Chapter 160

The room stayed quiet after Kael’s confession.

Ariana stood frozen for a moment, staring at him while the words settled heavily between them. He had not said them dramatically. There had been no hesitation, no attempt to soften the truth afterward.

He simply looked at her like he had finally stopped fighting something he could no longer deny.

"I don’t think I can let you go anymore."

The honesty in it made her chest tighten painfully.

Kael seemed to realize it too because his expression shifted slightly afterward, tension returning to his shoulders as if part of him expected her to step back after hearing it.

She didn’t.

Instead, Ariana crossed the distance between them slowly until only a small space remained.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," she said quietly.

Kael let out a tired breath. "Ariana..."

"No," she interrupted gently. "You keep talking about this like it’s something dangerous happening to you."

"It is dangerous."

"That’s not what I meant."

Kael looked at her carefully, exhaustion still visible beneath his control. "Then what do you mean?"

Ariana held his gaze for several long seconds before answering.

"I mean you say it like you hate it."

The silence after that felt painfully real.

Because they both knew he didn’t.

Kael looked away first, one hand rubbing slowly against the back of his neck while tension moved visibly through him again.

"I don’t hate it," he admitted quietly.

The words settled deeply into the room.

Ariana felt her heartbeat quicken slightly, but she kept her expression steady even while the atmosphere between them shifted again into something more personal than either of them seemed prepared for.

"Then what are you afraid of?" she asked softly.

Kael laughed once under his breath, but there was no humor in it. "Right now?"

"Yes."

He looked back at her after that, and the honesty in his expression hit harder than the answer itself.

"That I’m starting to want this more than I care about the consequences."

Ariana’s breath caught slightly as the distance between them disappeared.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Kael looked at her like he was still fighting the instinct pulling him closer, his jaw tight with restraint while his hand remained firm at her waist.

Then he stepped closer anyway. Not suddenly.

Carefully.

Like part of him was still giving her the chance to stop him before he stopped himself.

His hand moved to her waist slowly, fingers tightening just enough to pull her closer without force, and Ariana felt the difference in him immediately. The Lycan was still there beneath his control, still powerful, still dangerous, but it no longer felt conflicted around her.

It felt calm. Certain.

Kael noticed it too.

His jaw tightened slightly as the realization settled deeper into him.

"You feel it every time now," Ariana said quietly.

"Yes."

"And it’s not the bond."

The silence answered her.

Ariana lifted her hand slowly and rested it against his chest, directly over his heartbeat. It reacted beneath her palm immediately, stronger and steadier than before.

Kael closed his eyes briefly at the contact.

"You shouldn’t do that," he said quietly.

"Why?"

"Because it makes it harder to think clearly."

A small smile almost appeared on Ariana’s face. "You’ve said that before."

"And you still keep doing it."

"Maybe because you keep reacting."

Kael opened his eyes again after that, and something darker moved briefly beneath the surface of his expression.

Not anger. It is instinct.

The kind that became stronger every time she stepped closer instead of away.

"You really don’t understand what this does to me," he said softly.

"Then tell me."

His hand tightened slightly at her waist.

"When you touched me earlier in front of the council wolves," he admitted quietly, "the Lycan stopped seeing them as the threat."

Ariana frowned slightly. "What does that mean?"

Kael hesitated before answering.

"It decided losing you mattered more."

The words sent a sharp wave of tension through her chest. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Before she could respond, a sudden knock echoed through the house again.

This time it wasn’t controlled or formal like before.

It was urgent.

Kael’s entire body tensed instantly.

Ariana felt the shift in him immediately as his instincts snapped outward again, every trace of softness disappearing from his expression in seconds.

The knock came again. Harder this time.

"Alpha!"

The voice outside sounded panicked.

Ryder.

Kael moved immediately, pulling away from Ariana and crossing the room fast enough that she barely kept up with him.

The moment he opened the door, Ryder stumbled inside breathing heavily, his face tense enough to make Ariana’s stomach tighten before he even spoke.

"What happened?" Kael asked sharply.

Ryder looked between both of them once before answering.

"The council moved early."

The room went still.

Kael’s expression darkened immediately. "What did they do?"

Ryder swallowed hard before continuing.

"They went to Mira."

Ariana frowned slightly. "Why?"

Ryder looked directly at Kael.

"Because she collapsed."

Silence crashed through the room.

Kael stared at him. "What?"

Ryder’s breathing remained uneven. "The bond reacted after the wolves left here. Something happened to it."

Ariana felt cold immediately.

Kael’s expression hardened dangerously. "Explain clearly."

Ryder nodded quickly. "The healers said the bond is destabilizing fast. Mira lost consciousness an hour ago, and now the council thinks—"

He stopped abruptly.

Kael’s eyes darkened. "Thinks what?"

Ryder looked toward Ariana briefly before answering.

"They think the Fifth Blood is destroying the bond."

Nobody spoke after that.

The silence inside the house felt suffocating as the meaning behind Ryder’s words settled over all of them. Ariana felt her stomach twist sharply, not from guilt, but from the realization of what the council would do with this.

They finally had something they could use against her.

Kael’s expression darkened instantly, and the pressure surrounding him became heavy enough that Ryder instinctively stepped back.

"The healers are already calling the council together," Ryder said carefully. "Some of them are saying the bond is rejecting Mira because of Ariana’s presence."

Ariana felt cold all at once.

Then Ryder said the one thing that made the room turn deadly quiet.

"And Mira woke up asking for you, Alpha."