Mira’s POV

The weight of the past days settled on my shoulders like armor I never asked to wear. I hadn’t slept. Not really. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kael’s face, haunted, unreadable, half-formed in shadows. And then Cyrus’s steady, patient, offering something I didn’t know how to accept. I wasn’t running from them. I was running from myself.

I slipped past the watch post before dawn, wrapped in silence. The scent of pine and ash clung to the edges of the forest trail, a reminder that I was still tethered to this place, no matter how far I walked. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I needed to be somewhere else. Somewhere not between two hearts. Somewhere quiet.

My satchel was light, but the decision was heavy. Every step past Blackridge’s outer walls felt like betrayal. But to whom? Kael, who let me go once already? Or Cyrus, who kept holding the door open even when I stood frozen in it? I didn’t know anymore. All I knew was that I couldn’t breathe inside that choice.

When the wind shifted behind me, I knew he was there before he spoke. His scent was carved into my memory: storm, firewood, and something sharp beneath it all. My stomach twisted. This wasn’t how I wanted to say goodbye. But goodbyes rarely ask permission.

I stood at the edge of Blackridge; my fingers curled around the satchel strap. My heart is thudding in my throat. Beyond the gates lay freedom or chaos. I didn’t care; I just needed to breathe good air and a space where no one asked me to choose. Footsteps behind me. I knew who it was before he spoke.

“Mira.”

Kael’s voice stopped me cold. Steady. Strained. I turned slowly. His eyes locked on mine. He wasn’t wearing armor, but he looked like he’d been through war.

“You can’t leave like this,” he said. “I’m not yours to command.”

“That’s not why I’m here.”

“Then why?” I asked, voice low. “To tell me more lies?”

“No.” He stepped closer. “To tell you the truth. Finally.” I held his gaze. “You should’ve done that before. When it mattered.”

“I was a coward,” he said, breath ragged. “I let duty silence my heart. I thought I was protecting the pack. But I wasn’t protecting you. Or us.”

I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. “And now you realize it? Now, when I’m walking away?” He reached out, but didn’t touch me. “Every night without you has been hollow. Every morning, I look for you beside me. I still feel your wolf. I don’t know how to shut it out.”

“You’re not supposed to,” I whispered. “That’s the curse of the bond.” His expression cracked. “I see you everywhere, Mira. In the council room. In the training fields. In the wind. I never stopped loving you.” I didn’t respond. Couldn’t. “I came to ask you for one thing,” he said. “Not your forgiveness. Not your return. Just… one moment. One truth. Before you go.” I waited.

He stepped forward, slow but sure. Then he leaned in, brushing his lips to mine. I should’ve stopped him. But I didn’t. The kiss wasn’t soft. It wasn’t perfect. It was desperate, Painful.

Everything we hadn’t said in months was there, in the way our mouths clashed, in the way my fingers curled in his shirt. For a heartbeat, there was no betrayal, no Seraphine, no Cyrus. Just us. When we broke apart, I didn’t move. Neither did he. “I still love you,” he said again, voice breaking.

“I know,” I whispered. Then I stepped back. Because behind him, Cyrus was watching. His eyes were calm. But I knew that calm, he wore it like armor. I walked past Kael without another word. My steps were unsteady. But I didn’t stop. Cyrus didn’t ask questions. He opened his arms. I fell into them. And Kael stood alone. Just like I had for so long. Kael turned away first. But something burned in his eyes, resolve, not surrender. He wouldn’t let this be the end, not yet.

Kael didn’t call after me. He didn’t try to stop me. His silence cut deeper than any plea. My heart ached for him, but I kept walking, straight into Cyrus’s arms.

Cyrus held me without question. No judgment. No demand. He was steady, safe. But Kael’s kiss still burned. I hated that it did. I hated how deeply it lingered. Most of all, I hated that part of me that didn’t want it to fade.

“I’m here,” Cyrus whispered into my hair. I believed him. But being held wasn’t the same as being whole, not when half of me was still trapped between a dying past and an uncertain future.

We turned toward the road. I looked back. Kael was gone. But I knew he wasn’t done. Not with me. Not with the fight.

Then the wind shifted. A scent drifted in; one I didn’t recognize. My wolf stirred, tense. Something was coming. Dark. Close. And it wouldn’t let any of us hide.