Chapter 10: CheckMate...Alpha

The library doors exploded inward.

Ancient wood splintered across the stone floor.

Smoke curled through the air.

Lila instinctively stumbled backward. "...Kai?"

The figure emerging from the smoke chuckled. "I'm afraid not, Princess."

Lucien Ashcroft stepped inside, dressed in a crisp white coat, silver eyes gleaming with amusement.

"You look disappointed."

Lila's shoulders slumped. "I was hoping someone else would show up."

Lucien placed a dramatic hand over his chest. "You wound me."

Outside the chamber...

A battle had already begun.

Steel clashed against claws.

The sacred Moon-Blood sanctuary shook beneath the force of colliding Alphas.

Kai Hunter moved like a storm.

One rogue wolf charged him. Kai sidestepped.

CRACK!

The rogue slammed into a stone pillar.

Another attacked from behind.

Kai didn't even look. He caught the wolf's wrist and threw him through an ancient doorway.

His face remained calm. Cold. Expressionless.

Mason watched from behind. "Our Alpha is terrifying."

Elias sighed. "He's angry."

"No..." Mason corrected quietly. "He's scared."

Back inside...

Lucien glanced around the library. "So many priceless books."

He smiled at Lila. "I know you'll appreciate this place."

Lila folded her arms. "You kidnapped me."

"I rescued you."

"I was perfectly fine before that."

"Were you?" Lucien tilted his head. "You were surrounded by wolves who planned to decide your future."

"And you're different?"

"I intend to ask."

Lila blinked. "...Ask?"

"I don't force people." He smiled. "I negotiate."

Lila narrowed her eyes. "You expect me to trust you?"

"No. I expect you to ask questions."

He walked toward one of the ancient shelves and carefully removed a weathered journal.

"This belonged to your mother."

Lila froze. "My... mother?"

Lucien nodded. "She wrote in it until the night she disappeared."

He held it out. "But before you read it..."

He looked directly at her. "You deserve to know one truth."

"What truth?"

"Kai has told you almost nothing."

Far above them...

The university was in chaos.

Students had been evacuated from the old library wing.

Rumors spread faster than wildfire.

"The captain disappeared after the game!"

"I heard wolves attacked!"

"No way!"

"It's probably another gas leak!"

Meanwhile...

Ava sat alone on the arena steps.

She stared at her phone.

Social media was flooded with one image.

Kai kneeling beside Lila, picking up her scattered biology notes.

Thousands of comments poured in.

"The Ice Captain is soft for ONE girl."

"He skipped the championship because of her."

"They're definitely dating!"

Ava closed the app. Her heart ached.

For the first time... she wasn't angry at Lila.

She realized something painful.

Kai had never belonged to her.

Deep underground...

Lila carefully opened the journal.

The first page was covered in elegant handwriting.

"If you're reading this, my little moonbeam..."

Her breath caught. "...Mom?"

"Then I couldn't protect you forever."

Tears filled Lila's eyes.

She traced the faded ink with trembling fingers.

"You will meet a boy with winter-blue eyes."

She froze.

"He will seem cold. Stubborn. Impossible to understand."

"But don't mistake silence for an empty heart."

Lila's chest tightened.

"He will love you long before he knows how to say it."

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

BOOM!

The ceiling cracked.

Stone crashed onto the floor.

Lucien looked toward the entrance. "...He's early."

A familiar voice echoed through the hallway. "Lila!"

Kai.

Lila's eyes lit up instantly. "Kai!"

She ran toward the doorway.

Lucien sighed. "I was hoping for five more minutes."

The stone wall shattered.

Kai stepped through the dust.

His black hockey jersey was torn.

Blood streaked one sleeve.

His knuckles were bruised.

His breathing was steady.

His eyes immediately found Lila.

He ignored everyone else. Only her.

He crossed the room in long strides. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "No."

He checked anyway.

A scratch on her wrist. Dust in her hair. Nothing serious.

Only then did he breathe.

The room fell strangely quiet.

Lila smiled softly. "You came."

Kai frowned as if the answer were obvious. "You called."

Three simple words.

Yet they hit harder than any love confession.

Lucien clapped slowly. "Touching."

Kai finally looked at him. "What do you want?"

Lucien's smile faded. "A fair chance."

"No."

"You didn't even hear my offer."

"I don't need to."

Lila looked between them. "Can someone tell me why everyone keeps acting like I'm a prize?"

Lucien answered first. "Because you're not."

She blinked. "I'm not?"

"You're a queen."

Kai spoke immediately afterward. "And queens choose for themselves."

Lucien looked at Kai with surprise. "Interesting."

"You'd let her choose?"

Kai didn't hesitate. "Yes."

Even if it destroyed him.

Lila looked at him, stunned.

For the first time... she realized Kai had never once demanded that she love him.

He protected her. He argued with her. He worried about her.

But he had never tried to control her heart.

Something warm fluttered in her chest.

Just then... a low growl echoed through the library.

Not Kai's. Not Lucien's.

The ancient Moon-Blood altar at the center of the room began to glow.

Silver light spiraled toward the ceiling.

Every ancient book flew open at once.

Selene's face drained of color. "No..."

Lila stepped back. "What's happening?"

Selene whispered the answer. "The Moon Crown..."

"...has chosen its heir."

A beam of silver light shot toward Lila.

At the same instant... Kai lunged forward. Lucien lunged too.

Both Alphas reached for her—

But neither touched her.

The light swallowed Lila whole.

When it faded... she was gone.

Again.

Only one thing remained where she had stood.

A glowing silver crown, hovering above the altar.