The note didn't leave my mind, even after Kael took it with him to the war room.
"Full moon. East gate. Bring the pup."
It wasn't just a threat. It was a promise.
Liam was still asleep, his breathing soft and even, one arm draped over his stuffed wolf. I sat beside him for a while, brushing hair off his forehead, wondering how much longer we could keep him safe if someone inside these walls was helping the enemy.
When Kael returned hours later, he didn't knock. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, studying me like he was trying to decide how much to tell.
"We've set up rotating patrols," he said. "The east gate will be covered, but we'll have a team in the trees as well. If they try to come through, we'll surround them."
"And Maren?" I asked.
His jaw tightened. "We watch her."
"You mean you suspect her."
"I suspect anyone who had access to that storage room."
I shook my head. "She was my friend."
"That doesn't mean she wouldn't sell you out." His tone was even, but there was no give in it.
Later that afternoon, I went to the training yard with Liam. Kael insisted we be escorted, but I told him if I was going to be here, I wasn't hiding behind locked doors all day.
The yard was alive with movement … warriors sparring, younger wolves practicing shifts. Liam's attention locked on the practice dummies, and before I could stop him, he was mimicking the movements he saw.
Fast. Too fast.
One of the older warriors paused mid-swing, watching him. "He's quick," the man said, looking at me with a knowing expression.
I put a hand on Liam's shoulder. "He just has energy."
Kael appeared before the conversation could go further. "With me," he said to Liam, his voice calm but carrying that Alpha weight.
Liam went without protest, his small feet quick to match Kael's longer strides.
Maren found me while Kael was busy with Liam. She stood at the edge of the yard, arms folded.
"Out in the open," she said. "Brave."
I didn't move toward her. "Do you have something to say?"
She smirked. "Only that I remember when you swore you'd never set foot here again. Guess I was right … you can't stay away from him."
"This isn't about him."
"Everything here is about him," she said. "Even that boy of yours."
I felt my pulse spike. "Careful."
She stepped closer, her voice dropping. "Kael can guard you from enemies at the border. But he won't see the knife coming from someone standing right behind you."
Her words lodged in my chest long after she walked away.
That evening, Kael kept his word about staying near me. Too near. He had me sit beside him during the evening meal, his arm resting on the back of my chair. The gesture looked casual, but I could feel the tension in his body.
"Something's wrong," I said quietly.
He didn't deny it. "Blackclaw's quiet today. That means they're planning."
"And you think they're getting help from inside."
"I know they are," he said. "The only question is who."
Before I could reply, Tarin leaned in and handed him a folded scrap of paper. Kael read it and passed it to me.
It was the same handwriting as the first note.
Three nights. East gate. Be ready.
I looked up at him. "They're still warning us?"
"They want us to come," Kael said. "Which means they think we'll make a mistake."
After the meal, Kael led me back to his quarters. Liam was already there, playing on the rug. Kael crouched in front of him.
"From now until the full moon, you stay where I can see you," he said.
Liam nodded. "Okay."
Kael's gaze shifted to me. "That goes for you too."
"You can't keep me glued to your side forever," I said.
"I only need to keep you there until this is over."
His voice was steady, but there was something under it … not fear exactly, but the kind of edge that comes from knowing the clock is ticking.
The next day, I woke to find Kael gone and Tarin standing guard outside the door.
"Where is he?" I asked.
"Checking the perimeter," Tarin said. "He'll be back before midday."
I hesitated, then lowered my voice. "Do you think it's Maren?"
Tarin's expression didn't change. "I think the Alpha's instincts are rarely wrong."
It wasn't an answer, but it was enough to make my stomach turn.
When Kael returned, there was dirt on his boots and tension in his shoulders.
"They're closer than they should be," he said. "Tracks within a mile of the east gate."
"Then we should move Liam now," I said.
He shook his head. "No. We're not running. We're going to end this."
His certainty was unnerving. "And if they come early?"
"They won't," he said. "They want the full moon. They'll wait."
But I wasn't sure he believed his own words.
That night, as Liam slept, I found Kael on the balcony, looking out over the dark forest.
"You've been quiet," I said.
He glanced at me. "I'm thinking."
"About what?"
"How to keep you from doing something reckless when the time comes."
I folded my arms. "You mean when you use him as bait."
His eyes didn't waver. "When I protect him in the only way that guarantees they won't try again."
"And if it puts him in danger?"
"Then I'll put myself in front of him," he said simply. "Like I always will."
There was no arrogance in the way he said it. Just certainty.
And for the first time since coming back, I realized that certainty might be the only thing standing between us and the wolves in the dark.
Kael's gaze stayed fixed on the trees. "When the full moon rises, they'll come hard and fast. I need you ready."
"I'm not a soldier," I said.
"You're the mother of my heir," he replied. "That makes you a target worth protecting and a fighter whether you like it or not."
The word heir caught in my chest. He'd never said it out loud before. "You've already decided that?"
"It's not a decision. It's blood." His tone left no space for argument.
I shook my head. "Blood doesn't mean you own him."
His eyes cut to mine. "It means I'll kill for him. And for you."
The weight in his voice made my skin prickle. Not because I doubted he meant it, but because I knew exactly how far he'd go to keep that promise.
We stood there for a long moment, the space between us charged with things neither of us would say. Then he turned back toward the dark line of the forest.
"Get some sleep," he said. "Tomorrow we train."
I didn't ask what he meant by we. Something told me that when the sun came up, I'd find out.