Chapter Nine
The Wolf Awakens
The aftermath of the attack left Silverwood Palace in ruins.
Ash drifted from the broken rafters like black snow.
Blood stained the once-pristine marble floors.
The smell of smoke and death clung to the air, heavy and suffocating.
I stood in the shattered remains of my room, my hands trembling as I tried to process what had just happened.
The artifacts were gone.
Our only chance to break the curse — stolen.
By Ren.
By the man who had sworn loyalty to Liam…and betrayed him without hesitation.
I turned toward the window, my heart hammering wildly in my chest.
Out there, somewhere in the darkness, the fate of Silverwood hung in the balance.
And somehow, I was at the center of it all.
⸻
Liam's voice cut through the silence, rough and commanding.
"Everyone to the war chamber. Now."
I flinched at the raw power in his tone. He was no longer just a king.
He was a beast, enraged and ready to destroy anyone who dared cross him.
Without waiting, he grabbed my hand — large, calloused fingers enveloping mine — and pulled me through the crumbling corridors.
Guards bowed low as we passed, their faces pale with fear.
The news of Ren's betrayal had spread faster than wildfire.
Everyone knew what was coming.
War.
⸻
Inside the war chamber, the air was thick with tension.
Maps were sprawled across the massive oak table, bloodied and torn.
"Seal the borders," Liam barked to his generals. "No one gets in or out without my word."
The men nodded, scrambling to obey.
He turned to me then, his blue eyes burning with something fierce and dangerous.
"You stay by my side, Lola. Always."
I opened my mouth to argue, to say I could fight too — but the look in his eyes silenced me.
This wasn't just a command.
It was a vow.
He would kill anyone who tried to take me again.
And part of me — the part that still remembered the warmth of his lips, the desperate way he had clung to me in the smoke — ached to belong to him fully.
To trust him completely.
But trust was a dangerous thing in Silverwood.
And nothing was as it seemed.
⸻
Hours later, as the palace settled into a tense, uneasy quiet, I found myself wandering the deserted hallways.
Something was wrong.
The silver crystal at my neck throbbed painfully, warning me.
I wasn't alone.
A flicker of movement caught my eye — a shadow slipping into the old chapel near the east wing.
Without thinking, I followed.
Inside, the chapel was dark and cold.
Candles guttered weakly in the cracked sconces.
At the altar stood Isolde — her once-beautiful face twisted with hatred.
And beside her…
Ren.
Alive. Smirking. Triumphant.
My breath caught.
"You shouldn't have followed us, little rabbit," Ren said smoothly, his voice dripping with mockery.
"You should have stayed in your king's bed where you belong," Isolde sneered, her swollen belly — pregnant with Ren's child — distorting her beauty into something monstrous.
The pieces clicked together too fast, too brutally:
The attack.
The stolen artifacts.
The betrayal.
It was them.
It had always been them.
They didn't just want to break the curse.
They wanted to take Silverwood — to rule it with their bastard child as the new "savior."
And I was the only thing standing in their way.
⸻
A blast of magic shot toward me, cold and sharp as a knife.
I barely dodged it, crashing into a pew.
Pain exploded in my side, but I scrambled to my feet, heart pounding.
"You're weak," Isolde hissed, her hands crackling with dark energy. "A mistake born under cursed stars."
"You're wrong," I whispered, feeling the wild, uncontrollable power rising inside me again.
The silver crystal shattered around my neck, releasing a blinding surge of light.
The wolf inside me roared to life — fierce, furious, unstoppable.
I screamed as the magic tore through me, lifting me off the ground.
The stained glass windows exploded outward, raining shards across the chapel.
Ren shielded his face, cursing.
Isolde stumbled back, fear flashing across her perfect features.
Good.
Let them be afraid.
I wasn't their victim anymore.
I was the prophecy.
⸻
A second later, Liam stormed into the chapel, his sword dripping blood, his eyes burning with pure, feral rage.
He took one look at me — floating above the altar, crackling with raw magic — and his expression changed.
Not fear.
Not horror.
But awe.
He didn't hesitate.
He crossed the chapel in three strides and caught me as I collapsed, my strength spent.
"You found your true self," he whispered against my temple. "My Luna. My savior."
I clung to him, trembling, as Ren and Isolde fled into the night.
Cowards.
They had stolen the artifacts, yes — but they had underestimated me.
Underestimated us.
⸻
Later, back in the ruins of the royal chambers, Liam cradled me in his arms.
"You almost died," he rasped, his voice thick with emotion. "And I would have torn this world apart if I lost you."
His hand brushed my cheek, rough and tender all at once.
"I don't care about the throne. I don't care about heirs. I only care about you."
I looked up at him, my heart aching with the depth of what I saw there — the ruthless Alpha, broken open by love.
And in that moment, I knew:
No matter what came next —
No matter how dark the path ahead —
We would walk it together.
⸻
But even as I drifted into his arms, safe for now, a sliver of cold fear wormed into my heart.
The artifacts were still missing.
Ren and Isolde were still out there.
And somewhere deep in the shadows of Silverwood…
The real war had only just begun.
⸻