Cassian's POV
My sister just kissed the Lycan King.
I stood frozen in the crowd, watching silver light burst around them. The mate bond. A real one. I could feel it from here—powerful and undeniable.
What was Elara thinking?
I shoved through the shocked crowd, trying to reach her. People were talking and pointing. Some looked excited. Others looked scared. Kieran Frostborne's face had gone black with rage.
This was bad. Really bad.
"Elara!" I called out.
She pulled back from the Lycan King, breathing. His mask had fallen off completely. And my sister stared at him like she'd seen a ghost.
"Luca?" she whispered.
Wait. Luca? That was the name of her childhood friend. The boy who left when we were kids. I barely remembered him, but Elara cried for months after he vanished.
The Lycan King was Luca?
Before I could understand that, Lucian Nightborne wrapped a protective arm around my sister. His look was fierce as he faced the angry crowd.
"She's under royal protection now," Lucian stated, his voice carrying across the pavilion. "Anyone who touches her answers to me."
The crowd went quiet. No one disagreed with the Lycan King. Not if they wanted to keep breathing.
I finally reached Elara's side. She looked pale and shaky, but determined. Like she'd just made a choice she couldn't take back.
"What just happened?" I asked. "Did you really just reject Kieran and claim the Lycan King?"
"Yes," Elara said simply.
"Are you insane?" I grabbed her arm. "Elara, you can't just—"
"I had to," she cut me off, her eyes meeting mine. "Trust me, Cass. Please."
Something in her voice made me stop. She sounds desperate. Scared. But also absolutely certain.
This wasn't the naive little sister I'd been protecting all her life. This was someone who'd seen something terrible. Someone who knew things she shouldn't.
Kieran exploded forward, shouting charges about dark magic. The Lycan King—Lucian—handled it coldly, his arm never leaving Elara's waist.
When they agreed to the Moon Temple test, I felt sick. Those priests could see everything. Every lie. Every lie.
What was Elara hiding that she was willing to risk that?
We had to leave immediately. A female leader in armor—Sera—rushed us toward horses. Everything moved too fast. I barely had time to think.
"I'm coming with you," I told Elara strongly.
"Cassian, you don't have to—"
"Yes, I do." I wasn't letting my sister go alone with strangers, Lycan King or not. "I'm not leaving you."
Lucian shocked me by nodding. "He can come. Any family she wants is welcome."
As we rode away from the Moon Dance, I kept looking back. Our father stood alone in the crowd, looking lost. Our mother was nowhere to be seen.
That worried me. Mom should have been there. She should have tried to stop this or at least said goodbye.
Then I saw her. At the edge of the tent, talking to a woman with dark hair and glowing green eyes.
The way they stood together, heads close, talking urgently—they knew each other. They knew each other well.
"Elara," I said, riding up beside her. "Who is that woman talking to Mom?"
My sister's face went white. "Lady Morgana."
The name meant nothing to me, but the way Elara said it—with fear and hatred—made my skin crawl.
"Who is she?"
"Someone dangerous," Elara said quietly. "Promise me you'll stay away from her, Cass."
"How do you know her?"
Elara paused too long. "Just promise me."
I studied my sister's face. She looked haunted. Like she was carrying secrets that were eating her alive.
"You're different," I said slowly. "Ever since tonight started. Like you knew exactly what was going to happen."
Elara's hands stiffened on her reins. "I'm just being careful."
"It's more than that." I moved my horse closer. "Last week, you told me not to go on the hunting trip. Two days later, there was an avalanche that killed three dogs. You couldn't have known that."
"Lucky guess."
"And the infected grain you told Dad about. The poison that would have killed half the pack." I watched her face carefully. "How did you know, Elara?"
"I'm observant—"
"You're lying!" I didn't mean to shout, but fear made my voice sharp. "Something happened to you. Something that changed everything. What is it?"
Before she could answer, Commander Sera rode up hard.
"Your Majesty! We have a problem!"
Lucian stopped his horse. "What?"
"Three Moon Temple priests were found dead this afternoon." Sera's face was grim. "Poisoned. The ones assigned to examine Lady Elara. "
My stomach dropped. Someone killed the priests? Why?
"Who found them?" Lucian demanded.
"Lady Morgana."
The woman talking to our mother. My blood ran cold.
"We have a traitor," Lucian said. "Someone feeding information to Kieran."
"Yes," Sera agreed. "Lord Damien, your cousin. He's been sending texts to Kieran for weeks."
Lucian's face turned murderous. "What did the messages say?"
Sera paused, glancing at Elara. "They mentioned something called 'the Alpha's contingency plan.' If Lady Elara escaped tonight, they're ready for phase two."
"What's phase two?" I asked, though I already knew I wouldn't like the answer.
Sera looked at me with pity. "Kidnapping your father. They're using him as bait to draw Lady Elara out."
The world turned sideways.
"When?" Elara's voice was barely a whisper.
"Tonight," Sera said. "The attack is already happening."
Dad. They were going after Dad right now.
"We have to go back!" I wheeled my horse around. "We have to—"
"No!" Lucian's order stopped me cold. "That's exactly what they want. They'll attack anyone who returns."
"I don't care!" I shouted. "That's my father!"
"And walking into their trap won't save him," Lucian said definitely. "It will get you killed and give them exactly what they want—Elara."
He was right, but I didn't care. That was my dad. I couldn't just leave him.
"I can send my elite guard," Lucian said. "They're trained for rescue actions. They have a better chance—"
"There's no time," Sera interrupted. She looked sick. "The message said the attack would happen at midnight. That's in ten minutes. " Ten minutes. We were at least an hour's ride away. Even if we turned back now, we'd never make it.
"No," Elara whispered. "No, no, no."
She looked at me, tears running down her face. And I saw something in her eyes that made my heart stop.
She'd known this would happen. She'd known they'd go after Dad.
She'd known and she'd left anyway.
"You knew," I breathed. "You knew they'd attack him."
"Cassian—"
"You knew and you didn't warn him!" Rage burst through me. "What kind of monster—"
"I tried to stop it!" Elara screamed. "In the other timeline, you died saving me! You died, Cassian! I couldn't let that happen again!"
The other timeline.
Everyone went silent.
"What did you just say?" Lucian asked quietly.
Elara covered her mouth, realizing what she'd shared. But it was too late. The words were out.
"There is no other timeline," I said slowly. "Unless you're saying—"
A scout came thundering up on horseback, his face pale with fear.
"Your Majesty!" he gasped. "The Silvermoon family home is under attack! But it's not just Kieran's dogs!"
"Who else?" Lucian demanded.
The scout's voice shook. "Shadow beings, Your Majesty. Dark magic. They're not trying to kidnap anyone."
He looked at Elara with fear.
"They're trying to open a link. Right where her father is standing."