Seris POV
"How do you know my name?" My voice comes out as a rasp.
The stranger—Vaelor—doesn't answer. He just keeps walking toward me, slow and steady like I'm a wild animal he doesn't want to spook.
But I AM a wild animal right now. My hands are literally on fire, and I don't know how to stop it.
"Stay back!" I scramble backward until my spine hits a tree. The flames in my palms flare higher. "I'm warning you!"
"You're scared," Vaelor says calmly. "I understand. But the fire won't hurt me, Seris. I promise."
"Stop saying my name like you know me!" Panic makes my voice shrill. The silver veins on my arms pulse brighter. Heat builds in my chest again, that same terrible pressure from the pyre. "You don't know anything about me!"
"I know you were burned alive tonight." His gray eyes lock onto mine. "I know your pack thinks you're dead. I know you're confused and terrified and your body feels like it's tearing apart from the inside."
My breath catches. How does he know all that?
"I know because I've studied your bloodline for fifteen years." He takes another step. "You're a Flamebinder, Seris. The first to awaken in three centuries. And right now, your power is eating you alive because you don't know how to control it."
"I don't understand—"
"You will." Another step. He's close enough now that I can see the silver flecks in his gray eyes. "But first, you need to calm down. The more you panic, the worse it gets."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" The fire in my hands explodes outward in a wave. Flames rush toward Vaelor, hot enough to melt stone.
He doesn't even flinch.
The fire hits him and... splits. Like water flowing around a rock. The flames part around his body and burn the trees behind him instead.
My jaw drops. "How—"
"Fire can't hurt me," Vaelor says simply. He's standing in the middle of my flames like they're nothing. "Now, are you going to keep wasting energy? Or are you going to let me help you?"
The fight drains out of me. I'm so tired. My whole body aches. The adrenaline that's been keeping me upright suddenly crashes, and my legs buckle.
Vaelor moves fast. One second he's several feet away, the next he's catching me before I hit the ground. His arms are strong and steady. Up close, he smells like smoke and pine.
"What's... happening..." My words slur together. Everything's spinning.
"Your body is adjusting to the awakening," Vaelor explains. His voice sounds far away. "You need rest. And proper training. Otherwise the power will consume you."
My eyes won't stay open. "Are you... going to kill me?"
"No, little flame." There's something almost gentle in his tone. "I'm going to make sure you survive."
Darkness pulls me under, and this time, I don't fight it.
Vaelor POV
She goes limp in my arms, her head falling against my chest. The flames on her hands finally die out.
I look down at her—this small, broken girl who just survived the impossible. Her body is covered in silver-veined scars that pulse with dying light. What's left of her dress is mostly ash. She's shaking with fever despite the heat radiating from her skin.
"Your Majesty!" Kael crashes through the trees, five warriors behind him. They all stop dead when they see me holding Seris. "Is that—"
"The Flamebinder. Yes." I adjust my grip on her carefully. She weighs almost nothing. "We need to move. Now."
Kael's eyes are huge. "But the legends say Flamebinders are—"
"Extinct. I know." I start walking back toward where we left the horses. "They were wrong."
"What do we do with her?" one of the warriors asks nervously.
"We take her back to the Ashen Reach. Under my personal protection."
Shocked silence follows that declaration. Finally, Kael clears his throat. "Your Majesty, the council won't like this. Bringing an unknown wolf into our territory—"
"I don't care what the council likes." I cut him off sharply. "This girl is the first Flamebinder in centuries. Do you understand what that means? The power she possesses could change everything. Every pack, every territory, every political alliance—all of it shifts if she falls into the wrong hands."
"So we're taking her to use her power?" another warrior asks.
I stop walking and turn to face them. "We're taking her to PROTECT her. And to teach her control before she accidentally burns down half the kingdom. Anyone who has a problem with that can challenge me directly."
No one speaks. Good.
We reach the horses within twenty minutes. I mount mine carefully, keeping Seris cradled against my chest with one arm. She mumbles something in her sleep—a name. Corwin.
My jaw tightens. I had my spies investigate Thornvale the moment I felt the power surge. I know everything. The false accusations. The rejection. The public execution.
Alpha Corwin is lucky I have more pressing matters, or I'd ride back to Thornvale right now and rip his throat out.
"Ride hard," I order my men. "We need to reach the Ashen Reach before word spreads that she survived."
We take off at a gallop. Seris stays unconscious, her breathing shallow and rapid. Every few minutes, small flames flicker across her skin before dying out again. Her power is unstable, cycling through her body without direction.
Three hours later, we cross into my territory. The volcanic mountains of the Ashen Reach rise ahead of us, dark stone and smoking peaks. Home.
We ride through the main gates of my fortress just as the sun reaches its peak. Pack members stop and stare as we pass. Whispers follow us.
"Is that a girl?"
"Why is the Alpha King carrying her?"
"Look at her scars—what IS she?"
I ignore them all and head straight for the healer's wing. My lead healer, an old woman named Thera, meets us at the door.
"Prepare the isolation room," I tell her. "This one's dangerous."
Thera's eyebrows rise, but she doesn't argue. She's been my healer since I was a child. She knows when to ask questions and when to just obey.
I carry Seris to a room deep in the healer's wing—one with stone walls and a bed that can withstand fire. I lay her down gently.
She looks so small on the large bed. So fragile. Hard to believe this girl contains enough power to level a city.
"What IS she?" Thera asks quietly, moving forward to examine Seris's scars.
"A Flamebinder."
Thera's hand freezes mid-reach. "That's impossible."
"Apparently not." I step back to give Thera room to work. "Do what you can for her. I'll post guards outside. No one enters this room without my permission."
"Your Majesty." Kael appears in the doorway. "The council is demanding an emergency meeting. They want to know why you brought an unknown wolf into the territory."
Of course they do. I take one last look at Seris—she's still unconscious, her breathing uneven—and turn to leave.
"Watch her closely," I tell Thera. "If her condition changes at all, send for me immediately."
I'm halfway down the hall when I hear it. A scream—high and terrified.
I spin and run back to the room. Kael and two guards are right behind me.
Seris is awake.
And she's not alone.
A man stands beside her bed—a stranger I've never seen before. He's dressed in black, his face hidden by a hood. In his hand, he holds a silver knife pressed against Seris's throat.
Seris's eyes are wide with terror. "Help," she whispers.
The assassin's voice is cold. "The girl dies tonight, Alpha King. The bounty is too good to refuse."
My wolf explodes to the surface. Power floods through me.
"Touch her," I growl, my voice dropping to something inhuman, "and I will tear you apart so slowly you'll BEG for death."
The assassin smiles under his hood.
And presses the knife deeper.
Blood wells up against the silver blade.
Seris gasps.
Time stops.