The scout returned on the seventh day.
His name was Finn—young, fast, one of the best trackers in the pack. He'd been sent south to track the enemy's movements.
He came back broken.
I was in the clearing when they carried him in. His body was covered in wounds—some from claws, some from blades. Silver burns marked his skin.
Kael was at his side instantly.
"Finn. Finn, look at me."
Finn's eyes opened. They were wild with pain.
"Alpha." His voice was a rasp. "They're coming. Faster than we thought. And they have—" He coughed. Blood. "They have wolves with them. Turned wolves. Ones they've—"
"Taken?"
Finn nodded. "Forced to fight. Against their will. They're—" He winced. "They're using silver. Chains. Collars. Making them slaves."
The clearing went silent.
Kael's face was stone, but through the bond I felt his rage. His horror. His determination.
"Get him to the healer. Now."
Wolves carried Finn away.
Kael stood motionless, staring at nothing.
I went to him. Took his hand.
"Kael."
"Slaves." His voice was rough. "They're making our kind into slaves."
"I know."
"How do we fight that? How do we kill wolves who aren't fighting for themselves?"
I didn't have an answer.
---
That night, we gathered in the meeting clearing.
Kael stood at the center, his face hard. Torin was there. Sera. Jax. Every wolf who mattered.
"We know what we're facing now," Kael said. "An enemy who uses our own kind as weapons. Who doesn't fight fair. Who won't stop."
Murmurs through the crowd.
"We have two choices. Run—abandon our territory, our home, everything we've built. Or fight." His eyes swept the crowd. "I'm not running."
"Neither are we," Torin growled.
Sera nodded. "My pack will stand with you."
The others echoed agreement.
Kael looked at me. Through the bond, I felt his love, his fear, his determination.
"Then we prepare. We train. We fight." He took my hand. "Together."
---
After the meeting, we walked home in silence.
I felt his thoughts churning—strategies, fears, possibilities. He was already planning, already preparing.
At the cabin, he finally spoke.
"I should send you away."
I stopped. "What?"
"Somewhere safe. Away from the fighting." He wouldn't meet my eyes. "If they're targeting changed humans—"
"No."
"Elena—"
"No." I grabbed his face, made him look at me. "I'm not leaving. I'm not hiding. I'm fighting beside you. That's final."
"Elena—"
"I'm your mate. Your Luna. Your equal." My voice broke. "Don't ask me to be less."
He stared at me for a long moment. Then his arms wrapped around me, pulling me close.
"I'm sorry." His voice was rough. "I'm scared. I can't lose you."
"You won't."
"You don't know that."
"I know we'll fight together. I know we'll win together. Or we'll fall together." I pulled back, looked at him. "But I won't be somewhere else, wondering, waiting, hoping. I won't."
He kissed me. Desperate and fierce.
"Okay." His forehead pressed to mine. "Okay. Together."
"Together."
---
That night, we made love like it might be the last time.
Desperate. Urgent. Clinging to each other in the darkness.
Afterward, he held me tight.
"I love you, Elena."
"I love you too, Kael."
"No matter what happens—"
"I know."
"Promise me you'll fight. Promise me you won't give up."
"I promise." I kissed his chest. "You too."
"Always."
We slept tangled together, the bond humming, the future uncertain but faced together.