Chapter 15: Dorian's Interest

Dorian's POV

I watch them from the shadows at the edge of the courtyard.

Kael stands frozen where Nyra left him, hand still raised like he's reaching for something that was never his to begin with. His expression is wrecked. Devastated in a way that makes me want to laugh.

The mighty Alpha Draven, reduced to this.

Pathetic.

And utterly useful.

Marcus appears at my shoulder, his bulk blocking the moonlight. "The attack failed. We lost fifteen rogues."

"I know."

"She killed them all. Every single one."

"I saw." I lean against the stone pillar, my eyes never leaving Kael's broken form. "Tell me what you observed."

Marcus shifts his weight. He's uncomfortable, which means he saw something that scared him. Good.

"The power she wields isn't natural. It's old. Ancient. The flames burned silver, not red. And the way she moved. . ." He stops. "It was like the moon itself was guiding her."

"Because it was."

"Sir?"

I turn to face him. Marcus is loyal, but he's not clever. He follows orders without understanding the larger picture. That makes him predictable.

And predictability has its uses.

"The Moonshadow isn't just a title," I say. "It's what she is. What the ruins made her."

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to. You just need to keep the rogues ready for the next phase."

"There's a next phase?"

I smile. "There's always a next phase."

Marcus nods and leaves. His footsteps echo across the stone until they fade into silence.

I return my attention to the courtyard. Kael has finally lowered his hand, but he hasn't moved. He's staring at the place where Nyra disappeared like he can will her back through sheer force of regret.

It won't work. I could tell him that.

But where's the fun in that?

The door to the east wing opens. Mira steps out, her warrior's instincts immediately scanning the area. She spots Kael and her expression shifts from alert to concerned.

She approaches him carefully. "Kael."

He doesn't respond.

"Kael, we need to discuss security protocols. The rogues breached the perimeter in three places. . ."

"Not now, Mira."

"This can't wait. If they attack again. . ."

"I said not now." His voice is rough. Broken.

Mira studies him for a long moment. Then her gaze sweeps the courtyard, landing on the ash scattered across the stones. On the scorch marks where silver flames burned.

"You spoke to her," Mira says quietly.

"Yes."

"And?"

"And nothing." Kael finally turns to face his beta. "She walked away. Again."

"Can you blame her?"

The question hangs between them. Kael's jaw tightens, but he doesn't answer.

Mira moves closer, her voice dropping. "You rejected her five years ago in front of the entire pack. You humiliated her. Broke her. Whatever you're feeling now doesn't erase that."

"You think I don't know that?"

"I think you know it intellectually. But your heart hasn't caught up yet."

Kael's hand clenches into a fist. "What do you want me to do, Mira? I can't change the past."

"No. But you can stop expecting her to forgive you just because you've decided you were wrong."

The words hit their mark. I can see it in the way Kael flinches, in the way his shoulders curve inward like he's been struck.

This is better than I anticipated.

Mira continues. "She's not the omega you rejected. She's something else now. Something powerful and dangerous and completely beyond your control. And that terrifies you."

"It doesn't. . ."

"Don't lie to me." Mira's voice sharpens. "I've known you too long. You're terrified of what she's become. Not because she's dangerous to the pack, but because she doesn't need you anymore."

Silence.

Kael's expression does something complicated. Pain and recognition and shame all twisted together.

"She never needed me," he says finally. "That's what I'm starting to understand. The bond made me think she did, but she didn't. She survived without me. She became this without me." He pauses. "She's better without me."

"Then why can't you let her go?"

The question echoes across the empty courtyard.

Kael doesn't answer. Can't answer.

Because he's in love with her. Still. Always. Despite everything.

And love like that. . .obsessive, consuming, built on regret and desperation. . .is exactly what I need.

Mira sighs. "Get some rest. We'll discuss security in the morning."

She leaves Kael standing alone in the courtyard.

I wait until she's gone before I move.

My study is three floors up in the west tower. The windows overlook the forest where Shadowpine begins. Where the Moonfall Ruins hide among ancient trees and forgotten paths.

I've been researching those ruins for eight months.

The texts I recovered from the Council's oldest archives paint a very different picture than the official histories. The Moonfall Ruins aren't a place of blessing. They're a graveyard.

The first omegas weren't honored. They were sacrificed.

Their power was stolen, redistributed, woven into the alpha bloodlines to create the hierarchy that still governs us. Every alpha alive carries a fragment of that stolen strength in their veins.

And Nyra carries all of it.

The text is explicit: The marked one who rises from death will hold the power to end all bloodlines or remake them in her image. She will be death and rebirth. Destruction and salvation. The moon's chosen vessel.

I spread the ancient pages across my desk. The prophecy is written in old script, the kind that requires translation and interpretation. But the meaning is clear enough.

Nyra isn't just powerful.

She's the key to everything.

If she dies beneath the blood moon, the stored power will be released. Every alpha bloodline will collapse. The entire werewolf hierarchy will crumble into dust.

But if she lives. . .if someone can control her, guide her, claim her. . .the entire system can be remade.

And I intend to be the one who does it.

A knock at my door interrupts my thoughts.

"Enter."

One of my younger betas steps inside. Thomas, I think. Or maybe Trevor. I can never remember which.

"Sir, the omega network is growing. We've confirmed safe houses in four territories now."

"Let them grow."

He blinks. "Sir?"

"You heard me. Let Nyra build her little rebellion. Let her gather the outcasts and the rejected. Let her think she's winning."

"I don't understand."

Of course he doesn't. Nobody does except me.

"The more wolves she protects, the more invested she becomes. The more desperate she'll be to defend them when the real attack comes."

Understanding dawns slowly across his face. "You want her emotionally compromised."

"I want her predictable." I turn back to the prophecy. "Right now, she's controlled. Restrained. She could walk away from all of this if she wanted to. But if her network is threatened. . .if the wolves she's sworn to protect are in danger. . .she'll have no choice but to use her full power."

"And then?"

"And then we'll know exactly what she's capable of." I trace the ancient text with one finger. "Knowledge is power. Once I understand the extent of her abilities, I can plan accordingly."

The beta nods and leaves.

I return to the window. The moon is waning, but it will be full again in three weeks. And two weeks after that, the blood moon rises.

Plenty of time.

I think about Nyra standing in that courtyard, silver flames dancing across her skin. The way she moved, fluid and lethal. The way she looked at Kael. . .like she wanted to hurt him and hold him in equal measure.

That kind of conflict makes people vulnerable.

And vulnerability can be exploited.

Kael thinks he can save her. Protect her. Win her back through guilt and persistence.

He's wrong.

You don't save someone like Nyra. You don't protect someone who can turn rogues to ash with a thought.

You claim her. You control her. You use her power to reshape the world in your image.

And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I smile at my reflection in the window. Beyond the glass, the forest stretches dark and endless. Somewhere out there, Nyra is building her network. Gathering her forces. Preparing for a war she doesn't realize is already decided.

The blood moon is coming.

I have plenty of time.