"How bad is it really?" I ask before he can start.
"Bad." He doesn't soften it. Never has. "The corruption has integrated with your ley line signature. It's not just poisoning your body—it's destabilizing your connection to your bear. That flicker we saw inside? That's both sides of you fighting for dominance while shadow realm energy tries to consume you whole."
I process this clinically. Scientifically. Like I'm studying data instead of hearing my own death sentence. "Timeline?"
"Days. Maybe a week if you're lucky and strong." He meets my eyes. "But every shift accelerates it. Every time you lose control, the corruption digs deeper. Eventually, there won't be enough of you left to fight back."
"Can it be stopped?"
"Maybe." He crosses his arms, and I recognize the stance. He's already run through every scenario, every option. "The mate bond could stabilize you. Ancient magic, older than the shadow realm. Designed to balance and heal. If Maren completes the bond with you, her energy might anchor your form. Give you enough stability to fight back the corruption."
Hope flares. Brief. Fragile. Logic kills it just as fast. "Or?"
"Or the corruption transfers to her during the bonding. Poisons her the same way it's poisoning you."
My chest tightens. "Not acceptable."
"Then you need to consider the alternative." His gaze holds mine. "You go back through the tear. Seal it from inside. Use what's left of your humanity and your connection to the ley lines to close the convergence point permanently."
The logic is sound. Clean. Tactical. "One life to save many."
"Exactly."
"I might not come back."
"Then you don't come back." His voice is steady. Final. "But the clan survives. Redwood Rise survives. The shadow creatures stop bleeding through. Maren stays safe. That's what matters."
My bear roars disagreement. The sound reverberates through my skull, primal and absolute.Not leaving mate. Never leaving mate.
"Your bear on board with this plan?" Calder asks.
"My bear doesn't make strategic decisions." The snap comes out sharper than intended. "Instinct got me trapped in that realm for six months. Logic gets me out."
"Instinct also kept you alive long enough to escape."
"Barely." I turn away, stare at the workshop wall. "And now that same instinct is compromised. The logical choice?—"
"Isn't always the right choice." Calder moves to stand beside me. "You're thinking like a scientist. Sometimes you need to think like a shifter."
"A shifter would claim his mate and damn the consequences." Bitterness leaks through. "Very noble. Very instinctive. Very dead when the corruption transfers through the blood bond and poisons her instead of healing me."
The image stops him. Good. Someone needs to see the real risk.
"So what's your play?" His voice drops lower. "Push her away? Let the corruption win by default?"
"No." The denial is immediate. "I just need time. Need to calculate the right approach. Give her the choice with full information before the clock runs out."
"And if time runs out first?"
His question hangs between us. I glance toward the cottage where Maren is with the others. Safe for now.
"It won't." Bile rises in my throat even as I say it.
Calder's expression says he knows it too. But he lets it stand.
"Tell her soon," he says. "About the bond. What it means. How the claiming works. She deserves to understand what she's choosing."
"Tomorrow." The word comes out like a vow. "I tell her everything tomorrow."
