<h4>Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Walls of Ice and Fire</h4>


    "Marcus is leading them here," ra gasped, her vision clearing. "He’s working with the queen!"


    The temple walls shook again, harder this time. Dust and small stones showered from the ceiling.


    "We need to move," Tobias urged. "There’s another exit through the north passage."


    "They’ll be watching all the exits," Darian said, his calm voice belying the tension in his shoulders. "We need a distraction."


    Kael’s face hardened into the mask of leadership ra knew too well. "I’ll lead them away from the north tunnel. The rest of you escape while I buy time."


    "No!" Ronan grabbed his brother’s arm. "We stick together!"


    "There’s no time to argue," Kael snapped. "Protect ra. That’s what matters now."


    Before anyone could stop him, Kael grabbed a knife and ran toward the east passage.


    "Kael, wait!" ra called, but he disappeared into the darkness.


    Tobias nced anxiously at the ceiling as more dirt fell. "We need to go. Now!"


    "I’m going after him," ra decided, surprising herself with her own determination.


    "That’s exactly what the queen wants," Darian warned.


    "And leaving him alone is exactly what Marcus wants," ra countered. "He’s trying to separate us."


    Ronan cursed under his breath, then nodded. "I’lle with you."


    "No," ra said firmly. "You and Darian go with Tobias. Find somewhere safe. I’ll bring Kael back."


    "The mate bond is strongest one-on-one right now," Tobias exined when Ronan looked ready to argue. "She has the best chance of reaching him."


    ra didn’t wait for further discussion. She ran into the east tunnel, following Kael’s scent. Behind her, she heard the others reluctantly heading north.


    The passage grew narrower as she ran, roots dangling from the ceiling. Somewhere ahead, she heard footsteps – Kael moving quickly through the darkness.


    "Kael!" she called, her voice echoing off the stone walls. "Stop!"


    The footsteps paused. ra rounded a corner and nearly collided with him.


    "What are you doing?" he demanded, grabbing her shoulders. "You need to be with the others!"


    "And you need to stop trying to be the hero," she shot back.


    A distant howl echoed through the tunnel – closer now. Kael cursed and pulled ra into a small alcove hidden behind fallen rocks.


    "They’re following us," he whispered, his body shielding hers in the tight space.


    "That was your n, wasn’t it?" ra hissed. "To lead them away from the others?"


    "Yes, but I didn’t n on you following me."


    Despite the danger, anger red in ra’s chest. "Why do you keep doing this? Acting like you have to face everything alone?"


    "Because it’s my job!" Kael’s eyes shed golden in the darkness. "I’m the oldest. The next Alpha. I protect the pack – I protect my brothers."


    "And who protects you?" ra demanded.


    The question seemed to catch him off guard. For a moment, the hard mask slipped, revealing something vulnerable beneath.


    Before he could answer, the tunnel behind them copsed with a thunderous crash. Dust filled the air, making them cough. When it cleared, they found themselves cut off – rocks blocking the way back.


    "Now what?" ra asked, fighting panic.


    Kael listened intently, then pointed ahead. "This tunnel leads to the surface eventually. If we keep moving, we might find another way out."


    They crept forward in tense silence, every sense alert for danger. The howls had stopped, which somehow felt more threatening than reassuring.


    After what felt like hours, they emerged into a small cave lit by moonlight filtering through cracks in the ceiling. A tiny stream trickled through the center, disappearing into the rock wall.


    "We’ll rest here," Kael decided. "Just for a moment."


    ra slumped against the wall, exhaustion hitting her suddenly. The past few days had been nothing but running and fighting. The weight of it all – the revtions about her parents, the queen’s pursuit, theplicated bond with the triplets – pressed down on her shoulders.


    Kael knelt by the stream, sshing water on his face. In the pale moonlight, he looked younger somehow, the stern lines around his mouth softened.


    "Why have you been fighting the mate bond?" ra asked quietly.


    He stiffened but didn’t turn around. "You know why. An omega can’t be Luna."


    "We both know I’m not really an omega," she replied. "That’s not the real reason."


    Kael remained silent for so long that ra thought he wouldn’t answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely audible.


    "I’m afraid of it."


    The admission hung in the air between them. Kael ckwood, future Alpha, admitting fear – it seemed impossible.


    "Afraid of what?" she pressed gently.


    He turned to face her, his golden eyes troubled. "Of what it means. Of what my father wants from it. Of what it might do to you." He ran a hand through his dark hair. "I’ve watched my father rule through fear and maniption my entire life. I swore I’d be different."


    "And you think being mated to me would make you like him?"


    "I think the power my father is so desperate to control could corrupt anyone," Kael said. "Including me."


    ra moved closer, drawn by the pain in his voice. "Is that why you’ve been so cold? To push me away?"


    "I thought if I rejected the bond, you’d be safer," he admitted. "But it didn’t work. I can feel you, all the time. Your fear, your courage... your pain when I push you away." He closed his eyes briefly. "I’m sorry for that."


    The sincerity in his voice touched something deep inside ra. This was a side of Kael she’d never seen – vulnerable, honest, without the walls he usually kept around himself.


    "I’m afraid too," she confessed. "I never asked for any of this – the silver fire, the prophecy, being hunted. Sometimes I wish I could go back to being just an omega nobody noticed."


    "You were never just anything," Kael said quietly. "Even before I knew who you really were. There was always something about you..."


    He reached out hesitantly, his fingers brushing a strand of hair from her face. The simple touch sent warmth rushing through the mate bond, stronger than before.


    "I feel it too," ra whispered.


    Something shifted in Kael’s eyes – the ice melting to reveal fire beneath. Slowly, giving her time to pull away, he leaned forward.


    Their lips met in a gentle kiss that quickly deepened with hunger. The mate bond red between them, silver light dancing behind ra’s closed eyelids. For one perfect moment, there was no danger, no prophecy, nothing but the two of them and the bond that pulled them together.


    When they finally broke apart, both breathless, Kael pressed his forehead against hers.


    "I’ll stop fighting it," he promised. "The bond, and you."


    A soft noise from the tunnel entrance shattered the moment. They sprang apart, instantly alert.


    "How touching," a familiar voice said as Celeste stepped into the cave. But her eyes were wrong –pletely ck, without whites or pupils. "The cold Alpha heir finally warming up."


    Behind her emerged Alpha Marcus, his expression unreadable as he looked between his son and ra.


    "Father," Kael growled, pushing ra behind him. "I knew we couldn’t trust you."


    "You should have listened to that instinct," Marcus replied coolly. "It’s the only Alpha trait you seem to possess."


    "Where are my brothers?" Kael demanded.


    A slow, cruel smile spread across Marcus’s face. "Ronan fought bravely. Darian was always too clever for his own good."


    Horror filled ra’s chest. "What did you do to them?"


    "Nothing permanent," Marcus assured her. "The queen needs all three brothers alive for the ritual." His eyes fixed on ra with calcted interest. "Just as she needs you."


    "What ritual?" Kael asked, though his pale face suggested he already knew.


    "The one that will transfer your mate’s silver fire to someone worthy of wielding it," Marcus exined. His eyes shifted, glowing red in the darkness. "To me."


    As he spoke, shadows gathered around him, writhing like living things. With growing horror, ra realized the truth.


    "You’re one of them," she whispered. "A skin-walker."


    "Not yet," Marcus corrected. "But I will be. The first to voluntarily ept the gift, in exchange for delivering thest silver-eyed Luna to the queen."


    Kael’s shock was palpable through the bond. "You betrayed your own pack. Your own sons."


    "I’m elevating our bloodline," Marcus hissed. "Once I have the silver fire, the ckwood Pack will rule all wolves!"


    As he spoke, more shadow figures filled the tunnel behind him. ra could feel the mate bond stretching thin – Ronan and Darian were alive but in danger.


    Kael’s hand found hers, squeezing tightly.


    "Run," he whispered, his lips barely moving.


    ra shook her head slightly. "Not without you."


    "How sweet," Celeste’s possessed body mocked. "The fated mates, together at the end."


    Marcus stepped forward, shadows swirling around his feet. "It doesn’t have to be the end, son. Join me. Share in the power."


    For a terrible moment, Kael said nothing. Then he straightened to his full height, eyes zing gold.


    "I am nothing like you," he dered.


    With lightning speed, he flung the knife he’d been hiding. It struck the cave wall – not at Marcus, but at the ceiling above the tunnel entrance. Rocks crashed down, momentarily blocking the path.


    "Now!" Kael shouted, pulling ra toward a narrow crack in the back wall.


    As they squeezed through the opening, ra heard Marcus roaring in rage behind them. The sound changed mid-howl, bing something inhuman – the cry of a creature caught between wolf and shadow.


    The future Alpha of the ckwood Pack had chosen his side.


    And the skin-walkers had gained a powerful new ally.