Chapter 4 - The Prophecy

Kade's POV

"For someone who's always yapping about one thing or another, your silence is very unusual."

She didn't utter a word. I'd been asking her the same questions since we met, but she hasn't bothered to answer any.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

She stood firmly in front of me, chin up, eyes defiant, but her heart told me all I needed to know. It was beating faster than the speed of light. 

There was a lot she wasn't telling me, but I wouldn't let it rest. I circled her slowly, like a predator would a prey. Her scent grazed my nostrils…different. Earthy, but there was something more metallic, ancient, branded by the moon herself.

"Alright, baby steps. What's your name?"

Her lips spread with a sly smile, "Nyra."

"Okay, that was easy. Where are you from?"

"I don't know."

"But you know what you are, tell me."

"Tell you what? There's nothing to tell."

"Stop playing games with me", I warned, my voice low and dangerous.

"That's another assumption. I am not playing any games." She said idly.

"I watched you fight today. You don't fight like a wolf. What are you?"

Silence.

I took a step forward, "If you don't start talking now, I'll be forced to suck the truth out of you by whatever means."

She flinched for a split second before wearing her resting bitch face, but I caught it. 

"I…" my body betrayed me mid-sentence. I gently pressed, moved my hand to my side, and warm drops of blood rolled down my skin. Nyra moved quickly, raising my shirt to get a good view of the wound, but I blocked her hand.

"No."

"You're bleeding!" She shouted as if I didn't already know this. Her brows furrowed with concern.

"I'm fine."

"You are not fine! It's a deep cut."

"You will not raise your voice at me. I am your Alpha." I scolded.

"I will do whatever I please. You are not my Alpha. I'm not a crescent."

"But you are in crescent territory. As long as you remain on these grounds, I am your Alpha."

"Well, you'd have to survive that wound first."

"You really think this wound could end me? I have suffered much worse. You should have seen me…"

"You. Get the Alpha's healer now; his life is at stake, " she said to the guard outside the door. 

The gall of her. The nerve, ordering my men around.

"I call the shots here, Nyra. And my life is not at stake."

Orion arrived shortly. He quietly moved like a shadow, inspecting the wound and thinking about how to fix it while I busied my mind with thoughts of the girl in front of me. 

When he finished wrapping my ribs with salves and clothes, he started packing his materials back into his bag.

"I do not remember dismissing you, Orion."

"Apologies, my Lord. I have tended to the wound; I assumed my services were no longer needed.

"You're only getting started, Orion. Tend to her wounds." I said, pointing at Nyra. Her face was white with shock, too stunned to speak.

"Forgive me, Alpha Kade, Orion trembled, but I swore to serve you and only you for the rest of my life. Tending to another is a crime worthy of treason."

"Educate me, Orion. Did you say you pledged to serve me and only me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Does this include following my instructions and doing my bidding?"

"Y-yes, sir." he shivered.

"Then, I order you to tend to her wounds."

"Sir?"

"Did I stutter, Orion?"

"No, sir."

"I won't say it a third time."

Nyra stared at me, mouth agape as if I'd suddenly grown 12 new heads and pairs of eyes. 

She opened her mouth in protest, but couldn't form any words. Orion approached her, dragging his bag along. She tried to step away from him, but I blocked her escape. 

"Orion will tend to your wounds, and you will not run. You will sit still and let him care for you." I ordered, and she nodded in consent.

After she took a seat, Orion parted some loose strands of hair on her shoulder to clear the area before cleaning the cut - a cut I hadn't even noticed earlier.

My frown deepened, "You lied ", I said, as Orion worked. "You said you weren't hurt."

Silence.

Orion continued, pulling back the fabric of Nyra's sleeve, exposing another wound on her forearm.

My jaw tightened. "How many more?"

"What?" She asked, puzzled.

"Don't make me ask again."

"Breathe, Alpha. There are just scratches. No big deal." She shuddered. 

I kept quiet and let Orion do his job, and that's when I saw it—blood—her blood—dripping down her legs. 

She quickly hid it, but I'd seen enough. Nyra's blood wasn't red. It hummed, as if it was calling out for me under the firelight. Her blood was like molten moonlight—a fine blend of silver with faint streaks of crimson.

"Leave us!" I ordered Orion. He skimmed around the room to collect his things and hurriedly scurried. 

"What is that?" I asked, my voice hoarse with emotion.

Nyra shrugged as if I were hallucinating, "Nothing. It's just—"

"Don't you dare lie to me," I growled. "I know what I saw and it looked nothing like wolf blood."

Jaw clenched, arms folded, Nyra didn't say a word, and their silence said it all. The room seemed to close on us, and the shadows pressed tighter. 

"Explain." "Now. And if you dare lie to me, there will be grace consequences." I threatened.

Her breathing was uneven, but she stared at my soul as she said, "Some truths are far more dangerous than lies." 

"I want the truth. However dangerous it might be. I don't care."

She shook her head.

"Don't make me have to force it out of you."

"No, Kade. At least, not now. It's too early. There's a lot you don't and won't understand."

"Try me."

For a moment, she seemed to waver. 

I turned my gaze on her. Nyra. Sitting there with her wrist wrapped in fresh linen, her skin pale, her eyes trying too hard to hide their fire.

"Every look you give tells me you're hiding something," I said at last. My voice was low, sharper than steel. 

Her lips parted, as if she wanted to retort, but the words never came. Instead, her gaze flickered—just for a second—toward the bandage. Then back to me.

I didn't miss it.

With a growl, I stepped closer, crouching before her so she could not meet my stare. "That cut. It was deep. Deeper than it should've been. And yet…" I grabbed her wrist before she could pull away and tore the bandage loose.

What I saw made my breath catch.

The skin beneath was no longer torn. There was no angry red line, no clotting blood. Instead, smooth flesh gleamed back at me, pale as moonlight, faint veins pulsing like rivers of silver. Healing that fast wasn't wolf—not even close.

Her eyes widened, just for a heartbeat, before she could mask it.

I wasn't fooled.

"What are you?" My voice was barely a whisper, but it held the weight of command.

She yanked her wrist free. "What I've always been."

Before I could press further, a cold draft swept through the chamber. My torches guttered. Shadows crawled up the walls like living things.

And then—her blood, still smeared faintly across the healer's discarded cloth, glowed.

Faint at first, a silver-threaded molten crimson appeared and the words came—not from my mouth or hers, but from the stones.

When blood and moon unite

One born of fire and shadow will rise 

The healer's hand, not a crown, will be the sign

To mend what's broken and break what must stay

I stumbled, gripping the table's edge for balance. My ribs echoed with the thunder of my heart. My eyes met Nyra's. Her eyes shone dimly, not with wolf-light, but with something more unfamiliar... perilous. The exact words whispered by long-dead seers but dismissed as an ancient tale meant to frighten puppies.

Nyra looked terrified, but it went on:

The Alpha of ruin will be her adversary

And the Alpha of fury, her knight 

The silence in the room was deafening. 

Careful, for love is a two-way blade

The real kingdom will only rise with sacrifice.

I let out a strained breath.

"Nyra," I growled, "What are you?"

Finally, she met my gaze, a maelstrom of silver and ember glinting in her eyes, not gold nor wolfish,

 "Something beyond your control."

 She wasn't your typical wolf.  

 She was something more. Something that could end me.