The night had been everything the twins dreamed of and everything Valeria needed. She had played her role to perfection, weaving passion and tenderness into her every touch, every whisper, every shiver she feigned. To Lukas and Zois, it was Eila they held in their arms, Eila whose lips they kissed, Eila whose heartbeats aligned with theirs. They drifted into sleep at last, their breathing heavy with bliss, their bodies entangled in the sheets, trusting her with the kind of innocence only a fated bond could inspire.
Valeria did not sleep. She sat upright between them, her eyes gleaming with cold amusement as she studied their vulnerable forms. For all their strength, for all the whispers of their future greatness, they were no more than lambs beneath the hand of a wolf in disguise. Her lips curled in disdain. Staying here was dangerous. In the Moon Treasure Pack's land, the Moon Goddess's gaze felt too sharp, too present. Every step was a risk, every breath heavy with the chance of being caught. She could almost feel the divine pressure on her skin, as though her deception might crumble at any moment.
No. Tonight was the night to act.
Stretching her hands above the twins, she whispered incantations in a tongue long forbidden, a language Eila herself could never speak. Shadows unfurled from her fingertips, coiling like serpents, slipping around Lukas and Zois's wrists, their ankles, their throats. The bindings were not meant to harm—yet—but to anchor them to her will. A pulse of energy followed, and with a snap of her fingers, the entire room dissolved into darkness.
The hideout vanished. The mossy walls, the faint scent of ash in the hearth, the rumpled bed where they slept—it all fell away. In its place stretched the bleak expanse of Valeria's territory, a realm woven of midnight and stormlight, a place where no sunlight penetrated and no goddess dared to interfere.
She exhaled, tension uncoiling in her chest. Safe. For now.
A ripple in the shadows signaled his arrival. Her so-called mate stepped forward, cloaked in a presence as heavy as iron. His expression was taut, his jaw clenched with the bitterness of someone forced into complicity.
"You summoned me." His voice was low, edged with disdain.
Valeria's smile was thin, sharp. "I needed loose ends cut."
He glanced at the unconscious twins, then back at her, his eyes filled with reluctant obedience. "This isn't what a mate bond was meant for."
"Spare me your righteousness," she snapped, though her tone carried no true heat. "We do what is necessary. Greater things are at stake than your fragile morality. Would you rather see me fall to her? To Eila?"
At the mention of his Enemy's name, a muscle in his jaw ticked. He said nothing more. Instead, he moved with quiet precision, erasing every trace of their presence at the Robber's hut. His power surged outward, scouring the space they had occupied in the mortal pack's land. Even the faintest scent of the twins, the memory of their heat, was stripped away.
Within an hour, the warriors would sweep the area. The Alpha's web of traps and the witch Nina's wards, those glowing snares of power set through the forest, would have rung out like alarms had they lingered. But compared to the strength of Valeria and her mate, such defenses were little more than child's games.
When he returned to her side, his hands empty but his aura humming with spent energy, he spoke only once more. "It is done. But know this—your games will cost more than you think."
Valeria tilted her head, her laughter soft and cold. "Let me worry about the cost."
With the escape complete, they descended into the heart of her domain. The air grew heavier, colder, as they reached the base—a sprawling fortress carved of black stone and shadow, with corridors that seemed to shift at will. Beneath it, in the deepest hollow of the basement, a single cell awaited.
There, shackled by chains that pulsed with otherworldly energy, was Eila. Her eyes were wide with confusion and exhaustion, her breaths shallow as she tugged against her restraints. She could no longer feel Sera's presence—no comforting voice, no shared strength. The bond that had always been her lifeline had gone eerily, terrifyingly silent.
"Why… why can't I…" she whispered to herself, her voice breaking, "why can't I reach her?"
From the shadows, Valeria's smile widened as she stepped into view, her form still draped in Eila's likeness before she allowed it to shift back into her own.
"Because, poor little girl," she purred, her voice a silken blade, "you are mine now."
And in the darkness of that cursed place, the true game began.