Caspian's POV
She's light in my arms. Too light.
Three years of running has made Sera thin, almost fragile. But I can feel the power humming beneath her skin, fighting against the sacred chains. Even suppressed, her magic is stronger than any wolf I've ever hunted.
It terrifies me.
She terrifies me.
Put me down, Sera says. Her voice is steady, but I feel her heart racing against my chest.
No.
I can walk.
You'll run.
You'll just catch me again. She looks up at me, and even in the darkness, her eyes glow silver. You always do.
I don't answer. Can't answer. Because she's right.
I've caught her ten times in three years. And I've let her escape ten times.
I told myself it was strategy. That I was studying her patterns, learning her tricks. That the next time would be different.
I lied.
The truth is simpler and so much worse: I can't kill her.
The mate bond won't let me.
Why now? Sera asks quietly. Why didn't you chain me the first time? Or the fifth? Why let me run for three years just to catch me tonight?
Orders, I say shortly. My uncle is losing patience.
That's not why.
I stop walking. We're deep in the forest now, far from town. Moonlight filters through the trees, turning everything silver and strange.
You want the truth? I set Sera down but keep one hand wrapped around her arm. The chains glow between us. Fine. Three years ago, I saw you for the first time. You were in a riverside village, helping an old woman carry water. You smiled at her. And the mate bond snapped into place so hard I couldn't breathe.
Sera's eyes widen.
I should have killed you then, I continue, my voice rough. Fast and clean. But I couldn't. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to protect you instead. So I let you run. I told myself next time would be easier.
Was it?
No. The word comes out broken. It got harder. Every time I saw you, every time I got close, the bond got stronger. Until I started dreading the hunts and craving them at the same time.
Caspian
Don't. I release her arm and step back. Don't say my name like that. Like you understand. You don't.
Then help me understand.
The memories hit me without warning.
Three years ago. My eighteenth birthday.
I was nobody special just an omega in the Riverside Pack. Weak. Forgettable. The kind of wolf everyone ignored.
My first transformation was supposed to change that. Every wolf gets stronger after their first shift. Some even develop special abilities.
I remember standing under the full moon, feeling my bones start to crack and reshape. It hurt, but I didn't care. Finally, I'd be strong. Finally, I'd matter.
Then She appeared.
The Moon Goddess herself, blazing with silver light so bright I had to look away. When I finally opened my eyes, she was standing in front of me. Beautiful and terrible and impossible.
She touched my forehead.
Power exploded through my body. Not normal wolf strength something bigger, wilder, ancient. I could feel magic singing in my blood, feel the moonlight responding to my thoughts.
For one perfect moment, I felt chosen. Special. Loved.
Then the pain came.
Fire burned across my chest as the Heretic's Mark appeared a twisted moon wrapped in thorns. The Goddess's voice echoed through my mind:
Blessed and cursed, child. You will save them or destroy them. The choice is yours.
Then She was gone.
And my pack turned on me.
My parents the two people who were supposed to love me no matter what called me an abomination. My alpha ordered me to leave before dawn or be killed. The friends I'd grown up with threw rocks and screamed monster as I ran.
I've been running ever since.
Sera.
Caspian's voice pulls me back to the present. He's watching me with an expression I can't read.
You were remembering, he says. Your transformation.
How did you know?
Your mark glows when you remember strong emotions. His jaw tightens. I've been hunting you long enough to notice.
The chains around my wrists suddenly feel heavier. So what happens now? You drag me to the Temple and watch them execute me?
Yes.
The word is like a knife.
And the mate bond? I ask. You'll just ignore it?
I'll have to.
That'll kill you. I step closer, even though the chains burn. Rejecting a mate bond actually going through with it destroys both wolves. You know that.
I know. Caspian's voice is hollow. But my duty
Your duty is a lie!
The words explode out of me before I can stop them. Caspian goes very still.
The Temple isn't protecting anyone, I continue, desperate now. They're afraid. Afraid of what Heretics can do. Afraid their power will be challenged. That's why they kill us!
You can sever mate bonds, Caspian says coldly. You can destroy the most sacred connection between wolves. That makes you dangerous.
I would never
You don't know what you'd do! His control cracks, just for a moment. Power corrupts. And you have more power than any wolf alive. Eventually, you'd use it. You'd hurt people. You'd
He stops abruptly, breathing hard.
I'd what? I ask softly.
Caspian's eyes meet mine, and I see it the real fear beneath all his ice-cold control.
You'd become the monster who killed my parents.
The forest goes silent.
What? I whisper.
A Heretic killed them, Caspian says, each word carefully controlled again. I was eight years old. She was running from Temple hunters and used her power to sever their mate bond. The shock killed them both instantly. In front of me.
My heart breaks. Caspian, I'm so sorry
The Temple took me in after. Gave me purpose. Trained me. They saved me from becoming nothing. His hands clench into fists. So yes, I know what Heretics can do. And yes, I'll deliver you to your execution. Even if it destroys me.
He turns away.
We came here tonight, he says without looking at me. Don't try to run. I'll catch you, and next time I won't be gentle.
I sink down against a tree, chains clinking. My mind is racing. Caspian's parents. Killed by a Heretic. No wonder he hates what I am.
But something doesn't add up.
Caspian, I call out softly.
He doesn't turn around.
That Heretic who killed your parents did they ever tell you why she was running?
Silence.
Did they tell you what the Temple wanted from her? What they were trying to force her to do?
It doesn't matter, he says, but his voice wavers.
It does. Because I think
A branch snaps in the darkness.
We both freeze.
Then Luna steps out of the shadows, her hands raised. Don't attack. I just want to talk.
Caspian's hand goes to his blade. How did you find us?
Luna's smile is sharp. I've been tracking Sera for two years, High Priest. You think I don't know how to follow a trail? Her eyes shift to me. Are you hurt?
I'm fine.
Good. Luna pulls something from her pocket a small crystal that glows with pale blue light. Because we don't have much time. Sera, your mother is alive.
The world stops.
What? I breathe.
Your mother. Mira Nightshade. She's alive, and she's been looking for you. Luna's expression is deadly serious. She was the Heretic before you. The one the Temple supposedly executed twenty years ago. She survived. And she has information that changes everything.
Caspian steps forward. That's impossible. Heretics don't survive execution.
This one did. Luna looks at him, and something in her eyes makes my blood run cold. And High Priest? The Heretic who killed your parents? She didn't do it because power corrupted her.
Then why? Caspian's voice is barely a whisper.
Luna's next words shatter everything:
Because your uncle High Chancellor Mordren ordered her to use her power on them. And when she refused, he had them killed and blamed her for it.