Page 33 of Traitor Wolf (Bonded by Fate Duet #1)

Chapter Twenty-Two

I t felt strange to be on the train with only Kirk Vexalor and his wolf-bonded.

The car rattled steadily along the tracks, lantern swaying overhead, casting shifting shadows over the empty seats.

There were no other candidates left, no background chatter or clink of armor, just us and an uneasy quiet that pressed against my skin like a storm front, an eerie stillness for the journey into the final trial.

I had no idea what the trial would be, but if my last week of grueling training with Cassian was any sign, it would involve a lot of sword work and even more pain. My fingers itched for Valkaryn’s hilt; the familiar weight of her was a reminder that I wasn’t defenseless.

“I’m hungry,” Kaelric said, his voice low and rough, already turning toward the food car.

I trailed after him, heat still burning in my chest from the way he’d spoken to me. You did not tell a woman she was your mate and then call it a mistake. My feet felt heavier with every step, resentment coiling tighter in my stomach.

The scent of roasted meat and fresh bread hit me as we stepped into the food car.

Kaelric loaded two plates with easy efficiency, his movements calm.

He slid into a booth, the leather seats squeaking under his weight, and set a plate in front of himself and then me.

I took the spot across from him, the table between us feeling both too small and like a chasm I couldn’t cross.

His eyes met mine, steady and unreadable.

I didn’t touch the plate in front of me.

The truth was, I wasn’t hungry. My entire community had just burned to the ground, ashes settling into my bones no matter how many times I breathed.

And if I was honest, some stubborn, foolish part of me wanted him to see the truth that I was his mate, no matter what he tried to claim.

“Dig in,” I told him, my voice harsher than I intended. His gaze sharpened, yellow bleeding into his eyes.

“After you,” he growled, the sound low, almost feral.

I crossed my arms. “Not hungry.”

His yellow deepened into molten gold, hot enough to burn.

He leaned forward, closing the space between us just enough for his scent of wood smoke and something wild to tease the air. “You skipped breakfast. Surely you want a bite?”

I shrugged, feigning disinterest. “You go ahead.”

His chest rose and fell, slow but deliberate, his jaw flexing as if the effort to hold back was costing him. Fur rippled briefly down the strong column of his neck, and still I didn’t move.

“Brynn. Eat something.” His voice dropped into a command, fists clenching against the table.

“No!” I shot forward so my face was only inches from his. My pulse pounded so hard I could feel it in my temples. “I won’t eat. So you’ll starve until you see that the reason you can’t eat in my presence is because I’m your true mate. Not a mistake.”

Pain flickered in his face. His eyes shifted from yellow to green, back to yellow, finally settling into green again.

“I never should have called you that,” he said, and there was a weight in his voice I’d never heard before.

I nodded, pushing myself up from the booth and stepping back. “And I’m too good to chase after a man who doesn’t want me. Enjoy your meal, Alpha .”

The word dripped from my tongue like venom, but my heart was already splintering. I turned on my heel, forcing my feet to carry me away, leaving him with his untouched plate while my heart shredded into a hundred pieces.

I never imagined I would be heading into the third and final trial with a broken heart.

The next train car was empty, but it didn’t feel far enough from him. I pushed into another, then another, each one colder than the last. When I reached the third car away from him, Valkaryn pulsed at my hip. The vibration was sharp, urgent.

‘What is it?’ I barely had time to think the words when I heard the lock click behind me.

I spun around.

Two Watchers stood at the pass-through door, their dark cloaks gleaming faintly in the low light. Without a word, they had slid the lock into place.

“Hey…” My hand eased to my sword hilt as I backed up a step. The air was suddenly thick, and the hum of the train felt distant, muffled.

Why were Watchers on the train? I didn’t remember seeing them before.

'Unsheathe me,' Valkaryn ordered, her voice sharp in my head.

'On a Watcher?'

'Yes!' Her voice rang so loudly through my mind that I winced.

The moment I drew her, one of the Watchers flung his hand toward me. The magic he cast was invisible, but I felt it slam into Valkaryn like a wall, the force throwing me backward three feet. My boots scraped against the floor, barely keeping me upright.

Footsteps pounded behind me.

My stomach dropped when I turned to see two more Watchers advancing from the opposite door. I was surrounded.

“What’s going on?” I asked, keeping my voice even, feigning ignorance.

'Kaelric, help. I’m three cars back and about to get jumped by four Watchers.' I pushed the thought toward him with urgency.

A spike of fear slammed through my chest that wasn’t mine. 'I’m coming.'

“What’s going on?” one of the Watchers mocked as I pivoted, trying to keep all four of them in sight.

A golden cord of magic shot toward me. Valkaryn sliced through it in a single arc.

“We don’t want some Dreg rat taking our magic,” one spat.

I’d been called a Dreg rat my whole life. The insult usually slid right off me, but this time, something inside me broke. This pompous Elite thought he was more deserving than me? As if I hadn’t fought for every breath I took my entire life…?

That insult on his lips was not okay.

Not today .

My grip tightened, my pulse racing.

I ran at him with a battle cry tearing from my throat, Valkaryn cutting down the three magical attacks he hurled in desperation.

Fear flared in his eyes when he realized too late that magic wouldn’t save him.

He reached for his sword, but I was already there, my blade sliding into his heart.

His mouth opened like a fish, gasping for air.

It was my first life taken entirely by my own hand. Regret flickered, brief, sharp, but when I saw the sneer in his dying eyes and the last word he mouthed, it evaporated.

“Scum,” he croaked.

'Behind!' Valkaryn’s voice snapped me back. I ripped my blade free and turned just in time to face the other three Watchers, now armed with swords and closing fast.

The door behind me rattled, Kaelric’s face appearing in the narrow glass as he tried to force it open. I barely had time to see the raw panic there before a burst of heat flared along Valkaryn’s edge, and I had to focus again.

'Can you just kill them all like you did Mercy?' I asked, blocking left, right, then slamming my boot into one of their knees.

'It would weaken you for the next trial. My magic works through you. You are the vessel as much as the sword. Although the Creator’s strength is infinite, you are not. Especially as a human.'

Interesting. And good to know. Hadn’t I felt drained of energy after Val had killed Mercy? When I was feeding my family with the donated food from Cassian, a wave of fatigue had come over me.

My arm vibrated as Valkaryn clashed with another blade, her rhythm feeding into mine. We moved together, each strike instinctual, almost like she was sending commands directly into my mind.

Too slow . One blade slipped past, slicing across my cheek. Pain ripped through my face. Warm blood trailed down my neck.

The door behind me shook again, but the lock held. Kaelric’s howl tore through the air, half man, half beast.

The Watchers surged all at once, pressing me too far, too fast. A shockwave of raw power exploded from Valkaryn, throwing them backward, but they recovered quickly.

'I could end them all right now, but then I fear you will be too weak to win the trial,' she warned.

'No. Just wait. I’ve got this.' I steadied my breathing, eyes flicking to the locked door. If I could get there, Kaelric could finish this.

Two Watchers sent more ropes of binding magic. I cut through them without effort, but it was a distraction. The third hurled a glowing orb I didn’t see until it burst across my back.

White-hot agony lit my spine, and I screamed, dropping to my knees. My muscles locked, every nerve ending on fire.

One Watcher charged, sword raised high. If Valkaryn didn’t act, I was finished.

We would have to take our chances in the trial.

“STOP!” Kaelric’s voice roared from the broken window, the single word carrying so much authority that the Watcher froze mid-strike. Power slammed into the room like a physical force, settling over all of us with suffocating weight.

“Unlock this door,” Kaelric commanded, his voice steady and edged with lethal intent. The pressure of his power grew heavier, intensifying. One Watcher growled in defiance, but his legs moved stiffly toward the door, as if yanked by invisible strings.

'Is… is Kaelric controlling him?' I asked Val, in shock at what I was seeing.

There was silence from Valkaryn, then, 'Yes. And it’s forbidden to do so unless to a fellow wolfkin under his command. Punishable by death.'

The Watcher above me stayed frozen, sword trembling in his grip. The second stood rigid, watching, as the third unlocked the door with jerky, unwilling movements .

The instant the lock gave, Kaelric burst inside. His attack was a blur of claws and steel, a killing storm. I shut my eyes until silence and blood were the only things left.

Then his arms were around me, pulling me from the floor as if I were made of glass.

“I’m so sorry. I should have been there to protect you.” His voice broke against my skin, his healing power already flooding through me, knitting my cheek and chasing the pain on my back away.

“All because you were hungry,” I managed, trying to tease, but my voice came out harder than intended.

He didn’t laugh. His gaze locked onto mine, the green in his eyes burning with something fierce and unguarded. He leaned in until our foreheads touched, breath mingling.

“I’m in love with you, little human,” he whispered. “You are my mate. No mistakes.”

I inhaled those words like the first breath of air after drowning. My heart pounded so hard it covered the hum of the train, the world narrowing to the space between us. Then his lips met mine.

The kiss was fierce and consuming, tasting of wild heat and iron, of a man who had almost lost me and wasn’t ready to let go.

His hand cradled the back of my head, the other still pressed at my waist as if anchoring me in place.

I melted into him, the tension of the fight bleeding away, leaving only the ache of wanting and the raw truth of what had just been said.

Somewhere beyond us, the train thundered on, but in that moment, there was only Kaelric, only the pulse of his heart against mine, and the heat of a kiss that promised there would be no turning back.

His arms stayed around me, holding me like I was breakable, worth protecting.

I didn’t want to pull away. I didn’t want the reality of the trials or the danger or the blood on the floor to seep back in.

His lips moved against mine with a desperate tenderness, each kiss a silent vow I could feel all the way through my chest.

When he finally broke the kiss, his forehead rested against mine, our breaths mingling in the narrow space between us.

His thumb brushed over my cheek, where moments ago blood had been, and I shivered, not from cold but from the way he looked at me, like I was the only thing in this world worth fighting for.

‘ Vora shan,’ he breathed in the wolfkin language.

‘It means, “my undoing,”’ Valkaryn told me.

“We should get you somewhere safe,” he murmured, though his arms didn’t loosen.

I swallowed, still catching my breath. “Only if you come with me.”

His mouth curved slightly, a flicker of something softer breaking through the sharp lines of his face. “Always.”