C3

Elara Ashwolf

“I am sorry. I do not want to come across as rude, but this entire situation is impossible.”

Cassiel Nightthorn’s mocking chuckle made my blood boil. At that point, I just wanted to strip away his games and know the true reason he had returned to Ravenhollow City.

“Do not play mind games with me, Cassiel,” I snapped, my claws twitching against my thighs. “Get straight to the point.”

He arched a dark eyebrow, his lips twisting into a bitter, dangerous smile.

“Elara, how long are you going to keep lying to your own wolf?” he asked, his deep voice slicing through the quiet chamber. “You claim you have no intention to surrender your prophetic moon-scrolls to the Eternal Blood Council, yet here you stand in my domain. Five years have passed, and all those bold promises you made to restore my stolen honor vanished into thin air. Please, you are only putting on this noble Omega act because I am back from the dark lands. Who on earth are you trying to fool? I know you too well. Your rank in the Ashwolf Moon Pack means more to you than anything else. Why else would you throw me away five years ago over a single sacred manuscript?”

I lowered my head, the shame crushing my chest like a physical weight. Taking his blood-script back then had been the greatest regret of my life. Even if it started with a simple mistake of taking the wrong scroll from the archives, I had stayed silent when the Pack Elders stamped my seal on it.

He was right. I was nothing but a thief who had robbed a pure-blood vampire of his destiny. But our painful split had been his doing, too.

I drew a sharp breath to steady my racing heart before looking back into his piercing eyes.

“I was not lying to you,” I said, my voice trembling despite my best efforts. “The only reason I came to the Crimson Chalice Hall was to reject the Dominion’s deal. I had no idea you were the Blood Sovereign ruling the Nightthorn House now. I do not want to dig up our dead past either. It has been five years, Cassiel. I am marked and bound to the Duskbane Bloodline under the full moon. We cannot rewrite history, so tell me what on earth do you want from me to gain your forgiveness?”

Cassiel pursed his pale lips and sneered, his white fangs flashing under the moonlight. “You do not need my forgiveness, Elara. You have already built your own hell.”

I knitted my brows in confusion. What did he mean by that?

Before I could ask, Cassiel flicked his wrist, tossing a small silver memory crystal directly at my chest. I scrambled to catch it against my ribs.

“I do not care if you trade those stolen moon-scrolls to the highest bidder,” Cassiel said, his eyes darkening with pure, ravenous lust. “I am only interested in taking your skinny body into my bed. If that Omega heart of yours is truly burning with regret, you know where my castle is.”

He turned his head toward the shadowy corner of the chamber and barked, “Lucan, we are leaving!”

The heavy doors swung open instantly. Lucan Bloodraven stepped into the room, his red eyes fixed straight ahead as he grabbed the handles of Cassiel’s wheelchair and pushed the Blood Sovereign out without giving me a single glance.

I stood alone in the dark chamber, my trembling fingers tightening around the cold silver crystal. I had no idea what spell or secret was stored inside it, but a far more urgent question pounded in my head. Where was Cedric Thorngrave, the Crimson Eclipse Dominion representative who was supposed to negotiate my scrolls today?

My phone buzzed violently in my pocket, shattering the silence. I pulled it out to see Rowan Frostclaw’s name on the screen.

“Elara!” Rowan’s voice burst through the speaker. “Did you reach the chamber? I am so sorry, but the Dominion just sent an urgent raven. Their master had pressuring coven business to settle, so they need to reschedule the treaty meeting!”

Then why was Cassiel in that room waiting for me? Is he pulling the strings behind the Crimson Eclipse Dominion?

“It is fine, Rowan,” I whispered, my energy completely drained. “I am heading back to the lodge.”

I cut the call and stared down at the silver crystal resting in my palm. A cold dread settled deep in my stomach.

I hurried straight back to the Ashwolf Moon Lodge, locking the door of my quarters behind me. I brought the crystal over to the scrying mirror on my desk and pressed my thumb against the core to activate the magic stored within.

The mirror flickered, its smooth surface clouding over before revealing a hazy, moving image. The magic was unstable, showing the dark interior of an enclosed carriage moving through the forest.

The image sharpened a moment later, revealing two figures tangled together against the leather seats. A male and a female.

They were locked in a wild, breathless frenzy, completely unbothered by the swaying carriage. The female’s harsh moans echoed through the room, her hands clawing at the male's broad back.

I reached out to shatter the mirror, sickened by Cassiel’s twisted game, but my hand froze inches from the glass. The color drained completely from my face, my throat locking up as my heart plummeted into a dark abyss.

The male leaning back with a possessive growl, his dark hair disheveled and his chest bare, was my new husband.It was Valen Duskbane.