Morning came too quickly.
Nyra barely remembered how she got back to her room. The events of the night clung to her like a second skin, refusing to fade no matter how many times she tried to steady her thoughts. Sleep had come in fragments, restless and shallow, filled with flashes she could not fully piece together.
Dark trees. Cold air. Golden eyes.
And a presence that had never truly left.
Nyx was awake before she was.
Not restless this time.
Not uncertain.
Focused.
Waiting.
Nyra sat up slowly, pressing her palm against her temple as the weight of everything settled back in. The bond had not weakened overnight. If anything, it had grown stronger, more defined, sitting beneath her ribs like something that had finally taken shape.
She could feel him.
Not clearly.
Not in a way she could explain.
But he was there.
Present.
Nyra exhaled slowly and swung her legs off the bed, forcing herself to stand. Today was not a day for hesitation. Kieran had made that clear. The entire pack would be watching. Waiting. Judging.
And she would be standing at the center of it.
Choosing.
The word settled heavily in her chest.
It should have felt simple. It should have been obvious. But nothing about this situation followed the rules she had grown up with. Nothing about it felt controlled or predictable.
Nyx stirred.
You already know.
Nyra's jaw tightened slightly.
No.
She didn't.
She refused to accept that it was that easy.
A knock sounded against her door before she could think further. It was firm, deliberate, and left no room for delay.
"Come in," she said.
The door opened immediately.
Two guards stepped inside, their expressions neutral but their posture rigid. They did not need to speak for Nyra to understand why they were there.
Kieran.
Of course.
"It's time," one of them said.
Nyra gave a small nod, her expression calm despite the tension building inside her. She moved past them without another word, her steps steady even as her pulse began to quicken.
The walk back to the clearing felt shorter than it should have.
Or maybe everything else had simply become louder.
The moment they stepped into the open space, Nyra felt it.
The attention.
The expectation.
The weight of the pack pressing down on her from every direction.
They were all there.
Waiting.
Watching.
The elders stood at the center once again, their expressions unreadable, their presence as heavy as it had been the night before. Around them, the pack formed a wide circle, leaving the middle open.
Waiting for her.
Nyra stepped forward.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Her gaze moved across the clearing until it landed on him.
Caius.
He was already there.
Standing at the opposite end of the space, his posture relaxed but his presence anything but. He looked exactly as he had the night before. Unshaken. Unbothered. As though he had been expecting this.
As though he already knew how this would end.
The bond reacted immediately.
Stronger than before.
Nyra felt it surge through her, pulling, tightening, demanding her attention in a way she could no longer ignore.
Nyx leaned into it.
Certain.
Home.
Nyra swallowed.
Her chest tightened as she forced her gaze away from him.
Kieran stepped forward.
His presence cut through everything, sharp and controlled, reclaiming the space with effortless authority. His wolf pressed close beneath the surface, heavier now, more aggressive, as though it had been waiting for this moment.
"You know why you're here," Kieran said.
Nyra nodded once.
"Yes."
Her voice came out steady.
Stronger than she felt.
Kieran studied her for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then his gaze shifted briefly toward Caius before returning to her.
"Then make your choice."
The words settled into the clearing, heavy and final.
The pack went completely silent.
Waiting.
Nyra's heart began to pound.
Not wildly.
Not out of control.
But steadily.
Deliberately.
She could feel both of them.
Kieran.
Close.
Commanding.
His presence pressing against her like an expectation she was meant to fulfill.
And Caius.
Further.
But stronger.
The pull toward him was not loud.
Not forceful.
But it was constant.
Unyielding.
It did not ask.
It simply existed.
Nyx stepped forward inside her.
Go to him.
Nyra inhaled sharply.
Her feet did not move.
Not yet.
Because something still didn't sit right.
Something she needed to understand.
Her gaze shifted back to Caius.
"Why now," she asked.
The question broke the silence.
Simple.
Direct.
But loaded with everything she didn't understand.
Caius didn't hesitate.
"Because it's time," he said.
Nyra's brow furrowed slightly.
"That's not an answer."
"No," he agreed. "But it's the truth."
The bond pulsed again.
Nyra's chest tightened.
"Then give me something real," she said. "If this is what you think it is… if I'm supposed to just walk to you and accept it… then tell me why."
The clearing held its breath.
Kieran's expression darkened slightly.
But he didn't interrupt.
He was listening too.
Caius's gaze didn't waver.
"You already felt it before last night," he said.
Nyra's pulse quickened.
"You just didn't understand it."
Fragments of memory stirred again.
The forest.
The cold.
His presence.
Nyra's fingers curled slightly.
"That doesn't explain how," she said.
"It doesn't need to," Caius replied.
Frustration flickered through her.
"Yes, it does."
The bond tightened again, stronger this time, almost as though it was reacting to her resistance.
Nyx pushed forward.
Stop fighting it.
Nyra's breath shook slightly.
"I don't even remember meeting you," she said.
Caius's expression shifted then.
Not much.
But enough.
"You do," he said quietly. "Just not the way you think."
The words settled into her, heavy and unsettling.
"What does that mean?"
"It means something happened," he said. "Something neither of us was meant to forget… but you did."
Nyra's chest tightened.
"Why would I forget something like that?"
Caius didn't answer immediately.
And that silence…
That silence said more than anything else.
Kieran stepped forward.
"That's enough," he said sharply. "You're not here to question him."
Nyra turned toward him.
"I'm not making a blind choice," she said.
Kieran's gaze hardened.
"You don't need to understand it. You just need to decide."
Nyx bristled.
Wrong.
Nyra felt it too.
That push.
That pressure.
It felt different from the bond.
It felt forced.
Her gaze shifted back to Caius.
And this time…
She stopped thinking.
She stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
The movement sent a ripple through the pack.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Tension.
But Nyra didn't stop.
The bond guided her.
Steady.
Certain.
Every step felt clearer than the last.
Until she stood in front of him.
Close enough to feel the heat of his presence.
Close enough to know there was no turning back.
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Final.
Nyra lifted her gaze.
Met his eyes.
And in that moment…
Everything settled.
The confusion.
The doubt.
The fear.
It didn't disappear.
But it quieted.
Because this…
This felt right.
Kieran's voice cut through the silence.
Cold.
Sharp.
"So that's your choice."
Nyra didn't turn.
"Yes."
The word came out steady.
Certain.
And that was when everything changed.
The bond surged.
Stronger than before.
Violent.
Uncontrolled.
Nyra gasped as the sensation hit her all at once, dropping her to her knees before she could stop herself. The pain wasn't sharp, but it was overwhelming, flooding through her system in a way that made it impossible to breathe.
Nyx roared.
Caius moved instantly.
"Nyra."
His voice was closer now.
Grounding.
But the sensation didn't stop.
It grew.
Twisting.
Expanding.
Nyra's hand pressed against her abdomen instinctively.
And this time…
There was no doubt.
Something was there.
Alive.
Real.
Nyra's breath hitched.
"No…"
The word barely formed.
The clearing erupted.
Voices.
Movement.
Shock.
But Nyra barely heard any of it.
Because Caius's voice cut through everything.
Low.
Certain.
Final.
"She's carrying my child."
And this time…
There was no denying it.