The moon hung lower than usual, swollen and blood-tinged, casting an eerie glow that drenched the forest in red shadows and silver light.
Seraphina stood still in the clearing, her chest heaving, fingers twitching at her sides, and heart pounding like a trapped drum in her ribs. She could still feel the phantom warmth of Kael's hand on hers—the weight of his stare, heavy, confused, and something else she couldn't name. Something that made her stomach twist.
He had seen it.
The mark.
The glow.
The truth.
She hadn't meant for him to.
She hadn't meant for any of this.
Kael hadn't spoken a word since the light had exploded between them—since the rogue wolf had dropped dead at their feet like a puppet with its strings severed, blood pooling faster than reason could explain.
Now, he stood a few feet away, his back turned, jaw clenched so tightly she could see the muscles in his neck twitch.
"Kael," she breathed, her voice cracking beneath the weight of a thousand unsaid questions.
He didn't turn.
He didn't speak.
He just stared into the woods like they held answers to everything he couldn't process.
She took a step forward.
And another.
Until her fingers brushed the back of his coat.
"Don't," he said, voice low—broken.
Her breath hitched.
"I didn't mean to—"
"You weren't supposed to be able to do that," he said, cutting her off, his voice sharp like ice cracking beneath pressure.
Her chest tightened.
"I don't know what I did," she admitted, her voice trembling. "I was just scared. I thought we were going to die—"
Kael spun around, his eyes blazing silver, the kind of silver that warned of his wolf simmering beneath the surface.
"And then you glowed," he said, each word like a stone flung at her. "You glowed, Seraphina. Like your body was trying to burn through itself."
She shrank beneath his gaze, but didn't back down.
"I didn't do it on purpose."
Kael laughed—a short, bitter sound.
"No one ever does."
Seraphina's hands curled into fists by her sides, nails digging into her palms as Kael's words echoed in her skull like a curse.
"No one ever does."
She hated how that sentence felt like an accusation. A verdict. A sentence passed on something she didn't even understand.
"I'm not like them," she said quietly, voice laced with something between desperation and defiance. "I don't even know what I am."
Kael's gaze softened for a moment—but only for a moment.
"Then that makes two of us," he muttered, turning his back again, pacing now, like a caged wolf scenting a storm.
The air between them pulsed with unspoken tension.
Seraphina stepped forward, her voice firmer this time.
"What happened back there wasn't normal. You know that."
He froze.
She pressed on.
"You felt it. You saw it. That thing came for us and I—" Her voice cracked. "Something inside me pushed it back. I didn't even think. It was like… instinct."
Kael finally turned around, his face shadowed, unreadable.
"Instinct?" he repeated. "That wasn't instinct, Seraphina. That was power. Ancient. Raw. And terrifying."
Her stomach knotted.
"I didn't ask for this," she whispered.
"No one ever does," he said again, this time quieter. Sadder.
The silence between them stretched, deep and uncomfortable.
Then he looked at her—really looked at her.
"There's something inside you," he said. "Something dangerous. And you need to understand what it is before it gets someone killed."
Her knees weakened beneath the weight of his words.
"I saved you," she whispered, voice barely audible. "I saved us."
Kael's jaw twitched, and for a second she thought she saw guilt flash in his eyes.
"You did," he admitted. "But at what cost?"
Her breath caught in her throat.
Then, out of nowhere, a growl ripped through the clearing.
Both their heads snapped toward the trees.
Another presence.
Kael's body shifted instantly—alert, tense, ready to strike.
Seraphina felt it too.
The air thickened. The scent of blood, faint but fresh, wafted in.
And then the voice came.
"You're not supposed to be here, Alpha."
Kael's fists clenched.
From the mist stepped a woman.
Tall. Elegant. Cloaked in black feathers and moonlight.
And smiling like she knew exactly how the world would end.
Kael stepped protectively in front of Seraphina, his stance rigid, eyes glowing dangerously.
"Lilith," he growled, voice dipped in venom.
The woman tilted her head, amused. "Still so dramatic, Kael. I almost forgot how fun you used to be."
Seraphina starred, heart thudding erratically.
Lilith?
She wasn't just anyone.
Her aura pressed against Seraphina's skin like invisible blades, cold and suffocating.
Lilith's eyes slid to her.
"And you must be the little spark causing all the fuss," she purred. "Hmm. I expected... more."
Seraphina opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Kael snarled. "Stay away from her."
Lilith arched his brow, unbothered. "So protective of something you don't understand. How very typical of you."
"What do you want?" he snapped.
Her lips curved slowly, wickedly. "Oh, just a peek. A whisper. A taste of the truth you're both running from."
Seraphina forced herself to step forward, even though her knees felt like water. "Who are you?"
Lilith's eyes gleamed. "I'm the past your Alpha won't speak of. The storm your bloodline tried to bury. And the beginning of your end, little glowworm."
Kael moved faster than thought.
But Lilith vanished into the mist.
The clearing fell silent again—oppressively so.
Kael didn't relax.
Neither did Seraphina.
She could still feel Lilith's presence lingering like smoke in her lungs.
"Who was that?" she whispered.
Kael's voice was gravel. "A ghost. One that should've stayed buried."
Her eyes narrowed. "What does she mean by 'the beginning of your end'?"
He didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
Because somewhere inside her, something had shifted.
Lilith hadn't touched her.
But it felt like she had.
Something sharp and ancient had stirred in Seraphina's soul.
And she knew, without a doubt, that nothing would ever be the same again.
Kael finally looked at her.
"We need to leave," he said. "Now."
She wanted to ask more. Demand answers.
But the look in his eyes—haunted and furious—stole the words from her lips.
They disappeared into the forest shadows together.
Neither one of them saw the second pair of eyes watching from the trees.
Hungry.
Feral.
Waiting.