Mag-log in“Don’t let him come closer, Mama.”Kael’s frightened voice echoed through the sanctuary.Seraphina felt as though someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart.She looked at Darius.He hadn’t moved. His eyes remained fixed on the little boy standing beside Mara, and his expression had become impossible to read.“Kael, sweetheart,” Seraphina called gently. “Look at me. You’re not in trouble. Nobody is going to hurt you.”Kael nodded, but his small fingers remained wrapped around Mara’s hand.Aurelian stepped forward.“Now you understand why I brought him here.”Seraphina’s expression hardened.“You brought him here because you wanted to use him.”“I brought him here because the boy needed to be protected.”“From whom? His own family?”“From the thing living inside your husband.”Darius’s claws began to emerge.“Choose your next words carefully.”Aurelian didn’t appear intimidated.“Your wolf has been searching for him since the moment it recognized his blood. You think you
The first thing Seraphina noticed was the silence.Darius stood in the middle of the corridor, his head lowered and his hands clenched. Dark veins spread from the silver mark on his wrist, creeping beneath his skin.His breathing had changed.“Darius?”He didn’t respond.She stepped closer.“Look at me.”A deep growl rolled through his chest.The guards backed away.“Get everyone out of this corridor!” Captain Rowan ordered.Seraphina ignored him.“Darius, it’s me.”His head lifted.For one brief second, she saw recognition in his eyes. Then his pupils widened, turning almost completely silver.“Run,” he rasped.She froze.“What?”“Get away from me!”His body jerked violently. One hand struck the wall, leaving deep claw marks across the stone.Rowan reached for Seraphina.“My Luna, you need to move.”She pulled away.“Find my son. Search every exit, every passage, every part of this castle. I want the gates closed.”“Understood.”“And nobody leaves until we know how he was taken.”Row
Kael woke up in a strange bed and began crying before the sun had fully risen.Seraphina was beside him in seconds.“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”He rubbed his eyes, looking around the unfamiliar room.“Where am I?”“You’re home.”He frowned.“This isn’t my room.”Seraphina brushed his hair away from his forehead.“We’ll make it yours. You can choose whatever you want to put in here.”“Can I have my old wooden wolf?”She smiled.“Of course.”He hesitated.“Will Papa come and take me again?”The question struck harder than she expected.“No one is taking you away from me.”“Promise?”She kissed his forehead.“I promise I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”Kael seemed satisfied, but he didn’t let go of her hand when she tried to stand.“Stay a little.”Seraphina sat back down.“I have nowhere else to be.”Darius had not slept.He stood in his private study, staring at the silver mark on his wrist.It had changed.The crescent that once curled around the thorn was now surrounded by
Darius had spent most of his life believing his mother’s family was dead.His mother rarely spoke about them. Whenever he asked about her childhood, she would become quiet, then find a reason to change the subject.He had assumed it was grief.Now he wondered whether it had been fear.“You’re not going alone.”Seraphina’s voice brought him back to the present.Darius looked up from the note.“My uncle specifically requested that I come alone.”“And he specifically took my son. I don’t intend to reward him for that.”“He may refuse to meet us if I bring anyone.”“Then let him refuse. At least we’ll know where he stands.”Darius studied her expression.She looked exhausted, but there was no hesitation in her eyes.“I won’t allow him to use Kael to hurt you,” he said.“And I won’t allow him to use you either.”For a moment, neither spoke.Then Darius folded the note.“We’ll go together. Rowan and two men will follow at a distance.”Seraphina nodded.“Good.”The meeting place was an aband
Seraphina had never hated silence as much as she did that night.The abandoned carriage stood near the eastern bridge, its door hanging open and its interior disturbed. One of the horses had been left behind, still harnessed to the vehicle.There was no sign of Kael.She searched the carriage herself, checking beneath the seats and examining the scattered belongings.A small blue ribbon lay near the door.She recognized it immediately.It had belonged to the little coat Kael wore when he visited her at Eldermere.She closed her fingers around it.“He’s been here,” she whispered.Darius stood behind her.“We’ll find him.”She didn’t answer.A promise couldn’t tell her whether her son was frightened, injured, or calling for her somewhere beyond the border.Rowan approached from the bridge.“Alpha, the tracks divide here. One set continues east, but another leads toward the old forest.”“How many horses?”“Three. Possibly four.”Seraphina examined the ground.“Isolde’s carriage had two h
Darius read the message a second time.The boy’s blood is the key. Keep him away from the Cursed Alpha.The words were written in black ink, without a name or seal.He placed the paper on his desk just as Seraphina entered.“You sent for me?”He looked up.“There’s something you need to see.”She approached and read the message.For a moment, her expression remained blank. Then her eyes narrowed.“Who sent this?”“We don’t know. It was delivered to one of our eastern patrols.”“Does it have anything to do with Kael’s birth record?”“Possibly.”She looked at him.“What does my son’s blood have to do with your curse?”“I don’t know yet.”Seraphina read the message again.“Someone is threatening a five-year-old child because of something connected to you.”Darius’s jaw tightened.“I won’t allow anyone to use him against us.”“Then we need to find out who is behind this.”He nodded.“I’ve ordered Rowan to locate the missing archive keeper. If that man has access to Kael’s original records







