Chapter 3 The Mark's Tie

The weight of Kael's words hung in the air, a heavy silence that neither of them seemed eager to break. Lila could feel the tension radiating off of him, the guarded, almost desperate energy that crackled in the room. Yet, despite his warnings, there was something about him that she couldn't turn away from. Something broken and dangerous, yet oddly familiar.

"I'm not afraid," she said again, this time with more conviction. "I've seen far worse than you, Kael."

The rogue shot her a skeptical look. His silver eyes, shining like polished moonlight, scanned her face as if he were searching for the truth in her words. "You think that because you heal others, you can heal me? You don't know what you're getting into. I've seen too much. Felt too much. There's no way out of this.".

Lila didn't flinch. She had seen enough agony in her lifetime, not only from physical scars but from watching loved ones endure pain to their very end sometimes. Healing was not just fixing broken bodies but healing hearts, too. Kael, all anger and darkness, was no different. He was just another soul in need of mending, though she wasn't sure she had the strength to heal him entirely.

"There's always a way out," she said quietly. "You just have to trust someone enough to show them the way."

The words seemed to rebound off every wall in the room, then rebound again and come back to her. She realized that they applied far too well to herself, too. She had been running from shadows of her own past. Hiding behind her healing skills and taking care of everyone else but nobody. Maybe this was her chance to heal in ways she never would have thought was possible.

Kael glared at her, as if she were a riddle he couldn't quite solve. The air in the room condensed into something that neither of them could define. His breathing slowed, something inside of him shifting, but the rogue still clung tight to his walls-not ready yet to let them crumble.

"I don't want your pity, Lila," Kael said finally, his voice a low growl. "I have spent years learning how to survive. To be alone."

Lila's eyes gentled, and she sat down beside him on the narrow cot. Her fingers brushed his arm, light at first, growing firmer as the muscles in his body tautened in response to her touch. "I'm not offering pity. I'm offering help. We both know that you're not as invincible as you think.

Kael stiffened, but Lila could sense the flicker of something deeper in his eyes. He wanted to resist he had built up so many walls to keep people away but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to push her away. Maybe it was the vulnerability in her voice, the sincerity in her eyes. He wasn't used to kindness, to someone seeing beyond the mark and the rumors. It unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

The stir of the pup on the table drew Lila's attention once more to the creature she had rescued earlier that morning. It had fared well but its wounds were fresh, and the healing process required much more time. Standing to tend it, she wiped her hands on the cloth, every one of her movements followed by Kael, his gaze locked on the healer as though she were the only thing in this disordered world that made any kind of sense.

"When did you get so good at this?" Kael asked, his voice softer now.

Lila paused in her care of the pup, looking back at him over her shoulder. "Good at what? Healing?"

Kael winced and sat up a little. "You have the hands of a healer, surely," he said. "But there is something more. Something inside you, quiet; but knowing how to handle chaos without getting caught in it.".

She smiled gently at the words, turning back to the pup. "I have had my share of chaos. The village I grew up in was always on the verge of a battle. But I learned my way of balancing within the chaos. That is how healing works, after all. You cannot heal without first understanding the pain.

Her words seem to settle like a blanket on Kael. There was a time in his life when he also had peace. It had been years since he felt that way. He sat down on the cot again, gazed at the ceiling, and let the silence linger in the room.

As Lila was bandaging the pup, she came back again and sat down beside him. The presence of his eyes on her was heavy and this was a non-verbal offer to engage in some conversation.

"I want to hear more about the prophecy," Lila barely whispered. Her voice was barely audible. She wanted to understand-understand him.

Kael hesitated, but only for a moment. "The prophecy speaks of a rogue-the one who will bring the end to a reign of darkness or stand against it. It's been hidden for centuries. But the truth is that my mark is a key. And if they-" He caught himself, his fist clenched.

"Who are 'they'?" Lila asked, her voice low but urgent. She could feel the growing dread in her chest.

"They are the ones who believe that the prophecy is a curse," Kael said, his eyes darkening. "The ones who branded me. The Shadowmoon Pack. They fear me because they think I'll either destroy them or everyone else."

"And you?" Lila asked, her eyes searching his face. "What do you believe?"

"I don't know," Kael admitted softly. "I don't know what I am anymore. But I do know one thing. I can't run forever. And I won't let them tear apart everything I've ever known."

Lila looked at him, her heart aching with a mixture of sympathy and something else. Something she couldn't quite name yet, but it stirred in the pit of her stomach every time their gazes met. There was something undeniable about this connection between them. She couldn't explain it. She didn't need to.

You don't have to do this alone, Kael," she said softly, her voice firm. "We will work it out together."

PART II

With the coming of dawn over the horizon, the village awoke, unknowing of the tempest approaching it. Peace at this morning was like fragile glass against an oncoming tempest; and Lila knew it deep inside her bones.

He needed to leave. They both knew it. But the more time he spent here, the more danger they faced. And yet, for everything, he couldn't walk out the door. It was something about being here with Lila, trusting someone for the first time in so long, that gave him a sense of life he hadn't felt in years.

But the enemy was getting closer. He could sense it.

A far-off howl rent the air, and then another and another, growing louder with each passing moment. His heart hammered in his chest as his wolf senses rose. They were coming.

Lila turned sharply towards the sound, her face a mixture of worry and confusion. She hadn't heard it-the call that told her danger was approaching. But Kael had.

"We have to go," he said, as if his voice was riven with raw tension.

Lila didn't hesitate, grabbing the pouch of the healer and slinging it over her shoulder, drawing Kael tight against her on the way she moved swiftly for the back door of the cottage.

The hunters are here.