Mira's POV
"Stop!"
Elias and I skidded to a halt in the middle of the burning street. The mysterious voice—Morgana's voice—still echoed in my ears, promising death and pain.
"We can't just leave everyone!" I shouted over the roar of flames. "Sister Margaret is still in there! The other nuns, the children—"
"They're already evacuating." Elias pointed to the orphanage's back exit where figures streamed out. "See? They're safe. But you won't be if we don't move. Those cursed wolves are—"
A howl cut him off. Close. Too close.
"Fine, we run." I clutched Elena's journal to my chest. "But you better have answers, because I just found out I was created by dark magic and I'm handling it really badly."
Elias grinned despite the danger. "Join the club. Most of us in the supernatural world are handling things badly."
We sprinted down an alley just as more wolves burst onto the main street. I heard snarling, screams, and the crash of more windows shattering behind us.
My lungs burned. My legs ached. But the birthmark on my shoulder burned hotter than any of it, pulling me north with every step.
Toward Shadowveil Forest.
Toward Kieran.
"Where are we going?" I gasped.
"Somewhere safe to catch our breath and figure out our next move." Elias vaulted over a fence. "Can you climb?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really."
I scrambled over the fence, tearing my coat on the wood. We ran through backyards and side streets, always moving away from the flames and howling wolves.
Finally, Elias pulled me into an abandoned warehouse near the edge of town. We collapsed against the wall, both panting.
"Okay," I said when I could breathe again. "Talk. Who are you really? How do you know Kieran? And what's happening to me?"
Elias studied me for a long moment. "You really don't know anything, do you? Kieran kept you completely in the dark."
"He visited my dreams as a wolf for seven years and only spoke to me last night. So yeah, I'm pretty in the dark."
"Typical." Elias shook his head. "Always trying to protect everyone by keeping secrets. That's what got him cursed in the first place."
"What do you mean?"
"Kieran was my Alpha before the curse," Elias explained. "Best king we'd had in generations—fair, strong, actually gave a damn about his people. Then his fiancée Selene was murdered, and her mother Morgana went insane with grief. She cursed Kieran without even investigating who really killed Selene."
"He said he didn't do it."
"He didn't. I was there that night." Elias's expression darkened. "Selene was killed by someone close to Kieran, someone who wanted his throne. But Morgana didn't care about the truth. She just wanted revenge."
I hugged Elena's journal tighter. "And I'm part of that revenge."
"You're the final piece of her plan," Elias confirmed. "Morgana created you using forbidden Bloodbane magic—crafting a person specifically designed to break Kieran's curse through willing sacrifice. When you die in the ritual, your death releases massive amounts of power that she can absorb. She gets immortality, unlimited magic, and revenge all in one go."
My stomach turned. "So I'm just... a tool. A weapon someone made."
"Hey." Elias's voice softened. "You're a person who was made for a terrible purpose, but that doesn't define you. Elena—the woman who left you that journal—she tried to give you free will. She sabotaged Morgana's creation spell to make sure you could choose your own path."
I opened the journal with shaking hands and read more of Elena's words:
I added my own magic to Morgana's spell, little one. I gave you the power to choose. You don't have to be what she made you to be. You can rewrite your own story.
But you must understand the curse to break it. You must understand what you truly are.
You are a Bloodbane—a being crafted from stolen life force and bound magic. Your existence is tied to Kieran's curse. Where he suffers, you suffer. Where he's trapped, you're pulled. The birthmark connects you to him like an invisible chain.
But chains can be broken. Weapons can be reforged. And curses...
Curses can be destroyed if you're brave enough to pay the price.
"What price?" I whispered.
The warehouse window exploded.
Not from wolves this time—from magic.
A woman stepped through the shattered glass, floating on air, her body wreathed in purple fire. She looked maybe forty-five, beautiful in a cruel way, with dark hair and eyes that burned with hatred.
Morgana Moonshadow.
"There you are," she purred. "My little Bloodbane. You've been very naughty, breaking my cursed wolves and running away."
Elias shifted into his wolf form, positioning himself between us. But Morgana just laughed.
"Oh, Elias. Still loyal to your fallen king? How touching. And how useless." She flicked her wrist, and purple magic slammed Elias against the wall. He yelped and went still.
"Elias!" I screamed.
"He's alive. For now." Morgana stepped closer. "But he won't be if you keep running from your destiny, Mira. Neither will anyone else in this pathetic little town."
"Leave them alone! This is between you and Kieran!"
"No, child. This is between you and your purpose." Morgana's eyes glowed brighter. "You were made to die. Made to fuel my power. Made to end the bloodline of the man who killed my daughter. Stop fighting it."
"Kieran didn't kill Selene!"
"LIAR!" Morgana's scream shook the building. "I saw her body! I saw the claw marks! I know what he did!"
"Then look at me!" I stood up, my birthmark blazing with silver light. "Use whatever magic you have and look at me! I can see curses—I saw your spell on those wolves. So look at my memories and see the truth about Selene's death!"
I didn't know if it would work. Didn't know if I could even do what I was suggesting. But something inside me—some instinct that came with the Bloodbane magic—told me it was possible.
Morgana's eyes narrowed. "You dare—"
"I dare." My voice was stronger now. "Because if you're going to kill me anyway, you might as well know the truth first."
For a long moment, Morgana just stared at me. Then she raised her hand, and purple magic wrapped around my head.
Pain exploded through my skull.
I saw flashes—memories that weren't mine. Visions I'd glimpsed through my Curse Sight without understanding them.
Selene in a room with someone. Arguing. She's crying, saying she won't betray Kieran. The other person is angry, desperate. They shift into wolf form and attack. Selene screams. Blood sprays. And the killer...
The killer is Drake.
Kieran's beta. His best friend.
The vision expanded. I saw Drake meeting with Morgana in secret. Saw him convince her that Kieran was guilty. Saw them plan the curse together—Drake wanting the throne, Morgana wanting revenge and power.
They used Selene's death. Used her murder to frame an innocent man and curse him for seven years.
The magic released me, and I collapsed, gasping.
Morgana stood frozen, her face pale with shock.
"You saw," I whispered. "Drake killed Selene. Not Kieran. And you helped Drake cover it up because you wanted Kieran's power more than you wanted justice for your daughter."
"No." Morgana's voice shook. "No, that's not... I didn't know..."
"You knew." I pushed myself up. "Maybe not at first. But somewhere along the way, you learned the truth and chose revenge anyway."
Tears streamed down Morgana's face—real tears, not magical ones. For just a moment, she looked like a mother grieving her child instead of a power-hungry witch.
Then her expression hardened.
"It doesn't matter," she said coldly. "Selene is still dead. Kieran still suffers. And you still die in three days when the blood moon rises. The curse is already in motion, and nothing can stop it now."
She vanished in a swirl of purple smoke.
I ran to Elias and shook him. "Wake up! Please wake up!"
He groaned and shifted back to human. "Did she... did she just leave?"
"For now." I helped him sit up. "But she's right about one thing—we have three days before the blood moon. Three days to figure out how to break this curse without me dying."
"And if we can't?"
I looked at the journal in my hands. At the glowing birthmark that wouldn't stop burning. At the smoke rising from Thornridge in the distance.
"Then I go to Shadowveil Forest and face whatever's waiting there," I said quietly. "Because I won't let innocent people die for a curse I didn't choose."
Elias grabbed my arm. "Mira, if you go to that forest without a plan, Morgana wins. You die, Kieran probably dies, and she gets all the power she wants."
"So we make a plan." I stood up, surprising myself with how steady my voice was. "You said there are records at Bloodmoon Keep—information about the curse and what I am. Take me there. Let me learn everything. And maybe we'll find a way to rewrite this story."
"That's a long shot."
"I'm a person who was magically created to kill a cursed werewolf king," I said. "My entire existence is a long shot."
Elias laughed despite everything. "Fair point. Okay. We head for Bloodmoon Keep at dawn. It's a day's journey through werewolf territory, and we'll need to avoid Drake's patrols—"
A wolf howl interrupted him. Then another. And another.
At least twenty wolves, surrounding the warehouse.
"Or we leave now," Elias amended. "We definitely leave now."
We ran for the back exit, but before we reached it, the door burst open.
A massive grey wolf stood there, easily twice the size of Elias. It shifted into a man—older, muscular, with scars covering his arms and a military bearing.
"Stand down," he commanded in a voice used to being obeyed. "I'm Commander Ash Stormwind of the Royal Guard. And you, Mira Ashford, are coming with me."
"She's not going anywhere with you!" Elias snarled.
Ash's eyes flicked to him. "Hello, Elias. Still running from your problems, I see."
"Still following corrupt betas, I see."
"Drake is not my Alpha." Ash's voice was ice cold. "King Kieran is. And I've spent seven years gathering evidence to prove his innocence. When the Bloodbane appeared, I knew she'd be the key to everything." He looked at me. "I know you're terrified. I know you don't understand what's happening. But I can help you. There are records at Bloodmoon Keep—ancient texts about Bloodbane magic and curse-breaking. Come with me, and we'll find a way to save both you and Kieran."
"How do I know I can trust you?" I demanded.
Ash knelt on one knee—a gesture of respect I didn't expect. "Because unlike everyone else in your life, I'm not trying to use you. I'm trying to save my king. And I think—I hope—we can do that without you dying."
Elias and I exchanged glances.
"Your choice," Elias said quietly. "But choose fast. Those wolves outside won't wait forever."
I looked at Ash's scarred face. At Elias's worried expression. At my glowing birthmark.
At Elena's journal with its promise: You can rewrite your own story.
"Take me to Bloodmoon Keep," I said to Ash. "Show me these records. And teach me everything I need to know to break this curse."
"And if we can't break it?" Ash asked.
"Then I'll face the ritual knowing I tried everything first."
Ash nodded and stood. "We leave immediately. My men will escort us through the border." He hesitated. "Be warned—Drake doesn't know you've arrived yet. When he discovers the Bloodbane is at the Keep, he'll do everything in his power to either control you or kill you before the ritual."
"Why? I thought he wanted Kieran's throne."
"He does. But the ritual's outcome depends on your choice—sacrifice yourself to save Kieran, or refuse and let Kieran die permanently. Drake wants to make sure you choose the option that benefits him most."
My blood ran cold. "What option is that?"
Ash's expression was grim. "That's what we need to figure out. Because I suspect the curse has more than two endings. And the third option? The one Morgana and Drake are hiding?"
"What is it?"
"I don't know yet. But I think it involves you becoming something neither human nor wolf. Something powerful enough to either save the kingdom..." He paused. "Or destroy it completely."
Before I could respond, purple fire exploded around the warehouse.
Morgana's voice boomed from everywhere: "THREE DAYS, BLOODBANE! THREE DAYS UNTIL THE BLOOD MOON! COME TO SHADOWVEIL FOREST OR WATCH EVERYONE YOU LOVE BURN!"
The flames showed images—Sister Margaret and the orphans trapped. Thornridge villagers screaming. And in the center of it all, a massive black wolf chained in silver, his golden eyes filled with agony.
Kieran.
"She's torturing him," I whispered. "Every moment I delay, she hurts him more."
"That's what she wants you to think," Ash said. "She wants you desperate and emotional, making bad choices. Don't give her that power."
The vision faded, leaving only Morgana's laughter.
And one final image that made my heart stop.
A full moon rising over a dark forest.
A stone altar covered in blood.
And two figures standing over my lifeless body—Drake and Morgana, their hands glowing with stolen power.
That was the future if I failed.
"Let's go," I said, my voice shaking but determined. "Let's find out how to change that ending."
We ran into the night, wolves howling at our heels, racing toward a castle I'd never seen and a destiny I never wanted.
But one thing was clear:
In three days, everything would end.
And I was the only one who could decide how.