The wind howled as they ran.
Not against them.
With them.
Ashira moved like liquid fire—her auburn fur glowing in the early light, her paws barely disturbing the moss as she loped through the trees at Drekken's side. The two wolves wove through the forest like they were the forest, like the land had always belonged to them.
And now?
It did.
Drekken kept his massive frame just behind hers, protective, possessive, but never overbearing. Where she turned, he followed. Where she surged forward, he matched her stride.
They didn't speak.
They didn't need to.
The bond between them thrummed like a second heartbeat.
Like they were two halves of a story the gods had been trying to finish for centuries.
By the time the outer cliffs of the capital came into view, the sun was rising behind them. The sky was painted in blood and flame—just like her.
The guards at the gate never saw it coming.
Two shadows bolted from the forest—one red, one black. Too fast to stop. Too powerful to question.
The moment Ashira's paws hit the stone, a low gasp rippled through the crowd forming at the outer wall.
And then came the whispers.
"Is that...?"
"That's the Alpha King's wolf..."
"But the red one...what the hell is that?"
Some fell to their knees.
Some just stared, too stunned to remember what protocol even looked like.
Because no one had ever seen a wolf like her.
Not in their lifetime.
Not in any living memory.
Auburn red, tall and elegant, her sea-glass eyes now rimmed in gold flicking across the crowd like a queen scanning her court. Her steps were slow now. Deliberate. She didn't walk like prey.
She walked like judgment.
Drekken moved beside her, tail raised, body radiating territorial dominance. The moment they passed through the gates together, the earth vibrated.
Not from noise.
From power.
Inside the palace, doors flung open before they reached them.
Servants scrambled out of the way. No one dared speak.
When they reached the grand hall, Iska was already waiting at the base of the stairs, arms crossed, lips twitching in disbelief.
"Well," she muttered, "that's one way to make an entrance."
Ashira stopped in front of her, chest heaving. Her fur gleamed, her eyes locked on the witch like she remembered every damn thing she ever said.
Iska raised a brow. "Welcome back, Flameborn."
Ashira huffed through her nose.
And then shifted.
The glow that burst from her form was brighter this time. Controlled. Like she'd figured out how to burn without breaking.
When it cleared, Vireya stood in the center of the room.
Naked. Glorious. Unbothered.
Power still radiating off her skin.
Kael followed suit, his shift slower, but no less dramatic. He landed on two feet just behind her, hand immediately rising to settle on her lower back like it belonged there.
And it did.
They stood in silence.
Together.
Bonded.
Claimed.
Seen.
The kingdom had its rulers.
And now?
It had its wolves.
________________________________________________________________
The doors hadn't even closed before Kael's voice dropped into a growl.
"Iska. Out."
Iska's brows rose, but she didn't argue. One look at Kael's glowing eyes, the way his hands were already flexing like claws, and she backed toward the exit—scrolls in one hand, smirking like she'd just won a bet.
"Try not to knock the pillars down," she muttered.
The moment the door shut behind her, Drekken lunged.
Kael wasn't fully in control anymore.
The bond was sealed. The soul tie complete. But Drekken wasn't satisfied.
He was starving.
And Ashira?
She felt it too.
The moment their eyes met storm and wildfire, her knees nearly buckled.
"You promised me," Drekken snarled through Kael's mouth, stalking her. "You told me long ago... when we met again, you'd give me an heir."
Vireya's lips parted. Her breath hitched.
The memory was hazy—but real.
Another life. Another lifetime. Her wolf, curled in the snow beside him. Whispering against his fur. Both to weak to fight anymore. Poisoned as members of the council chanted spells at them with the help of witches.. they knew their time was ending together. All they had was the hope and promises of a future they didn't know if they would ever see as their life forces were pulled from them with the last words of the chants sifting through their souls.
"When we find each other again... I'll give you everything. Even our legacy."
And now?
He was here.
And Drekken was done waiting.
Kael slammed her back against the stone wall, teeth grazing her jaw like he was barely keeping the shift at bay.
"No more waiting," he growled. "I'm going to fill you again. And again. And again."
His mouth crashed to hers, brutal and claiming, tongue sliding in like a war won in blood. Her hands clawed at his chest, dragging him down, begging and demanding all at once.
He dropped to his knees.
Spread her open.
And feasted.
Tongue ruthless, lips coated in slick heat as he growled into her cunt like it owed him penance.
She came fast, too fast, but he didn't stop. Didn't slow.
Not until she was trembling.
Not until she was ready.
Then?
He flipped her over the war table.
Slammed into her in one devastating thrust that sent maps and scrolls flying to the floor.
He didn't speak.
Didn't need to.
His hips did the talking.
Every thrust was a command.
Every growl a demand.
Breed her. Fill her. Knot her. Mark her. Make it take.
Vireya moaned his name like it hurt.
"Kael fuck, yes harder—"
"Not Kael," he growled. "Drekken."
Her legs went weak. Her body opened around him like a star collapsing.
He didn't ease up.
He pounded her, owned her, slamming her so deep against the table she couldn't even breathe without tasting him.
And when she started to come again, screaming into her arm, he gripped her hips tighter, buried himself to the hilt, And his knot swelled.
She cried out, body locking around him as he spilled deep into her, hotter than fire, thicker than before.
He didn't stop.
He kept moving.
Little thrusts. Messy. Possessive. Almost tender—if it weren't for the growl vibrating from his chest.
"I'm not done."
He turned her around, still locked inside her, walking her into the thrown room bouncing her up and down as he walked and lifted her onto the throne like she was nothing.
Laid her out.
Took her again.
Again.
And again.
Until her eyes were glassy. Her belly warm. Her thighs shaking.
Until there was no question that she'd been bred.
And just as she came one last time head thrown back, moaning like a feral thing...
She bit him.
Fangs sank into his shoulder.
Right over his heart.
Kael roared.
And the final seal locked between them.
She had claimed him.
Ashira to Drekken.
Vireya to Kael.
Queen to King.
When they finally collapsed together, bodies tangled, knot still holding, sweat slick between them, neither of them spoke.
Because there were no words.
Only breath.
Only bond.
Only the wild, unmistakable sense that something had just shifted in the world...
And there was no turning back.