SERA'S POV
The library is a trap.
I realize this the second Kael pushes open the massive oak doors. Every instinct I've ever trained screams at me to run—not because of what's inside, but because I'm walking into this room carrying Morgana's death threat like a knife pressed against my spine.
Kill him, or Lyra dies.
The magical noose around my throat tightens with every step I take deeper into Kael's world. Every second I don't tell him the truth, I'm choosing the Order over the bond. I'm choosing the lies I was raised on over the mate fate gave me.
But if I speak, Lyra dies screaming.
"Three hundred years of research," Kael says, gesturing to shelves that climb three stories high. Books, scrolls, artifacts—all of it focused on one thing: breaking the curse that killed his brother. "Everything I know about the prophecy is here. Everything the Order has been hiding from you."
I force myself to focus. The library is huge, circular, with a domed ceiling painted with constellations I don't recognize. But I'm not here to admire architecture. I'm here to find proof that Morgana killed my family.
Or proof that Kael's the liar.
One of them destroyed my world. I just don't know which one yet.
Kael pulls a leather journal from a locked cabinet. His hands are steady, but I can feel the tension radiating off him through the bond. He's nervous. An Alpha who commands armies is nervous about showing me a book.
That should terrify me. Instead, it makes something in my chest ache.
"This is my brother's journal," Kael says quietly. "He wrote it during the two weeks he had with his mate before the elders killed her."
He opens it, and I see neat handwriting that slowly dissolves into chaos. The first entries are happy—She smiled at me today. Her name is Elara. I've never felt so complete.
The last entry is just two words, written so hard the pen tore through the page: THEY MURDERED HER.
"The elders told Aldric the prophecy demanded her death," Kael continues, his voice rough. "That if he completed the mating bond, darkness would consume the pack. He believed them. And when they killed Elara anyway, it broke him."
I run my fingers over the torn page. This isn't a story. This is real grief, real rage, bleeding through ink and time.
"I spent fifty years hunting down everyone involved," Kael says. "The elders who ordered her death. The warriors who carried it out. I made them tell me everything before I killed them."
My head snaps up. "You murdered your own pack members?"
"They murdered my brother's mate." His golden eyes are cold. "They deserved worse than what I gave them."
And there it is—the monster Morgana warned me about. The Alpha who kills without mercy.
Except he's not talking about random violence. He's talking about justice for a female who was slaughtered to maintain someone else's power.
Just like the Order plans to slaughter me.
"What did they tell you?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Kael pulls out a second journal—this one his own. "That the Crimson Order approached them six months before Aldric found his mate. Promised them wealth and power if they prevented the mating bond from completing. The Order needed the curse to stay active."
"Why?"
"Because the curse isn't a curse at all. It's a lock." Kael flips through pages covered in diagrams and ancient text. "A thousand years ago, the Moon Blessed bloodline held power over life and death magic. They could heal anything, break any dark spell, undo any curse. The supernatural world was balanced."
He shows me a drawing of a woman with a crescent mark on her shoulder—exactly like mine.
"Then the Crimson Order rose to power. They wanted control over that magic, but the Moon Blessed refused to serve them. So the Order made a deal with the Oracle—sacrifice the Moon Blessed, seal their power, and the Order gets to decide who lives and dies instead."
The pieces are falling into place, and I hate every single one of them.
"The prophecy about the Alpha's mating triggering darkness," I say slowly. "It's a lie."
"It's a distraction," Kael corrects. "The real prophecy talks about what happens when a Moon Blessed survives the Blood Moon sacrifice. The seal breaks. The Order loses its power. And anyone they've hurt with dark magic gets a chance at freedom."
He pulls out one final document—old, crumbling, written in a language I barely recognize. But I can read enough to see my name. My real name.
Seraphina Moonshadow. Last daughter of the Silvermoon Enclave. Moon Blessed. Born under the Blood Moon, marked for sacrifice.
"Morgana didn't save you from that fire," Kael says, and his voice is gentle even though the words are knives. "She set it. She killed your parents, your entire village, everyone who could have taught you what you really are. She kept you alive just long enough to use you."
I can't breathe. Can't think. Can't—
The door to the library explodes inward.
Declan storms in, three warriors behind him, all armed. His face is twisted with rage and something that looks like betrayal.
"She's activated a blood beacon," Declan snarls, silver blade pointed at my chest. "Every assassin within fifty miles knows exactly where we are. This was a trap, Alpha. She's been playing you from the start."
My blood turns to ice. "I didn't—"
But even as I say it, I feel the magic crawling under my skin. Morgana's magic. The same spell she used to silence me earlier.
She's turned me into a tracking device.
And I led her killers straight to Kael.
"Declan, stand down," Kael orders, stepping between us.
"She's going to get you killed!" Declan's voice cracks. "Just like Aldric's mate got him killed. I won't watch you destroy yourself for—"
The windows shatter.
Black smoke pours into the library, thick and choking. Through it, I see shapes moving. Assassins. Dozens of them.
And leading them, stepping through the smoke like a queen through her court, is Morgana.
"Hello, my blade," she says, and her smile is poisonous love. "I gave you a job. Since you couldn't seem to finish it, I've come to help."
She raises her hand, and I feel the blood oath around my throat activate. My body moves without permission. I grab the silver dagger from Kael's belt and spin toward him, blade aimed at his heart.
"No!" I scream, but my arm won't stop. "Kael, run—"
His hand catches my wrist, stopping the blade an inch from his chest. His eyes meet mine, and there's no fear in them. Only sad understanding.
"It's okay," he says quietly. "I know you're fighting it."
"How touching," Morgana purrs. "But this ends tonight. Kill him, Sera, and I'll let your sister live. Refuse, and everyone in this room dies. Including you."
The bond is howling in my mind. My wolf is tearing at the magical chains controlling me. I can feel Kael's heartbeat through the blade pressing against his shirt.
One thrust. That's all it would take.
Save Lyra. Complete the mission. Go back to the only life I've ever known.
Or trust this male I've known for three days over the woman who raised me for twenty-three years.
The assassins close in. Declan and his warriors form a circle around Kael and me, but they're outnumbered five to one.
Morgana's eyes glitter with triumph. "Choose, Sera. Your sister or your mate. You can't save both."
My hand shakes on the dagger. Kael's grip on my wrist is firm but gentle, giving me the choice even now.
And then I feel it—a tiny flutter of magic from the crescent mark on my shoulder. My power. The Moon Blessed power Morgana spent twenty-three years making sure I never learned to use.
I have one chance. One moment before Morgana realizes what I'm doing.
I look at Kael and mouth two words: Trust me.
Then I drive the silver dagger straight into my own chest.