Chapter 7

POV: Lucan

The council chamber was quiet now, its earlier tension lingering like a ghost. My advisors and generals had long since departed, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I sat at the head of the polished table, gripping its cool edge as though it might tether me to reality.

But no amount of grounding could silence the truth that throbbed through me like a second heartbeat.

Mira.

Her name pulsed in my mind, relentless and consuming. The memory of her refused to fade: green eyes blazing with fear and determination, her voice slicing through the chaos. I had pulled her from the protest without hesitation, driven by a force that defied logic.

Now, in the suffocating stillness of the chamber, that force roared within me, undeniable and terrifying.

She was my mate.

The word felt foreign, a concept I had never expected to encounter. Werewolves bonded to their own kind, bound by tradition, bloodlines, and the laws of our people. A bond with a human wasn’t just an anomaly—it was heresy.

And yet, here it was.

I pushed away from the table, the chair scraping harshly against the stone floor. The room closed in, shadows oppressive. My pulse quickened, anger and disbelief warring within me.

This was supposed to be impossible.

I paced, boots echoing as I tried to outrun the storm in my mind. But the bond hummed beneath my skin, electric and unrelenting, demanding recognition no matter how much I resisted.

My father’s voice rose in my memory, sharp and unyielding.

I was thirteen, standing in the shadow of the great wolf hall. My father loomed above me, his golden eyes piercing.

“The bond,” he said coldly, “is more than a connection. It is a weapon.”

I stood still, the wind cutting through my tunic.

“It will find you,” he continued, crouching to meet my gaze. His grip on my shoulder was unyielding. “When you least expect it. And when it does, it will demand everything.”

I swallowed hard. “Everything?”

“Loyalty. Strength. Control.” His eyes blazed. “A bond can build a kingdom—or burn it to ash. It can heal, but it can also destroy.”

I had nodded solemnly, but his final words chilled me.

“Pray it never comes.”

Now, those words echoed like a curse.

My father had spoken of bonds between wolves, sacred unions demanding respect. But he hadn’t warned me of this. He hadn’t prepared me for a bond that defied the very laws of our kind.

I clenched my fists. This wasn’t just a personal dilemma—it was a threat to everything I had built. To my leadership. To my pack.

And yet, I couldn’t dismiss it.

The moment I had touched Mira, lightning had coursed through me. Beneath her fear, I had felt something deeper—something that resonated with the very core of me.

Protect her. Shelter her. Claim her.

The instincts warred with my logic, unraveling the control I had spent my life cultivating. How could I lead my people when my own nature was betraying me?

A sharp knock at the door broke through my spiraling thoughts. “Enter,” I called, my voice rough.

Eldrin stepped inside, unreadable as he approached.

“You’ve been pacing,” he said simply.

“I needed to think.”

“About her,” Eldrin stated.

My jaw tightened. “Yes.”

Eldrin studied me. “You’ve felt it. The bond.”

I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through my hair. “It shouldn’t be possible.”

“And yet it is.”

I turned away, bracing my hands against the table. “She’s human. The council will call it treason. Vrax will demand blood. This bond—it’s a threat to everything we know.”

Eldrin moved closer. “Do you remember the old stories? The ones your father never wanted you to hear?”

I frowned. “What stories?”

“The myths of wolves who bonded outside their kind. Wolves who bridged divides so vast they seemed insurmountable. Rare, yes, but powerful. They changed history.”

“Legends,” I said dismissively.

“Legends are born from truth,” Eldrin replied. “This bond isn’t just about you, Lucan. It’s about what it means for us. For the rebellion. For the future.”

His words hit like a blow.

“If the council finds out—” I began.

“They won’t,” Eldrin interrupted. “Not unless you let them. But you need to decide, Lucan. Are you going to fight this bond, or embrace it?”

After Eldrin left, I stood by the window, staring out over the city. The moon hung low, its pale light casting shadows over the Human Quarters.

Somewhere out there, Mira was grappling with the events of the protest. With me.

And so was I.

The bond thrummed beneath my skin, a fire refusing to be ignored. It wasn’t just a connection—it was a reckoning. It demanded choices I wasn’t ready to make, answers I wasn’t ready to give.

But one truth burned brighter than my doubts.

Mira wasn’t just my mate. She was my challenge, my test, my undoing—or my salvation.

The legends spoke of bonds that could unite worlds or tear them apart. I didn’t know which ours would be.

But I could feel it in my bones: this bond was only the beginning.