tightening the noose. The other traitors—three wolves, half-shifted, closed in, their growls a chorus of hate. Lena's pulse spiked, her eyes darting to Vren's body, the knife glinting beside him, but she couldn't move, frozen by her own violence.
"Stay with me," Kael growled, his voice half-human, half-beast, his body angled to shield her. His love was a fire in her veins, pushing back the fear, but his worry bled through— Zane was relentless, Rhea's betrayal a wound, and Lena's knife-hand shook too much to fight again. Not yet.
Rhea struck first, her claws aiming for Kael's side, but he caught her wrist, twisting until she yelped, his strength brutal but restrained.
"You were my sister," he snarled, pain lacing his rage, and flung her back, her body hitting a tree with a crack. Zane took the opening, jaws snapping at Kael's leg, drawing blood, and Lena cried out, her voice lost in the chaos.
She scrambled for the knife, her fingers brushing it, but Torin loomed, his enforcer's badge glinting as he grabbed her arm, yanking her up. "Enough," he spat, his grip bruising, his eyes cold with ambition. "Zane wants you dead, human." His claws grazed her wrist, slicing shallow, and blood welled, bright against her skin.
Kael roared, breaking free from Zane, tackling Torin to the ground, his claws raking the enforcer's chest. Lena fell, her wrist stinging, blood dripping to the frost. She clutched it, panic rising, but Kael was there, pulling her to her feet, his arm around her waist, his breath ragged. "I've got you," he said, voice thick with love, fear, everything he'd bared to her.
His eyes locked on hers, gold and endless, promising forever if they survived this.
But then he froze, his nostrils flaring, his wolf surging as a new scent hit him. Lena's blood, sharp on the air, not just honey, cedar, human, but different. Metallic, wild, laced with the same ozone he'd caught from the pendant, the mark's glow, her healing. It wasn't wolf, wasn't human, but ancient, like the voice she'd heard, the magic he'd feared. His pride turned to dread, his wolf howling a warning, her blood wasn't just hers. It was power, a beacon, and every wolf in the clearing smelled it too.
"Lena," he whispered, his voice tight, eyes wide with realization, "your blood..."