The forest was too still. Too unnaturally silent. No crickets chirped, no owls hooted, no leaves whispered in the night wind. The quiet pressed in on Kael like a heavy blanket, suffocating, warning. His instincts screamed that something was wrong.He tightened his grip around Elara as he carried her across the threshold of the crude shelter they had built from pine branches and stone. Her head lolled against his chest, her long lashes brushing her pale cheeks, her breath shallow but steady. She was alive, but every part of her body trembled with exhaustion. The battle at the altar had drained her to the marrow, and though she had shattered the cursed bond, Kael knew victory was far from secure.He knelt and lowered her onto the bed of furs they had scavenged earlier. His hand lingered at her cheek, brushing a damp strand of golden brown hair from her face. Even in her unconscious state, she leaned into his touch, instinctively seeking him. A lump rose in his throat, tightening painful

The moon seemed cruel that night.It glowed like a watchful eye, cold and detached, as though the Goddess herself was peering down, savoring their suffering. Every breath the pack took was laced with frost, though no winter winds blew. The valley had become a crucible one that would either break them or forge something new in fire and blood.Kael stood unmoving, his presence an iron wall against the chaos that had erupted in his pack. The glow of his wolf still rimmed his irises, a warning to any who dared challenge him now. He had endured betrayal before, but this this revelation of the cursed contract was a blade plunged deep into the marrow of his people.And it wasn’t just the pack who bled.Liora felt it too. The truth had struck her like lightning, burning through the fragile threads of hope she had been weaving for them both. The air around her tasted of ash and grief. She wanted to scream at the Goddess, at fate, at every ancestor who had chosen cowardice disguised as survival

The night after the revelation of betrayal stretched longer than any before. Kael barely slept, his instincts sharpened, his wolf restless, pacing within his mind. Elara had finally drifted into a fitful slumber in his arms, but even in sleep she clung to him as if her body sensed the storm he carried. By dawn, Kael had made his decision.When the first rays of sunlight spilled across the Moonlit Pack’s compound, he summoned his top warriors. They gathered in the courtyard, their expressions serious, their postures tense. The news of Damon’s growing threat had spread quickly, but no one yet knew about the possibility of a traitor within.Elara stood at Kael’s side, wrapped in her cloak, her chin held high despite the shadows under her eyes. She had insisted on being present. Kael had wanted to shield her from the ugliness that was about to unfold, but her determination had been unwavering. She was his mate, his Luna, and she would face this with him.Kael’s eyes swept over his warrior

The city of Ebonreach never truly slept. By day, its streets roared with merchants, soldiers, and whispers of rebellion. By night, the same whispers grew sharper, cloaked in the shadows of taverns and alleys.Tonight, Lucien could feel the tension pressing against the walls like a storm waiting to break.He sat alone in the war chamber Selene had arranged for him a room stripped of tapestries and luxuries, its stone walls bare except for the maps spread across the long oak table. Candles flickered, throwing uneven shadows that made the mountains and rivers on parchment seem to twist and move.Lucien leaned forward, eyes narrowing on the markers representing the Obsidian Dominion’s forces. They were closing in faster than the council wanted to admit. Yet instead of preparing, the alliance wasted time questioning him.The System pulsed again at the back of his mind.[Warning: Probability of betrayal within the Alliance 63% and rising.]His jaw tightened. The number had been lower yeste

Kael stood in the shattered ruins of the chamber, the Void’s whispers curling in his ears like a hundred serpents hissing all at once. His pulse thundered in his temples, every beat heavier than the last, as if his own heart was trying to drag him down into the abyss he had been resisting for so long.He clenched his fists, feeling the tremors ripple through his body. His breath came harsh, uneven, every inhale scraping against lungs that felt too small to hold the torrent of energy raging inside him. The system’s text had burned across his vision only moments ago, glowing with an ominous brilliance.[WARNING: Host Synchronization at 87%][Stability Threshold Breached][Void Assimilation Imminent]The words pulsed before his eyes before fading into darkness, and the silence left in their wake was worse than the sound.Liora reached for him, her eyes wide with a fear she didn’t bother to hide. “Kael, listen to me. You can’t let it take you. You’ve held it back this long don’t let the V