Kael walks fast. I almost run to keep up. His hand still holds mine. The bond pulses between us. Strange. Warm. Wrong.We reach horses waiting at the forest edge. He lets go of my hand and mounts the biggest one. A black stallion that looks mean."Get on," he says."I have never ridden before."He does not answer. Just holds out his hand again.I take it. He pulls me up behind him like I weigh nothing. I barely get settled before he kicks the horse. We fly forward into the darkness.I grab his waist to keep from falling. My face presses against his back. He smells like leather and pine. The bond reacts. Sends warmth through me. I do not want it. Do not want any of this.We ride for a long time. My body aches. I am so tired I can barely think.Finally we come out of the trees. A fortress sits on a cliff. Dark stone. High walls. Empty guard towers.Lonely. That is the word. It looks lonely.Kael stops the horse. He gets down and pulls me after him. My legs almost give out.He walks to the gates. I follow. Inside, the halls are clean. Torches burn. But there is no one. Just us. Our steps echo."Where is everyone?" I ask. Then hate myself for speaking."I live alone."Just those three words. But they tell me everything. The most powerful warrior in the kingdom. Living in an empty fortress. No one to talk to. No one brave enough to stay.He leads me through hallways to a room. Opens the door. Inside is a bed. A table. Chairs. Simple. Clean."Your room," he says. "Do not leave the fortress. There are wolves in the woods who will kill you.""Why did you save me?" The words come out before I can stop them.He turns. Looks at me with those silver eyes. Up close he is even bigger. Even more scarred."The bond chose you. I do not ignore the Moon Goddess.""But I am human. This should not be possible."Something flickers in his eyes. "Many things about you should not be possible."What does that mean? But before I can ask, he turns to the door."Wait," I say. "What happens now? The King said the Council will decide my fate.""They will try to kill you. The bond between human and wolf is forbidden."His words are so blunt. So cold. Like he is talking about the weather."Can they break the bond?" I ask."No. The mate bond cannot be broken. Only death ends it." He pauses. Looks back at me. "If they kill you, I die too. And if I die, you die. We are tied now."My stomach drops. "So if they want me dead, they have to kill you too?""Yes. Which is why I will not let them.""Why? You do not even know me.""You are mine now. I protect what is mine."He leaves. The door closes. I am alone.I sink onto the bed. My whole body shakes. I cannot process what just happened. This morning I was scrubbing floors. Now I am bonded to the Cursed Alpha. Being hunted by the Council. Tied to a wolf I do not know.I touch my chest. The bond sits there. I can feel him. Even through walls. I know he is checking the fortress. I feel his presence like a weight.It is invasive. Wrong. I do not want anyone in my head. In my soul.But I have no choice. The bond is there. It will not leave.I lie down on the bed. Still wearing my dirty servant dress. Exhaustion crashes over me.I dream.I am running. Fast. So fast. Through a forest. On four legs. The moon is huge above me. I am not human in the dream. I am something else.I wake with a gasp. Morning light comes through the window.There is food on the table. Bread. Cheese. Fruit. Real food.I eat everything. My stomach is so empty it hurts.After, I find a washbasin. I scrub my face. My hands. I look in the small mirror. I barely know the girl looking back. Too thin. Too pale. But my eyes look strange. More gold than usual. Have they always been like that?A knock. The door opens before I can answer.Kael stands there. He is dressed for fighting. Black clothes. Weapons."Come," he says."Where?""You need to learn to fight. If you are going to survive, you need to be able to defend yourself."I follow him outside to a training yard. Weapons line the walls. Targets stand at the far end.He picks up two wooden swords. Tosses one to me. I catch it. Barely."I have never held a sword," I say."I know."For the next hour, he teaches me. How to hold it. How to stand. How to move. He corrects my mistakes without cruelty. But he is not gentle either.By the end, I am soaked with sweat. Gasping. My arms feel like they might fall off."Enough," he says. "Tomorrow we do more."As we walk back inside, I find words. "Can I ask something?""Ask.""The curse. What is it really?"He is quiet for a long time. We reach my room. He stands in the doorway."Five times the King chose mates for me. High-born she-wolves. Meant to tie me to noble families. Five times they died before the bond could complete. Accidents. Sickness. One murder made to look like suicide."Horror fills me. "And everyone thinks you killed them?""I am already feared. Already different. Easy to blame." His jaw tightens. "But I did not kill them.""Then who did?"His silver eyes meet mine. "Someone who wants me isolated. Controlled. Someone who benefits from my fear."The King. He means the King."Get some rest," Kael says. "Tomorrow we train harder."He starts to leave. I reach out without thinking. My hand catches his arm.The bond flares hot where we touch. We both freeze."Thank you," I whisper. "For protecting me. I know you did not want this."He looks at my hand. Then at my face. "The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes."He pulls away gently. Leaves. The door closes.I spend the rest of the day alone. Food appears. I eat. I try to rest but cannot. My mind races.Night falls. I stand at the window watching the forest. The moon rises. Nearly full still.Howls echo in the distance. Multiple wolves. Singing to the moon.Something inside me responds. Deep in my chest. Not the bond. Something else. A pull. A desire to join those howls. To run under the moon. To be free.The feeling is so strong it scares me. I am human. I should not feel this way.Should I?I press my hand to the window. Cold glass. The howls continue. That wild thing inside me stretches. Wakes up.What is happening to me?I do not sleep that night. I sit by the window until dawn. Watching. Feeling things I cannot name.When morning comes, I am exhausted. But when Kael knocks, I still follow him to the training yard.We work for hours. He pushes me hard. Too hard. I collapse twice. But I get back up. I will not be weak.At midday, we hear something. Horses. Coming fast.Kael goes still. His hand moves to his sword. "Inside. Now.""What is it?""Trouble."We run into the fortress. He leads me to my room. "Bar the door. Do not open it for anyone but me.""Kael—""Do it."He leaves. I bar the door. My heart pounds.I hear voices below. Shouting. Then Kael's voice. Cold and deadly."You are not welcome here.""We come from the Alpha King." A different voice. Male. Cruel. "You are summoned. You and the human. The Council has decided."Already? It has only been two days."We will come on our own," Kael says."The King insists we escort you."Translation: they do not trust him. They think he will run."Give us an hour," Kael says."You have thirty minutes."Footsteps. Then nothing.A knock on my door. "It is me."I open it. Kael stands there. His face is hard."The Council wants us. Now.""Already?""The King is not patient." He moves to a wardrobe. Pulls out a dress. Simple but clean. Nicer than anything I have ever worn. "Change. Fast.""What will they decide?""Nothing good." He looks at me. "But I will not let them kill you. Whatever happens, stay close to me. Do not speak unless they ask you directly. Do not show fear.""I am terrified.""I know. Be terrified quietly."I almost laugh. Almost.I change while he waits outside. When I come out, he is wearing formal armor. Black leather. He looks like death."Ready?" he asks."No.""Good. Neither am I."We walk outside. Three wolves wait with horses. King's guards. They watch us like we are criminals.We ride back to the palace. Every step feels like walking toward execution.The city appears. We ride through gates. People stop and stare. Whispers follow us."The Cursed Alpha.""The human who should be dead.""Abomination."I keep my head up. Like Kael said. Do not show fear.We enter the palace. Through halls I used to clean. Everything looks different from this side. Bigger. More hostile.The Council chamber is massive. Domed ceiling. The Elders sit in a half circle on a platform. Elder Maris at the center. The Alpha King sits on his throne to the side.The room is packed with wolves. Nobles. Warriors. Everyone here to watch.Kael and I stand in the center. Exposed. I feel every eye on me.Elder Maris stands. The room goes silent."Kael Ashenblade. Aria Thorne. You stand accused of creating a forbidden bond. Of defiling our sacred ritual. Of violating the natural order." Her voice echoes. "The penalty is death."My heart stops."However," she continues, "the mate bond is sacred. Chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. To execute one bonded mate is to kill both. The bond does not survive the death of either partner."I look at Kael. Is that true?His face confirms it. If they kill me, he dies. If they kill him, I die."Therefore," Elder Maris says, "the Council faces a dilemma. We cannot execute the human without losing our greatest warrior.""There is a solution," the Alpha King says. He stands. All eyes turn to him. "Break the bond."The crowd murmurs. Shocked. Interested."The bond cannot be broken," Kael says. His voice is hard."Ancient texts speak of a severing ritual," the King says. "Performed by the Elders. Painful. Dangerous. But possible. You would both survive. Free of this unnatural connection."Horror floods through me. They want to rip the bond out. I do not understand it yet. Do not want it. But the thought of having it torn away feels like death."No," Kael says. Flat. Final.The King's eyes narrow. "You refuse your King's command?""I refuse an abomination against the Moon Goddess. She chose this bond. I will not sever it.""Even if it costs you everything? Your position? Your honor? Your life?""Even then."The room erupts. Wolves shouting. Arguing. Some support the King. Some look uncertain. A few even seem to support Kael.Elder Maris raises her hand. Silence falls."Kael Ashenblade. You would sacrifice everything for a human slave?""I would honor the Moon Goddess's choice," Kael says. "Whatever her reasons, they are beyond our understanding. I will not defy her."Elder Maris looks at me. "And you, human. Do you accept this bond?"Every eye turns to me. Hundreds of wolves. All waiting.My mouth is dry. What I say next might kill us both. Or save us. I do not know which."I did not choose this bond," I say. My voice shakes but I push through. "I did not know it was possible. But I feel it. The connection. If the Moon Goddess chose this, who am I to refuse?" I look at Kael. Then back at the Elders. "I am nothing. I have always been nothing. But maybe that is why she chose me. To show that even the lowest can be worthy."Silence. Complete silence.Elder Maris stares at me. Her ancient eyes seem to see through me. Into me."Tell me, child. Do you dream?"The question is so strange. "Everyone dreams.""Do you dream of running? Of hunting? Of the moon?"My breath catches. How does she know?Her eyes narrow. "I see truth in your eyes. You dream of things no human should dream.""What are you saying?" the Alpha King demands. He sounds angry."I am saying this bond may not be impossible." Elder Maris looks at the other Elders. "We need time. To research. To discover what this girl truly is.""She is human!" the King shouts. "Kill her and be done!""You seem very eager for her death, my King." Kael's voice is quiet but it carries. "One might wonder why."The King's face goes red. "How dare you question me.""I question why my King wants to defy the Moon Goddess so badly." Kael's hand rests on his sword. "I question why, if she is just a worthless human, her existence threatens you."The tension is explosive. The King and Kael stare at each other. A battle of wills.Finally, Elder Maris speaks. "Enough. The Council has decided. Kael Ashenblade, you will return to your fortress with the human. You have one month. We will research. We will investigate. At the next full moon, you will return. We will render final judgment. Until then, the human lives."Relief crashes through me so hard my knees buckle.One month. I have one month."Thank you, Elder," Kael says."Do not thank me yet," she replies. "If our research confirms she is fully human, the bond will be severed or you will both die. Those are your only options."Kael nods once.We are dismissed. As we walk out, I feel the hatred. The anger. They want me dead. All of them.As we walk through the palace corridors toward the horses, a she-wolf steps into our path. She is beautiful. Tall with golden hair and elegant clothes. Her eyes lock on Kael."Kael," she says softly. "I heard what happened. The bond. I wanted to see if it was true."Kael's body goes tense. "Lydia. Move.""Please. Just a moment." She looks at me then. Studies me. Her expression is not hostile. It is sad. "So you are the one the Moon Goddess chose."I do not know what to say. This wolf clearly knows Kael. Clearly has history with him."I am Aria," I manage."Lydia Silvercrest." She steps closer to me. Kael moves between us but she raises her hands. "Peace. I mean no harm. I only want to speak with her. Privately. Please."Kael looks like he wants to refuse. But Lydia's face is so sincere. So non-threatening."One minute," he says. "I will be right outside."He leaves reluctantly. Lydia and I stand alone in the corridor."I will be honest with you," she says quietly. "I have cared for Kael for years. Everyone knows it. I hoped one day he might notice me. Might choose me." She pauses. "When I heard a human bonded with him, I was angry. Jealous. I wanted to hate you."My stomach twists. I do not want to be the reason someone suffers."But then I thought about those five she-wolves who died. How they were chosen for him by others. How they had no choice and neither did he." She looks at me seriously. "You also had no choice. The bond chose for both of you. That is not your fault.""I did not mean to cause you pain," I whisper."I know. And that is why I am telling you this. Be careful. Kael has enemies. Powerful ones. They will use anyone close to him as a weapon. They will try to hurt you to hurt him." Her voice drops lower. "And be careful of him too. I do not say this to be cruel. But those five mates did not die by accident. Something dark surrounds him. I do not know what. But please. Guard yourself."Before I can respond, Kael returns. "Time is up."Lydia nods. Touches my hand briefly. "Stay safe, Aria. Truly. I hope you survive what is coming."She walks away. I stand there confused. Was that kindness? A warning? A threat hidden in gentle words?"What did she say?" Kael asks as we walk to the horses."She wished me safety."He grunts. "Lydia never does anything without a reason. Do not trust her."But her words echo in my mind all the way back to the fortress. Those five mates did not die by accident. Something dark surrounds him.What if she is right? What if I am bound to something dangerous I do not understand?