Ava didn’t sleep again after that.
She sat upright against the headboard, the sheets tangled around her legs, her skin still burning faintly where the mark pulsed against her collarbone. It wasn’t pain—not exactly. It was pressure. Like something inside her was pushing outward, demanding space, demanding form.
You’ve begun to wake.
The voice from her dream echoed too clearly.
Too real.
This wasn’t just some symbolic nonsense her brain cooked up. It felt… older than that. Heavier. Like it belonged to something that had been waiting long before she ever stepped into Kael’s territory.
The door opened quietly.
Kael stepped in without hesitation, his presence filling the room instantly. His gaze locked onto her, sharp and searching.
“You felt it,” he said.
Not a question.
Ava let out a slow breath. “Yeah. Pretty hard to miss.”
He moved closer, stopping just at the edge of the bed. “Tell me.”
Ava studied him for a moment. There was something different in his expression tonight. Less guarded. More… resolved.
Like he already knew he couldn’t keep things from her anymore.
“Before I do,” she said, “you’re going to tell me what you’ve been hiding.”
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
His jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t look away.
“Kael.”
A beat passed.
Then another.
And then—
“She wasn’t lying.”
Ava frowned. “Who?”
“The one in your dream.”
That sent a chill down her spine.
“You knew about that?”
“I know enough.”
Ava pushed herself off the bed, standing now, facing him fully. “Then start talking.”
Kael exhaled slowly, like he’d been holding this back for a long time.
“You’re not just a mate,” he said. “Not in the way our kind understands it.”
Ava crossed her arms. “I figured that much.”
“You’re something older,” he continued. “Something that hasn’t existed in generations.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Define something.”
Kael’s eyes darkened slightly.
“A conduit.”
Silence.
Ava blinked. “That sounds… vague.”
“It means,” he said, stepping closer, “you don’t just hold power—you amplify it. Shape it. Connect it.”
Ava’s mind raced, pieces clicking together whether she wanted them to or not.
“The wolves,” she said slowly. “The way they react around me.”
“Yes.”
“The way you react.”
Kael didn’t deny it.
“That’s why Victor wants me.”
“Yes.”
Ava let out a humorless laugh. “Great. Love that for me.”
But her chest felt tight.
Because this wasn’t just about being wanted.
This was about being needed—for something she didn’t understand yet.
“And if I don’t go with him?” she asked.
Kael’s voice dropped.
“He’ll take you.”
That landed hard.
Ava held his gaze. “He can try.”
Kael stepped closer again, close enough now that the air between them felt charged.
“He’s not like the others, Ava,” he said quietly. “He doesn’t rush. He doesn’t make mistakes.”
“Neither do you,” she shot back.
Something flickered in his eyes.
“That’s not true,” he said.
Ava’s breath hitched slightly.
“Then don’t make one now,” she said.
The silence between them shifted again.
Tighter.
Heavier.
More dangerous.
Kael’s hand lifted, brushing lightly along her arm before settling at her waist. This time, he didn’t hesitate.
“I should have told you sooner,” he said.
“Yes,” Ava replied, her voice softer now. “You should have.”
His grip tightened just slightly.
“But you’re telling me now,” she added.
That mattered.
More than she wanted to admit.
The alarm came without warning.
A howl—sharp, urgent, cutting through the night.
Ava’s head snapped toward the window.
“No,” she whispered.
Kael was already moving.
“They’re here.”
Of course they were.
No more waiting.
No more testing.
Victor had made his move.
The pack was already shifting as Ava and Kael reached the outer grounds. The air was thick with tension, the kind that pressed down on your chest and made every breath feel heavier.
Ava felt it immediately.
That presence.
Closer than before.
Stronger.
Not just watching now—
Advancing.
“They’re not holding the line,” someone shouted.
Ava’s stomach dropped.
“What?”
Kael’s gaze hardened as he looked toward the tree line.
“They’re pushing through.”
That wasn’t part of the plan.
Ava’s pulse spiked. “You said he wouldn’t attack like this.”
“I said he wouldn’t rush,” Kael corrected. “This isn’t rushing.”
No.
It wasn’t.
It was precise.
Calculated.
And terrifyingly effective.
Figures began to emerge from the trees—fast, coordinated, relentless. Not chaotic like rogues.
Disciplined.
Trained.
Victor’s wolves.
Ava’s breath caught.
“There’s too many,” she said.
Kael stepped in front of her instantly.
“Stay behind me.”
“Not happening,” Ava snapped.
But even as she said it—
She felt it.
That pull again.
Stronger than ever.
Not from Kael.
From them.
From the wolves advancing through the boundary.
Her chest tightened.
“What… is that?” she whispered.
Kael glanced back at her, his expression shifting.
“You feel it?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t just pressure.
It was connection.
Threads.
Dozens of them.
Reaching.
Calling.
Ava’s breath grew shallow.
“They’re tied to me,” she said, her voice unsteady.
Kael’s eyes darkened. “No.”
“Yes,” she insisted, her gaze locking onto the advancing wolves. “I can feel them.”
And then—
Without thinking—
She stepped forward.
“Ava—”
Too late.
The moment her foot crossed the defensive line—
Everything changed.
The energy snapped.
Shifted.
Exploded.
The wolves charging toward them faltered—
Mid-step.
Their movements stuttering.
Breaking.
Ava’s eyes widened as the threads in her mind pulled tighter.
Clearer.
Stronger.
“What is this…” she whispered.
She could feel them.
Not just their presence—
Their instincts.
Their aggression.
Their hesitation.
All of it.
Like they were extensions of something she didn’t understand.
“Ava, stop,” Kael’s voice cut through sharply.
But she couldn’t.
Because for the first time—
She wasn’t just reacting.
She was controlling it.
“Stand down,” she said.
The words left her mouth without thought.
Without effort.
And the effect—
Was immediate.
The wolves froze.
Every single one of them.
Silence crashed down across the battlefield.
Even the pack behind her stilled.
Ava’s heart pounded.
“Kael…” she whispered.
But when she turned—
He wasn’t looking at the wolves.
He was looking at her.
And there was something in his expression she’d never seen before.
Not fear.
Not doubt.
Something deeper.
Something… uncertain.
A slow clap broke the silence.
Ava’s head snapped toward the trees.
Victor stepped forward.
Of course he did.
“You see?” he said calmly, his gaze fixed on her. “You were never meant to stay hidden.”
Ava’s chest tightened.
“I didn’t do anything,” she said.
Victor smiled faintly.
“You did everything.”
Kael moved instantly, stepping between them again.
“Back off.”
Victor didn’t stop.
Not this time.
“You can’t protect her from what she is,” he said.
Kael’s voice dropped to something dangerous.
“I can try.”
Victor’s gaze flicked between them.
Then settled on Ava again.
“Come with me,” he said simply.
Ava’s jaw tightened. “No.”
“You don’t understand yet.”
“Then explain it better,” she shot back.
Victor’s expression didn’t change.
“Every moment you stay here,” he said, “you put them at risk.”
Ava’s stomach dropped.
“That’s a lie.”
“Is it?”
He gestured slightly toward the wolves—still frozen, still caught in her influence.
“This isn’t control,” he said. “It’s dominance.”
Ava’s pulse spiked.
“And when it breaks?”
A pause.
“They won’t follow you.”
Another beat.
“They’ll tear everything apart.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Ava felt it—
The instability.
The way the connection strained under its own weight.
Like something ready to snap.
Kael’s hand closed around hers.
“Don’t listen to him.”
But Ava couldn’t look away from Victor.
Because for the first time—
She wasn’t sure he was wrong.
The ground beneath her feet seemed to hum.
The threads pulled tighter.
Too tight.
Her breath hitched.
“Kael…”
“I’m here.”
“I don’t think I can hold it.”
His grip tightened.
“Then let it go.”
Ava’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Let. It. Go.”
There was no time to question it.
No time to think.
Because the pressure inside her—
Was already breaking.
Ava exhaled sharply—
And released it.
The force hit like a shockwave.
The wolves staggered back, the connection snapping instantly. The air cracked with energy, raw and uncontrolled.
Ava gasped, her knees buckling—
But Kael caught her before she could fall.
The battlefield erupted into motion again.
Chaos.
Noise.
But Ava barely heard it.
Because her vision blurred—
And her body felt suddenly, dangerously light.
“I’ve got you,” Kael said, his voice steady despite everything.
Ava’s fingers curled weakly against his shirt.
“Something’s wrong,” she whispered.
“I know.”
Her gaze lifted—
Just enough to find Victor again.
And what she saw—
Made her chest tighten.
Because he wasn’t surprised.
He was watching.
Waiting.
Like this—
This exact moment—
Was what he’d been planning all along.
Ava’s eyes fluttered.
Her strength slipping fast.
“Kael…”
“I’m here.”
Her voice dropped to a faint whisper.
“I think… he’s going to win.”
Kael’s grip tightened around her.
His voice low.
Certain.
“No.”
A beat.
Then—
“Not while I’m still breathing.”
