第3章

The sacred tree was ancient, reaching high into the sky, a thousand years strong.

I walked along the winding path, a bunch of wildflowers in my hand – the traditional offering. I needed strength, the Moon Goddess's protection.

Rounding a bend, I stopped dead.

Lyra stood under the sacred tree, her red hair like fire, blowing in the breeze. Her back was to me, her hands stroking the tree's bark with a disturbing intimacy.

This was Luna territory. She had no right to be here!

"What are you doing here? Enjoying the view?" I said, my voice colder than ice.

She turned, surprise flashing in her eyes before being replaced by a sly little smile.

"Sera." Her voice was almost a purr. "I was just praying. For my little one."

"You, in the Luna's sacred space?" I took a step forward. "That's… bold."

A strange scent filled the air – not the soft scent of a normal Omega, but something more aggressive. A challenge, a seduction, mixed with a threat.

"The Alpha invited me," she said, stroking her belly. "He said the tree's power could stabilize the bloodline. After all, this child is important to the pack."

"Is that so?" I smiled, but my eyes were ice. "Then you must know the consequences of touching the sacred tree without the Luna's permission."

Her eyes widened for a split second, but she quickly recovered. "Of course… but I have the Alpha's permission. Besides, you're not Luna yet, are you? Tomorrow's ceremony might be… postponed."

The air between us crackled. She was challenging me, in the nastiest way.

"Sera! Lyra!" Kaelen's voice came from the woods.

He strode towards us, his gaze landing first on Lyra with concern, then shifting to me, his eyes filled with a complicated emotion.

Just then, Lyra suddenly went pale and stumbled.

"Ah!" She clutched her stomach, doubling over.

Kaelen rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"

"I feel… darkness," Lyra trembled. "Like I'm surrounded by shadows… The cub is scared…"

She looked up, her eyes fixing on me. "Someone here has hostile feelings… The cub senses a threat."

I couldn't believe her audacity!

"Sera," Kaelen's voice was low, a warning in it. "You know strong negative emotions can affect an unborn cub. You need to think of the bigger picture."

The bigger picture? I almost laughed out loud.

For the bigger picture, he, the Alpha, shouldn't have marked another woman! Or postponed our mating ceremony for their bastard child!

But I didn't let any of it show. Instead, I looked at him calmly.

"Of course, Alpha. I was just here to pay my respects to the sacred tree. Clearly… I interrupted something."

I placed the wildflowers at the base of the tree and turned to leave.

"Wait," Kaelen called after me. "About tomorrow's ceremony…"

"It's postponed, I know." I didn't turn back. "After all, some things are more important than a mate bond."

I could feel his shock.

He knew I wasn't supposed to have heard that.

Which meant I knew a lot more than he thought.

As I left, I felt Lyra's eyes on my back, cold as a snake's. What she didn't know was that I wasn't the easy-to-bully Sera anymore.

The Moon Goddess was my witness; I'd make them pay for every lie.

Tomorrow night, the first step of the Moon Eclipse Unbinding would begin. And Kaelen Night-fang would learn he hadn't just lost a mate, but the future of his entire pack.