Seraphina's POV
"Kill them both," Aldric orders, his sword gleaming in the Blood Moon's light. "Make it quick."
His guards advance from all sides. Twenty men with weapons drawn. We're trapped in the center of the garden, exhausted from the ritual, barely able to stand.
"Protect the prince!" Lyra shouts, moving between us and the guards. But she's just one person against twenty.
Caelan tries to summon his curse power, but nothing happens. The ritual drained everything from him. His hand shakes as he tries to pull me behind him.
"Stay back," he gasps. "I'll find a way to—"
"You'll find a way to die," Aldric interrupts. "Both of you. Such a tragic accident. The cursed prince and his Luna Wolf, killed by rogues during the chaos of the Blood Moon." His smile is poison. "No one will question it."
The guards are five steps away. Four. Three.
I reach for my wolf form, but my body won't shift. The ritual took too much. I'm empty.
We're going to die.
Then Caelan grabs my hand.
The moment our skin touches, something explodes between us. Not curse power. Not Luna magic. Something new.
Our bond.
Power surges through me—his darkness mixing with my light. I gasp as I feel his strength pouring into my exhausted body. And through our connection, I feel him drawing on my Luna energy, filling his empty reserves.
"What—" I start to say.
"The bond works both ways," the Queen shouts. "You share power now! Use it!"
Caelan's eyes meet mine. Silver eyes that glow brighter than before. "Together?"
"Together," I agree.
We turn to face Aldric's guards, our hands still joined. Power builds between us—silver and black, life and death, Luna and curse swirling into something that's never existed before.
The first guard lunges at us.
Caelan raises his free hand. Black smoke pours out, but it's different now. Threaded with silver light. It doesn't kill the guard—it freezes him in place like a statue.
"Impossible," Aldric breathes. "The curse should be gone!"
"It is gone," I say, and my voice sounds different. Stronger. "This is something new. Something better."
The other guards hesitate, seeing their frozen comrade.
"Don't just stand there!" Aldric screams. "Attack!"
They rush at us all at once.
I throw my free hand forward, and white light explodes from my palm. But it's not pure Luna light anymore—it's mixed with shadows. The light-shadow hits three guards, and they go flying backward into the hedge.
Caelan and I move together like we've fought side by side for years. He blocks on the left while I strike on the right. His shadow-power tangles their legs while my light-magic pushes them back. We're not two separate fighters—we're one weapon with two parts.
Within minutes, all twenty guards are either frozen, unconscious, or running away in fear.
Aldric stares at us, his face pale. "What are you?"
"We're learning the rules," Caelan says, squeezing my hand. "Rule one: bonded mates share power. Rule two: curse magic mixed with Luna magic creates something new." His smile is fierce. "Rule three: you lose."
Aldric pulls out another crystal—this one burning with red light. "I still have tricks you haven't seen, boy."
He throws the crystal at the ground. Red smoke explodes, filling the garden.
When it clears, Aldric is gone. Again.
But this time, he left more than a message. The Queen is on her knees, clutching her chest.
"Mother!" Caelan drops my hand and runs to her.
I follow, my heart pounding. The Queen's face is gray. She's gasping for air.
"Poison," Lyra says, checking her pulse. "The smoke was poisoned. Everyone who breathed it—"
She stops. Looks around. I follow her gaze and my stomach drops.
All of the Queen's guards who were standing nearby are on the ground. Not moving. Not breathing.
"No," I whisper. "No, no, no—"
The Queen grabs Caelan's hand with shaking fingers. "Listen to me. Aldric... he's not working alone. There's someone... else. Someone... in the palace. Feeding him information." She coughs, and blood appears on her lips. "Don't trust... anyone. Except... her." She looks at me. "Seraphina... your mother... told me... if this day came... go to... the Western Tower. She left... something... for you. Something... that can... stop him."
"Stop talking!" Caelan's voice breaks. "Save your strength! Seraphina can heal you, can't you?" He looks at me desperately. "Your Luna powers can heal!"
I drop beside the Queen and place my hands on her chest. I try to summon healing light, but nothing comes. The ritual took everything. I'm empty.
"I can't," I sob. "I'm too drained. I don't have enough power—"
"Take mine," Caelan says immediately. He grabs my hand. "Use our bond. Take my power and heal her!"
I try. I pull on his energy through our connection, feeling his strength flow into me. Light builds in my hands—
But the Queen stops me, her hand covering mine. "No. Save your power. You'll need it... for what's coming. This poison... it's too far gone. Even Luna magic... can't stop it now."
"Mother, please—"
"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I should have... stopped Aldric... years ago. Should have... protected you. Both of you." Her eyes find mine. "Seraphina... you're the queen... now. By law... the prince's bonded mate... becomes queen. Protect him. Protect... the kingdom. Find what... Mirelle left... in the Western Tower. It's the only way... to stop... the bloodline curse."
"What is it?" I ask urgently. "What did my mother leave?"
But the Queen's eyes close. Her hand goes limp.
She's gone.
Caelan makes a sound like something inside him just broke. He holds his mother's body, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
I want to comfort him, but I don't know how. We've been bonded for less than an hour. I barely know him. What right do I have to—
You have every right, a voice says in my head. You're his mate. His other half. He needs you.
I realize the voice is coming through our bond. I can hear Caelan's thoughts.
I'm sorry, his mental voice says. I can't control it yet. The bond is still new. You can probably hear everything I'm thinking.
I can, I reply the same way, and his head snaps up in surprise. And for the record, you're allowed to grieve. I'm not going anywhere.
He looks at me with so much pain and gratitude that my heart aches. Then he gently closes his mother's eyes and stands.
"Lyra," he says, his voice steady despite the tears on his face. "Take the Queen's body inside. Prepare her for the funeral rites. And find out who else died from the poison. I want a full count."
"Your Highness—" Lyra starts.
"That's an order," he says quietly. "We don't have time to grieve properly. Aldric will strike again, soon. We need to be ready."
Lyra nods and carefully lifts the Queen's body. Other guards—the ones who were far enough away to avoid the poison—come to help with the fallen.
When they're gone, Caelan turns to me. "The Western Tower. Can you walk?"
"I think so." My legs feel like jelly, but I force them to work.
"Good. Because we need to find out what your mother left there." He takes my hand again, and I feel his exhaustion through the bond. He's barely standing. "And we need to figure out who the traitor is before they strike again."
We start walking through the palace halls. Everything feels wrong. Dangerous. Like enemies are hiding behind every corner.
"How do we know who to trust?" I ask quietly.
"We don't," he says. "The Queen said not to trust anyone except you. So that's what I'll do." His hand tightens on mine. "I just met you today. You're bonded to me forever. You can never have children because of my family's curse. And now you're stuck in a palace full of traitors and assassins. You must really regret breaking my curse."
I stop walking. Make him look at me.
"I don't regret it," I say firmly. "Yes, I'm scared. Yes, this is all happening too fast. But I chose you. And I'd choose you again."
He studies my face like he's trying to figure out if I'm lying. Through the bond, I feel his disbelief. His hope. His fear that I'll abandon him like everyone else has.
I won't leave you, I think at him. Ever. That's what bonded mates means.
His mental voice comes back, soft and vulnerable: Why? You barely know me.
Because I see you, I reply. The real you, underneath the curse and the loneliness. And what I see is worth saving.
He pulls me into his arms then, holding me tight. Not with curse power or magic. Just a man holding onto the one person who chose to stay.
"Thank you," he whispers.
We hold each other for one moment. Just one. Because that's all we can spare.
Then we hear screaming from the Western Tower.
We run.
The tower door is blown open, smoke pouring out. Inside, someone is fighting. I hear metal clashing against metal. Smell blood.
Caelan and I rush through the door and up the spiral stairs.
At the top, we find a room completely destroyed. Books torn apart. Furniture smashed. And in the center of the chaos, a woman in a hooded cloak rifling through a chest.
"Stop!" Caelan shouts.
The woman spins around. She's wearing a mask, but I can see her eyes. Yellow eyes.
Another creature. But this one is different. Stronger.
"Too late," she hisses. "I found what I was looking for."
She holds up a small wooden box—the same kind my mother hid under the floorboards at my old house. But this one is glowing with powerful magic.
"That's mine," I say, stepping forward. "My mother left that for me."
"Your mother was a fool," the creature says. "She thought she could hide the Oracle's Heart. Thought she could keep it from us. But now we have it. And with this, we can destroy every Luna Wolf bloodline forever."
"The Oracle's Heart?" I echo. "What is that?"
"You'll never find out."
The creature jumps through the window, clutching the box.
Caelan and I rush to the window and look out. She's climbing down the tower wall impossibly fast, disappearing into the forest beyond.
"We have to go after her!" I say.
"Wait." Caelan points to something on the floor. A piece of paper that fell from the chest.
I pick it up. It's a letter in my mother's handwriting:
"My dearest Seraphina, If you're reading this, someone found the Oracle's Heart before you did. I'm so sorry. I should have told you about it before I died, but I thought I had more time. The Oracle's Heart is the source of all Luna Wolf power. It's what allows priestesses to break curses and heal the sick. Without it, your powers will fade. Within three days, you'll be human again—no wolf, no magic, no healing. But there's worse news. Whoever has the Oracle's Heart can use it to corrupt Luna magic. They can turn healing into poison. Life into death. They can make Luna Wolves into weapons. If Aldric gets that box, he'll use it to turn you against Caelan. You'll become his puppet, forced to kill the man you love. There's only one way to stop this: you must bond with the Oracle's Heart before Aldric does. It requires a blood sacrifice and a vow spoken at the Heart of the Moon Temple. You have three days before the corruption begins. Find the Heart. Bond with it. Or watch yourself destroy everything you love. I'm so sorry, my darling. I wish I could have protected you better. —Mother"
The letter falls from my hands.
Three days. That's all we have. Three days to find this Oracle's Heart before I lose my powers. Before Aldric uses me as a weapon against Caelan.
"We just broke one curse," I whisper. "And now there's another one."
Caelan picks up the letter and reads it. His face goes hard. "Then we'll break this one too. We'll find the Heart, bond with it, and—"
He stops. Through our bond, I feel his sudden spike of fear.
"What? What's wrong?"
He shows me the last line of the letter. The part I missed because it was written so small:
"P.S. - The blood sacrifice required isn't yours. It's your mate's. To bond with the Oracle's Heart, the Luna Wolf must kill her bonded partner. That's the price of power."
We stare at each other in horror.
To save my powers, to stop Aldric from controlling me, I have to kill Caelan.
The man I just bonded my soul to.
The man I promised to protect.
The rules are clear. And they're impossible.