The hall erupted into chaos.
Wolves surged forward, guards scanning the shadows for the assassin. Lyra barely had time to breathe before a strong arm grabbed her waist and yanked her backward.
Rylan.
His body pressed against her back, shielding her as his eyes flashed a predator's gold.
"Don't move," he growled in her ear.
Her pulse jumped. She wasn't sure if it was fear or the way his voice slid down her spine like warm lightning.
Kade barked orders, cold and sharp.
"Seal the doors. No one leaves. Find who fired that arrow."
Lyra stared at the wall—the arrow's black feathers glistened with some oily poison.
That was meant for me.
Why?
She didn't even know these people.
Rylan gently turned her to face him. His hands stayed on her waist longer than necessary—warm, grounding, dangerous. When he saw the glow beneath her wrist, his expression changed.
Softened.
Deepened.
Darkened.
"Show me," he said quietly.
Lyra hesitated before she lifted her sleeve.
The matching sigil burned beneath her skin—silver, ancient, impossibly bright. Rylan swallowed hard, chest rising with a breath he barely caught.
"The Moonbound Curse hasn't appeared in centuries," he murmured. "No one's survived it."
Her throat tightened. "How do we break it?"
He looked at her like he wished he had an answer.
"You can't break fate."
Before she could speak, Kade approached. His eyes swept over the two of them, landing on Rylan's hand still gripping her waist.
"Release her," Kade said coldly.
Rylan didn't move.
The tension spiked, electric.
Finally, Rylan stepped back, but not far. His presence still wrapped around her like heat.
Kade's gaze was unreadable. "Lyra, we need to speak. Alone."
Rylan snarled. "She's not going anywhere alone."
"It's a conversation, not a kidnapping."
"You think I trust you with her right now?"
Lyra lifted her chin, voice steady. "Both of you need to stop. Someone just tried to kill me."
Kade's jaw ticked.
"That's exactly why we're talking."
He motioned her toward a smaller corridor off the hall. Rylan moved to follow, but Kade's voice turned steel.
"You're not invited."
"And you think that's going to stop me?"
The brothers' wolves pressed against their skin—Lyra could feel the air thicken with power.
Before a fight could erupt, Queen Isolde's voice cut through the tension, calm and icy.
"Both of you stand down."
The queen glided forward, every inch of her poised, lethal authority. Her ice-blonde hair shimmered in moonlight spilling through the shattered window.
"Lyra, my dear," she said softly, "come with me and the crown prince. Rylan, you will remain here."
Rylan hesitated. His eyes locked with Lyra's—feral, desperate, conflicted.
Don't go with him.
She heard it without him speaking.
But Lyra squared her shoulders. "I'll be fine."
Rylan's jaw clenched, but he let her go.
For now.
---
The War Room
The queen led her and Kade into a stone chamber lit by fire and candlelight. Maps, relics, and parchments covered the tables.
Kade shut the door.
"Lyra… you must understand what you've done."
Lyra's temper rose. "What I did? I was alone in the woods! I didn't know who he was!"
Queen Isolde's gaze sharpened. "Did you share blood?"
Lyra blinked. "What? No."
"Skin?" Kade pressed.
Lyra flushed. "We kissed. That's all."
The queen exhaled in clear relief—too much relief.
"Then the bond is at its weakest form," Isolde murmured.
"What does that mean?" Lyra asked.
Kade stepped closer. "The curse is like… a thread between souls. You and Rylan woke it, but if we distract it—redirect it—your arranged mating to me might override it."
Lyra stared at him in disbelief.
"You're talking about disrupting a supernatural mating curse like it's a political tactic."
"It is," he said bluntly.
The queen nodded. "Your marriage to Kade tomorrow must proceed as planned."
Lyra froze.
"Tomorrow?"
Kade's eyes flicked to the glowing mark on her wrist. "The curse intensifies with every moonrise. If we delay… it will choose for us."
Meaning: she would be permanently bound to Rylan.
A shiver ran through her.
The queen placed a hand gently on Lyra's arm.
"My dear, there is more at risk than you know. Your bloodline… your power… the Frostfang lineage… all of it depends on this union."
Lyra stepped back. "What are you talking about? My bloodline is nothing—my mother was human."
The queen's smile was soft, but her eyes were sharp as glass. "Is that what you were told?"
Lyra's heart stuttered. "What do you mean?"
Before the queen could answer—
A deafening boom shook the castle.
Screams echoed outside the war room.
Kade and Isolde stiffened.
"What now?" Kade snapped.
The door flew open.
Rylan burst in, covered in snow and blood—none of it his. His eyes burned gold.
"Lyra," he growled, "you need to come. Now."
Kade stepped between them. "You're not taking her anywhere—"
Rylan grabbed Lyra's wrist. The mark flared violently, brighter than before. Lyra gasped as heat shot up her arm.
"Rylan—what's happening?" she breathed.
He met her eyes, wild with urgency.
"The assassin wasn't aiming at you," he said.
Lyra's stomach dropped. "Then who—?"
Rylan's voice broke like thunder.
"They were aiming at me."
Lyra stared at him.
He continued, breath harsh.
"And they found something outside the castle gates. Something you need to see."
"What?" Lyra whispered.
He swallowed, jaw trembling with rage.
"Your pack," he said.
"They're dead."
Lyra's world shattered.
"And the killer left a message for you."
He held out a strip of torn leather—charred, bloody.
On it, carved in jagged letters:
"THE GIRL ISN'T WHO SHE THINKS SHE IS."
Lyra's vision blurred. Her lungs collapsed.
"No… no, that's not possible—my pack was safe—"
Rylan caught her as she swayed, pulling her against his chest.
Kade stared at the message, face draining of color.
Queen Isolde's expression darkened in a way that chilled the room.
Rylan lowered his voice to Lyra's ear.
"This wasn't random. Someone wanted to erase your past."
Lyra looked up at him, tears freezing on her lashes.
"Why?"
Rylan's answer was a whisper of fear, anger, and something deeper.
"Because your real identity is the key to ending us all."