Chapter 4 The Storm Has Teeth

Wind screamed through the crevices of the underground refuge like a warning. It howled low at first-like a whisper at the edge of a dream-then climbed into a raw, guttural moan that made the stone walls hum.

Zara snapped awake.

The fire in the pit had nearly died. Only glowing coals remained, casting a soft red pulse across Kael's resting form beside the wall. He wasn't asleep. His eyes were open. And they were glowing-just faintly. Just enough to let her know his wolf was listening.

"What's that sound?" she whispered, heart thudding.

Kael's gaze stayed fixed on the ceiling. "The wind's changed. That's not a storm. Not a normal one."

Zara sat up, wrapping the thick fur tighter around herself. The air had dropped in temperature, biting at her skin. "You said we were safe here."

"We are," he said. Then slowly, like the words hurt to admit: "But nothing's absolute. Especially not during the curse moon."

Another gust ripped through the air shaft above them-sharp, wet, and laced with a smell that made Zara gag. It was rot and sulfur. Burnt fur. Blood.

Kael was already moving.

He stood, grabbed the dagger from the rack, and pulled a heavy leather strap across the entrance they'd come through. Then he knelt beside one of the stone shelves and pressed his palm against the rock.

A hidden drawer clicked open.

Inside was a smaller blade, sleek and silver, and a pouch filled with dust the color of ash.

"What's that?" Zara asked.

"Moonroot powder," Kael muttered. "It burns if they come too close. Won't kill, but it'll slow them."

"Them?" Her voice shook. "Kael, who is them?"

He looked up at her then, and in his eyes, there was no fear-only cold preparation.

"Rogues. Or worse."

Zara stood, her injured knee wobbling slightly. "Worse than that thing in the woods?"

Kael didn't answer. Instead, he walked to the far wall and pressed another stone. A section opened-just a sliver. Through it, Zara could see outside. The cliff. The forest below. The sky.

It was pitch black.

But not from night.

Something thick and unnatural blanketed the horizon. Like fog, but darker. And it moved. Slithering over trees and smothering the stars. Red flashes sparked within it-like veins of lightning pulsing in shadow.

Zara's breath caught. "What is that?"

Kael's jaw clenched. "The curse storm. Maia was right."

"You mean the one your old healer warned you about?"

He nodded. "It's early. That's not a good sign."

Suddenly, the door rattled.

Not hard.

Just enough to remind them both: they weren't alone anymore.

Kael reached back and pulled Zara behind him. "Stay silent. Don't move unless I tell you."

She obeyed, heart hammering in her throat.

A snarl curled through the air, low and wet. A sound that didn't belong in this world.

Then-

Bang.

The stone door shuddered violently.

Kael didn't flinch. "They're testing it."

"Can they get in?" she whispered.

"They can try."

A second hit came, stronger.

Then another.

The air was thick with magic now-old, feral magic. The kind that made Zara's skin crawl and her blood feel too thick.

And then, silence.

Kael raised the silver blade.

From the far end of the room... came a voice.

Not a growl.

Not a creature.

But a voice.

High. Hollow. Almost human.

"Prince of blood," it rasped through the stone, "come out and face your debt."

Zara froze.

Kael's shoulders tensed, but he didn't respond.

The voice laughed. Cold and strange. Like the sound of bones tapping together.

"You think hiding will save her? You think stone can hold back the storm?"

Zara looked up at him. "What are they talking about? What debt?"

Kael didn't move. His expression was carved from steel.

But the voice kept going.

"You took something from us. You bled where you shouldn't have. And now, you think the moon will spare you?"

Zara gripped his arm. "Kael. Talk to me."

He turned to her, and for the first time, there was pain in his eyes.

"I was supposed to die," he said, voice low. "The curse moon marked me five years ago. But I refused. I ran. I bled into sacred ground. I broke the bond."

Her breath caught. "And they've been hunting you since."

He nodded once. "And now... they want you too. Because I protected you. Because my wolf chose you."

Zara's world spun. "That's why you didn't want to shift. Why you said it was dangerous near me."

"It still is," Kael whispered. "But I'll die before I let them take you."

A sharp claw dragged down the outer stone wall.

Kael raised the dagger.

Zara stood beside him.

And in that terrifying silence between heartbeats, she realized: her fear hadn't disappeared.

It had changed.

It was no longer fear of Kael.

It was fear for him.

And that was far more dangerous.

Kael pressed his back to the stone, eyes closed for a fraction of a second. Zara could see his pulse racing beneath the skin of his throat. He was calm-but not still. Ready. Alert.

Another scrape. Louder this time. Closer.

"Kael..." she breathed, barely audible.

He opened his eyes again. They gleamed with unnatural light. Amber and gold, like wildfire caged behind pupils. "They're not going to stop until blood is spilled," he said. "They never do."

He turned to her, voice thick. "I need you to stay back. Whatever happens, don't run. Don't scream. Just watch me."

She started to protest-"Kael, I'm not leaving you"-but he stepped forward and pressed his hand gently to her cheek. The touch grounded her, even as everything else trembled.

"Please, Zara. If I shift... don't be afraid."

And with that, he turned toward the door.

There was no more speaking from the other side.

Only silence.

The kind of silence that stretched so long it began to hum.

Then-

The stone door burst inward, not in pieces-but as if swallowed by shadows. Like the wall itself had melted.

Three figures stepped into the room.

Or... not figures.

Shapes. Moving mist. Beasts made from twisted remnants of what might have once been wolves.

Their bodies flickered between forms. Their eyes glowed like dying stars. And their mouths-too wide, too long-smiled with something far worse than hunger.

Zara gasped and stumbled back.

Kael didn't move.

The tallest one took a step forward, sniffing the air like it savored her scent.

"The girl smells like dawn," it hissed. "You've cursed her too, prince."

Kael didn't blink. "Get out."

The creature laughed-a dry, rattling wheeze that echoed against stone.

"Come now. No need for claws yet. Just give her up. The moon takes what it owns."

Kael stepped forward. Slowly. Purposefully. His voice dropped to something feral.

"She's mine."

That one sentence made every hair on Zara's neck rise.

The creatures paused.

The leader snarled. "Then die with her."

And then-

Kael shifted.

It wasn't a clean transformation. Not the graceful, silver-laced myth Zara had read about in books.

No-this was a breaking.

His body contorted. Bones cracked. Heat surged off him in waves as flesh rippled and stretched. His hands split into claws. His jaw extended. Muscles tore and reformed under his skin. Zara cried out-but didn't look away.

When it was done, the beast that stood before her wasn't the monster she'd feared in the forest.

It was him.

Still Kael.

Still her protector.

Only now cloaked in nightmare armor. A beast of black fur and crimson streaks. Taller than any wolf should be. Eyes burning with grief and rage and power too ancient to name.

The storm outside screamed.

And Kael charged.

The first creature lunged-only to be knocked clear across the chamber. Its body struck the stone with a sickening crunch. Before it could rise, Kael was on it, claws sinking deep, tearing through shadow.

The second tried to flank him, fangs dripping. Zara grabbed the silver dagger from the floor-she didn't remember dropping it-and threw it.

It caught the thing's shoulder, and the hiss it let out sounded like steam burning through skin.

Kael finished it with a single blow.

The third-the largest-roared. But Kael met it head-on. Fangs clashed. Claws shredded fur and bone. The chamber rang with sound: snarls, howls, and the crack of bodies slamming into stone.

Zara pressed herself to the back wall, eyes wide. But she wasn't crying. She wasn't frozen.

She was watching.

And somewhere, deep in her chest, the panic was replaced by awe.

Kael moved like a storm himself-wild, relentless, beautiful.

When it was done, the room was silent again.

Bodies lay scattered-melting into mist.

Kael stood in the center, chest heaving, fur streaked with blood and light.

And then-slowly, painfully-he shifted back.

Zara rushed to him, catching his body as he collapsed to his knees. He was still hot to the touch, skin raw where the change had torn through him.

She held him.

"Kael. I'm here. I'm here, I'm not leaving-"

He gripped her hand.

His voice was barely a breath. "You shouldn't have seen that."

She shook her head. "I needed to. You saved me."

His fingers tightened. "I couldn't lose you."

"You didn't." She touched his cheek, trembling. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Outside, the storm began to fade.

But something else was rising now-beneath the mountain, beneath their skin.

A bond.

An understanding.

A dangerous, unspoken truth.

They had passed through blood and shadow. And they had chosen each other.

The wind howled above them like a wild thing searching for prey. Deep within the stone sanctuary, the flames in the hearth hissed and swayed, casting their shadows across the walls in long, trembling shapes.

Kael stood near the entrance tunnel, completely still-except for his eyes. Those burned like fire. Focused. Waiting.

Zara sat near the hearth, wrapping a thick fur around herself. Her knee still throbbed from the rogue attack, but that wasn't what kept her awake.

It was the silence.

Too still. Too long.

She finally asked, voice low, "You said no one could get in without your permission."

"I did," Kael replied, without turning. "But these aren't people who ask permission."

Zara's pulse kicked harder. "What are they?"

Kael's jaw flexed. "My past."

Then she heard it.

Scratching.

Faint-on stone, somewhere above.

Zara flinched. "Are they trying to dig through the walls?"

Kael stepped forward, muscles taut, bare feet silent against the cold floor. "They're testing. Smelling. Waiting for a weakness."

Zara stood too quickly, gripping the stone wall to steady herself. "You said we were safe."

Kael finally looked at her-and the rage, the guilt, the burning protectiveness in his eyes made her breath catch.

"You are safe," he said. "Because I'm still here."

A low growl echoed above them, followed by a crack-something snapping.

Zara staggered toward him. "Kael-"

His hand shot out, catching her wrist with a firm but careful grip. "Stay behind me. No matter what happens."

Another noise now-dripping.

But not water.

It was slow, thick, and warm. Kael looked up toward the ceiling grate, and a dark drop splattered to the stone between them.

Blood.

Kael's nostrils flared. "They've killed something. Marking territory."

"Are they wolves?"

"They were. Once." Kael pushed Zara back gently. "You need to get to the lower tunnel. Behind the herb shelves. There's a ladder that leads to the hidden hollow. Stay there until I come for you."

Zara didn't move. "I'm not leaving you up here with whatever that is."

"I can handle them."

"You don't have to!"

Kael's expression shifted. For the first time since she'd met him, something like fear flickered across it-not for himself, but for her.

"If they get to you," he said slowly, "they won't just kill you. They'll turn you. And not the way I did. Not with control. They'll break you first."

Zara's throat closed. "Why me?"

"Because you're human. Because you're not supposed to be here. Because they can smell that you matter to me."

She blinked, stunned.

Before she could speak, a heavy crash landed directly above the ceiling.

Kael growled low. "Go."

Zara ran.

She ducked behind the shelf he'd told her about and found the hidden trapdoor. The iron rung ladder was cold as she descended quickly, wincing at each movement.

Upstairs, a roar split the silence.

Not the wolves.

Kael.

The fight above was not a blur-it was thunder.

Zara crouched in the hollow below, arms over her ears, every sound amplified. Growls. Crashes. Stone breaking. A body slammed against the walls.

Then a scream-inhuman, sharp, and suddenly cut off.

The silence that followed was worse.

Minutes passed. Maybe hours. Maybe a lifetime.

Finally, the trapdoor creaked.

She tensed.

Kael's voice, ragged but steady: "It's me."

Zara climbed up fast. When she saw him, her heart dropped.

Blood soaked one arm. His lip was split. A long claw mark ripped down his back.

But his eyes-still human.

Still him.

She rushed forward. "You're hurt."

"I've had worse."

"You're bleeding."

"Better me than you."

Zara grabbed a cloth and started dabbing the blood from his shoulder. "There were more than one?"

"Two rogues. Maybe three. I don't think they expected resistance."

"Why were they after you?"

Kael looked at her, tired, but alive. "Because I used to lead them."

Zara froze.

"What?"

"I was their alpha," he said. "Before I turned against the blood code. Before I exiled myself."

"You led those things?"

"They weren't like that, back then. We were warriors. Broken maybe, but not monsters. Not until we were betrayed. Cursed."

"And you just walked away?"

"I had to." Kael's voice cracked with a quiet storm. "Because if I stayed, I would've become just like them."

Zara sank down beside him. The fire had gone out. Only embers remained.

She whispered, "Then why save me?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her cheek-his knuckles grazing her skin.

"Because you're the first thing in years that makes me feel human again."

Zara's breath caught. He leaned in slowly, careful, eyes burning with heat-but also asking permission.

She didn't pull away.

Not this time.

Their lips met-not like the chaos of before, but a slow, searing promise.

His hand slipped to the side of her neck, thumb brushing her pulse. She could feel the wildness in him trembling beneath his restraint, like a wolf chained behind ribs of fire.

But he kissed her like she was something sacred.

When they finally pulled apart, the silence was heavier than before.

Kael pressed his forehead to hers.

"You should sleep," he murmured. "Tomorrow... they'll send more."