The Eyes That Judge

~Elara's POV~

He stepped into the glade like a storm on two legs.

Dark cloak trailing behind him, his boots sinking into the moss with silent, deadly grace. Muscles coiled beneath his tailored coat, and his presence hit me like the cold edge of a blade against the back of my neck. Ronan. Alpha of the Morrak Pack. Leader of the rogue northern wolves who bowed to no Tribunal, no council, and certainly no coven.

He didn't smile. He didn't introduce himself. He didn't have to.

"You're the witch," he said, voice low and sharp. "The one they say holds the Void inside her."

I stood tall, even as my magic coiled beneath my skin in warning. "And you're the one who wants me dead."

His gaze dragged over me like judgment incarnate not lust, not curiosity, just calculation.

"I don't want you dead, girl," he said coolly. "I want you erased. There's a difference."

Kade stiffened beside me, a wall of heat and fury. "You're not touching her."

Ronan's lip curled. "Still playing bodyguard, Blackfang? You were once the Tribunal's favorite pet. Now you cling to the very creature you were raised to destroy."

Kade didn't answer. His silence spoke louder than fists ever could.

Ronan turned back to me. "Do you even know what's inside you? What you carry? The witches of old didn't just curse wolves, they fractured the balance. And the one you house—the Void Witch, she broke the first bond. She shattered the moon's favor. If she returns, we fall. Again."

"I didn't ask for any of this," I said. "I didn't choose to be born like this."

"No one ever does," he replied. "But we all burn for our blood."

The words struck too close. Too raw.

"Then you'll have to kill me," I said. "Because I'm not stepping aside. I'm not sealing myself away because some Alpha can't sleep at night."

A flicker of something passed across his face—surprise, maybe. Respect? It vanished as quickly as it came.

"I could order your death right now," he said.

"And I'd burn half your pack to ash before you got within arm's reach," I snapped.

The moment pulsed like a heartbeat between enemies. I could feel the pressure building my magic hungry, alive, ready to respond to even a twitch of threat. Kade didn't move, but his energy shifted behind me, ready to strike.

Ronan raised one brow. "So it's true. The Void lives in you. I can feel her."

"She doesn't live in me," I said. "I'm not her puppet. I'm her prisoner."

He narrowed his eyes. "Not for long."

And then he turned away, cloak flaring behind him like smoke. "You have until the next moon to prove you can control what's inside you. Or I'll end it myself."

"You won't get the chance," Kade growled.

Ronan paused, then glanced back. "We'll see."

He disappeared into the trees like mist, leaving behind the promise of war hanging in the air like poison.

~Kade's POV~

I should have killed him.

Every instinct in me screamed for it. When Ronan threatened her, when he looked at Elara like she was already a corpse laid out on his altar of control, I wanted to shift. To tear. To end.

But I didn't.

Because she stood her ground.

Because she burned brighter than any flame I'd ever seen.

And because she didn't need saving.

Still, it didn't make it easier to breathe.

Watching her with him—it unraveled something in me. Something feral. Territorial. Old. I wasn't just drawn to her anymore—I was bound. Every time she flared with magic, I felt it in my chest like a second heartbeat.

I followed her back through the woods in silence, my hands clenched into fists, my jaw tight enough to crack. I wasn't angry at her. I was angry at the world that kept making her fight like this.

When she finally stopped, halfway back to the haven, I nearly ran into her.

"I saw your face," she said, not turning. "You wanted to rip him apart."

"I still do."

She looked over her shoulder. Her eyes were tired. Fierce. Beautiful. "I can handle him."

"I know," I said. "But I still want to be the one who stands between you and every claw that thinks it has the right to judge what you are."

Silence.

Then, "Why?"

"Because I've seen what they don't. You're not dangerous because of what's inside you. You're dangerous because you still hope in spite of it."

She finally turned to face me. "And what do you see when you look at me, Kade? A weapon? A chance for redemption? Or something else entirely?"

I stepped closer. Close enough to hear her breath catch. Close enough to see the pulse in her throat.

"I see the one thing I can't protect myself from," I said. "The only person who could break me without ever raising her voice."

Her breath hitched. "You're not supposed to say things like that."

"I don't care."

The bond between us pulsed again—low, heavy, and alive. It curled between us like a whisper in the dark, waiting to be spoken.

But we didn't speak it. Not yet.

Instead, she reached for my hand.

And I let her.

Even if it meant I was walking willingly into the fire.