Elara POV
I woke up the next day to voices arguing outside my door.
Not just voices. Growls. Snarls. The kind of sounds that made my skin crawl. The kind that meant violence was one word away.
I sat up slowly. My body still ached. The fever was gone for now. Kaelen had stayed close all night. His presence kept the pain manageable.
But he wasn't here now.
The voices got louder. I recognized Kaelen's. Deep. Commanding. But there were others. Angrier. More aggressive.
I got out of bed. Moved to the door. Pressed my ear against the wood.
"—too dangerous to keep here," a male voice said. Rough. Old. "She's a threat to the entire pack."
"She's under my protection." Kaelen's voice was ice. "That makes her pack business. My decision."
"Your decision is putting us all at risk!" Another voice. Female this time. Sharp. "Dual marks should have killed her. The fact that she's alive means she's unnatural. Wrong."
"She saved herself from vampires," Kaelen shot back. "Turned one to dust. That power could—"
"That power could destroy us all!" The old male voice again. "What happens when she loses control? When she decides we're the enemy?"
Silence.
My heart hammered in my chest. They were talking about killing me. Right outside my door. Like I was a problem to be solved.
"The council demands a trial," the female voice said. "Ancient law. Any marked outsider who survives the impossible must prove their loyalty. Or be eliminated."
"You want to put her through the Trial of Moonfire?" Kaelen's voice was dangerous now. "She's barely recovered. She doesn't know how to control her power yet."
"Then she'll fail. And we'll be rid of the threat." The old man sounded pleased. "Unless you're afraid she won't survive, Alpha King?"
The title sounded like an insult the way he said it.
"I'm afraid you're making a mistake," Kaelen said quietly. "One we'll all regret."
"The council has voted. Three days from now. At the next full moon." Footsteps. Moving away. "Prepare her. Or we will."
More footsteps. Then silence.
I stepped back from the door. My hands were shaking. A trial. To prove my loyalty. To people who already wanted me dead.
The door opened.
Kaelen stood there. He looked tired. Worn. Like he'd aged ten years overnight.
"You heard," he said. Not a question.
I nodded.
He came in. Closed the door behind him. Leaned against it like he needed the support.
"The council has records," he said. His voice was flat. Empty. "Bond sigils like yours. They date back four hundred years. To the first wars between wolves and vampires."
Four hundred years.
The number made me dizzy.
"What happened to them?" I asked. "The others with dual marks?"
His expression darkened. "They all died. Within days. The magic tore them apart from the inside."
"But I'm still alive."
"Yes." He looked at me. Really looked. Like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. "Which means you're different. Stronger. Or..."
"Or what?"
"Or you're exactly what they created you to be." He pushed off the door. Moved closer. "Your mother's journal. Project Twin-Flame. What if you're not a mistake? What if you're the end result?"
The words settled in my chest like stones.
"The council thinks I'm a weapon," I said quietly.
"They think you're dangerous. They're not wrong." He stopped in front of me. Close enough that I had to tilt my head back to see his face. "The Trial of Moonfire will test you. It burns away lies. Forces truth to the surface. If you're hiding something—anything—it will be revealed."
"I'm not hiding anything."
"Aren't you?" His golden eyes searched mine. "You turned a vampire to dust without knowing how. You created ice from nothing. You survived marks that should have killed you instantly. You're hiding something even from yourself, Elara. The Moonfire will drag it out."
Fear crawled up my spine.
"What if I fail?"
"Then the council will execute you." His voice was matter-of-fact. Like he was discussing the weather. "Publicly. To show the pack that even I can't protect threats to our survival."
"And if I pass?"
"Then you live. For now." He reached out. His fingers brushed my cheek. Gentle. Almost tender. "But they'll still fear you. Still watch you. Waiting for you to prove them right."
I pulled back from his touch. Anger flared hot in my chest.
"So either way, I'm trapped. Either I die in your trial or I live as your prisoner."
"You're not a prisoner."
"Then let me leave."
"You know I can't do that." His hand dropped. "The fever will kill you without me close. And even if you survived that, Theron's army is still out there. Waiting."
Twenty-six days. That's how long I had left. Twenty-six days before the Anchor Law killed me if I didn't choose.
"When is the trial?" I asked.
"Three days. At moonrise."
Three days to prepare for something I didn't understand. Something designed to expose my secrets. My lies.
The problem was, I didn't know what secrets I was hiding.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I lay in bed. Stared at the ceiling. Tried to make sense of everything.
Four hundred years of dual marks. All dead. Except me.
Project Twin-Flame. Whatever that meant.
The Moonfire. Coming to burn away my lies.
I didn't know what I was. Didn't know what I was capable of. And in three days, everyone would find out.
Suddenly, a sound at the window made me freeze.
Scratching. Soft. Deliberate.
I sat up slowly. My heart started racing.
The window was closed. Locked. But something was out there.
I got out of bed. Moved closer. Careful. Quiet.
Frost covered the glass. Delicate patterns forming before my eyes.
No.
Not patterns. Words.
They fear what they cannot control. But I do not fear you, little flame.
Theron.
Even locked in this room. Even surrounded by wolves. He could still reach me.
Three days until they judge you. But you already know the truth, don't you? You were never meant to choose. You were meant to break them all.
The frost melted. Disappeared like it had never been there.
I stood at the window. Shaking. Not from cold. From something else.
Because part of me—a part I didn't want to acknowledge—wondered if he was right.
The next morning, a guard was found dead.
Not dead. Worse.
His bond was severed. Cut clean. He lay in the hallway. Eyes open. Breathing. But empty. A Hollow.
The pack went into lockdown immediately.
I heard the commotion from my room. Heard Mira shouting orders. Heard Kaelen's roar of rage.
Then he was at my door. Eyes wild. Furious.
"Where were you last night?"
"Here. Sleeping. I never left—"
"A guard's bond was severed. While you slept." He stepped into the room. His presence was overwhelming. Suffocating. "Did you dream? Did you feel anything?"
"No. I swear. I didn't do anything."
But even as I said it, doubt crept in.
Had I dreamed? I couldn't remember. There was a gap in my memory. Hours where I couldn't account for what happened.
Kaelen stared at me. His expression was unreadable.
"The council is calling for your immediate execution," he said quietly. "They think you're too dangerous to keep alive even three more days."
"I didn't do this."
"Can you prove that?"
I couldn't. That was the problem. I couldn't prove anything.
"The trial happens tonight," Kaelen said. "Not three days from now. Tonight. At sunset." He turned to leave. Stopped at the door. "Pray the Moonfire shows them you're innocent. Because if it doesn't, there's nothing I can do to save you."
The door closed.
I was alone.
With the marks burning on my wrists. With the memory I couldn't access. With the certainty that someone—or something—was setting me up to die.
Tonight.
At sunset.
The Moonfire would judge me.
And I had no idea if I'd survive.