Chapter 8

Kael’s smile never wavered.

“The Moon Goddess is amusing,” he said. “She gave one woman two Alphas… and two brothers foolish enough to fight over her.”

Lucienne’s eyes blazed. “Watch your tongue.”

Kael shrugged. “Then ask yourself why your own brother rushed after her before you did.” His gaze shifted to Darius. “Tell me, Darius…. if Selena reached for your hand instead of his, would you let her go?” Silence answered him. That was all Kael needed. His smile widened as Lucienne’s wolf growled deep inside him.

“You’ve said enough,” Lucienne snapped, drawing his sword.

“So quick to anger.” Kael chuckled. “Perhaps that’s why she was crying when I found her.”

Lucienne lunged.

His blade sliced through Kael…

…and met nothing.

The man vanished like smoke.

Only his laughter remained, echoing through the clearing.

“You’ve fallen into my trap, Alpha.You still don’t understand, do you?” His gaze swept over the two brothers. “Tonight was never about taking Selena. It was about separating the two of you.” Lucienne tightened his gripped on his sword. “If you’ve touched her…” Kael interrupted with a quiet laugh. “If I wanted her dead, you wouldn’t be standing here asking questions.” He took a slow step backward. “Find her before sunrise, Alpha… if someone else doesn’t find her first.”

Before Lucienne could strike, a thick crimson mist swallowed the clearing. Darius instinctively covered his face, but when the wind finally settled, Kael was gone. The runes had disappeared. The barrier had vanished. Only the trail of silver flowers remained, stretching farther into the forbidden forest. Lucienne started forward without hesitation, but Darius caught his arm. “Wait.” He knelt beside the flowers and frowned. “These aren’t leading us to Selena.” He looked up grimly. “They’re leading us away from where she really is.”

Lucienne’s expression darkened. “A false trail.” Darius nodded. “He wanted us chasing shadows while someone else moved her.” Lucienne clenched his jaw, furious that he’d wasted even a moment. Without another word, both brothers split in opposite directions, searching for anything Kael had overlooked. The forest fell eerily silent until Lucienne suddenly stopped beside a broken branch. Fresh drops of blood stained the bark.

“Lucienne!” Darius called from deeper within the trees. He emerged holding a torn piece of pale blue fabric. Lucienne recognized it instantly. It had been part of Selena’s dress. The cloth was snagged on a thorn bush, and beneath it the ground was covered with hurried footprints. One set belonged to Selena. The others… were far larger.

Back at SilverMist Palace, panic had spread through every corridor. Luna Alara stood in Selena’s empty room, staring at the open window. Her eyes drifted to Selena’s neatly folded blanket, the books she had carefully arranged beside her bed, and the tiny wooden wolf she had carved as a little girl. Her knees gave way. “My daughter…” she whispered, breaking into tears. “Please come home.” The servants exchanged uneasy glances. It was the first time any of them had ever heard Luna Alara call Selena her daughter.

Standing quietly in the doorway, Seraphine watched her mother cry. She should have felt victorious. Selena was gone. Lucienne had abandoned the palace to search for her. Everything she had wanted was finally falling into place. Yet an uneasy feeling settled in her chest. Something wasn’t right. She turned toward Selena’s bed… and froze.

Lying on the pillow was a small silver feather that hadn’t been there before.

Seraphine slowly picked it up. The moment her fingers touched it, a sharp whisper filled her ears. “The wrong sister was chosen…” She gasped and dropped the feather, stumbling backward. When Luna Alara turned at the sound, the feather had vanished completely. Seraphine said nothing, but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Deep inside the forest, dawn slowly painted the sky gold. Lucienne and Darius finally reached the edge of an abandoned cliff where the footprints suddenly ended. The wind howled through the valley below. There was no sign of Selena… until Darius looked up. Hanging from the branch of an ancient oak was his black cloak, the one he had wrapped around Selena’s shoulders after they talked at the garden. It had been torn to pieces, stained with fresh blood.

Lucienne stared at it in horror. His wolf erupted with a roar that shook the entire forest. Then, from somewhere far below the cliff, a weak voice drifted upward on the morning wind.

“…Lucienne…”

Both brothers rushed toward the edge.

But all they found beneath them was an endless abyss.

Lucienne dropped to one knee at the edge of the cliff, his heart hammering against his ribs. “Selena!” His voice echoed through the valley, but only silence answered him. He clenched the torn cloak in his fist, forcing himself to think. If she had fallen, the mate bond would have shattered. It hadn’t. She was alive.

Darius crouched beside the cliff, studying the ground carefully. “Look.” He pointed to a deep trail carved into the dirt. “Someone was dragged toward the edge… but no body went over.” His eyes narrowed as he noticed thick vines clinging to the rocks below. “There’s another path.” Lucienne followed his gaze. Hidden beneath the cliff was a narrow ledge leading into a dark cave. Whoever had taken Selena hadn’t wanted them to find it.

“We’re going down,” Lucienne said. He had barely taken a step when an arrow struck the ground between them, burying itself deep into the stone. A second arrow followed. Then a third. Hooded warriors emerged from the trees, surrounding the cliff in complete silence.

“Don’t let them reach the cave!” one of them shouted.

Steel flashed beneath the rising sun.

Lucienne and Darius fought back to back, cutting through the first wave of attackers. More enemies poured from the forest, forcing them farther away from the cliff with every passing second. Darius blocked a sword aimed at Lucienne’s back, then shouted, “This is another distraction! They’re trying to keep us away from Selena!”

Far below, hidden inside the cave, Selena slowly opened her eyes. Her wrists were bound with silver chains. The room was cold, lit only by flickering blue flames. She struggled to sit up as footsteps echoed toward her. A tall figure stopped just beyond the shadows.

“You’ve finally awakened,” the man said.

Selena looked up, her breath catching.

It wasn’t Kael.

The stranger smiled faintly and knelt before her. “Don’t be afraid. I didn’t bring you here to hurt you.” He paused before adding the words that made her blood run cold. “I brought you here because I was sent to save you “.

Miles away, back at SilverMist Palace, Luna Alara was helping the servants search Selena’s room when something caught her eye. Hidden beneath Selena’s pillow was a folded letter she had never seen before. Her hands trembled as she opened it.

The first line stole the air from her lungs.

If you’re reading this, it means they’ve come for Selena… just as I feared they would.

At that exact moment, Lucienne’s mate mark flared with unbearable heat. He staggered, dropping to one knee as flashes of Selena’s frightened face flooded his mind. Then he heard her voice, clear as if she were standing beside him.

“Lucienne… don’t trust him.”

The vision vanished, Lucienne slowly lifted his head.

“…Trust who?” he whispered. But the answer came too late.

A blade flashed at him from behind.