Rebirth of the Villain

Nara's shoulders slumped in defeat. There was no hiding such things from a matriarch, especially not her own mother. "His name is Arthur Lionheart. King of Lyranth."

"The Incubus King," Mara said, her eyes lighting with interest. "His reputation reaches even our territories. They say he takes queens of many species, that his appetite is insatiable." She studied her daughter's face. "And you've tasted this appetite firsthand."

It wasn't a question, but Nara nodded anyway, a flush coloring her cheeks. "It was... different from Cassius."

"Better?" Mara asked bluntly, beast clan directness leaving no room for modesty.

"Yes," Nara admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "Stronger. More... primal. He understood what I needed without being told."

Mara nodded, unsurprised. "And Cassius knows nothing of this?"

"He suspects something has changed, but not what." Nara's hands twisted in her lap. "The divine light blinds him to what's directly before him."

"It changes him," Mara observed. "Each time you return, there is less of the man you mated and more of this... divine vessel." She spat the last words like they tasted foul. "Soon, there will be nothing left of your husband but light and judgment."

Nara couldn't deny it. She had watched Cassius's transformation with growing concern—his increasing rigidity, his black-and-white view of the world, his dismissal of beast clan wisdom as "primitive." The man who had once loved her wildness now sought to tame it.

"You know our ways," Mara continued, taking her daughter's hands. "Beast clan females choose the strongest mate, regardless of prior claims. It is our right and our duty to the pack."

"But I made vows," Nara protested weakly. "Human vows."

"To a man who no longer exists," Mara countered. "The beast clan recognizes no bond with a mate who has fundamentally changed his nature." She leaned closer, her voice dropping further. "Tell me of this Arthur. Is he worthy of a beast clan princess?"

Nara closed her eyes, remembering Arthur's strength, his dominance, the way he had claimed her in Gizmo's garden. "Yes," she whispered. "He is worthy."

Mara smiled, her sharp canines gleaming. "Then the path is clear, daughter. The old bond fades. A new one forms." She rose, moving to a chest in the corner of the dwelling. From it, she withdrew a small vial filled with amber liquid. "When the time comes for your final choice, this will ease the transition."

Nara took the vial, her fingers trembling slightly. "What is it?"

"Bond-breaker," Mara explained. "An ancient beast clan remedy. It will mask your scent for three days long enough to establish a new claim without triggering a challenge from your former mate."

"You want me to leave Cassius for Arthur?" Nara asked, though she already knew the answer.

Mara's expression grew serious. "I want you to follow beast clan law, which supersedes human custom. When a mate becomes unworthy through weakness, cruelty, or fundamental change it is not just your right but your obligation to seek a stronger partner." She touched her daughter's cheek gently. "The divine light consumes him more each day. Soon, there will be nothing left of the man you chose."

Nara couldn't deny the truth in her mother's words. Each time Cassius used his divine powers, he seemed to lose another piece of his humanity. The casual cruelty he had shown the bandits was just the latest example.

"There's more," Mara continued, her voice dropping to ensure absolute privacy. "The clan seers have had visions. A king of shadow and light, bridging worlds, bringing balance where divine and void forces war." Her eyes held Nara's intently. "They believe this king will need a beast clan queen to temper his darkness, to guide his strength."

"Arthur," Nara whispered, understanding dawning.

"Perhaps," Mara nodded. "The visions are never clear. But the timing..." She left the implication hanging.

Nara clutched the vial, her mind racing. If the seers were right, her attraction to Arthur wasn't just personal desire but destiny a path that would benefit not just her but her entire clan.

"What about Cassius?" she asked. "He won't simply let me go."

Mara's expression hardened. "Leave Cassius to me. The clan has ways of dealing with unwelcome former mates." Seeing Nara's alarm, she added, "No harm will come to him unless he brings it upon himself. But he will not leave these mountains with you if you choose to break the bond."

A commotion outside interrupted their conversation raised voices, the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly. Mara moved with surprising speed for her age, positioning herself between Nara and the entrance just as the flap was thrown open.

One of the clan warriors stood there, his expression urgent. "Matriarch, forgive the intrusion. The light-bearer he received a message bird. He prepares to leave immediately."

Mara's eyes narrowed. "What message?"

"Something about a dungeon and the shadow king," the warrior replied. "He speaks of preventing corruption."

Nara stood, the vial hidden in her palm. "Arthur," she breathed. "He's going after Arthur at the dungeon."

Mara turned to her daughter, decision made in an instant. "Go with him. Warn your shadow king if you can. But remember " her eyes flicked to the vial " when the moment comes, you must choose."

Nara nodded, slipping the vial into a hidden pocket in her leather armor. The weight of it seemed to burn against her skin, a physical reminder of the choice that lay before her.

As she hurried to join Cassius, her mind filled with images of Arthur his confident smile, his commanding presence, the way shadows danced around him like living things. The beast within her had recognized him immediately as an alpha, a worthy mate. Now, it seemed, destiny agreed with her instincts.

The only question was whether she could reach him before Cassius did.

---

Cassius was already mounted when Nara reached the visitors' dwelling, his golden armor gleaming in the late afternoon sun. Divine light pulsed around him more intensely than usual, responding to his agitation.

"What's happening?" Nara asked, though she already knew.

"A message from Hierophant Celestine," Cassius replied, his voice tight with righteous fervor. "The demon king moves on the dungeon tonight. The Church of Light has foreseen catastrophe if he reaches its heart."

Nara kept her expression neutral as she mounted her own horse. "And we're going to stop him?"

"I am going to stop him," Cassius corrected. "You will remain at a safe distance. This confrontation is between divine light and void corruption."

Anger flashed through Nara at his dismissal, but she swallowed it. Better he underestimate her involvement. "Of course," she said, her tone appropriately submissive. "I wouldn't want to interfere in such important matters."

If Cassius noticed the sarcasm beneath her words, he gave no sign. His attention was already focused on the journey ahead, his mind filled with visions of righteous victory. As they rode out of the beast clan encampment, Nara glanced back to see her mother watching from the chief's dwelling, her expression unreadable.

The vial of bond-breaker seemed to pulse against Nara's side with each hoofbeat, a countdown to the moment of choice that approached with every mile. Arthur or Cassius. Shadow or light. A new path or the familiar one.

By the time they reached the dungeon, she would need to decide.

---

In the shadows of the beast clan encampment, long after Cassius and Nara had departed, Mara stood in a sacred circle surrounded by the clan's eldest females. Incense burned in bone holders, filling the air with a heavy, musky scent that enhanced their already formidable senses.

"The paths converge," the oldest seer murmured, her blind eyes rolling back to show only whites. "Shadow king. Light bearer. Beast princess. The three shall meet where worlds thin."

"And the outcome?" Mara asked, her voice steady despite her concern for her daughter.

The seer's body convulsed, her clawed hands digging into the earth. "Blood. Bond. Breaking. The void hungers for divine light. The beast must choose or all three perish."

Mara's expression remained stoic, though her heart raced. The vial she had given Nara was more than just scent-masking potion it was one of the clan's most sacred treasures, capable of severing magical bonds and creating new ones. If used at the right moment, it could free Nara from Cassius completely... or bind her irrevocably to Arthur.

"Prepare the warriors," Mara commanded the other elders. "If my daughter chooses the shadow king, Cassius will not leave these mountains alive."

The elders nodded, understanding the gravity of her decision. Interfering in matters between transmigrators was dangerous, but protecting the clan's interests and a daughter of the chief's bloodline took precedence.

As the others departed to make preparations, Mara remained in the sacred circle, her eyes fixed on the distant mountains where the dungeon had appeared. "Choose wisely, daughter," she whispered. "For all our sakes."

In the incense smoke, shapes formed briefly a crown of shadows, a sword of light, and between them, a wolf with silver fur, poised to lunge.

The beast would choose. And the world would change with her choice.