Sera didn't sleep that night.
After speaking the ancient word—Vassirah—something had changed inside her. It wasn't just a dream this time. It wasn't imagination.
It was a calling.
She moved with purpose now, each step echoing as she walked barefoot through Lucien's penthouse. She should have felt afraid. Or at least uncertain. But instead, her pulse was steady, her eyes sharp. The world around her had shifted into clarity.
She knew one thing for sure.
Lucien Cross had been lying to her.
And she was done being kept in the dark.
Meanwhile – Lucien's Office
The door slammed open, hard enough to rattle the windows.
Lucien looked up from a map of the city's underground channels, eyes burning with frustration—and relief when he saw her.
"Sera—"
"You knew," she said flatly, walking toward him. Her voice didn't shake. "You knew who I was."
Lucien stood, his shirt half-open, the lines of his body tense.
"I wanted to tell you. I tried—"
"No. You chose to keep it from me. You've known about my bloodline this whole time. About what I am."
His jaw flexed. "You're not ready for that truth."
Sera's laugh was bitter.
"I just read it in your hidden book. I remembered my mother's name. I saw her in that drawing. Don't tell me I'm not ready when you are the one who's scared."
Lucien's golden eyes darkened. "You don't know what you're dealing with."
She stepped closer, eyes flashing silver again. "Try me."
For a second, silence stretched between them.
Then Lucien exhaled slowly, like a man about to open a door he had kept shut for years.
"You're not just a wolf," he said quietly. "You're Moonblood. The last living descendant of the Blackthorn line. Your family was once the true ruling line of our kind. Until they were hunted down by traitors."
"By your pack," she whispered.
He didn't answer.
Sera's heart twisted. "Did you kill them?"
"No." His voice broke. "But I didn't stop it either."
Tears gathered in her eyes. "And you still touched me? Still claimed me, knowing what you let happen to my family?"
"I never claimed you," Lucien growled. "You claimed me. From the moment I saw you. I tried to stay away. I tried to protect you from all this. But I couldn't. You—" He grabbed her wrist, gently but firm. "You are in my blood, Sera. In my soul. Mate or not, you are mine."
Sera stared up at him, her body caught between fury and desire.
The air between them was heat and static.
Then, as if summoned, a roar shook the windows.
A wolf's howl.
Close.
Lucien turned to the window. "They found you."
"Who?" Sera asked, chest heaving.
"The remnants of the rogue pack," he said, stepping away. "They've been waiting for your power to stir. You're more than prey now. You're a threat."
"And what am I to you?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Lucien turned slowly.
His eyes were no longer human.
"You are the only thing I would kill for. And the only thing that could destroy me."
That Night – In the Shadows
Veylor watched from the rooftop across the street, his eyes glowing like twin embers.
She had awakened.
Too soon.
Too strong.
"She's shifting," he whispered to the night. "And she doesn't even know yet what she's becoming."
Behind him, another wolf stepped out of the shadows.
"Should we strike now?"
Veylor smirked. "Not yet. Let her taste her power. Let her think she has control."
He turned his gaze back to the penthouse.
"And then we take everything."