Kael's POV
Glass and stone exploded inward.
I shifted mid-leap, wolf instincts screaming danger as a creature crashed through the temple window. Not one of us. Not any beastman I recognized.
It was a fox—but massive, easily the size of a full-grown male. Russet fur, nine tails that whipped through the air like blades, and green eyes that glowed with wild magic.
A Kitsune. A nine-tailed fox.
They were supposed to be extinct.
"MIRA!" I slammed against the temple doors, but they still wouldn't budge. "MIRA, RUN!"
Through the broken window, I heard her scream.
The Kitsune shifted in a blur of fox-fire—red flames that didn't burn but distorted the air. One second, fox. Next second, a young male with messy russet hair, pointed ears, and those same unsettling green eyes.
He was barely older than twenty, thin and wild-looking, and he moved like water—fast, unpredictable, dangerous.
"Easy, easy!" the fox male said, hands raised. "I'm not here to hurt anyone!"
"You just crashed through a WINDOW!" Mira's voice was high with panic.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Dramatic entrance. Couldn't help myself." He grinned, completely unrepentant. "But seriously, you need to get out of here. Now."
"Who are you?" That was Zara's voice, sharp with authority.
"Ash. Just Ash. And I'm here to warn you—" he paused, tilting his head like he was listening to something. "Actually, I'm too late. They're already here."
"Who's here?" Mira demanded.
I didn't wait for the answer. I rammed the door again with my full wolf weight. Draven joined me, tiger strength combined with mine.
The doors cracked but held.
"Kael!" Finn's voice cut through my desperation. "The Council enforcers—they're regrouping!"
I spun around. Soren and his fifty wolves had formed a battle line, no longer interested in the temple. They faced the forest edge, hackles raised, teeth bared.
Something was coming.
The trees shook. Birds exploded from the canopy in terrified flocks. And then I smelled it—bear musk. Strong. Multiple bears.
"Oh no," Raith hissed. "Not the Mountain Clan."
The first bear crashed through the tree line and my stomach dropped.
Grizzlies. Six of them. Each one bigger than any wolf, covered in scars from countless battles. And at their center walked their leader—Magnus, the Bear King.
He was a legend. A nightmare. Seven feet tall in human form with arms like tree trunks and a temper that had started three tribal wars.
And he was staring at the temple with hungry obsession.
"WHERE IS SHE?" Magnus's voice boomed across the clearing. "WHERE'S THE MARKED ONE?"
Soren stepped forward, trying to maintain authority. "The Healer is under Council protection. You have no claim—"
Magnus backhanded him.
The elderly wolf flew fifteen feet, slamming into a tree with a sickening crack. Two Council enforcers lunged at Magnus. He grabbed them both by their throats and threw them like toys.
"I don't care about Council laws," Magnus snarled. "The Marked One will be MY mate. MY female. And anyone who stands in my way DIES."
His bears roared in agreement, the sound shaking the earth.
My wolf went insane with rage. MINE. She's MINE.
"Back off, Magnus," Draven said coldly, stepping forward. "You're outnumbered."
"Am I?" Magnus smiled, showing too many teeth.
More shapes emerged from the forest. Bears. At least twenty of them.
We were outnumbered three-to-one. And bears were stronger than wolves or tigers.
"This is bad," Thorne muttered, landing beside me. "This is very bad."
Inside the temple, I heard Mira's voice through the broken window. "What's happening out there? Kael, answer me!"
"Stay inside!" I shouted back. "Don't come out no matter what!"
"But—"
"NO MATTER WHAT!"
Magnus's ears twitched. His eyes locked on the broken window. "She's in there. I can smell her. Female scent. Healer magic." He started walking toward the temple.
I shifted to human form, standing between him and the doors. "You'll have to go through me first."
"Gladly." Magnus cracked his knuckles.
Finn shifted beside me. Then the rest of my pack. Thirty wolves against twenty bears.
Draven moved to my left, already half-shifted, claws extending. Raith slithered to my right, serpent form coiling.
Even some of Soren's Council wolves stood with us, forming a defensive line.
For once, every beastman in the clearing had the same goal—keep the bears away from Mira.
"Last chance, Magnus," I said quietly. "Walk away."
"Never." His eyes glowed with madness. "I've waited my whole life for a female. I've fought in wars, killed hundreds, survived everything this cursed world threw at me. And now, when a female FINALLY appears, you think I'll just walk away?" He laughed, bitter and broken. "I'd rather die."
Something in his voice made me pause. He wasn't just greedy or power-hungry.
He was desperate.
Like me.
Like every male in the Beastworld who'd spent their entire lives knowing they'd probably die alone because females were too rare.
For a heartbeat, I almost felt sorry for him.
Then he charged.
Twenty bears followed.
The clearing erupted into chaos.
I shifted mid-leap, meeting Magnus's bear form head-on. His claws raked across my shoulder. My teeth found his throat but couldn't pierce the thick fur and muscle.
Around us, wolves and bears clashed in a savage dance of fang and claw. Draven's roar shook the ground as he took on three bears at once. Raith's serpent form wrapped around a grizzly's throat, squeezing.
Blood sprayed. Bones cracked. The sounds of battle were deafening.
But through it all, I kept one thought burning in my mind—protect Mira. No matter what. Even if it kills me.
Magnus threw me off. I hit the ground hard, ribs screaming in pain.
He lumbered toward the temple doors.
"NO!" I lunged again, biting down on his back leg.
He kicked me in the head. Stars exploded across my vision.
Through blurred eyes, I saw him reach the temple doors. Saw him raise one massive paw to smash through them.
Then lightning struck.
Not from the sky. From inside the temple.
Golden electricity arced through the broken window, slamming into Magnus with the force of a freight train. He flew backward, crashing into three of his own bears.
Mira appeared at the window, her arm blazing with the Sigil's power. Her eyes glowed pure gold.
"I SAID NO FIGHTING!" Her voice echoed with ancient power. "ALL OF YOU, STOP!"
Every beastman in the clearing dropped to his knees, overwhelmed by the command in her voice.
Even Magnus, smoking from the lightning strike, couldn't stand.
"She's... she's using the Voice," Raith gasped. "The Healer's Command. It forces obedience from beastmen."
Mira climbed through the broken window, Zara and the fox male following. She jumped down—a ten-foot drop that should have hurt but somehow didn't. The golden light cushioned her landing.
She walked into the middle of the battlefield, stepping over wounded bodies, her glowing arm lighting up the carnage.
"What is WRONG with you people?" she demanded. "You're killing each other over me! I'm not a prize! I'm not property! I'm a PERSON!"
Magnus raised his head, defiant even on his knees. "You... you're mine. Fate... brought you here... for me..."
"Fate brought me here to DIE," Mira snapped. "And then brought me BACK to help save your dying world. Not to be fought over like a piece of meat!" She looked at all of us, disgust clear on her face. "If THIS is how beastmen act, maybe your world DESERVES to die."
Her words hit like physical blows.
Shame burned through my chest. She was right. We were acting like animals. Worse than animals.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "You're right. We were wrong."
Mira's expression softened slightly. "Thank you." She looked at Magnus. "And you—go home. I'm not your mate. I'm not anyone's mate. Got it?"
Magnus stared at her for a long moment. Then his face crumpled.
"Then I have nothing," he whispered. "Nothing to live for."
Before anyone could react, he shifted to bear form and ran.
Not toward the temple. Into the forest. Away from everything.
His bears followed, confused and leaderless.
Silence fell over the clearing.
Mira swayed on her feet, the golden glow fading. "That was... really hard..."
She collapsed.
I caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her against my chest. Her skin was burning hot.
"Zara!" I shouted. "Something's wrong!"
The ancient Guardian appeared beside me, her face grim. She pressed a hand to Mira's forehead.
"She used too much power too fast. The Sigil is feeding on her life force to compensate."
"What does that mean?"
"It means—" Zara's voice was heavy, "—she's dying."