Chapter 4

“Protect the Alpha!” Darius barked, cutting down the first attacker who charged him. Steel rang through the hall as the celebration dissolved into blood and chaos. Guests scrambled for cover while the priestess clutched the broken altar, whispering frantic prayers beneath her breath.

Lucienne pulled Selena behind him without thinking. The simple gesture didn’t go unnoticed. Seraphine watched from the floor, her nails digging into her palms until they bled. Moments ago she had been the future Luna of Bloodfang. Now the Alpha who was supposed to claim her was shielding the sister she had spent her life despising.

A masked warrior drove his spear toward Selena, but Lucienne caught the shaft with his bare hand. His mark blazed crimson, snapping the weapon in two. The attacker staggered back in shock. “So the stories were true,” he muttered. “The Blood King has awakened.”

The words struck Selena harder than the battle itself. Blood King? Her eyes darted to Lucienne, but he looked just as confused. Before either of them could speak, the leader of the invaders stepped through the smoke, slowly removing his hood. An old scar stretched across his face, and when he smiled, Luna Alara’s expression crumbled into pure terror.

“You…” Alara whispered, taking an unsteady step back. “You were supposed to be dead.”

“I almost was,” the man replied. “You made sure of that nineteen years ago.” His gaze slid to Selena, softening for the first time. “But you failed to kill the child. And now the Moon has returned her to the place where she belongs.”

Selena’s breath cut as the stranger reached inside his cloak and pulled out a faded cloth wrapped around something small. 

He tossed it across the floor. It landed at her feet, unfolding to reveal a tiny silver bracelet engraved with two names, one she knew… Selena, and another that made Luna Alara let out a broken cry. “No…” Alara whispered. “She was never supposed to see that.”

Selena bent down with trembling fingers and picked up the bracelet. The silver felt strangely warm against her skin. One side bore her name. The other carried a name she didn’t understand, yet something about it made her chest tighten. She looked up at Luna Alara. “What does this mean mother ?”

“Don’t read it!” Alara screamed, taking a frantic step forward. “Give it to me!” She reached for the bracelet, but Lucienne caught her wrist before she could touch Selena. His expression remained calm, though the fury in his eyes was impossible to miss.

The scarred man laughed bitterly. “After nineteen years, you’re still trying to bury the truth.” He turned to the stunned crowd. “Ask your Luna why the midwife disappeared the night the twins were born. Ask her why every witness to that birth mysteriously vanished before sunrise.”

The hall fell silent. Even the fighting had slowed as warriors listened. Seraphine stared at her mother, searching desperately for the denial she expected. Instead, Alara’s lips trembled, and for the first time in her life, she had no answer.

“What’s going on mother?,” Seraphine whispered. “You said Selena brought the curse.Her voice cracked. “Tell them he’s lying.”

Alara looked at selena, but before she could speak, a weak voice rose from the back of the hall. “She’s not lying… but she isn’t telling the whole truth either.” Every head turned as an elderly woman, supported by two guards, slowly stepped into the light. The priestess gasped. “The royal midwife…”

The old woman looked straight at Selena, tears filling her eyes. “Forgive me, child. I stayed silent because they threatened everyone I loved.” She took a shaky breath. “The night you were born, I watched your mother make a choice no mother should ever make.”

Before she could say another word, an arrow flew from the shadows. It buried itself deep in the old woman’s chest.

Alara’s face turned deathly pale as the old woman collapsed, the arrow buried deep in her chest. Selena caught her before she hit the floor, tears filling her eyes. “Please… don’t leave. Tell me the truth.”

The midwife struggled for breath. Her trembling hand reached for Selena’s cheek before shifting to Luna Alara. “You are her mother,” she whispered weakly. “No one can take that away.” Relief flashed across Selena’s face for only a second before the old woman continued, “But you lied about the child the Moon Goddess chose.”

A horrified silence swept through the hall.

The midwife forced out another breath. “The Blood Moon blessed both daughters that night… but only one carried the Ancient Bond.” Her gaze settled on Selena. “When the mark appeared on her as a baby, fear consumed you, Alara. You begged me to tell everyone it was a curse. You believed that if no one knew the truth, the prophecy would die with it.”

Seraphine slowly stepped away from her mother, her eyes shining with betrayal. “You knew mother?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “All these year ” Alara opened her mouth, but no words came.

“I did it for this family!” Alara finally cried. “The prophecy destroys everyone it touches. I wanted to save my daughters!” Tears streamed down her face, but they could no longer wash away nineteen years of deception.

Lucienne’s eyes met Selena’s. This time there was no confusion, only certainty. He crossed the distance between them and took her hand before the entire hall. “Whatever the prophecy says,” he declared, “she will not face it alone.”

Before anyone could respond, the palace floor split with a deafening crack. A pillar of crimson light erupted beneath the broken altar, and an ancient voice echoed through the hall.

“The two heirs have awakened. Bring me the daughters of SilverMist… or watch both packs burn.”

Every wolf inside the hall dropped to one knee, clutching their chests as an ancient pressure settled over them. Even Lucienne’s warriors, feared across the northern territories, struggled to remain standing.

Selena tightened her grip on Lucienne’s hand. “Who was that?” she whispered. No one answered. The fear on every face told her the voice wasn’t a myth. It belonged to someone they all knew but prayed they would never hear again.

The priestess staggered toward the shattered altar, her hands trembling. “The seal is broken,” she murmured. “For nineteen years it held… and tonight the mate bond shattered the last chain.” She looked at Lucienne with haunted eyes. “Alpha, you didn’t just find your mate. You awakened an enemy.”

A deafening howl rolled across the mountains. Then another. And another. They weren’t coming from SilverMist wolves. Hundreds of unfamiliar voices answered each other from every direction, closing in on the palace like a storm.

Darius rushed to one of the broken windows and his expression hardened. “We’re surrounded.” He turned back to Lucienne. “Every path leading out of SilverMist is blocked. Whoever planned this knew exactly what tonight would trigger.”

Seraphine slowly wiped the tears from her face. The heartbreak was gone, replaced by something colder. She stared at Selena, then at the glowing mark on Lucienne’s wrist. If the prophecy had chosen her sister, then everything Seraphine had dreamed of had vanished in a single night. Her lips curved into a faint smile that no one noticed.

Outside, a horn echoed through the valley. The masked warriors immediately stopped fighting and stepped aside as though welcoming someone far more dangerous. Heavy footsteps approached the ruined entrance, slow and deliberate. Then a man dressed in black armor appeared, his silver eyes fixed on Selena.

He ignored everyone else and smiled as if he had finally found what he had been searching for. “Forgive the delay,” he said calmly. “I’ve come to take my bride.” Lucienne’s wolf exploded to the surface with a furious roar… because the stranger’s wrist bore the exact same mate mark as Selena’s.