The room is suffocatingly quiet, broken only by the sound of Kieran's shallow breathing.
Ace still kneeling beside him, his hands trembles as he presses them against Kieran's chest.
The once-mighty alpha, the man who commanded the respect and fear of everyone around him, now lies pale and lifeless.
His golden eyes, which had always blazed with confidence, are dull, barely open.
"Kieran… God what do I do?!" Ace whispers, his voice shaking. His heart pounds against his ribs, each beat an agonizing reminder of how time is slipping away.
Ace's gaze flits to the floor, where shards of glass gleam under the pale moonlight.
Among them, the faint shimmer of silver dust catches his eye. Silver. The word alone makes his stomach twist. Poison.
He clenches his fists so tightly his nails bite into his palms.
Someone did this—someone inside the pack.
But there's no time to dwell on betrayal. Kieran's body convulses violently, his back arching off the floor before collapsing with a pained groan.
Panic grips Ace like a vise.
"No, no, no. Don't you dare , please!" he cries, his voice breaking.
He shakes Kieran gently, hoping for some kind of response, but the alpha doesn't stir.
Ace's hands hover over Kieran's chest, unsure of what to do. His fingers are icy, his mind racing. He's not a healer, and there's no one else here to help.
It's just him.
And the bond.
Ace feels it now, faint but unmistakable—a thread connecting them once again, pulsing in the back of his mind.
It's warm, like a distant ember waiting to ignite.
He closes his eyes, focusing on that connection, letting it guide him.
"Please," he whispers, his voice trembling. "If there's anything I can do, anything at all… show me."
He says as if talking to the powers inside him.
A sudden warmth blooms in his chest, spreading through his veins like liquid fire.
It's overwhelming, almost painful, but Ace doesn't pull away.
He leans into it, letting it consume him.
The bond hums louder, growing brighter in his mind's eye. His hands glow faintly as he presses them against Kieran's chest, channeling the energy into him.
The reaction is immediate.
Kieran's body jerks, his eyes snapping open as a roar tears from his throat.
The sound is primal, shaking the very walls of the room. A golden light erupts from him, illuminating every corner of the space.
Ace gasps as the light envelops them both, a surge of power flooding through him.
He feels the poison—cold and vile—fighting back, but the bond is stronger.
Together, they drive it out, burning it away until there's nothing left.
When the light fades, Kieran collapses, his breathing slow but steady.
Ace falls back, utterly spent.
His body feels like it's been wrung dry, every muscle aching.
He crawls back to Kieran, his shaking hand resting on the alpha's chest.
The steady rise and fall beneath his palm is the most beautiful thing he's ever felt.
"You're alive," Ace murmurs, relief washing over him. "Thank the goddess, you're alive."
-
But Kieran's survival is only the beginning. Over the next few hours, Ace remains at his side, refusing to leave.
Kieran's color is better, but his breaths are shallow, and his strength is nowhere near what it should be.
His eyes flutter open, unfocused and glazed, as though he's caught in a dream.
Ace watches the moment with bated breath, his heart pounding so loud it's all he can hear.
He's prepared for confusion, for anger, for anything—anything but the raw vulnerability that flashes across Kieran's face when their eyes finally meet.
"Ac... Ace...?" Kieran whispers, his voice rough, disbelieving.
His gaze flickers over Ace's face, as if trying to decide whether he's real or just another cruel trick of his mind. "Is it really… you?"
Ace's throat tightens. He nods, his voice a whisper. "Yes"
For a moment, Kieran just stares, his breathing shallow, his chest rising and falling unevenly.
Then he reaches out, his hand trembling, and brushes Ace's cheek. The touch is so light, so fleeting, that it feels like Kieran is afraid Ace might vanish if he presses too hard.
The bond working on them really hard.
For a moment, nothing else matters—not the poison, not the chaos, not the world crumbling around them.
It's just the two of them, connected by the bond that neither time nor distance could sever.
But the moment is fleeting.
Kieran's brow furrows, as if he just realized what he has been doing , he moves back. "What happened?" he asks, his voice hoarse.
"You were poisoned," Ace explains, his voice steady but tinged with worry. "When I found you, you... you were—" He hesitates, the memory too raw. "I thought I was too late."
Kieran tries to sit up, but Ace places a firm hand on his shoulder, holding him down. "Don't," Ace says. "You're not ready. Just rest."
Kieran shakes his head, frustration evident in the tight lines of his face. "I can't. I need… to stop her. Lila. She's—" His words falter as a sharp pain shoots through him, leaving him gasping.
Ace leans closer, his tone insistent. "We'll stop her. Together. But first, you need to heal. You are not in position of doing that yet."
For a moment, Kieran looks like he might argue, but then he sinks back against the pillows with a weary sigh. "I'm fine," he mutters, though his voice lacks conviction.
"No, you're not," Ace counters. "You're still weak, and we don't even know who did this. They must be in here and I swear, I'll find them."
Kieran's jaw tightens. "Can't think of anyone if not that ungrateful creature!"
"Who? Who do you think it is?" Ace asks impatiently.
"Dren."
Ace blinks, the name unfamiliar. "Dren? Who's that?"
Kieran's expression darkens. "My right hand. The one I trusted most." He hesitates, his gaze distant. "I've seen him leaving my quarters late at night, but I thought nothing of it. He's done that before, delivering reports or handling pack business. But now… now I wonder if he's been using that trust against me."
Ace's mind races, piecing together fragments of memory.
The man he saw in the woods giving out something, mentioning 'she'—could that have been Dren? The thought sends a chill down his spine. "I saw someone," he says slowly. "In the woods, before I came here, talking to someone about a 'she' person. Could it have been him?"
"It has to be. He's been acting strange lately, avoiding questions, disappearing without explanation. In the previous meeting he was at my throat. And now this… he must be under her influence." His voice trails off, replaced by a heavy silence.
"If you think he's under her influence then we should hold him back , lock him up . That way he'll stay away from her as we work it out." Ace suggests.
Kieran nodes slightly , Ace can tell how terrible Kieran is feeling just by how he is looking__
He grips Kieran's hand. "We'll figure it out. But first, I need to know—what happened, Kieran? How did things get to this point?"
Kieran exhales shakily, his gaze clouded with pain and regret. "I happened, I thought it was clever!" he says, his voice laced with frustrations. "I asked her to pretend to be my mate. I didn't like that the goddess mated me w..." he doesn't finish , quiet for a moment before conditioning , "I wanted to keep the pack from questioning why I hadn't found my true mate. After you left that's when I started noticing that she had an agenda here. I wanted her to leave , I thought she would soon tell the truth about our real relation , I think that fueled her ambitions, she just worked in a tricky and sneaky way that I didn't even realize there was a fire she was making , and it exploded with her disapperance."
"How is she able to take so many people under her influence!?" Ace asks, wonders never leaving his head alone.
Kieran's expression hardens. "She's using dark magic. I've seen her. She's manipulating the packs, turning them against each other. I don't know why but it's like She wants to destroy everything."
Ace feels a shiver run down his spine. "And the pack? What do they think?"
"They're doubting me," Kieran admits quietly. "They think I'm hiding something—and they're right. But if they knew the truth, if they knew my mate was a ma…" He shakes his head, the weight of his secrets evident in his every word.
"There's one thing I don't understand, is it that you don't want me because of the pack? Or is it you yourself?!" Ace couldn't help to seek clearance.
Kieran goes quiet as if he is not really sure himself.
Ace's heart aches because of his silence.
"It doesn't matter." Kieran says looking away. "Either way we're meant to be."
Ace stands up , not sure what to think , he knows this is not the time to start feeling rejected, he should be out there fighting evil , but he can't help it__ thinking that his parents abandoned him and now he is facing another rejection, it just breaks his heart so much.
Kieran realising that he had just hurt Ace with his words again, he pulls Ace back before he walks out, he stands up moving closer to Ace__