“What… how… what happened?”
Kali’s voice stammers through the mind–link, jagged and choked with disbelief.
4 clutch Fury tighter in my arms, his blood soaking through my slut, his body heavy, limp, and terrifyingly still. My wolf snarls beneath my skin, low and feral, barely restrained thirsting for vengeance. He wants to tear my uncle apart and finish what we should have ended long ago. It’s a regret that will haunt me forever not killing that monster when I had the chance. Now it’s costing me the people I care about.
But this time, I’ll do more than just kill him. I’ll tear him apart and lestroy everything he’s ever touched and everything he’s ever loved. I’ll dismantle his life–piece by agonizing piece–expose every dirty secret he’s buried, and burn every bridge he’s built. I’ll make him beg for death… and deny him that mercy until the last sliver of his soul turns to ash.
No grave. No legacy. Just a memory soaked in terror.
“I don’t know the full story yet. Only Fury does, and he’ll tell us… if he survives,” I say, voice thick with guilt for sending him after my uncle alone. “I found him like this–barely breathing, limbs broken. He was chasing that bastard, and I’m sure he walked right into his trap. My uncle did this to him.”
Silence falls on Kali’s end.
Complete, heartbreaking silence.
But I can feel her–every ounce of her pain, shock, and confusion slamming into me through the bond. I reach out instinctively, trying to ground her, to anchor her before she spirals. It’s the reason I mindlinked her in the first place. Even from a distance, I could feel her panic–her heart racing, searching for me after I’d disappeared from the hall without warning.
The silence stretches, but she doesn’t need to say anything. I already know.
Fury had become something to her… more than just a protector. A brother. A shield. A connection I once envied, but now I understand. He was meant to be there for her. That’s why, when I asked him to chase after my uncle, he didn’t hesitate in fear because he wanted to make him pay for what he’d done to Kali.
And now, if he dies…
No.
I won’t let that happen.
I press my forehead against his blood–matted hair as I run, legs burning, heart hammering. “Hang on, brother,” I mutter under my breath. “You did your part. It’s my turn now.”
It had all happened so fast.
Just moments ago, I was standing in the grand throne room, clapping like a fool as my mate stood before the world, finally revealed as the missing princess. My chest had swelled with pride, disbelief buzzing in my veins.
And then I felt it–the disconnect.
I tried mindlinking Fury. Nothing.
Tried again. Still nothing.
Then came the cold dread clawing up my spine–our connection fading like a dying ember. I bolted from the hall, ignoring the curious stares, following his faint scent out into the woods behind the palace.
A dead forest. No birds. No wind. Just silence. No one ever goes there, and now I know why. In human form, I couldn’t track him -his scent was too faint, too broken.
So I shifted. Let the beast out. My Alpha King wolf surged through the trees, following the near–invisible trail, nose low to the
ground, paws pounding the earth until I saw the crumpled body sprawled under the trees like discarded trash.
Fury. Unmoving. Half–dead.
Now, I storm through the palace gates with him in my arms like a allen soldier, People scatter. The ceremony seems to have ended earlier than expected–guests are already leaving, Alphas changing nods–but every head turns when they see me.
A full–grown warrior, limp and bloodied in my arms. Every Alpha bows.
