"But Leighton will have evidence too. And he's desperate. Desperate wolves do dangerous things."
As if summoning danger with those words, a loud knock interrupted us.
A young warrior burst in, breathless. "Alpha! There's someone at the border. Says she needs to speak with Sophia immediately."
"Who?" Garrett demanded.
"She won't give her name. But Alpha, she's hurt badly. And she says…" The warrior swallowed. "She says Leighton is working with the Blood Moon Cult."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop to freezing.
"Blood Moon Cult?" Helena whispered. "That's impossible. They were destroyed two hundred years ago."
Kael stood up slowly. "No. They weren't destroyed. Just driven into hiding."
"You know about them?" Garrett asked.
"I fought them. During the war that led to my exile." Kael's voice was hollow. "Aldric and I—that's what we were really fighting about. He wanted to use their power. I wanted to wipe them out."
"And now they're back?" Marcus asked.
"If this woman is telling the truth, then yes." Kael looked at me. "We need to talk to her. Now."
The woman was in the pack's medical house, being tended by healers.
When we entered, I gasped.
She was young—maybe twenty-five—with long brown hair matted with blood. Deep claw marks covered her arms and legs. But it was her eyes that made my blood run cold.
They were filled with absolute terror.
"You're Sophia?" she rasped when she saw me.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"My name is Rachel. I'm from Silver Moon Pack." She coughed, wincing. "Or I was. Before I ran."
"Why did you run?" Garrett asked.
Rachel's eyes darted to him, then back to me. "Because I overheard something I wasn't supposed to. About Leighton. About his… allies."
"The Blood Moon Cult," Kael said.
Rachel nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't even know they were real. Thought they were just scary stories. But I saw her. The woman with red eyes."
My skin prickled.
"Red eyes?"
"Yes. She came to the pack house late at night. Met with Leighton in his private chambers. I was cleaning the hallway—I'm a servant—and I heard them talking."
"What did they say?" Helena pressed.
"The woman said… she said the council hearing was perfect timing."
Rachel looked at Kael. "She said your name. Said you were precisely where she wanted you."
Kael's jaw clenched. "What else?"
"She gave Leighton something. A red crystal. Said it would help him win at the Council." Rachel started shaking. "But the way she said it… It didn't sound like legal help. It sounded like… like murder."
"They're going to attack at the hearing," Marcus said.
"Not just attack," Kael said grimly. "If the Blood Moon Cult is involved, they'll want to make a statement. Show the Council their power."
"Then we cancel," Helena said. "We don't go."
"We can't cancel," Garrett said. "If we don't show up, Sophia is declared guilty by default. She'll never be safe."
"Then we prepare for war," I said.
Everyone looked at me.
"If they want to attack us at the Council, let them try," I continued. "We'll be ready. We have four weeks to train, to gather allies, and to plan."
"It's risky," Garrett warned.
"Everything's risky." I stood up straighter. "But I'm tired of running. Tired of hiding. If the Blood Moon Cult wants a fight, they'll get one."
Kael stepped beside me. "We fight together."
"Together," I agreed.
Garrett studied us both, then nodded slowly. "Then we start preparing tomorrow. I'll send word to our allies. Call in every favor I'm owed."
"I can help with training," Martha offered. "I know some old defensive magics."
"And I'll work on weapons," Marcus added. "If we're going to war, we need to be armed."
Plans started forming. People volunteering. The mood shifted from fear to determination.
But as I looked at Rachel, still trembling on the medical bed, I couldn't shake a cold feeling in my gut.
This was bigger than just me and Leighton.
This was about something ancient and dark rising from the shadows.
And somehow, I was right in the center of it.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I stood at the window of our room, staring out at the moonlit forest. Kael was asleep in the bed behind me, his breathing steady and peaceful.
My mind wouldn't rest.
Red eyes. Blood Moon Cult. Dark crystals.
What had I gotten myself into?
What had I gotten Erica into?
"Can't sleep?"
I turned to see Kael sitting up, his hair messy from the pillow.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't. The bond did." He patted the bed beside him. "Come here."
I climbed back into bed, and he pulled me against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, warm and solid.
"Talk to me," he murmured. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
"I'm scared," I admitted. "Not for me. For Erica. For you. What if something goes wrong at the Council? What if they hurt you?"
"They won't."
"You don't know that."
"I know that I've survived two hundred years of people trying to kill me." He kissed my lips softly.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"But the Cult—"
"The Cult is dangerous, yes. But they're not invincible. I've fought them before. I can do it again."
"You weren't protecting a mate and a child before."
He was quiet for a moment. Then: "You're right. I wasn't. Which means I'll fight even harder this time."
I tilted my head back to look at him. "Promise me something."
"Anything."
"If something happens—if things go wrong—you get Erica out. You save her first."
"Sophia—"
"Promise me, Kael. Please."
His silver-blue eyes searched mine. Then he sighed. "I promise. But nothing is going to happen. We're going to win this fight. All of us together."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because we have something they don't." He tapped my chest, over my heart. "We have love. Real, true love. And that's stronger than any dark magic they can throw at us."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust that love would be enough.
But as I drifted off to sleep in his arms, I couldn't shake the image of red eyes watching us from the darkness.
Waiting.
Planning.
And somewhere, in a dark fortress far from Black River, a woman with blood-red eyes smiled at a crystal ball.
Inside the ball, she could see Sophia and Kael sleeping peacefully.
"Enjoy your happiness while it lasts," she whispered. "Because soon, everything you love will burn."
She turned to Leighton, who stood nervously behind her.
"The pieces are in place," she said. "In four weeks, we make our move."
"And if they're prepared?" Leighton asked.
The woman laughed. "Oh, they'll be prepared. But not for what we have planned."
She held up the red crystal. Inside it, shadows swirled like smoke.
"The Council thinks they know power. But they haven't seen anything yet."
The crystal pulsed with dark energy.
And in the depths of its core, something ancient and terrible began to wake.
The next morning, I woke before dawn.
Kael was already up, dressed in simple training clothes—dark pants and a fitted shirt that showed off his muscular build. He was strapping on leather bracers.
"Where are you going?" I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes.
"Training ground. And so are you." He tossed a similar outfit onto the bed. "Get dressed. We start in twenty minutes."
"Start what?"
"Your real training." His silver-blue eyes were serious. "If we're going to face the Blood Moon Cult in four weeks, you need to learn how to control your rune magic. Really control it."
The rune magic I'd absorbed from those cursed stones was powerful—but wild. Unpredictable. The last time I'd used it in battle, I'd nearly passed out from the strain.
"Okay," I said. "But what about Erica?"
"Helena's arranging training for her too. Youth combat lessons with the pack's best instructor." He smiled. "Your daughter has talent, Sophia. Real talent. She just needs someone to help her develop it."
Pride swelled in my chest. My "failure" daughter was actually gifted. Leighton had been so wrong about her.
About both of us.
I got dressed quickly and followed Kael outside.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold. The air was chilly, making my breath fog.
Kael led me past the main training grounds, where pack warriors were already sparring. We kept walking until we reached the forest edge, then deeper into the trees.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Somewhere private. What I'm going to teach you… it's not for everyone to see."
After about fifteen minutes of hiking, we emerged into a clearing I'd never seen before.
It was perfect—a wide circle of flat ground surrounded by ancient trees. In the center stood several large stones arranged in a pattern. The whole place hummed with old magic.
"This is where I trained," Kael said quietly. "For two hundred years, whenever I was in this territory, I came here."
I could feel the weight of that history. Two centuries of lonely practice. Of perfecting skills with no one to share them with.
"It's beautiful," I said.
"It's sacred." He walked to the center of the stone circle. "The old wolves—the first ones—they used places like this to connect with the Moon Goddess. To strengthen their bonds with their inner wolves."
He turned to face me. "That's what you need to do. Your rune magic is powerful, but it's separate from your wolf. That's why it feels wild. You're fighting against it instead of working with it."
"How do I work with it?"
"By accepting it. By making it part of you instead of treating it like a foreign object." He gestured for me to join him in the circle. "Come. Sit."
I sat down on the cold ground facing him. Our knees almost touched.
"Close your eyes," Kael instructed. "Feel your wolf. Where is she right now?"
I closed my eyes and reached inward. My wolf was there, pacing restlessly. She'd been on edge ever since we escaped Silver Moon.
"She's anxious," I said.
"Good. Now, feel the rune magic. Where is it?"
That was harder. The rune magic didn't have a clear location. It was more like… a storm cloud floating through my body. Crackling with energy but never settling.
"It's everywhere. And nowhere."
"Exactly. That's the problem." Kael's voice was calm. "Your wolf is trying to contain it, but she can't. It's too big, too chaotic. So instead, you need to let them merge."
"Merge? How?"
"I'm going to guide you. But it'll feel strange. Maybe even scary. You have to trust me."
"I trust you."
"Then give me your hands."
I opened my eyes long enough to place my hands in his. His skin was warm, calloused from centuries of combat.
"Close your eyes again," he said. "And let me in."
The mate bond between us flared to life. I felt it like a physical thread connecting my chest to his. But then it grew stronger. Deeper.
Suddenly, I could feel everything Kael felt.
His steady heartbeat. His calm confidence. His love for me, burning bright and true.
And beneath all that—his wolf. Ancient and powerful, watching me with intelligent silver-blue eyes.
Hello, little sister, his wolf said directly into my mind.
I gasped. I'd never heard another wolf's voice so clearly before.
Don't be afraid, Kael's wolf continued. I'm here to help. May I?
I didn't know what he was asking permission for, but I trusted Kael. So I mentally nodded.
Kael's wolf reached out with ghostly paws and touched my wolf.
The effect was immediate.
My wolf, who'd been anxious and pacing, suddenly calmed. She sat down, ears perked forward with interest.
There, Kael's wolf said. Now. Show me the storm.