Chapter 3 The Arrival of the Beast

✨✨✨

Somewhere Between Crimson Hollow and the Lycan Realm

Elara had never ridden on a horse, let alone the massive black steed she now clung to as Kael Thorne led them away from the burning remnants of Crimson Hollow.

The night was silent. No wolves followed. No cries trailed behind them. The forest swallowed the blood and smoke like it had witnessed a thousand such endings before.

Kael rode ahead, his posture rigid, his presence consuming. Elara sat behind him, arms loosely around his waist, too stunned to speak, too overwhelmed to understand what had just happened.

Her pack was gone.

Not mourned.

Not missed.

Gone.

Because of her.

Or because of him.

Her throat tightened.

He hadn't said much since the massacre. He had shifted back into his human form without shame, blood slick on his skin, the mark of kings carved into the back of his shoulder-a dark crescent wrapped in a clawed circle. And then, without a word, he had pulled her onto his horse.

Now, the chill of the wind bit into her exposed skin as they rode deeper into the unknown.

---

They stopped when the moon was at its peak and the mist had thickened around the forest floor like a blanket of ghosts. Kael dismounted, then turned to lift her down without waiting for permission.

His hands were firm, hot against her chilled arms. She flinched as her feet touched the ground, knees wobbling. She hadn't realized how weak she'd grown.

Kael's eyes narrowed. "You're cold. And underfed."

Elara looked away. "It's... normal."

"No. Not anymore."

He shrugged off his cloak and draped it around her shoulders.

Elara stared at him.

This was the same man who had torn her tormentors apart without blinking. The same beast who had declared her his. And now, he was offering her warmth. Shelter. Safety.

It was almost worse than cruelty.

"I don't understand," she murmured.

"What don't you understand?"

"Why me?" Her voice cracked. "I'm not... special. I'm not anyone. Just a servant. A curse. I've never even shifted in front of anyone. I'm broken-"

"You're mine."

The words fell like thunder.

Kael stepped closer, his towering form blotting out the moonlight.

"The mark on your wrist?" he said, his voice low. "That's not a curse. It's a sigil. Ancient. Forgotten by most. But not me."

She blinked, confused. "What... kind of sigil?"

"The mark of the Moonbound."

The word hit her like a wave. "I've... I've never heard of that."

"Of course not. Your pack suppressed it. Feared it. They kept you small, hidden, so you wouldn't awaken."

"Awaken?"

Kael exhaled, his jaw clenched like he was weighing every word. "Moonbound wolves are born only once every few centuries. They are directly tied to the lunar cycle. You were born on a blood moon, weren't you?"

She nodded slowly.

"And your wolf-she's... dormant?"

Elara swallowed. "She doesn't speak. I feel her sometimes. But not like others."

"Because she's waiting."

"For what?"

"For me."

Her breath caught.

Kael stepped closer, his hand brushing the fabric over her mark. The crescent seemed to pulse beneath his touch.

"Your wolf was sealed," he said. "Muted. The moment I touched you... the bond started breaking that spell."

"I don't know what that means."

Kael leaned closer, his lips a breath away from her ear. "It means you're waking up, little wolf. And when you do, nothing will be able to stop you."

Elara's heart thundered.

She wanted to step back, but her body wouldn't move.

She wanted to challenge him-but her soul leaned in.

Because somewhere, deep inside her, a voice was rising.

Mine.

Not a whisper. Not a cry.

A growl.

Her wolf.

---

They camped in a hollow near the river, sheltered by ancient trees. Kael lit a fire with practiced ease, then tossed her a bundle of food from his satchel. Bread. Smoked meat. Dried fruit.

Elara devoured it before realizing how ravenous she truly was.

He watched her quietly, saying nothing, but his gaze lingered too long.

When she was finished, he handed her a flask.

"Drink."

"What is it?"

"Just water."

She stared at it.

"You think I'd kill you now?" he asked, dryly amused.

"No," she muttered. "If you wanted me dead, I'd already be in pieces."

A faint smirk tugged at his lips.

He reclined against a tree, his shirt partially unbuttoned, the firelight casting golden shadows across his chest and arms. Elara tried not to look. Tried not to stare.

But he was... something else.

Wild and regal all at once.

"You're quiet," he said, eyes half-lidded.

"So are you."

"Not many survive being betrayed by their entire pack. You did. That takes strength."

"I didn't survive because I'm strong," she murmured. "I survived because I didn't die fast enough."

Kael's eyes flashed.

"You're wrong."

She blinked.

"I saw your fear," he continued. "But I also saw the way you refused to drink the poison. The way you stood your ground. The way you bled-and didn't break."

She didn't know what to say to that. No one had ever spoken of her survival like it meant something.

"Rest," he said after a moment. "We leave at first light."

"Where are we going?"

Kael's expression darkened, his voice like a growl beneath his breath.

"To my kingdom. Where you'll never be hunted again."

---