Chapter 101: Beneath the Weight of What’s Coming

Serena stared at her reflection in the polished mirror, her fingertips lightly grazing the silver scar that ran along her collarbone—faint now, but forever etched into her skin. A reminder of the night everything changed. A night soaked in blood, truths, and unrelenting choices.

The room was quiet, lit only by the flickering glow of lanterns and the embers in the hearth. Yet the silence was heavy. Suffocating. It pressed on her shoulders like armor she hadn’t asked to wear.

Her gown rustled as she turned away, the deep blue fabric catching moonlight seeping through the windows. She was meant to attend the Council meeting in less than an hour. To stand before ancient wolves who judged her existence with narrowed eyes and clenched jaws. They didn’t see a Luna. They didn’t see a Queen. They saw a threat.

A knock interrupted the silence.

“Come in,” she said, her voice steady even when her soul was anything but.

The door opened and Theron stepped inside. He didn’t speak at first, simply studied her from where he stood—his broad frame half-cloaked in shadow. His eyes, normally cool and calculating, were soft now. Troubled.

“You’re avoiding me,” he said finally, closing the door behind him.

Serena looked back at the mirror but didn’t respond.

Theron walked closer, the air around them shifting. “You haven’t said more than three words to me since yesterday’s attack. What’s going on inside that head of yours?”

She turned slowly, her gaze locking with his. “What’s going on is that someone from the High Circle tried to kill me. Again.”

His jaw tightened. “And I handled it.”

“That’s not the point, Theron,” she said, voice sharper now. “I’m tired of being hunted. Of feeling like a pawn in a game I didn’t choose to play.”

“You’re not a pawn. You’re the Queen they fear.”

She scoffed, pacing away. “Queen of what? A people divided? A mate bond constantly tested by secrets and politics?”

Theron moved closer, reaching for her arm. “You’re not alone in this.”

Serena faced him, her emotions cracking through the surface. “Then tell me everything. No more half-truths, no more ‘later’ or ‘it’s for your protection.’ I need to know what’s coming. I need to know what you’re preparing for behind closed doors when you think I’m asleep.”

He hesitated, and that pause said everything.

She pulled back. “You still don’t trust me.”

“It’s not that,” he murmured. “It’s never that. I trust you more than I trust myself. But I know what’s at stake. I know the cost of the truth.”

“Then share the burden. Stop carrying it like it’s yours alone.”

He exhaled slowly and reached into his coat, pulling out a folded piece of parchment. “This came from one of our inside sources—deep within the southern packs. There's talk of a rebellion brewing. Not just whispers now. Organizers. Traitors. Wolves who believe you’re a threat to the order because of the prophecy.”

Serena took the parchment with trembling fingers, reading the coded script. Her heart pounded. “They think I’ll bring ruin.”

“They think you’ll destroy everything they built with blood and bone,” Theron confirmed. “Because they fear change. Because they fear a woman with power.”

Serena folded the paper slowly, deliberately. “Then let them fear me.”

The room fell into silence again, but the tension between them had shifted. No longer cold. Now simmering with heat just beneath the surface. Her lips parted as Theron stepped closer, his hand sliding to her waist.

“You amaze me,” he murmured, voice gravel and silk. “Even when the world tries to tear you down, you rise fiercer.”

She leaned into his touch, drawn to him despite the weight of everything else. “You ground me, Theron. Even when I hate you a little.”

He smirked. “Only a little?”

“A healthy amount.”

Their lips met in a kiss that spoke of longing and war, of futures uncertain but hearts intertwined. His grip tightened, his breath mingling with hers as he whispered against her lips, “I’ll burn the world down before I let them touch you again.”

She pressed her forehead to his. “No more burning, Theron. We need to build.”

Just then, a knock sounded again—firmer, urgent.

They broke apart.

Elias stepped inside without waiting for permission. His dark eyes flicked between them, unreadable. “Sorry to interrupt the reunion, but we have a situation.”

“What kind of situation?” Serena asked, already moving toward the door.

Elias held up a leather-bound journal. “This was left outside your door. No scent. No trace. But what’s inside? That’s what matters.”

He opened the journal to the first page, revealing a symbol Serena hadn’t seen in years—a wolf’s eye crossed with a dagger.

Her blood ran cold. “That’s the mark of the Forsaken.”

“Looks like they’re back,” Elias said grimly.

Theron stepped beside her, his voice laced with warning. “If they’ve returned, they’re not just hunting anymore. They’re declaring war.”

Serena’s spine straightened, her eyes hardening like steel. “Then we prepare.”