Chapter 11 – The Voice Beneath His Skin
[KAIRO'S POV]
He hadn't shifted in days.
Didn't need to.
Didn't want to.
The forest was quiet now. Too quiet. Like it was watching him instead of the other way around.
And then there was her.
Lyra.
Sleeping in his territory. In his cabin. Wearing clothes that still smelled like him.
> Wrong. Not yours, his wolf growled.
> Then why won't you shut up about her?
> Because she belongs to something deeper. And I hate it.
---
Kairo stalked through the woods, trying to run the energy out of his body.
But it wasn't working.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the mark glowing on her chest.
And something inside him — ancient, primal — answered it.
---
He stopped beside the river and dropped to his knees, drinking from the cold current like it could put out a fire inside him.
> You're losing focus, the wolf snarled again. She's clouding you.
"She's not mine," Kairo whispered.
> She could be.
"She's dangerous."
> So are we.
---
He growled low, slamming a fist into the dirt.
The wolf inside him pushed harder than it ever had before.
Not to shift.
But to speak.
---
> She smells like prophecy. Like ruin. Like home.
You think you're protecting her by keeping her away. You're not.
You're hurting us both.
---
Kairo stumbled back.
His heart raced.
He hadn't heard his wolf like that in years. Not since the war.
Not since—
> Mine, the wolf whispered again, voice velvet and steel. She's ours.
---
[LYRA'S POV]
She sat near the fireplace, flipping through a book Elyna had left behind.
Half the pages were useless.
The other half were terrifying.
Witches. Seals. Forgotten bloodlines. Gods that walked like men and slept inside mortals until awakened.
> Pre-wolf magic…
One page was marked.
A drawing.
Of a girl with glowing eyes and a mark on her chest.
The caption read:
> "The Echo-Born. Those who carry the voice of something ancient, buried, and unfinished."
She slammed the book shut.
---
The cabin door opened.
Kairo walked in—shirtless, covered in sweat, eyes wild.
Lyra stood. "Are you okay?"
He didn't answer.
Just looked at her.
Like he didn't trust himself to speak.
---
> "She's ours."
She blinked.
"What?"
Kairo's eyes widened slightly.
"I didn't say that."
"...Yes, you did."
"No. That was—" He backed away. "You heard him?"
Her breath caught.
"Him?"
"My wolf."
---
Silence.
Then she whispered, "He… talks to me?"
Kairo looked at her like she was fire.
And he was already burning.
> "Not usually," he said. "But he won't stop when you're near."
---
He walked past her and grabbed a fresh shirt.
His back was tense.
His voice strained.
"We're not… normal around each other."
Lyra stepped closer. "So what are we?"
Kairo didn't turn around.
But she heard him breathe one word:
> "Doomed."