Sparks and Miracles
The cold night air hit my flushed face the moment Marcus and the guards cleared the last boulder.
Kade's massive hand was firmly wrapped around mine as he guided me out of the collapsed cave. His golden eyes were burning with a dark, triumphant fire, the ghost of our devastating kiss still lingering heavily in the space between us.
But the moment my boots touched the snowy forest floor, the reality of what I had just done crashed over me like a bucket of freezing water.
I kissed him. I kissed the man who broke my heart four years ago.
I violently yanked my hand out of his grip.
Kade froze, his triumphant expression instantly shattering. "Freya?"
"It was the adrenaline," I lied, my voice shaking as I took two large steps away from him, wrapping my arms around myself. I couldn't look at his lips. I couldn't let him see the absolute terror in my eyes. "We almost died, Kade. It... it didn't mean anything. Don't think that it did."
The silence in the clearing was deafening. Marcus and the guards suddenly found the snowy ground incredibly interesting, turning their backs to give their Alpha privacy.
Kade didn't argue. He didn't yell. But his jaw clenched so tightly a muscle jumped in his cheek, and the lethal, possessive Alpha instantly slammed back into place, masking the rejected man beneath.
"We need to get back to the packhouse," Kade ordered coldly, his voice devoid of all the dark, beautiful warmth from the cave. "You have an antidote to make."
The ride back was suffocatingly silent.
The moment the SUV parked in the courtyard, I grabbed my satchel and practically sprinted toward the massive medical tents set up on the eastern lawn. I needed to work. I needed a distraction from the burning imprint of his lips on mine.
The tent was absolute chaos. The smell of sickness and fear was overwhelming.
I rushed to the central table, pulling out my pestle and mortar, immediately dumping the neutralized ash and moon-flower petals into a large iron bowl.
"Luna!"
A young, frantic Bloodbane medic with messy brown hair rushed over to my table. His hands were covered in blood. "Luna, it's warrior Jax. His heart is failing. The black veins have reached his neck!"
"I need three minutes to boil the antidote!" I shouted over the noise, my hands moving in a blur as I crushed the herbs. "Keep his airway clear!"
The young medic, completely panicked, reached out to grab a vial of sterilized water to help me. His trembling hand accidentally brushed heavily against my wrist.
A low, demonic, earth-shattering growl completely silenced the entire medical tent.
Kade had followed me inside.
He didn't walk; he stalked toward my table like a predator about to execute its prey. His golden eyes were completely black, locked entirely on the young medic's hand hovering near mine.
"Step away from her," Kade whispered, his voice vibrating with such extreme, unfiltered jealousy and possession that the young medic visibly trembled, dropping the vial.
"A-Alpha, I was just helping—" the boy stammered, backing away with his hands raised.
"I said step away," Kade snarled, his fangs fully extending, completely unhinged by the fact that I had rejected his touch in the forest but allowed another male near me.
"Kade, stop it!" I yelled, slamming the heavy iron pestle onto the wooden table. "He's helping me save your pack! Stop acting like a feral beast and give me some space!"
Kade's chest heaved, his dark gaze snapping to me. He wanted to drag me out of the tent and lock me in his room, but the Luna command in my voice forced his inner wolf to stand down. He took a single, rigid step back, but his eyes never left the young medic.
Suddenly, a horrific, gurgling gasp echoed from the corner cot.
Warrior Jax was seizing violently. The dark magic was completely overriding his system. Black foam bubbled at his lips.
"He's crashing!" the young medic screamed.
"The antidote isn't ready!" I panicked, grabbing the half-boiled mixture and rushing toward the cot. "It needs another minute to bind, or the acid will kill him!"
Jax's back arched off the cot, his eyes rolling back. His heart monitor let out a continuous, high-pitched, flatlining wail.
He was dying. Right in front of me.
"Mommy!"
The small, frantic voice cut through the chaos.
I spun around. Asher had broken free from Marcus's grip at the entrance of the tent. He was wearing his dinosaur pajamas, his little bare feet slapping against the canvas floor as he ran directly toward me.
"Asher, no! Stay back!" I shrieked, terrified he would see the horrific death of the warrior.
But Asher didn't stop. He ran straight past Kade, straight past me, and stopped right beside Jax's seizing body.
"Asher!" Kade roared, lunging forward to grab his son away from the violently thrashing wolf.
But before Kade could reach him, Asher did something impossible.
The little boy reached out with both of his tiny hands and placed them directly flat against Jax's violently heaving, sweat-drenched chest.
FLASH.
A blinding, brilliant explosion of light filled the medical tent.
It wasn't just the glowing, metallic gold of the Alpha bloodline this time. It was a swirling, magnificent mixture of Kade's pure, dominant golden energy... and a vibrant, life-giving, emerald green magic.
Healer's magic. My jaw completely dropped. Kade froze mid-stride, his massive frame paralyzed by absolute shock.
The sheer, overwhelming power radiating from our four-year-old son was suffocating. The dark, toxic black veins crawling up Jax's neck completely stopped. The black foam receded.
Asher's eyes were glowing like twin suns. He wasn't curing the poison—only the antidote could do that—but his pure, hybrid magic was acting as an impenetrable shield, forcefully stopping the dark magic from taking the warrior's heart.
"Mommy, hurry!" Asher yelled, his small voice strained under the immense magical pressure. "He's heavy!"
I snapped out of my shock. I didn't hesitate. I lunged forward with the now-ready antidote, forcing the liquid down Jax's throat.
The moment the neutralizer hit the warrior's system, Asher gasped, completely drained, and stumbled backward.
Kade was there instantly. He caught his son before he hit the floor, scooping the tiny, exhausted boy into his massive arms, cradling him tightly against his chest.
The flatlining wail of the monitor stopped.
A slow, steady beep... beep... beep filled the silent tent.
Jax let out a massive, rattling breath. His eyes fluttered open, the healthy amber color of his wolf returning to his irises.
He was alive.
The entire medical tent was completely, utterly silent. Every single medic, warrior, and injured wolf stared at the Alpha King holding the tiny boy in dinosaur pajamas.
They had just witnessed the impossible. An heir born with the absolute, dominating strength of an Alpha King, and the rare, life-giving magic of a Master Healer. A hybrid more powerful than anything the High Council had seen in centuries.
Marcus, Kade's Beta, was the first to move. He slowly dropped to one knee, bowing his head in absolute reverence.
Within seconds, every single wolf in the tent followed suit, dropping to their knees to honor the boy who had just held back death with his bare hands.
Kade looked at the kneeling pack, and then down at the exhausted, sleeping boy in his arms. Finally, his fierce, golden eyes met mine across the medical cot.
He didn't look jealous anymore. He looked like a King who had finally realized exactly what he was fighting for.
"They know who he is now, Freya," Kade whispered softly, the devastating reality settling over us both. "And by tomorrow... the High Council will know, too."