Aire stared at him. The world froze forba second before her. She took a step away from Nate.

"No," she whispered.

Nate brows furrowed in concern. He took a step towards her.

"Stay away," Aire commanded. A darker shade of blue replaced her blue eyes, and then, they went back to their original shade.

Her voice cracked through the underground chambers with enough force to make the torches tremble.

A strong wind followed afterwards.

It exploded outward violently from her body without warning. Cold air slammed through the dungeon corridors hard enough to shake iron chains against the walls.

The guards stumbled immediately.

One cursed under his breath while another grabbed the bars beside him to steady himself. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

King Elijah’s expression sharpened at once.

Nate turned instantly toward Aire.

Alaric’s wolf surfaced so fast beneath his skin that his claws nearly broke through his fingertips.

The entire dungeon began to groan around them. It all happened so fast, as dust rained lightly from the stone ceiling.

Aire stood several feet away from them now with her breathing uneven and wild. Her hair lifted around her shoulders from the unnatural wind circling her body.

Her eyes looked wrong again, and her hair seemed to had grown several inches than it was the last time she trimmed it.

"Stay away from me!" she shouted this time, wounded.

The pressure in the dungeon surged violently.

A loose iron bucket flew across the corridor and crashed into the far wall hard enough to dent it.

The guards immediately reached for their weapons on instinct.

"Don’t," Nate snapped sharply without taking his eyes off Aire.

The warning in his voice froze them instantly.

Aire backed further toward the rear wall of the dungeon cell.

"I said stay away!" she warned, when Alaric took a step towards her.

The wind surged harder.

The dungeon doors above them slammed repeatedly against their hinges from the pressure below.

King Elijah narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had seen powerful wolves lose control before. This was different.

"Aire," Nate said carefully.

She looked at him instantly. Somehow that hurt worse. Fear flickered through her face the second she saw him moving closer.

Nate stopped immediately.

His wolf nearly tore itself apart inside him at the sight her fear.

’You bustard,’ his wolf roared in his head. ’Let me out,’ he ordered

Nate ignored his wolf, and it clawed at his ribs violently, demanding release. His mate stared at him like he might become another weapon against her, and he wanted to kill Nate himself for that.

"Aire," Alaric spoke this time, his voice calmer and deeper. "You need to breathe."

"DON’T TELL ME TO BREATHE!" she said softly, but the sound happened to reverberate through the walls, startling her.

The wind exploded again.

A torch ripped free from the wall.

One guard ducked violently as it flew past his head. The flames extinguished the second they hit stone.

The dungeon darkened further.

Aire’s chest rose unevenly. "If you had just paused to reason, I wouldn’t be down here." Her voice echoed painfully through the underground halls.

King Elijah remained still.

Nate swallowed harshly.

"You chained me down here," Aire continued shakily. "If I wasn’t born with a curse, perhaps, your judgement of me would have been softer."

Another violent gust slammed through the dungeon.

This time even Elijah had to brace slightly.

"She’s losing control," one guard whispered fearfully.

Alaric turned sharply toward him with enough menace in his eyes to silence him instantly.

"She’s frightened," Alaric corrected coldly.

"Frightened?" she repeated. "I should have died years ago with the way all of you wolves hated me."

Nate’s face tightened immediately.

Aire looked toward him again.

The wind continued spiraling violently around her.

"No one hated you," Nate said.

Aire stared at him in disbelief. "You almost killed me."

Nate accepted her words without flinching. His jaw flexed painfully. Her eyes were filled with hate now, and that nearly dropped him to his knees.

King Elijah looked between them carefully now.

Nate took one slow step forward. "Aire—"

"DON’T!"

The dungeon bars suddenly slammed shut on their own with a deafening crash.

The force echoed underground.

Suddenly, footsteps thundered down the staircase above.

"Move!" Xander’s voice came from the staircase, as he rushed to the dungeon.

Everyone turned sharply.

Xander appeared seconds later descending into the dungeon with fury written across his face.

The moment he saw Aire standing there trembling while the dungeon shook around her, something snapped visibly inside him.

"Aire!"

He moved instantly toward the cell, but was violently stopped from stepping inside. The dungeon gate crashed shut between them with violent force.

Xander stopped so abruptly the bars nearly struck him directly. The iron shook from the impact.

The wind howled harder now.

"Aire," Xander called immediately, gripping the bars. "Open this."

She shook her head violently.

Xander frowned. "Aire...."

"I said NO!"

The bars rattled again.

Xander froze. He had never seen or thought of her this way before.

Aire’s breathing became ragged now. Her entire body trembled beneath the force moving through her.

"I can’t—" she whispered brokenly. "I can’t...." She trailed off, trying to catch her breath.

Nate looked toward her carefully.

Her eyes glistened again. The wind softened for half a second before rising once more.

"I’m tired," she admitted weakly, completely defeated.

Nate approached her again. "Aire." he nodded at her, and stretched out a hand in full support. "I’m here."

Aire’s expression tightened instantly. The wind lashed harder against the walls. Nate kept moving slowly toward her.

Alaric’s jaw tightened visibly watching it.

Nate ignored him completely. "Aire," he said softly, "look at me."

Her breathing shook harder.

"Aire." He called gently, his hand still outstretched

She finally lifted her eyes fully toward him.

Nate’s chest tightened violently at how broken she looked.

"You’re safe," he told her quietly.

Aire shook her head. "No I’m not."

"Yes," Nate answered immediately. "You are."

The certainty in his voice made the wind hesitate slightly.

Nate noticed, and so did Elijah.

Nate moved another step closer. "No one here is going to hurt you."

Aire’s eyes burned. "That’s not true."

Nate stopped directly in front of her now, close enough to touch her, but he didn’t force it, grab her, or corner her.

He simply stood there. "I was wrong about you," he said quietly, touching his chest with his other palm. "I was wrong for how I treated you."

The dungeon fell slightly quieter. Even Xander behind the bars stopped speaking.

Nate’s eyes never left Aire’s. "I was cruel to you."

Aire’s lower lip trembled faintly.

"And I cannot undo what I already did," Nate continued softly. "But I swear to you now... I will spend the rest of my life making sure no one harms you again."

The wind weakened slightly.

Aire stared at him silently.

Nate’s voice lowered further. "You don’t have to be alone anymore."

The air around them shuddered once, then softened.

Nate slowly lifted one hand toward her face.

Aire flinched faintly, but didn’t move away.

His fingers brushed her hair back carefully. So carefully, he moved his hand through her silver hair, and straightened her hair

Alaric’s expression darkened immediately at the sight. He hated it. He could kill Nate for this the moment they get out of her sight.

Nate stepped even closer now.

"Aire," he whispered, "come back to me."

The wind weakened again.

Aire’s eyes filled instantly with pain. The hate slowly cleared to wounded pain filling her eyes.

Nate saw it. He didn’t look away from her pain. He stayed right there, taking every piece of it.

"You are not a monster," he told her softly. "Do you hear me?"

Aire’s breathing hitched.

"You are not cursed."

The final gust of wind tore through the dungeon, then stopped. Complete silence followed.

The sudden stillness felt deafening.

Aire stared at Nate for one long second.

Just when Nate thought she had gone numb, a small sound escaped her throat before she suddenly stepped forward into him.

Nate caught her instantly when her knees wobbled with no strength in them.

His arms wrapped around her tightly.

One hand buried itself at her waist while the other cradled the back of her neck protectively.

He buried his face against her neck. He physically needed to feel her breathing.

The entire dungeon went still.

Aire clutched his shirt weakly.

And then, she hugged him back. A soft broken sniff escaped her as she buried her face into his chest.

Nate shut his eyes immediately. Relief hit him so hard it almost hurt. His wolf surged softly in response to her safety.

His hand spread carefully against her waist while he held her closer protectively, terrifed to let her go.

Aire trembled once in his arms before slowly melting against him fully.

Nate patted her back gently, while he made a soft hum for her to calm down. He rocked her body slowly while they stood in a devastatingly tender way.

"It’s alright," he whispered against her hair. "I’ve got you."

Alaric moved instantly.

The sight in front of him struck something primal inside him so hard he reacted before thinking.

Nate’s hand at her waist and Aire folded against his chest angered his wolf. The intimacy of it and the trust made him furious.

Alaric’s wolf snapped violently beneath his skin.

He surged forward towards them, but King Elijah caught his arm immediately.

"Enough."

Alaric turned sharply toward him. His expression looked murderous.

King Elijah held his gaze steadily. "Let them have a moment."

Alaric’s chest rose harshly.

King Elijah’s voice softened slightly. "Just this moment." He said firmly, yet almost pleading. This is the most expressive he had ever seen Nate, and he doesn’t want the moment to be fleeting.

Alaric looked back toward them.

Nate still held Aire. He didn’t hold her the way regular Nate would do, but like she was precious, and that managed to make him calm down slowly.

Also, Aire remained there willingly.

Xander stood outside the bars watching everything silently now.

His jaw clenched once, but he said nothing.

Nate lowered his head again slightly toward her neck.

"You scared me," he admitted quietly.

Aire sniffed weakly. "You scared me first."

Nate almost smiled. His thumb brushed gently against her side beneath his hold.