Kael’s POV.

Mira stood alone by the old fountain, her figure framed by memory. I hadn't set foot in that corner of the estate in years. Not since the night everything changed. She turned when she heard my steps, but didn’t flinch. The air between us tightened. “I didn’t think you remembered this place,” I said. “I never forgot,” she replied quietly.

The same quiet strength. The same fire behind her restraint. I stepped closer, barely breathing. “I used to come here after you left,” I said. “It was the only place I could still feel you.” Her lips parted. The ache in her jaw told me she felt something, too. She looked away and whispered, “I didn’t think it’d still hurt, and I didn’t think you’d ever come back.”

Her eyes found mine. Unshielded. “Neither did I,” I replied politely. The distance between us felt fragile, like glass, like a question we hadn’t dared ask in years. I took a step back. She didn’t move. Her silence was louder than anything we’d ever said. “I miss you,” I confessed. “Every day. Every year. I tried to forget. I couldn’t.”

Her breath caught. “I know I lost the right to say that,” I continued, “but… just tell me. Did you ever stop loving me?” She didn’t answer right away. Then she said it softly, achingly: “I tried.” Gods, that word hit like a blade straight to my ribs.

I reached for her hand. She let me. Our fingers brushed, barely, and the bond flared. It wasn’t just a feeling. It was a pulse. A tether. A calling back. I turned, staring at the face, I remarked. “We could’ve had everything, but you threw it away,” she whispered, voice trembling. “I know, and I’ve paid for it in silence ever since.”

Her gaze held mine. My hand cupped her cheek. She didn’t stop me. Her skin was warm, familiar. Our foreheads touched. Her breath brushed mine. My wolf stirred. So did hers. She leaned in. And just as her lips neared mine. “Lady Mira,” Seraphine called, her voice sliced through the moment, clean and poisonous.

We turned. She stood a few feet away, wrapped in a silk robe, posture perfect, smile too pleasant. “A word alone,” she said smoothly. I let my hand fall. I waited in the garden. When Mira finally returned, her steps were slower. Guarded. Her eyes… distant again.

“Mira?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “It was just a talk.” But I knew her. That wasn’t just a talk. “She said something.” Mira looked at clenching her fingers and retorted. “It doesn’t matter.” And I snapped, “It matters to me.” She paused, then spoke with chilling calm. “Kael, whatever we had, it’s buried.” I stepped closer. “It doesn’t feel buried. It feels alive.” She looked down. “It can’t be, and I won’t let it.”

“Did she threaten you?” She smiled and replied, “No,” she said too quickly. Liar, not by nature, but by necessity. She calmly said. That alone shattered me more than any silence.

My wolf paced restlessly inside me. He knew, just like I did, that we were losing her again. Seraphine had always been two things: beautiful and calculated.

The Council saw her as their perfect Luna. I never claimed her. Never marked her. But she hovered like a promise they made in my name. She didn’t want me, just the position. Now Mira was back. And Seraphine was threatened. I saw it in her eyes tonight, under that mask of grace.

And I knew, whatever words she whispered in Mira’s ear, they were meant to destroy what little we had rebuilt. I caught Mira again later that night, in the hallway connecting the guest chambers and the training court. She didn’t look surprised to see me. Only tired. “What did she say?” I asked.

“She reminded me of your promises, of your duties, and of the war you’d cause if you let this happen again.” I got weakened and perplexed, but asked. “And you believe her?” Mira turned and looked at him forcefully, snorting. I have no reason not to believe her or doubt what the council can do, but I’m not afraid of them anymore. For Seraphine, she’s not wrong, but she said you promised her.”

“I promised nothing,” I said sharply. “The Council made assumptions. That’s all.”

“She says the packs are already whispering about us.”

“Let them whisper.”

“I can’t afford another wound, Kael,” she said. “I barely survived the last one.” I stepped closer. “You think I’m here to hurt you again?” I reached for her again. But this time, she stepped back. “I can’t do this,” she said. “Not when everything around us is falling apart.” “You’re still in love with me,” I said. Tears welled in her eyes. And for the first time since I became Alpha, I didn’t know what to do.