Elara's POV
The mate bond hit me like a wave of fire.
It burned through my chest, hot and fierce and undeniable. Every cell in my body suddenly knew exactly where I belonged. Who I belonged with.
This wasn't the fake link I forced with Kieran in the other timeline. That had felt like wearing shoes that didn't fit—uncomfortable and wrong.
This felt like coming home.
Silver light burst around us as our lips met. I heard screams from the crowd, but they sounded far away. All I could feel was the link snapping into place, connecting us soul to soul.
My locked wolf threw herself against the curse, desperate to break free. She recognized her mate even stuck behind the spell. She howled inside my mind, happy and wild.
Finally. Home. Safe. Ours.
When I pulled back, gasping for air, Lucian's mask had fallen away totally.
And I saw his face.
My heart nearly stopped.
That small scar above his left eyebrow from when we fell out of the oak tree. Those warm brown eyes that used to light up when we caught fireflies. The way his mouth curved up on one side when he smiled.
"Luca?" I breathed.
My childhood best friend. The boy who taught me to climb trees. Who shared his snacks with me. Who cried when his family took him away for royal training.
He became the Lycan King.
"Hello, Elara," he whispered. "I've waited so long to hear you say my name again."
Tears burned in my eyes. "You remember me."
"How could I forget?" His hand came up to cup my face so gently, like I might break. "You were my best friend. My first love. The only person who ever called me Luca."
"All this time," I said, my voice breaking. "You've been the Lycan King. And I didn't know. I didn't recognize you."
"I wanted to tell you," Lucian said softly. "But royal protocol—"
"We need to talk," I interrupted quickly. "Privately. There are things I need to tell you about—"
"I know," he cut me off gently, looking at the crowd around us. "I know about all of it, Elara. We have the same memories."
My knees buckled.
He caught me, pulling me against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, strong and protecting. Safe.
"You're a regressor too?" I whispered against his shirt.
"Yes," he said softly. "I died three days after you. I found you in Kieran's cell and killed him. His friends poisoned me in revenge. When the Moon Goddess gave me a second chance, I thought I was alone."
Tears spilled down my face. "I thought I was alone too."
We weren't though. We both came back. We both remembered. We both got a second chance.
And this time, we'd found each other.
Kieran's roar broke the moment. Lucian moved me behind him, putting himself between me and the angry Alpha. I could feel his power spreading outward, protecting me.
After Kieran's allegations and the agreement about the Moon Temple examination, we had to leave quickly. Commander Sera rushed us toward the horses.
My mind spun as we rode away from the Moon Dance. Everything was happening so fast. Too fast.
But when I looked back and saw my mother talking to Morgana, everything clicked into place with terrible clarity.
The curse on my cat. The way Mom never questioned why I couldn't shift. How she always discouraged me from getting help to break the spell.
She knew about it because she ordered it.
My own mother cursed me.
"Elara?" Cassian rode up beside me, his face worried. "Are you okay? You look sick."
"I'm fine," I lied.
"No, you're not." He glanced back at where our parents had been. "I saw Mom talking to that woman too. The one with the green eyes. Who was she?"
"Lady Morgana," I said quietly. "She's dangerous, Cass. Promise me you'll stay away from her."
"How do you know her?"
I couldn't tell him the truth. Not yet. "Just promise me."
Cassian studied my face for a long moment. "You're different, Elara. Ever since tonight started, you've been different. Like you know things you shouldn't."
My stomach dropped. "What do you mean?"
"Earlier, when Kieran approached you, you looked at him like..." Cassian struggled for words. "Like you already knew what he was going to say. Like you'd heard it all before."
I had heard it before. Seven years ago in another world.
"I'm just being careful," I said.
"It's more than that." Cassian moved his horse closer. "At dinner last week, you told me not to take the hunting trip to the Northern border. You said it was dangerous. Two days later, there was an avalanche in that exact spot. Three wolves died."
My heart beat. I'd forgotten about that. In the previous timeline, Cassian almost died in that avalanche. I'd warned him without thinking about how strange it would sound.
"Lucky guess," I tried.
"And the week before that, you told Dad to check the western store house for rot. He found toxic grain that would have poisoned half the pack. You couldn't have known that, Elara. No one knew. "
I knew because in the other reality, that poisoned grain killed twelve pack members. Including Cassian's mate, though he didn't know her yet.
"I'm observant," I said weakly.
"You're lying." Cassian's voice wasn't angry, just worried. "Something happened to you. Something that changed you. What is it?"
Before I could answer, Sera rode up hard and fast.
"Your Majesty!" she called to Lucian. "We have a problem!"
Lucian pulled his horse to a stop. "What?"
"Three Moon Temple monks were found dead this afternoon. Poisoned." Sera's face was grim. "The ones who would have examined Lady Elara tomorrow."
My blood ran cold.
"Who found them?" Lucian asked.
"Lady Morgana," Sera said. "She claims she was visiting the temple for prayers."
A trap. It was clearly a trap. Morgana killed those priests so she could choose their replacements. Priests who would lie about what they found.
"We have a traitor," Lucian said quietly. "Someone told Morgana which priests would be assigned before it was even announced."
"Yes," Sera agreed. "And I think I know who it is."
Everyone turned to look at her.
"One of our scouts intercepted a message," Sera said slowly. "Being sent from the Moon Dance to Kieran's area. The handwriting matched someone from your inner court, Your Majesty."
"Who?" Lucian's voice was dangerous.
Sera paused. "Your cousin, Lord Damien. He's been feeding knowledge to Kieran for weeks. Maybe longer."
My stomach turned to ice.
Lord Damien. I remembered him from the previous timeline. He was at my hanging. He watched me die and did nothing.
Because he was working with Kieran all along.
"There's more," Sera said. "The message referenced something called 'the Alpha's contingency plan.' It said if Elara escapes with you tonight, they're ready for step two."
"Phase two of what?" Cassian demanded.
Sera looked at me with something like pity. "Kidnapping Lady Elara's father. They're going to use him as bait to draw her out."
My father.
They were going to take my father.
"When?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"Tonight," Sera said. "The attack on your family's home is already in motion."