Sleep didn't come.
The walls of the east wing were too silent, too heavy — like they were holding secrets I wasn't meant to hear. I lay awake, staring at the ceiling while the wind howled outside, whispering names I thought I'd buried with my past.
Mother.
Elias.
Home.
Kael's words replayed in my mind: "I was there the night she died."
If that was true, then he knew more about that night than anyone else alive. He knew why my mother screamed before the flames swallowed her. He knew what killed my pack. And yet… he'd said nothing.
I threw off the blanket and stood. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless, pacing.
"You shouldn't have come back, Aria."
That whisper from earlier hadn't been a dream. It had been real. I could still feel the breath of it against my ear, too close, too human.
I crossed to the door and opened it just enough to peer into the hallway. Empty. The guards who were supposed to be stationed outside were gone.
The air shifted — faint, cold, carrying the scent of rain and iron. Blood.
My heart stuttered.
Without thinking, I followed it.
The packhouse at night was a maze of shadows. I moved quietly, my bare feet brushing against the stone floors. Somewhere below, a low chanting rose and fell like the pulse of the earth itself.
I followed the sound down a hidden stairway behind a tapestry. My mother once told me that true Alphas built secrets into their homes — tunnels for escape, and rooms for power.
The chanting grew louder.
The air grew thicker.
When I reached the bottom, I saw a faint crimson glow bleeding through a crack in a door.
I pushed it open — just enough.
There, under the full moon pouring through a glass ceiling, stood Kael. Bare-chested, marked with runes that glowed faintly. Around him, five pack elders chanted in a language I didn't recognize.
A bowl of silver lay before him — filled with blood. His own.
"What are you doing…" I whispered before I could stop myself.
Kael's head snapped up. His golden eyes found mine instantly, glowing like molten fire.
The chanting stopped.
"Aria." His voice was low, almost a growl. "You shouldn't be here."
I froze in the doorway, every instinct screaming to run.
"What is this?" I demanded, my voice trembling. "What are you hiding from your pack? From me?"
He took a step toward me, but one of the elders blocked his path. "She shouldn't have seen this, Alpha. The bond isn't sealed yet. If she learns the truth—"
"Enough," Kael snarled.
The elder flinched back, but his words echoed in my mind. The bond isn't sealed yet.
"What bond?" I whispered.
Kael's expression hardened. "Leave, Aria. I'll explain when it's safe."
"I'm not leaving until you tell me the truth!"
The air between us crackled. For a moment, I thought he might force me out. Instead, he sighed — a sound of pure exhaustion, like he'd been carrying centuries on his shoulders.
"This ritual… it's to control what's inside me," he said finally. "The Blood Moon curse. Without it, I lose control — and everything burns."
My breath caught. Burns.
"You mean…" My voice broke. "You caused that fire?"
His eyes closed. "I tried to stop it."
I wanted to scream, to hit him, to make him feel even a fraction of what I'd lost. But before I could speak, the glow from the bowl flickered — and a shadow moved behind Kael.
Not a man.
Not a wolf.
Something else.
It rose like smoke from his mark, taking shape — a creature with hollow eyes and teeth made of darkness.
The elders began to chant again in panic. Kael stumbled, clutching his chest.
"Go, Aria!" he shouted. "Now!"
But I couldn't move. My body froze as the creature's head turned toward me, its mouth splitting into a grin.
"We meet again, little Luna."
The sound of that voice hit me like a blow. I knew it. I'd heard it once before — the night my pack burned.
And then everything went black.