Chapter 7

The Seer's warning

Liana woke to the sound of rain.

It drummed against the windows like a steady heartbeat, soft but relentless. The fire in the hearth had burned low, casting long shadows across the room. She was warm, wrapped in thick blankets, her shoulder still sore where Kael had marked her—but no longer throbbing. Just a quiet burn. A reminder.

She sat up slowly, trying to piece together the events of the day before.

Her escape. The bond rebellion. The rogues.

Kael.

He had carried her back to the mansion, silent and grim, his hands gentle despite the violence he’d unleashed. He hadn’t spoken after she’d passed out in his arms. Hadn’t touched her since.

But she felt him.

Even now, she could sense him somewhere in the house—frustrated, angry, pacing. The bond had opened a door she couldn’t close, and every second she existed now echoed in the space they unwillingly shared.

She hated it.

And yet… it comforted her, too.

No. Don’t go soft now, Liana. You’re not his prize. You’re not anyone’s mate.

A knock startled her.

She pulled the blankets tighter around herself. “What?”

The door creaked open.

It wasn’t Kael.

It was a woman—tall, ageless, wrapped in layers of black and silver silk that shimmered like starlight. Her eyes were pale lavender, glowing faintly in the dark. Her white braids fell past her waist, adorned with bone charms and moonstones.

The air shifted around her.

Power clung to her like perfume.

“You are awake,” the woman said in a voice like wind through trees.

Liana frowned. “Who are you?”

“I am Sierra.”

The name tickled something in her memory. Kael had mentioned her once. The seer.

“I didn’t ask for a fortune,” Liana said, not moving from the bed.

Sierra smiled faintly. “You didn’t have to. You carry prophecy in your blood.”

That made her sit up straighter.

“I’m not interested in riddles.”

“Then you will hate everything I’m about to say.” Sierra crossed the room and sat without invitation. “Do you know what you are, girl?”

“I’m not your girl,” Liana snapped.

“No,” Sierra said, amused. “You are no one’s girl. That’s why the curse chose you.”

Liana froze.

“The curse?”

Sierra nodded. “Kael’s. Yours. The bond.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t choose any bond.”

“And yet you survived the mark. Most would have gone mad. Died. The bond was never meant to take root in someone like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You are not just human.”

Liana blinked.

“What?”

“You are Luna-born. A descendant of the bloodline that once tamed Alphas. A fragment of the first Queen’s soul runs through you.”

Liana laughed. “That’s insane.”

“Is it?” Sierra tilted her head. “You’ve always known you were different. How else did you survive alone for so long? How do you heal so fast? Why do wolves follow you with their eyes like they know you?”

Liana remembered the wolf in the woods weeks ago. The one that had stared but hadn’t attacked.

No. That was coincidence.

“I’m just a girl who lost her parents.”

Sierra’s gaze darkened. “Your parents were killed. Not lost.”

Liana’s breath caught. “What?”

“I’ve seen the truth in flame and fog. The night you were orphaned was no accident.”

“Then tell me who did it.”

“I can’t. Not yet.”

“Convenient.”

Sierra stood. “You will find the truth when you are strong enough to survive it. But know this, Liana Blake—Kael’s curse is not just his. The bond awakened something ancient. You are the key to healing, or destruction. The choice will be yours.”

She turned to leave.

Liana stood too quickly. “Wait.”

Sierra looked back.

“Why me?” Liana asked, voice breaking. “Why would the universe pick me?”

“Because the universe is cruel,” Sierra said softly. “But also… because you’re the only one strong enough to make the Alpha kneel.”

And then she was gone.

—

Kael stood outside, shirtless in the rain, letting the cold beat the rage out of him.

He had torn through three rogues like paper the day before—and felt nothing.

But when Liana had screamed at him—You ruined me—he had felt everything.

The bond was a chain wrapped around his ribs. Every breath she took tugged on his lungs. Every flash of her fear sliced through him like a whip. He had lived in numbness for years. And now, one girl’s heartbeat dictated the rhythm of his world.

It terrified him.

He heard the door open behind him.

“You’ll freeze,” came her voice.

He didn’t turn. “I’m already frozen.”

Liana stepped onto the balcony, the rain catching in her curls.

“Who’s Sierra?” she asked.

His shoulders stiffened. “She told you?”

“Bits and pieces.”

“She’s a seer. She’s also insane.”

“She says I’m not human.”

He glanced at her. “You’re not.”

She waited.

“She’s right,” Kael said. “You’re Luna-born. That’s why the bond didn’t kill you.”

Liana’s hands trembled at her sides. “You knew?”

“I suspected. The moment I touched you and didn’t go mad, I knew something was different.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“What would it have changed?”

“Everything!”

Kael turned to face her.

“You think I wanted this?” he growled. “Do you think I wanted to want you?”

Her mouth dropped open.

“I have spent years watching people die because of me. Every time I touched someone I cared about, they lost their minds. My last mate—she didn’t survive the bond.”

Liana took a step back.

“I didn’t ask for your trauma,” she said.

“And I didn’t ask for your blood,” he snapped.

Silence.

The rain fell harder.

Kael swore under his breath. “I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t.” Liana crossed her arms. “Just don’t.”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“By lying to me? By biting me? By trapping me in a place where my body betrays me every time you breathe too close?”

“You think this is easy for me?” he thundered. “You think I enjoy this helplessness?”

Liana’s voice rose to match his. “Good! Now you know how I feel!”

Their eyes locked.

Then, without warning, Kael stepped forward.

And kissed her.

Hard. Desperate. Furious.

Liana gasped against his mouth, her hands pressing to his chest—not to push him away, but to feel.

She kissed him back.

She hated him.

She wanted him.

Her body ignited.

Their mouths clashed like war, teeth and tongues and tension spilling over. The bond surged like wildfire between them, cracking through her spine, searing into her blood.

Kael lifted her, slammed her back against the wall, his hands under her thighs, his mouth trailing fire down her jaw.

“You’re mine,” he growled into her skin.

“No,” she gasped. “I’m not.”

But her legs wrapped around him.

Her nails dug into his shoulders.

Her heart screamed yes.

Then she shoved him back.

Hard.

Kael stumbled, eyes wild.

Liana’s breath heaved.

“I’m not doing this,” she said. “Not like this.”

“You feel it,” he said, voice raw. “Don’t lie.”

“I do feel it,” she admitted. “That’s the problem. I want to hate you. I should hate you. But my body keeps forgetting.”

“I’ll make you remember.”

She looked him dead in the eye.

“Try it.”

Then she walked away.

—

Later that night, Liana sat alone in the vast library, staring at a book she hadn’t turned a page of in twenty minutes.

Sierra’s words echoed in her skull.

You’re the only one strong enough to make the Alpha kneel.

It sounded like prophecy.

But it felt like a curse.

She traced the mark on her neck again. It no longer burned. It shimmered faintly—like it knew she wasn’t running anymore.

Not yet, anyway.

She wasn’t ready to accept Kael.

But maybe…

Maybe she was ready to understand him.

And herself.

Just as she reached for the next page, the candle flickered out.

A chill ran down her spine.

Not from fear.

But from instinct.

Something had entered the house.

Something wrong.

And this time—it wasn’t Kael.