Mira's POV
The walk back to Kael's quarters feels like walking toward execution.
Mira can feel his rage burning through the bond like a furnace. He's barely holding it together, his whole body radiating violence and fury and something else underneath. Something that tastes like fear.
He's afraid for her.
That realization hits harder than anything the Elders said. Kael Stormborne is afraid she's going to die and he does not know how to handle it.
They reach his quarters and he slams the door shut so hard the hinges rattle.
"You should not have accepted," he says, his voice dangerously quiet. "You should have let me refuse. You should have let me protect you."
Mira turns to face him and sees the storm in his amber eyes.
"I had to accept."
"No. You did not." He starts pacing, his hands clenched into fists. "You could have walked away. You could have let me handle the pack. Now they have three chances to kill you and I cannot stop them without making it worse."
