Chapter 3 His Claim

The sweet smell lingered on my tongue when I woke, but the fear was gone. Only heavy fog remained, weighing my limbs like lead.

I wasn't in the hollow anymore. I wasn't running.

Soft furs cradled me inside a cave. Firelight danced on stone walls. My side didn't scream when I shifted, someone had cleaned the gash and wrapped it in herb-scented linen.

"Don't try to shift," a low voice rumbled from the shadows. "The mist keeps your wolf quiet. You need rest."

I bolted upright, my heart hammering. The memories of the night came rushing back, the rejection, the hunt, the gold eyes in the dark.

,A man stepped into the firelight. He was tall, shoulders wide, dark hair falling messy over his forehead. No shirt. Scars crossed his ribs, shoulder, forearm marks that said he'd faced things that should've killed him and walked away anyway.

But damn... he was beautiful.

Rough, dangerous beautiful. The kind that hits you in your gut because you know this man could break you in half and some stupid part of you wants to find out what that feels like.

My mouth went dry. My wolf stirred hard. He smelled like destruction and shelter all at once. He looked like the boy from the orchard who once whispered he'd get me out of those kitchens.

He took a slow step closer.

I flinched before I could stop myself. He froze instantly and raised his both hands up with palms open.

"It's me. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Kael?" I whispered, my voice cracking.

He stopped, his gold eyes softening just a fraction. "You remember me."

"You're supposed to be dead," I said, my voice rising as the panic set in. "Kairos said you died in the purge. He said-"

"Kairos says a lot of things to keep his throne" Kael interrupted, his voice dropping into a low growl. He walked over and sat on a stone ledge across from me. "I had to stay dead to stay alive, Elara. But I've been watching. I saw what happened at the ceremony."

He held out the bowl. It was water. I took it with shaking hands, my mind spinning.

"But I'm not Kairos. I don't fear what you are."

He glanced up. Our faces were close. Too close that I saw his eyes flick down to my mouth just for a second then came right back up and the air between us suddenly became heavy.

He then cleared his throat. "You shifted into a Shadow Wolf."

"Yeah."

"That's dangerously rare." He paused, voice softening. "Beautiful." He said that last word quietly.

"But everyone says it's a curse and calls us monsters. But I don't feel like a monster. I feel... weirdly okay. Stronger. It doesn't add up with what they've always said."

Kael sat back a little, thinking for a second.

"Because power like that scares the ones who want to stay on top," he said. "There's an old prophecy that a Shadow Wolf will either save the packs or level them to the ground. They decided it was easier to hunt us than to find out which one you are."

"So he rejected me... because of some old bullshit prophecy."

Kael nodded.

"He's scared of what you could do. But he's also scared of what happens if he lets you go. The bond doesn't break easy. You feel it, right?"

I nodded. "All the time. Sometimes it's this soft, quiet pull. Other times it hurts so bad I can't breathe."

"That's why he's hurting too," Kael said. "And why he'll come after you one day."

"Why did you take me, Kael? Why the mist? Why didn't you just let me run?"

Kael turned back to me, and the intensity in his gaze made my breath hitch. He didn't look at me like the "scentless mutt" I'd been for twenty-two years. He looked at me like I was a prize he'd finally caught.

"Because you wouldn't have made it another mile," he said. "I didn't just stumble across you, Elara. I've been waiting for this."

"For what?"

"For you to wake up. For you to see what you actually are." He leaned in just a little, his gold eyes burning with a dark, familiar fire. "And for you to help me take back what Kairos stole."

Of course you want something. Silly me, thinking a man like him would just... want me.

I stared at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. "You want the throne?" I asked, my voice trembling. "You want to take his place?"

Kael's jaw tightened, a bitter shadow crossing his face.

"I want what was promised to me before our father conveniently died and Kairos let Mara whisper him onto the throne. That chair belongs to the strongest of the bloodline, Elara. Our father knew I had the Shadow strength. Kairos knew it too that's why he cast me out."

He leaned in, his gold eyes burning. "But I don't just want the crown he stole. I want the only thing he has left that makes him a King. I want the woman he was too much of a coward to claim. I want you."

My wolf rumbled. She wasn't looking at the bond with Kairos anymore. She was looking at the man standing right in front of us.

Gosh, my wolf is so shameless.

"Kairos rejected you because he's afraid of the dark," Kael whispered, his hand sliding to the back of my neck, pulling me just an inch closer. "But I've been living in it for years. I know exactly who you are, Elara. And I know why the bond with Kairos feels so wrong."

I pulled back just enough to look at him. "What do you mean?"

Kael's smile was dangerous and completely devastating.

"I'm saying the Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes, Elara. She makes backups." He reached out, his thumb grazing my jawline, and a spark of pure, electrical heat snapped between us. It was different from the bond with Kairos-this wasn't a heavy chain; it was a spark that set my blood on fire. "Kairos was your fated match, but he threw you away. And the moment he did, the shadows chose me to catch you."

His smile was warm... but his grip on my arm tightened a fraction too long, gold eyes flashing something possessive, almost hungry.

"He isn't your only mate, Elara. He was just the first one to fail you."

Kairos failed me but Kael was right here. He was warm. He was real. And he was looking at me like I was the only thing that mattered in the dark.

"I have two mates," I breathed, the realization hitting me like a physical blow.

I didn't know if I should run or stay.

Suddenly, the bond in my chest gave a violent, painful yank.

Kairos.

He was close. I could feel his wolf howling in the distance, tearing through the forest like a hurricane. He was searching for me, his possessive rage leaking through the link so strongly it made me want to throw up.

Kael stood up, his posture shifting into something lethal and predatory. He didn't look scared; he looked like he had been waiting for this fight for years.

"He's coming for you," Kael murmured, looking toward the cave entrance. "He feels another male near his mate, and his wolf is going feral. But he's hitting a wall. The Shadow Realm protects this place."

He turned back to me, eyes glowing gold.

"Only one of us is keeping you, Elara." His voice dropped, rough and certain. "And it won't be the man who called you a monster."

His hand cupped my jaw, thumb pressing just hard enough to tilt my face up.

"Tomorrow," he said, his voice dropping into a lethal promise. "I start teaching him that he didn't just throw away a mate. He threw away his right to lead this pack. He's been a King of lies for too long, Elara. It's time a real Shadow took the lead."