The journal glowed for a long moment after Elara touched it.
Then the light faded, leaving only the ancient pages and the weight of what had just happened.
Dace stared at her with something like reverence. "I've had that journal for ten years. Tried to read it a thousand times. It never did anything. Just old paper and faded ink." He shook his head slowly. "But you touched it, and it woke up."
Elara looked at her hands. The marks on her palms pulsed faintly, echoing the journal's light.
"It knew me," she whispered. "The way Thorne knew me. The way the marks know me." She looked up at Kael. "What am I becoming?"
Kael's jaw tightened. "Whatever you are, you're not alone." He turned to Dace. "What else is in that journal? What else did your grandmother record?"
Dace carefully turned more pages. "Prophecies. Bloodlines. The history of the Silver Crown." He stopped at a section marked with a faded ribbon. "Here. This is about the sealing."
He read aloud:
"On the night the palace fell, the Queen called for the royal scribe. She held her infant daughter—barely three moons old—and wept. 'Hide her,' she commanded. 'Hide her where they will never look. Among the humans. Among the forgotten. Use the ancient blood magic, the seal that hides royal scent and royal power. Let her grow up unknown, unseen, unprepared.'
"The scribe asked: 'How will she ever know what she is? How will the seal break?'
"The Queen answered: 'The seal will break when her mate proves worthy. When he chooses her—not for power, not for duty, but for her. When he kneels before her not as Alpha to royalty, but as mate to mate. That is the only key. That is the only way.'"
Silence fell.
Kael's face had gone pale. "When he kneels."
Elara's heart hammered. The dreams. The prophecy. It's all connected.
Dace continued reading:
"The Queen gave the scribe one final task: 'Find her, when the time comes. Guide her. Protect her. And tell her—tell her we loved her. Tell her we didn't want to let her go. Tell her—'
"The scribe recorded no more. The sounds of battle reached the royal chambers. She fled with the infant, trusting the seal to hide them both."
Dace looked up. "My grandmother was that scribe. She carried you out of the burning palace. She placed you with the humans. And she spent the rest of her life waiting for the day you'd return."
Tears burned Elara's eyes. "She never told anyone? Never tried to find me?"
"She couldn't. The seal protected you by hiding you from everyone—even those who loved you. All she could do was wait. And record." Dace's voice was rough. "And tell me, on her deathbed, to keep watching. To keep hoping. To be ready when the Silver heir finally appeared."
All those years. All that waiting.
For me.
Kael's hand found hers. Squeezed.
"We need to know more," he said quietly. "About the seal. About the Blood Moon. About what happens when it breaks." His silver eyes met Dace's. "Is there more?"
Dace nodded. "Pages and pages. But I can't read them. Only she can." He looked at Elara. "The journal will show you what you need to see. When you're ready."
Elara reached for the journal.
It warmed beneath her touch. Pages fluttered as if moved by an invisible hand, stopping at a section she somehow knew was important.
She read silently:
"The Blood Moon is the veil between worlds—between wolf and human, between living and dead, between sealed and awakened. When it rises, the heir's blood will recognize its own. The wolf will surge. The power will flood.
"If the mate is worthy—if he has chosen her freely, completely, without reservation—the bond will anchor her. She will survive the transformation. She will become what she was always meant to be.
"If the mate is unworthy—if he has not chosen, if the bond remains dormant—the power will consume her. She will burn from within. And the Silver line will end forever."
Elara's blood turned to ice.
Consume her. Burn from within. End forever.
Kael must have seen something in her face. He pulled her close. "What does it say?"
She told him.
His arms tightened around her. "Then I'll be worthy. I'll choose you. I'll—"
"It's not that simple." She pulled back to look at him. "You already choose me. Every day. Every night. But the journal says 'freely, completely, without reservation.' That means—" She stopped. Swallowed. "That means you have to know everything. All of it. And still choose me."
The seal won't let me tell you, she thought desperately. But you have to know. You have to understand.
Kael's silver eyes burned. "Then tell me. Whatever it is, tell me. I can handle it."
"I can't." The words were torn from her. "I can't. The seal—it won't let me. Not until—"
"Until I prove myself worthy." His jaw tightened. "Dace said something similar. About the seal testing worthiness." He looked at the journal. "So how do I prove it? What do I have to do?"
Elara shook her head. "I don't know. The journal didn't say."
Dace spoke quietly. "My grandmother used to say that worthiness isn't an action. It's a state of being. It's not about doing the right thing—it's about being the right thing. Becoming someone the seal recognizes as worthy."
Kael was silent for a long moment.
Then: "Then I'll become that. Whatever it takes. However long." He looked at Elara. "I rejected you once. I called you nothing. I'll spend the rest of my life making up for it—and if that makes me worthy, good. If not—" He touched her face. "Then I'll keep trying anyway. Because you're worth it. You're worth everything."
Elara's eyes burned.
He's choosing me, she thought. Blindly, desperately, completely.
Please let it be enough.
---
They spent hours with the journal.
Elara read aloud while Kael and Dace listened—prophecies and bloodlines, histories and warnings. She learned about the Silver Palace, hidden in a mist-shrouded valley protected by ancient magic. She learned about the royal line, unbroken for a thousand years until the massacre. She learned about the master—the one who'd orchestrated the slaughter, who'd been hunting for her ever since.
He's still out there, she realized. Still hunting. Still waiting.
And the Blood Moon is in six days.
"We need to go to the palace." The words came out before she'd fully formed the thought. "Before the Blood Moon. The journal says the magic there is strongest. That the seal can break safely within the royal grounds."
Kael's brow furrowed. "That's days away. Through rogue territory. With the master hunting you."
"Then we go carefully. Quietly. With a small group." She met his eyes. "Kael, if the seal breaks here, without the palace's protection—the journal says I might not survive. Is that a risk you're willing to take?"
Is that a risk you're willing to take?
The question hung between them.
Kael's jaw tightened. "No. I'm not willing to take that risk." He looked at Dace. "Can you guide us? To the palace?"
Dace nodded slowly. "I've studied the old maps. I know the general location. But the valley is protected—the magic hides it from anyone not of royal blood. We'll need her to find the way once we're close."
"Then we leave tomorrow night." Kael's voice was firm. "Under cover of darkness. Small group—you, me, Elara, and a few warriors I trust absolutely."
"Cassian," Elara said. "And Lyra."
Kael nodded. "Cassian and Lyra. Anyone else?"
Dace hesitated. "There's someone. An elder who lives near the palace ruins. My grandmother mentioned her—a servant who survived the massacre, who's been waiting all these years." He looked at Elara. "If anyone can help you through the breaking, it's her."
Elder Morwenna, Elara thought. The one Thorne mentioned.
"She's still alive?"
"Barely, probably. But alive." Dace's eyes were certain. "The old magic keeps her going. Waiting for you."
Waiting for me.
Everyone has been waiting for me.
The weight of it pressed down on her chest—the expectations, the hopes, the sacrifices made by people she'd never met. All for her. All for the heir they'd hidden and prayed for and never stopped believing in.
What if I'm not enough? she thought desperately. What if I can't be what they need?
Kael must have sensed her distress. He pulled her close, ignoring Dace's presence, and pressed his lips to her forehead.
"You are enough," he murmured. "Whatever comes, whatever you become—you are enough."
She wanted to believe him.
---
They spent the rest of the day planning.
Kael sent word to Cassian and Lyra through trusted channels. Dace gathered supplies—food, weapons, maps. Elara studied the journal, memorizing passages, letting the ancient words sink into her bones.
By nightfall, everything was ready.
They would leave at midnight. Four wolves and one almost-wolf, slipping through the darkness toward a destiny none of them fully understood.
Elara stood in her guest quarters, staring at the small bag she'd packed. A change of clothes. The knife Kael had given her. The journal, wrapped in oilcloth to protect it from the elements.
Everything she owned fit in a bundle smaller than most wolves' day packs.
Eighteen years of life, she thought. And this is all I have to show for it.
But that wasn't true anymore.
She had Kael. She had the bond. She had a wolf inside her, waiting to be free.
She had hope.
---
Kael came for her at midnight.
He moved silently through the darkness, a shadow among shadows, and found her waiting by the door. His silver eyes gleamed in the starlight.
"Ready?"
"No." She stepped toward him. "But I'm going anyway."
He almost smiled. "That's the spirit."
They slipped out of the compound together, meeting Cassian and Lyra at the tree line. Dace waited further in, pack on his shoulders, eyes bright with something that looked almost like excitement.
"Four wolves and a princess," he murmured. "This should be interesting."
Lyra shot him a glare. "Focus."
"I'm always focused."
"Quiet." Kael's voice was low, commanding. "We move fast, move quiet, and don't stop until we're clear of rogue territory. Questions?"
No one had any.
They moved into the forest.
---
The first night of travel was brutal.
Elara wasn't used to this kind of exertion—hours of walking without rest, through terrain that seemed designed to trip her, with wolves who moved effortlessly around her. But she didn't complain. Didn't slow them down. Didn't give anyone a reason to question whether she belonged.
Kael stayed close. Always within arm's reach. Always watching.
Through the bond, she could feel his focus—sharp, alert, protective. He was tracking everything: sounds, scents, the movement of the wind. Every muscle in his body was coiled, ready to fight.
He's terrified, she realized. Not for himself. For me.
She reached through the bond. Sent warmth. Reassurance.
I'm here. I'm okay. I trust you.
His response was immediate—a surge of fierce, desperate love that stole her breath.
I won't let anything happen to you.
I know.
---
They stopped at dawn, finding shelter in a small cave Dace knew about. Hidden. Safe. At least for now.
Elara collapsed against the cold stone, exhaustion flooding her muscles. The wolves seemed barely tired—Cassian and Lyra immediately began scanning the area, checking for threats, while Kael crouched beside her.
"How are you holding up?"
"Ask me in a few hours." She managed a weak smile. "Once my legs stop screaming."
His lips twitched. "You did well. Better than most humans would."
"High praise."
"It's true." He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Rest now. We'll move again at dusk. Four more nights to the palace, if we're lucky."
Four nights. Four days. Then the Blood Moon.
She closed her eyes.
And slept.
---
She dreamed of the palace.
White stone gleaming in moonlight. Towers that pierced the clouds. Wolves in silver armor, bowing as she passed. And at the center, a throne—not of bone, as she'd dreamed before, but of living silver, pulsing with light.
A woman sat on the throne.
Elara's face. Older. Wiser. Crowned.
Come home, daughter, the woman said. We've waited so long.
I'm trying.
I know. But hurry. The master is closer than you think.
The dream shifted.
Darkness. Fire. Screaming.
A figure in shadow, reaching for her with hands that burned.
Found you, it whispered. Finally found you.
Elara woke gasping.
Kael was there instantly, pulling her close, murmuring reassurance. "Just a dream. Just a dream. I'm here."
But she'd felt it. The darkness. The reaching. The certainty that something had found her.
"Kael." Her voice shook. "We need to move. Now."
He didn't question. Didn't hesitate.
He simply woke the others and led them deeper into the forest, toward a destiny that was racing toward them faster than any of them knew.
---
End of Chapter 13🐺