Mira’s POV

The moment I saw Seraphina standing at Kael’s quarters, something in my chest turned cold. She held a parchment I recognized, one I'd tucked deep beneath my cloak, foolishly thinking it safe. She didn’t even bother to knock. She walked right in.

I followed, silent. Kael was at the table, focused on patrol reports. He didn’t look up until she spoke. “You hid it well,” she said. Kael’s head lifted briefly. “Not now.”

She placed the parchment down in front of him. “You marked her.” Kael stilled. “I want to hear you say it,” she pressed. He stood. “It wasn’t your concern.”

“It is now,” she said sharply. “Because I know. And I can ruin you.” He said nothing. I stayed in the shadows, listening. “You think the council will be silent when they learn their Alpha violated neutrality?” she pushed.

Still, no reply.

“You want to keep your seat? Your pack? Then you’ll do exactly what I say.”

“What do you want?” Kael asked finally.

“Your vote,” she replied. “On the trade treaty. And silence, on the alliance with the Hollow Claw.”

“You’re aligned with them?” His voice was low.

“I already have. Quietly. They offer unity.”

Kael scoffed. “They murder our kind.”

“They negotiate now. They evolve.”

“You trust them?”

“I trust ambition. Just like you trust Mira.” She paused. “That’s your weakness.” I saw him step back. “You’d blackmail me?”

“You made it easy.” She turned to leave. “You have until dusk. Or I take the mark public. Let’s see how long Mira survives the fallout.” I slipped away before she saw me.

Lyra convulsed at my feet. Her wolf foamed at the mouth, body thrashing. Rhian looked helpless, and the healers froze. “She was fine,” Rhian said. “Then she collapsed.”

“What did she take?” I demanded.

“Just her usual herbal tea.”

“Where’s the cup?”

Rhian handed it over. I sniffed it. Foreign. Bitter.

“She was poisoned.”

“By who?”

I knelt beside Lyra and pressed my hand to her chest. She stirred weakly, eyes fluttering. “They know,” she whispered. “The mark…” My pulse stopped. “Who saw it?”

“Seraphina”

I stood immediately. “Get her out of here. Don’t let her shift.” Rhian nodded. “What will you do?”

“Stop Seraphina.”

Kael was waiting outside the council hall. “She came to you?” I asked. He nodded. “She’s blackmailing me.”

“For what?”

“My vote. And silence.”

“She poisoned Lyra.”

He froze. “Is she?”

“She’ll live.”

“We can move now.”

“No,” I said. “We need proof.”

“If we delay.”

“She wants control, not chaos,” I said. “She thinks she has leverage. We let her believe it. Then we pull it out from under her.”

“She’s arrogant enough,” he muttered. She’s predictable.” Cyrus found me by the east tower later that evening. “You didn’t tell me.” I nodded. “No.”

“You completed the bond.”

“Yes.”

He stepped closer. “And hid it?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“You did anyway.”

I swallowed. “I didn’t choose Kael. The bond chose.”

“You could’ve refused.”

“I tried.”

“You didn’t try hard enough.”

My voice hardened. “What then? Pretend it’s not real? Pretend I don’t feel it burning every second?” He didn’t respond. “I love you,” I said. “But I won’t lie to you. I’m marked.”

He nodded. “Is this war?” I didn’t answer. He walked away. I didn’t stop him. Above, Seraphina watched from the balcony, smug.

At midnight, Kael stood before the treaty council. Seraphina sat across, composed. “All in favor of the Hollow Claw terms?” she asked, eyes glinting. Heads turned. Kael didn’t move. “Alpha Kael?” she pressed.

I watched from the corner of the chamber, silent. Kael stood. “I abstain.” Gasps. Murmurs. “You abstain?” she repeated, voice tight. “I won’t vote on a treaty built on coercion.”

“Coercion?” Elder Brann asked.

“Seraphina blackmailed me,” Kael said. “She threatened exposure. She poisoned Lyra.”

The room went silent. Elder Thorne rose. “Do you have proof?”

“I do,” I said, stepping forward. “Her fingerprints are on the poisoned cup.”

Seraphina stood abruptly. “Lies.”

“Lyra named you before she collapsed,” I said.

“How convenient,” she snapped.

“You wanted leverage,” Kael said. “Now you have consequences.”

She looked at the Elders. “You’d take a marked wolf’s word over mine?”

“Yes,” Elder Thorne said. “Because we have evidence.”

“And motive,” Kael added.

The ruling came within the hour.

Seraphina was stripped of her council seat and detained. The treaty was suspended.

Later, I stood beside Kael on the tower. “It’s not over,” I said.

“No,” he agreed. “But it’s begun.”

He looked at me. “You’re still marked.”

“I know.”

“And Cyrus?”

“He hasn’t spoken.”

He didn’t touch me. “Do you regret it?”

“Only the way it happened.”

We stood in silence.

Then I said, “Lyra remembered something else.”

“What?”

“She saw someone else before she collapsed. Not Seraphina.”

“Who?”

“She doesn’t know. But it means there’s more.” Kael’s jaw tightened. “Always more.” A scout appeared at the base of the tower. “A letter,” he called. “No seal. Kael opened it. Read it. Passed it to me.

It read. “The mark was never yours to claim.” Beneath it, a sigil drawn in blood, hollow claw. The bond between us pulsed, sharper. And somewhere beyond the wall, a wolf howled.

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