Chapter 4

Lunara’s POV

My eyes were still on the ancient tome as I muttered, “Nothing.”

“Is this about what you saw at the Healing Den?” Kael’s tone sharpened. “You saw Ashira and I together, didn’t you?”

He folded his arms, voice thick with frustration. “I’ve explained this, Lunara. Ashira and I—”

I cut him off before he could continue weaving lies. “I said I’m fine.” I didn’t look up. “You and Ashira are so close now, practically sharing a den. Good for you. Now can I please read in peace? This text on ancient Luna lineages is getting very interesting.”

His jaw ticked with irritation, and I could feel the Alpha in him bristling. Without another word, he stormed into the bathing chamber, the door slamming shut behind him.

I tossed the book aside and stood up, my limbs trembling from the tension. I padded barefoot to the kitchen hollow, needing water—anything to cool the storm rising inside me.

Leaning against the carved stone counter, I tried to breathe evenly, tried not to feel.

Then I heard his boots.Heavy. Deliberate. Each step echoing through the quiet of our den like a warning.

“You’ve been off all day,” Kael growled, entering behind me. “If something’s wrong, just spit it out.”

I turned to face him, arms folded, cloak swaying slightly. “I already told you—I’m fine. No need to fuss over me. Why don’t you go back to the maternity wing? Ashira could probably use some extra care… and attention.”

His golden eyes gleamed with anger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shrugged, pushing past him. “It means you seem more invested in her well-being than your mate’s.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Lunara!” he snapped. “Ashira is your older sister, and you’re acting like some petty omega in heat. You need to stop this jealousy—”

“I’m not jealous.” My voice was ice. “You two deserve each other.”

Something in him snapped.He growled—deep, low, not quite human—and shoved me. Hard.

I staggered, my back slamming into the corner of the stone counter with a sickening thud. Pain exploded through my spine and lower stomach. I gasped sharply as my knees buckled and I collapsed to the floor, instinctively curling around my belly.

“No…” I whispered. My wolf whimpered deep inside me, terrified.

Kael stood over me, breathing heavily. “I have Council duties. Don’t wait up.”

His voice was flat. Emotionless. He didn’t even look back as he yanked open the door and vanished into the night.

The moment it slammed shut, a pain unlike anything I’d felt before tore through my body.I lay on the floor, the cold stone biting into my skin, and a warm wetness pooled beneath me. My heart dropped.

Blood.“No… no, please no…” My voice cracked as my trembling hand reached down and came away stained crimson.

The air shifted violently with panic and grief.I fumbled for my comm crystal, hands shaking. I barely had enough strength to whisper the activation word before Kael’s name lit up in the glyph runes.

It rang once. Twice.Then he answered.

“Kael—” I choked, tears already falling.

“Don’t call me again until you’re done acting like a child,” he snapped, and the light went dead.

I stared at the glowing shard in disbelief. My fingers tightened. “No…”

I tried again. Nothing. His line was dead.

Gritting my teeth, I activated the emergency runes instead. “Moonveil Guard… emergency,” I rasped.

The pain became unbearable. My vision dimmed. My body went limp.I can’t lose this pup. Not again. Not like this.

As the shadows closed in, one thought burned in my mind:If I survive this… Kael will pay in blood.

And then—darkness.

~

When I woke, the scent of wolfsbane and healing salves filled my senses. I was lying on a bed of moon-thread linens. My limbs were heavy, my soul even heavier.

A female healer stood beside me, her aura calm but sorrowful.

“Luna Winslow,” she said softly. “You’re awake.”

I blinked slowly, heart pounding in my chest as memories returned like a flood. The kitchen. The fall. The blood.

“My pup…” I croaked. My hands moved to my stomach. It felt empty. Too empty.

The healer’s eyes glistened. She took my hand. “I’m so sorry… the injury was too severe. You lost the pup.”

A scream tore from my throat before I could stop it. The walls trembled with my anguish. I wailed, sobbing so hard it felt like my soul was breaking apart.

My son—gone. My unborn pup—gone. All because of the male who once vowed to protect me.

I cried until I could cry no more.Then I lay silent.Wishing I hadn’t survived.Wishing the spirits of the forest had claimed me too.

The door creaked open.Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate.I didn’t even glance up.

“Lunara,” a voice called, deep and cool like ice.

My eyes fluttered open. A tall figure stood beside me, his silver armor still dusted with battle ash. His eyes—cold gray—stared down at me with something unreadable.

Killian Romano.Ashira’s mate.The male she had been betraying me—and him—with.

I didn’t have the strength to speak.He sat beside me without invitation.

“I heard,” he said simply. “I’m sorry.”

His words rang hollow in my ears. Seeing him only reminded me more of her. Of everything I’d lost.

“Ashira’s not here,” I rasped, my voice dry and cracked. “You don’t need to keep pretending.”

His jaw tensed. A snarl ghosted over his lips.

“I’m not here for that cheating whore,” he said darkly.

I blinked, surprised. “You know?”

He nodded once. “Since last moon. You?”

“This week.”

A pause passed between us. An eerie silence, filled only by the hum of protective runes.

“That’s why I’m here,” Killian finally said, his gaze meeting mine with quiet intensity.

I furrowed my brow. “Why?”

“I have a proposition,” he said, voice steady. “How would you like to have revenge?”

My heart stuttered.And for the first time since the pain began, I felt something flicker to life again inside me.Hope.

Chapter 5

Lunara’s POV

“Revenge?” I asked, my voice hoarse, throat dry as ash. My heart pounded—not from fear, but from something darker, colder.

Killian’s silver eyes gleamed beneath the torchlight of the Healing Den’s side chamber, where he’d requested to speak with me alone. He took a slow seat beside me on the bench carved into the stone wall, his aura crackling with restrained power.

“Yes. Revenge.” His voice was smooth, but dangerous—like a wolf hiding blood on its muzzle. “You’ve been betrayed, Lunara. Not just by a mate, but by your own blood. The two people who should’ve protected you most... they need to bleed for what they’ve done.”

A chill danced down my spine—and yet, that whisper of vengeance stirred something alive in me. Something primal. My wolf shifted restlessly beneath my skin, not in fear… but in agreement.

I pushed myself upright, wincing from the bruised muscles still recovering from the fall. “So… you want revenge on Ashira?”

Killian’s lips twisted into a smile, but his eyes remained dead and unreadable. “I gave her everything. Status. Loyalty. A future. And she spat in my face, crawling into bed with Kael like a snake in heat. So yes—I want revenge. She may be your sister, but—”

“I don’t care,” I said, cutting him off.

Killian blinked, surprised.I meant it. Whatever bond of blood existed between Ashira and me… it had been severed the moment she touched my mate. The ache in my chest pulsed, but I forced it down.

“Why did you reach out to me?” I asked, voice low.

His smile grew—cruel, calculating. “Because I don’t want all the fun to myself. You, Lunara, will be the key piece of my plan. My wild card.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

He leaned in, his voice a whisper that slithered into my ear. “Marry me.”

I stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “You want me to what?”

~

Two days later, I stepped out of the Moonveil Healing Grove, wrapped in a charcoal cloak. The moons were high, casting silver light over the sacred forest. A low-ranking scout escorted me back to the village gates, and from there I shifted halfway to the outer dens before shifting back and calling a carriage wolf.

I hadn’t heard from Kael. Not a message via rune crystal, not a whisper of his scent at my bedside. He hadn’t even asked if I’d survived.

I stared out the open window as the wind swept through my hair. My fingers tightened around the piece of parchment Killian had given me—the runes of his personal communication glyph scrawled neatly.

I want revenge… but not another prison, I’d told him.

He had simply smirked. “Then make it your kind of war, Luna.”

When I arrived home, Kael’s scent hit me first.But it wasn’t alone.Ashira’s saccharine perfume laced with heat told me all I needed to know. My stomach clenched. My claws itched beneath my skin.

Her sleek black carriage sat outside. So this was how it was.I moved silently through the corridor of our den, every step deliberate, guided by the sounds I’d once known intimately. Breathy moans. Growls. Pleasured gasps.

I stopped just before the entrance to our shared bedchamber—my sanctuary, my womb of memories—and the door was ajar.

They were there.Kael had Ashira pinned to the furs, her neck bared in submission as his mouth devoured hers. His hands explored her body with a hunger he hadn’t shown me in moons. Their robes and cloaks lay strewn like the aftermath of a wild rut.

I had known. But seeing it… feeling their betrayal in flesh and scent…It broke something in me.

“Oh, gods, I missed this,” Kael groaned.

Ashira giggled, stroking his back. “I hope my little sister isn’t keeping you too pent-up.”

“She’s never satisfied me—not like you do,” he murmured. “When I take High Council control, we’ll rule together, love.”

My chest caved.My hands trembled as I pulled out my crystal. I pressed the surface and activated its silent recording runes. The glowing glyphs flickered as I captured their rutting betrayal in high clarity.

Once done, I turned, numb and silent, and stalked toward the outer chambers. I grabbed Kael’s sigil-etched saddlebag and keys from the wall peg and strode outside into the wind.

I climbed into his personal carriage wolf, whispered the command, and let it sprint into the darkness.

My fingers hovered over the crystal. I attached the images, burned into rune-light, and sent them to the only wolf who’d looked me in the eye and told me the truth.

To: Killian RomanoI accept your offer.The reply came almost instantly:Killian: Good. I’ll be in touch soon. You and I… we’re going to have so much fun, Luna.

A bitter smile curved my lips. It felt like I’d signed a soul pact with the dark spirits of the forest—but I didn’t care.

Let the shadows come. Let them devour what was left of me.I would rise, not as the broken mate… but as the storm.

~

By twilight, I was walking into the heart of Ironfang—Killian’s territory, neutral and feared. The lawhouse was built from obsidian stone, standing bold amidst the rest of the trading den.

A young fae-born wolf looked up from the front desk. “Good evening. How may we assist?”

“I’m here to see Jonathan Hayes. Tell him… Killian Romano sent me.”

The receptionist’s eyes widened, and she quickly nodded. “Of course. One moment.”

Moments later, I was led through a thick stone corridor into a rune-guarded chamber, where a sharply dressed male stood waiting.

“Luna Winslow,” he greeted with a respectful nod. “It’s an honor. Please, sit. How can I serve?”

My voice was cold steel. “I want a formal severing from my mate. His name is Kael Thorne.”

Lunara’s POV

The moment my paws hit the edge of the territory, I shifted back into my human form, clothes materializing around me thanks to the enchantment woven into Killian’s cloak. I tossed the hood back as our den came into view.

Before I even reached the front steps, the heavy oak door burst open and Kael stormed out, eyes wide, scent sharp with panic. He froze when he spotted me and then glanced at the sleek obsidian moon-carriage I’d taken from the Healing Grove, parked at the side.

His face quickly rearranged into something that looked like relief—fake and rushed.

“Lunara!” he called, jogging toward me. “Where have you been? I was… I was worried.”

Worried. I nearly scoffed aloud. This from the mate who hadn’t checked on me once since I nearly died? Who was rutting my sister while my blood still soaked the den floor?

I pasted on a calm smile. “I was out gathering a surprise for our anniversary festival next week.”

Kael blinked, his expression going momentarily blank. “Anniversary... festival?”

I tilted my head, letting my golden eyes pin him in place. “Yes. The full-moon celebration. For our anniversary. Did you forget, Alpha?”

His throat bobbed. “No! Of course not. I’ve just been… overwhelmed with patrol changes and, uh, rogue sightings.”

Liar.I nodded slowly. “Well, I wanted to surprise you, so I won’t spoil it. You’ll see soon enough.”

He gave a strained smile, his aura dim with unease. “You didn’t have to do that. I wish you’d told me—I could’ve come with you.”

“It’s fine,” I murmured. “You’ve been very… busy.”

His guilt spiked. He leaned forward to nuzzle my cheek, a mock display of affection. His touch felt colder than winter frost. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“So am I,” I whispered, stepping past him and walking into the den we once shared—now nothing but a hollow structure filled with betrayal.

As I ascended the spiral stairs to the Alpha’s quarters, bile rose in my throat. The same bed. The same room. My once sacred space—defiled by his treachery.

The door creaked behind me.I turned, expecting Kael.But it was Ashira.

She leaned against the carved doorway in a silk wrap that barely covered her. Her lips twisted into that insufferable smirk. Her scent slithered through the room like poison.

“You saw us, didn’t you?” she purred, stepping inside.

I kept my face blank. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She laughed, low and malicious. “Oh, don’t lie. I saw you. Standing there, watching. I hope you enjoyed the show.”

I stared at her. Unmoving. Unflinching.

“You should’ve stayed longer,” she added with a wink. “Kael likes it when I howl his name.”

“Cute,” I said with a shrug. “You should head downstairs. He’s probably wondering where his little toy wandered off to. I need rest.”

Her smirk faltered, just a fraction. She hadn’t expected indifference. But she masked it quickly.

“Fine,” she said, flipping her hair. “But when you’re ready to admit defeat, feel free to knock. Or watch again.”

She slinked out like the snake she was.I locked the door with a flick of my fingers and pulled out my rune crystal.

Phase one is done. Get ready.Killian’s response was instant. A burning-red heart rune pulsed across the screen.

~

Over the next two days, Kael was glued to me. He shadowed my every step, his wolf pacing near mine with unnatural closeness. He thought I hadn’t seen him and Ashira that night—but some part of him sensed the shift in me.

I kept my face sweet. My voice soft. The perfect Luna. Meanwhile, I seethed beneath the surface and prepared.

When I finally needed a push, I sent Ashira a rune message.

(Looks like Kael’s done with you. He hasn’t left my side since I got back. Keep dreaming, Ashira. He was always mine.)

Her reaction was immediate. Soon, Kael’s rune crystal began to pulse with calls and messages. At first, he ignored them. But after a dozen flickers of her scent curling near the den’s edge, he cracked.

“I have to leave,” he told me that evening, voice wrapped in faux remorse. “A High Council summit has been called. Urgent territory matter. I’ll be gone three days.”

“Our anniversary’s in four,” I murmured, faking disappointment.

“I’ll be back in time, I swear it.” He kissed my forehead like I was still his, then grabbed his cloak and vanished into the night.

Perfect.

~

The next three days were a blur of movement. I finalized the details Killian and I had planned. Ashira made things easier with her arrogance—sending me rune-pictures of her and Kael locked in intimate poses, thinking she was breaking me.

She didn’t realize every image only fueled me.I saved each one.Then… the full moon rose. The night of our so-called anniversary.

I stood in the den’s great hall, heart calm, mind sharp.I opened my rune crystal and sent one final message to Kael.

Happy Anniversary. I left your gift on the table.

Then I placed my gift—signed rejection scrolls, inked in my own blood to sever our bond. Alongside them were all the rune-images and photos Ashira had sent.

I blocked their crystals immediately.I took one last breath of the den’s air and walked out with my suitcase.

Killian stood waiting, dressed in ceremonial black, a wicked grin tugging at his lips.

“Ready?” he asked, holding out his hand.

I didn’t hesitate. I took it.A moon-glider was ready on the cliff—a rare, enchanted vessel that flew faster than any winged beast. Its silver hull gleamed under the stars.

I glanced at Killian. “How did you afford a moon-glider?”

He only smirked.I was too tired to care. I settled in.Just as we lifted into the air, I nodded once.

Killian pressed the rune on his communicator. A thousand messages burst into the night—sent to every Alpha court, every council, every pack.

Let the fun begin.