Kill Me, Wolf King

"You should have killed me when you could."

Lyra's voice sounded rough and hurt. But her words cut through the quiet room like a knife.

Kael turned around slowly from the dark corner. His eyes glowed a soft gold color in the dim light. He didn't say anything. He just watched her, waiting to see who she really was under all the bruises and anger.

She sat up in bed now. The sheets were twisted around her legs. Her hair was wet and messy, sticking to her neck. There was still a faint burn mark on her chest - it looked like a moon.

She saw him staring at her. She didn't look away.

"Do it," she said again. "Whatever you're waiting for - do it now."

Kael frowned. "Why?"

Her mouth twitched, but it wasn't a smile.

"Because I don't want to be her," Lyra whispered. "Whatever she is. Whatever you saw in the forest... I don't want to be that thing."

He walked closer, making no sound like a hunting animal. His bare chest was shiny with sweat and moonlight. Every muscle was tight. He moved like someone who was half angry, half kind.

"I saw you change," he said in a low, scary voice. "You ran on your hands and feet like an animal. Your eyes glowed. And you spoke in a voice that wasn't yours. That wasn't a dream, girl."

"I know." She closed her eyes, breathing fast. "I felt it too. Something inside me - old and angry. She's... cold. And hungry."

Kael stopped just a few feet away. His hands made fists at his sides. He didn't like how she talked about it. Like she knew exactly what lived inside her. And worse, like she was okay with it.

"You knew I wouldn't kill you," he said finally.

"I wasn't sure," she whispered. "But I hoped you would."

She opened her eyes, and they were wet - not scared, but sad. The kind of sadness that goes very deep and never goes away.

"I've been running for weeks. I have dreams I can't remember. I see faces of people I never met. When I wake up, there's blood on my hands. I went to a fortune teller once - she screamed when she touched me."

Kael said nothing.

"She said I had no future. No life line. Just... nothing."

Lyra looked up at him. "Do you know what that means?"

Kael's face got tight. "You were supposed to die."

She nodded. "Or something worse. Maybe I already did die. Maybe that thing inside me - Selhara, the moon witch, the goddess, whatever she is - maybe she's all that's left."

He took a step forward. The floor made a noise.

"If that's true," he said, "then you're dangerous."

Lyra let out a shaky breath. "Exactly." She looked right at him. "So kill me, Wolf King."

Kael didn't move.

His fingers shook at his sides. The wolf inside him woke up and whispered.

Yes. Kill her. Before it's too late.

But another part of him - older and quieter - said no. Because when he looked at her now, shaking but brave, skin glowing with moonlight, he didn't just see danger.

He saw something he knew.

He saw himself.

"You're not just a container," he said. "You're something else."

"Like you?" she said bitterly. "Cursed?"

He looked away. She was right. He stepped closer until he could feel the warmth from her skin.

"You think you're a monster," he said. "So did I."

She really looked at him then - and for a moment, her face got softer. Like she could see past his scars and coldness and old anger.

"Maybe we both are," she whispered.

Kael's throat felt tight. "Then maybe we're the only ones who understand each other."

Lyra blinked.

And then her wall broke down. Just a little.

"Why didn't you kill me in the forest?" she asked quietly.

Kael's gold eyes met hers.

"Because something inside me said not to."

"That's not a real answer."

"No," he said softly, "but it's the only one I have."

---

A Few Minutes Later...

She stood up slowly. The blanket fell off her shoulders. Kael didn't look away. She was shaking - maybe from cold or fear. But she stepped toward him.

"You don't know what I'll become," she said.

"I don't care."

"You should."

He stepped toward her now, and the air between them felt like it might snap.

"I've killed every person I've ever loved," Kael said. "Every full moon, I lock myself up because if I don't, I become something worse than a wolf. Something mean and wild."

"I know."

He looked confused. "How?"

"I dreamed it," she said quietly. "The first night I came to your land."

Kael breathed slowly and deeply. "What did you see?"

"You," she whispered. "On your knees. Covered in blood. Screaming a name."

His stomach felt sick.

"That name was yours," she said. "Kael."

He looked at her like she had hurt him badly.

"I don't say that name anymore," he said.

"I know. But I heard it. Over and over. In your voice."

The quiet between them wasn't empty. It was heavy with sadness. Kael turned away from her then, stepping into the shadows with tight fists.

"Do you still want me to kill you?" he asked quietly.

She swallowed hard. "No."

He turned his head a little.

"Because if I die," she said, "then she wins. I don't know who she is yet. But I know I can't let her win."

Kael nodded once.

"You'll stay here," he said. "Someone will watch you."

"Like a prisoner?"

"No. To keep you safe."

Lyra's voice got softer. "You'll protect me?"

Kael didn't answer right away.

Then he said, "For now."

---

That Night...

Kael sat outside her bedroom door with his back against the wall and a sword on his lap. Moonlight came through holes in the ceiling above, making silver light on the floor.

Inside, Lyra slept again - but her breathing was heavy and uneven. Kael didn't sleep at all. Because he didn't know if he had made the right choice.

All he knew was that the girl with the moon mark, the one who asked him to kill her, now held his future in her blood.

And maybe - just maybe - he held hers too.

---

At midnight, Lyra sat up straight in bed with wide eyes and moving lips.

She whispered something in a language Kael hadn't heard in hundreds of years. He stood up with his sword ready. And on her chest, the moon mark glowed bright again -

This time, it looked like a wolf's eye.