Chapter 7: the sister

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*Chapter 7: The Sister*

The scream cut through the night.

Luna was running before Kade even grabbed his boots. The bond dragged her forward like a rope. Pain. Fear. Not hers. _His._

They burst into the infirmary.

Chaos.

Beds overturned. Glass shattered across the floor. The smell of herbs and blood.

And in the center: Elder Rowan, on the ground, clutching his throat. Black veins spreading up his neck.

And standing over him, smiling, was Elara.

She looked exactly like Luna. Same dark hair. Same grey eyes.

But where Luna was soft, Elara was sharp. Where Luna healed, Elara destroyed.

“Hello, sister,” Elara purred. She twirled a dagger in her hand. “Miss me?”

Luna stepped between her and Kade. Her heart was pounding. “Get away from him.”

Elara tilted her head. “Or what? You’ll heal him? Oh wait.” She kicked Rowan with her boot. “Too late.”

Rowan gasped once, then went still.

Two guards lunged. Elara moved like smoke. The blade flashed twice. Both guards dropped, clutching their arms.

Kade’s wolf roared. He moved so fast Luna barely saw it.

In 2 seconds he had Elara pinned to the wall, one hand around her throat, the other twisting her wrist until the dagger clattered.

“You poisoned my pack,” he growled. “You tried to kill her.”

Elara didn’t struggle. She smiled, blood on her lip. “I didn’t try to kill her, Alpha. I tried to kill _you_. Through her.”

Luna’s heart stopped. “What?”

Elara’s eyes flicked to Luna. Mocking. “Didn’t he tell you? 3 years ago, I offered him a deal. Marry me, unite our packs. He said no. Said he was in love with his little healer.” She laughed. “So I decided if I couldn’t have him, no one could.”

The bond between Kade and Luna flared. Hot. Angry. Broken.

Kade’s grip tightened. “You’ve been poisoning the water for months.”

“Slowly,” Elara said, pleased. “So he’d get desperate. So he’d beg the rejected mate to come back. So he’d mark her to save her.” She looked at the mark on Kade’s neck and licked her lips. “And it worked. Look at you. Pathetic.”

Luna saw red.

Before she could think, she grabbed a scalpel from the tray and pressed it to Elara’s side.

“Where’s the real antidote?”

Elara laughed in her face. “There isn’t one, sister. The poison is in the air now. In the vents. In 3 days, your whole pack is dead. Including him.”

Kade threw her to the floor. Guards rushed in and bound her hands and feet.

As they dragged Elara out, she fought and kicked and laughed.

“This isn’t over, sister!” she screamed. “I’ll watch him die. And then I’ll watch you break. Just like you broke me!”

The door slammed.

Silence.

Kade turned to Luna. His face was pale. The mark on his neck was dimmer than before.

“The poison,” he said. His voice was rough. “Is it really in the air?”

Luna was already moving. Checking Rowan. Checking the guards. Her hands shook but her voice didn’t.

“I don’t know. I need to test the air. I need samples. I need—”

Kade caught her wrist. Stopped her. “Luna. Look at me.”

She did. Tears were falling and she hated it.

“If she’s telling the truth,” Kade said quietly, “then we have 3 days.”

“Then we find a cure in 3 days,” Luna said fiercely. “We’re not dying. Not like this. Not to her.”

Kade pulled her into his arms. It was desperate. Hard. Like he was afraid she’d disappear.

The bond screamed between them. _Don’t lose her. Don’t lose her. Not again._

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. “For 3 years ago. For pushing you away. For all of it.”

Luna closed her eyes. Her hands fisted in his shirt. “Me too. For running. For not fighting.”

They stayed like that for one minute. One minute where the world wasn’t ending.

Then Kade pulled back. Alpha mode. Jaw set.

“We have 3 days. We start now.”

Luna nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. “The old storage. There has to be something there. A base ingredient. She had to make it from somewhere.”

Kade squeezed her hand. The mark on his neck pulsed once.

“Then let’s go. Together.”

As they walked out, Luna glanced back at Elara’s cell down the hall.

Elara was sitting in the dark. And smiling.

The real war was just starting.

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