Chapter 3 The Predator's Cage

Killian's POV

The scent of her was a haunting presence, a ghost of wildflowers and summer rain that clung to the fibers of my black wool coat. It was a soft, delicate fragrance that had no business surviving the frozen, metallic air of the Silver Border. Yet, as I stepped off the stone bridge and back into the shadows of the Blood Moon forest, it was the only thing my lungs wanted to pull in.

Fenris, my wolf, was a restless weight behind my ribs. He paced a jagged, frantic path in the back of my mind, his claws digging into the floor of my psyche. Mate. Claim. Return to the bridge, he snarled, his voice a primal echo that made my blood burn with a fever I could not control.

"Quiet," I hissed under my breath. The word was a puff of white frost in the moonlight. I clenched my jaw so tight it felt as though my teeth might crack.

"Did you say something, Alpha?"

I did not need to turn around to know it was Seraphina. She was walking a half-step behind me, her silver-grey eyes sharp and distrustful. She was one of my most lethal warriors, a woman who had seen more blood than most men. Beside her, Jax moved like a silent mountain of muscle. He did not speak, his massive arms crossed over his chest, his expression as unreadable as the obsidian walls of our Citadel.

"I said the air is cold," I lied. The truth was that I was a furnace. The spot on my palm where I had gripped Lyra's wrist felt as though it had been branded by a hot iron. I could still feel the phantom vibration of her pulse-fast, terrified, and yet utterly defiant.

"It is about to get colder," Jax rumbled, his voice a low vibration that seemed to disturb the very trees. He gestured toward the dark clearing ahead. A cluster of black, armored SUVs waited there, their engines idling with a low, predatory hum. Standing beside the lead vehicle was the man who held my leash.

Alpha Valerius did not look like a man who had just brokered a peace treaty. He looked like a conqueror who had just won a high-stakes game of chess by sacrificing a piece he never liked anyway. He was lean, covered in the silver scars of a hundred battles, and radiated a cold, oppressive authority. Even as a billionaire CEO who commanded boards of directors in the human world, I found his presence suffocating.

"Well?" Valerius asked as I approached. He did not move a muscle, his eyes tracking my every step. "You did not kill her. I suppose I should congratulate you on your restraint."

"She tried to kill me," I countered, my voice tight with suppressed rage. "The Silver River heir has a bit more bite than your tactical reports suggested, Father. You said she was a pampered strategist. You did not mention she carries daggers like she was born with them in her hands."

"Good," Valerius snapped. His eyes flashed a dangerous, predatory amber. "I do not need a fragile doll sitting on the throne beside you, Killian. I need a Luna who can hold this border while you are in the city managing the firm's assets. The Silverstream girl is a strategist. Her mind is her greatest weapon. Through this marriage, that weapon now belongs to the Blood Moon."

A surge of irrational, protective anger flared in my gut. Fenris snarled in approval. My wolf did not care about assets or weapons. He cared about the female with the white hair and the ice-blue eyes.

"She does not 'belong' to anyone," I said, my voice dropping into a territorial warning. "She is an Alpha's daughter, not a piece of technology you have acquired in a hostile takeover. She is going to be a nightmare to manage, and you know it."

Seraphina stepped forward, her lip curling in a subtle sneer. "She is a Silver wolf, Killian. They are soft. They live in glass houses, hide behind drones, and think they are superior because they have clean fingernails. Putting her in the Citadel is like putting a canary in a wolf's den. She will not last a week before she is crying for her father."

"You underestimate her, Seraphina," I said. I thought of the way Lyra had stepped into my space, her scent spiking with defiance rather than fear. "She is not soft. She is steel wrapped in silk. If you treat her like a canary, she will be the one to rip your throat out while you are sleeping."

My father narrowed his eyes. He stepped into my personal space until we were chest-to-chest. He was shorter than me, but his presence was a physical weight. "You sound defensive, Killian. Or perhaps... captivated? Tell me, did the bond snap? Did the Moon Goddess play a joke on us tonight?"

The question was a lethal trap. If I admitted the truth-that Lyra Silverstream was my fated mate-my father would own me. He would use her as a leash, knowing that my wolf would tear down the world to keep her safe. He would manipulate our bond to ensure my absolute loyalty to his "peace".

"I felt nothing but the frost," I lied. My face became a mask of unmoving granite. I had lied to the most powerful men in the world; I could lie to my father. "The marriage is a political necessity to stop the hemorrhaging of our resources. Nothing more. I will marry her, I will secure the treaty, and I will keep her in line."

Valerius stared at me for a long, agonizing beat. Finally, he gave a curt, sharp nod. "See that it stays that way. We need her bloodline to stabilize the pack's genetics. But do not let your heart get involved with the enemy. She is a means to an end. Remember Red Falls. Remember what her people did to your uncle."

He turned and climbed into the back of the SUV. The door slammed with a finality that echoed through the trees.

I stood there for a moment, the wildflowers-and-rain scent still haunting my lungs. Jax stepped up beside me. His voice was deep and resonant. "You are a terrible liar, Killian. To a human, you are a statue. But to a wolf? Your scent changed the second you touched her. You smell like a male who has finally found the other half of his soul."

"Watch your tongue, Jax," I warned, though the threat lacked its usual bite.

"He is right to be worried," Seraphina added, her hand resting on the hilt of her tactical blade. "The pack will not accept her. The elders still have the names of the dead tattooed on their skin. If you bring a Silverstream into our halls and call her Luna, there will be a mutiny. Are you ready to spill the blood of your own brothers to protect a girl who tried to stab you?"

I looked up at the moon. My eyes glowed with a gold fire that was no longer under my control. Fenris was no longer pacing. He was standing tall, claiming the woman on the other side of the ravine as ours.

"I have spent my whole life fighting for this pack," I said, my voice like falling gravel. "But if they think they can touch what belongs to me, they will find out exactly why I am the Alpha they should fear. I am not just a CEO, Seraphina. I am a wolf. And I do not let anyone touch my mate."

I climbed into the driver's seat of my own car, a black, high-performance machine that growled to life at my touch. I gripped the steering wheel until the leather groaned. Three days. Three days until I had to stand at an altar and pretend I did not want to devour the woman standing across from me. Three days until the enemy became my wife.

I put the car in gear and roared away from the border. No matter how fast I drove, I could not outrun the scent of wildflowers and rain. It was inside me now. It was part of my very soul.

Author's Note:

POV SWITCH! How are we feeling about Killian's side of things? 🐺🔥 He is playing a dangerous game with his father, and Fenris is clearly not helping! "Steel wrapped in silk"-he is already completely obsessed with her! 😍🍫

But the tension is rising. Seraphina is clearly going to be a problem, and Alpha Valerius is as cold as ice. Do you think Killian can actually keep the mate bond a secret, or will his father find out and use Lyra against him? 🐍🧐

Drop a comment! I am reading every single one and I want to know your theories for the "Blood Wedding"! 🌙✨