MARKED BY THE ALPHA'S HATE

The plan was insane.

Selene knew it the moment Neris rolled out that cursed map and circled Victor's estate with a bone-tipped finger. Darius knew it too—his silence said as much. But neither of them argued. Because the truth was, the only way forward was through.

And through meant heading straight into the lair of the wolf who'd hunted her since birth.

They waited until nightfall. Neris gave them both cloaks woven with concealment runes, thin enough to move in, strong enough to mask their scents—for a little while. Just long enough to slip past Victor's outer guards and through the overgrown back wall of the estate grounds.

The cold bit harder here. The air smelled of iron and cinders.

Victor's mansion wasn't a home—it was a fortress. Black stone rose three stories high, surrounded by spike-tipped walls and guarded watchtowers. But beneath all that power and pomp, Selene could feel it: something was wrong here. Twisted. Tainted.

The closer they got, the heavier the sword at her back felt. Like it wanted to be drawn.

She and Darius stayed low, moving between shadows, silent as breath. They didn't speak. There was no need. Every footfall, every glance, was in sync. The bond pulsed between them—not the mating heat, but something older, deeper. The kind that didn't need words to say, I've got you.

They slipped through a servant's tunnel Neris had told them about, long forgotten behind a collapsed carriage shed. Inside, the air was thick with damp earth and mildew. Cobwebs brushed Selene's cheeks as they moved deeper, winding downward beneath the estate.

At the end of the tunnel was a sealed stone door. No lock. No handle. Just a crescent carved deep into the center, glowing faintly.

Selene reached for it.

The moment her fingers touched the symbol, a shock rolled through her. Not pain—something else. A memory. A whisper.

"If they come for you… don't follow my path. Finish it."

Her mother's voice.

The stone groaned. The seal cracked.

And the door slid open.

The chamber was massive far larger than the estate above should've allowed.

Black walls stretched into a dome overhead, etched with ancient Moonblood script. The floor was polished obsidian, smooth as glass. At the center, surrounded by a circle of gold runes, stood a plinth. Upon it sat a crystal sphere, pulsing dimly.

Selene stepped forward, drawn.

"That's it," Darius said quietly behind her.

Neris had called it her mother's final memory. A psychic echo. A memory spell sealed before death, impossible to unlock without Moonblood blood. And now it waited—for her.

"Stay close," she murmured.

She placed her hand on the sphere.

The world shattered.

Colors inverted. Sound folded in on itself. Heat flared through her spine.

Then—

—She stood in her mother's body.

A vision.

She wasn't herself. She was Liora.

Fire blazed around her, distant but encroaching. A baby cried in her arms. Wolves howled above the cliffs.

Victor stood in front of her, younger, smiling like a predator in silk.

"You can't run forever, Liora."

"I won't need to," her mother—Selene—spoke. "Because you've already lost."

Victor moved forward. "You're out of time. Out of allies. Your pack is ash, your throne shattered."

"You forget," Liora said. "The Moonbloods don't rule by throne. We rule by truth."

She placed the child—Selene—into a warded cradle. Sealed it with flame. And turned.

Victor lunged.

The vision blurred. Screamed.

Then everything turned red.

Selene fell to her knees.

Darius caught her before she hit the ground, gripping her shoulders. "What did you see?"

She was shaking. The memory still burned inside her.

"She sealed me away," she whispered. "In the cliffs. To keep me hidden from him. He killed her after."

Darius's jaw clenched.

But Selene wasn't done.

"There's more. My mother—she knew Victor was after something. Not just her bloodline. The bond. He wanted to forge it. He was trying to use her to recreate the original Moonblood bond—one that could control all wolves."

Darius's expression darkened. "That's why he wants you now."

"Because I have what she had," Selene said. "The sword. The flame. The bloodline. But now I also have you."

He stilled.

"The prophecy doesn't just talk about the heir," she continued. "It speaks of the twin flame. Two bound by blood and fate. Only together can they break the chains the old alphas forged."

Darius looked away, tense. "You think I'm that second half."

"You feel it too," she said. "You've always felt it."

"I've felt a lot of things for you, Selene. But prophecy—"

A howl ripped through the chamber.

Low. Furious. Close.

They turned.

The far wall melted into shadow. And from it stepped a figure Selene hadn't seen since her nightmare in the flames.

Victor.

But not as the charming, clean-cut wolf lord he portrayed in public.

Here, his skin was half-shadow, half-flesh. Horns curled from his temples. His eyes were pitch black. The Obsidian wasn't a pet—it was a part of him. A weapon he wore.

"I wondered how long it would take you to remember," Victor said, voice like silk dipped in poison. "Did Neris think hiding you in the wild would keep you safe forever?"

Darius stepped forward. "If you touch her—"

"I won't need to," Victor said. "She came willingly. She always would. It's in her blood."

He looked at Selene.

"Do you know what I see when I look at you, girl? Not an heir. Not a warrior. I see a child born to finish what her mother failed to do—take her place at my side."

Selene drew the sword.

It glowed instantly, fire racing up the blade, bathing the room in gold.

"I'm not my mother," she said. "And I won't be your weapon."

Victor's smile split too wide. "We'll see."

He stepped forward.

Darius moved with him.

And the chamber erupted in war.