Mira's POV
Being carried in Kael's jaws is nothing like Mira imagined it would be.
She hangs limp in his mouth, her small gray wolf body cradled against his chest as he runs through the pack house. Her mind is screaming but her body won't move. Won't respond. Won't do anything except exist in this strange place between shock and terror.
The bond burns under her skin like fire running through her veins.
It's not painful exactly. It's worse than pain because pain would make sense. This is too big to be pain. This is her entire existence shifting sideways, her wolf suddenly aware of another presence in her mind, in her chest, in the deepest parts of herself that she's never let anyone touch.
She can feel Kael's heartbeat. Can feel his certainty. Can feel the absolute conviction radiating from him that she belongs to him now. That the bond is done. That nothing in the world will ever separate them.
He crashes through a door she doesn't recognize and dumps her on something soft. A bed. His bed probably. The room smells like him. Pine and leather and something darker that makes her wolf want to sink into it.
Kael shifts back to human form and Mira gets a flash of scarred muscle and deadly grace before she forces herself to shift too. She grabs his shirt from the floor and pulls it over her head, trying to cover her naked body, trying to feel less vulnerable.
It doesn't work.
His shirt still smells like him and it makes the bond pulse between them in a way that's almost unbearable.
Kael starts pacing. Back and forth across the room like a caged predator. His amber eyes are fading back to brown but they're still too bright. Still too intense. His hands are clenched into fists and his whole body is radiating violence barely held in check.
He doesn't look at her.
Mira's whole body is shaking. She opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out. What would she even say? That this is a mistake? That he should reject the bond? That she's going to ruin his life?
All of those things are true and none of them matter because the bond is already done.
"You should rest," Kael finally says. His voice is rough like gravel. Like he hasn't used it in years. "We deal with the pack tomorrow."
Mira tries to argue. Tries to form words. Tries to explain that he can still reject her if he acts fast enough. Tries to tell him that being bonded to an Omega servant will destroy his standing, his future, everything he's built.
But exhaustion is pulling at her like a physical weight. The fire. The rescue. The bond forming. Her body is shutting down whether her mind wants it to or not.
She lies back on his bed and lets the darkness take her.
She wakes to shouting.
It's so loud that it cuts through her sleep like a blade. Angry voices. Multiple voices. All of them outside Kael's door. All of them demanding something she can't quite make out.
Mira sits up fast and the world spins. The bond is different now that she's rested. Instead of feeling like fire it feels like a tether connecting her directly to Kael's emotions. She can sense him pacing in the other room. Can feel his rage burning like a furnace.
The shouting gets louder.
"You cannot possibly be serious about this bond," someone yells. Mira recognizes Elder Thaddeus's voice. "The Omega is unsuitable. The bloodline consequences alone—"
"I don't care about bloodlines," Kael cuts him off and his voice carries absolute finality. "The bond is done. She is mine."
"She is nothing," another voice says. This one is female. Bitterly angry. "A servant girl with no power, no standing, no right to—"
"Enough." Kael's word crashes through the argument like a hammer. "Anyone who questions her again will answer to me."
But there are too many voices now. Too many opinions. Some supporting Kael. Some demanding the bond be examined by healers. Some saying things Mira doesn't want to hear about what happens to Omegas who seduce Alphas with dark magic.
Dark magic.
That's what they're claiming. That she somehow used witchcraft to trap him during the hunt. That the bond isn't real, just some kind of spell.
Mira's stomach drops because she understands exactly what this means. The pack doesn't accept her. They think she's cursed him. They think she's dangerous.
And if they think she's dangerous enough, they might decide the only safe thing to do is kill her.
She slides out of Kael's bed and moves toward the door. She's still wearing his shirt and nothing else but that doesn't matter. She needs to see what's happening. Needs to understand how much trouble she's in.
She opens the door just a crack and peers out.
Kael is standing in the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest. He's only wearing pants, his scars visible across his entire torso. The Elders are arranged in front of him like they're facing down a predator, which is probably accurate.
Seraphina stands behind them, her beautiful face twisted with satisfaction.
She's won. Or she thinks she has. Because the pack's reaction is exactly what she wanted. Chaos. Rejection. A reason to call Mira a threat.
"The bond will be examined," Elder Thaddeus says, trying to sound official. "If we find evidence of witchcraft or manipulation, the girl will be stripped of her status and—"
"She will be protected," Kael says coldly. "By me. In my quarters. Where none of you will touch her. If anyone tries to harm her, I will tear their throat out and use their blood to paint these halls. Do we understand each other?"
It's not a question. It's a promise.
The Elders exchange looks. They know he means it. Kael Stormborne has never made an empty threat in his life.
But they're also not backing down. They're circling like wolves who smell blood. Like they've decided that whatever happens to Mira is worth the risk because it might give them control over Kael.
And that's when Elder Morgana steps forward.
She's the oldest, the bitterest, the one who's always hated Omegas. Her ancient eyes fix on the crack in the door where Mira is watching and she smiles like she's found exactly what she was looking for.
"Perhaps," Morgana says slowly, "the girl should speak for herself. Come out, little Omega. Tell us why you don't deserve to be executed for trapping our finest warrior."
Mira's hand freezes on the door.
She can feel Kael's rage burning through the bond. Can feel him about to move toward the Elders with violence. Can feel him about to do something that will make this situation infinitely worse.
And she realizes with absolute certainty that if she doesn't walk out that door right now and face them, Kael will burn the entire pack down to protect her.
She opens the door wider and steps into the hallway.
Thirty sets of eyes turn toward her. Servants and warriors and nobles and Elders all stop moving to stare at the girl wearing an Alpha's shirt, her hair tangled from sleep, her burned hands shaking.
Seraphina's smile goes even wider because she thinks this is over. Thinks Mira is about to break and confess to using magic or seduction or whatever story the pack wants to believe.
But Kael steps closer to Mira and his hand finds hers.
And that simple gesture changes everything.
Because the moment he touches her, the bond flares so bright that everyone watching can see it. The physical connection between them blazes visible. Undeniable. Absolutely real.
Not magical. Not forced.
Real.
Elder Morgana's face goes pale. Seraphina's smile falters. The watching crowd goes completely silent because they're seeing something they didn't expect to see.
A bond that's genuine.
"She did not trap me," Kael says, his voice carrying the weight of absolute truth. "The bond is clean. And she is under my protection. Anyone who challenges that dies."
He pulls Mira back toward his quarters and nobody tries to stop him.
But as the door closes behind them, Mira hears Elder Thaddeus's voice carry through the walls.
"The Elders will convene. If she is truly bonded to him, there will be trials. Three challenges to determine if she's worthy of standing beside our strongest warrior."
Mira looks up at Kael and sees something terrifying in his face.
Not fear.
Determination.
Like the Elders just handed him something he's been waiting his whole life to protect her from.
And she realizes that everything is about to get so much worse before it gets better.