The night felt different now,colder, sharper and alive with danger.
Selena moved swiftly through the citadel corridors, the Queen's order echoing in her mind: "Investigate the Silver fang heir. Bring me everything."
Her boots clicked softly on the marble floor as she slipped into the armory. Rows of weapons gleamed in the torchlight—silver blades, poison-tipped arrows, enchanted daggers.
She ignored all of them. Weapons couldn't kill fate.
She grabbed only her cloak and her shadowed mask, heart pounding as she prepared to leave. She had to see Luca—to warn him, to tell him what the Queen suspected, to do something other than stand by while the prophecy coiled around them.
But as she stepped into the courtyard, a presence slid out of the shadows.
"Going somewhere?"
Selena stiffened.
Lord Varos emerged, tall and venomous, his pale face twisted into a smile that never touched his eyes.
"I was unaware the Queen gave you permission to leave so soon," he said. "Your wounds are not yet healed."
"My wounds are none of your concern," Selena replied coldly.
"Ah, but you are." Varos stepped closer, his voice like dripping acid. "The Queen watches you. She questions you. And she instructed me to ensure you remain… loyal."
Selena hid her rising panic. "I am doing what I was ordered."
"Are you?" He leaned in, sniffing lightly. "Because you still smell of wolf."
Selena forced her voice steady.
"Then perhaps you should keep your distance."
Varos' grin widened. "Defiant. Dangerous. Just like your mother."
Selena froze.
"Do not speak of her."
Varos' eyes glimmered with cruel delight.
"She, too, consorted with creatures she should have avoided. Look where that brought her. '"Rage flared, but she swallowed it. Not now,not when her life—and Luca's—was balanced on a blade.
"I will bring the Queen her answers," Selena said, pushing past him. "For your sake," Varos hissed, "you had better."
Silver fang Keep — the prince in chains
On the other side of the border, Luca braced both hands on the cold stone of his chamber wall. The lock clicked behind him. His father's doing.
"Confining me won't solve anything," Luca growled, spinning around.
Alpha Magnus stood outside the barred door, arms crossed, eyes hard.
"It will keep you from making things worse."
"I didn't ask for this bond!" Luca shouted.
"But you have it," Magnus replied. "And the Blood Moon marked you. Do you understand what that means? The Queen will come for you. The Council will hunt you. If you step one foot outside this room, you risk more than your life—you risk the pack."
Luca gritted his teeth.
"You expect me to hide while they hunt her?" Magnus' jaw tightened. "She is a vampire, Luca." "She saved my life." "Then she doomed you both," Magnus snapped.
Luca felt the bond pulse, hot and sharp—Selena's anger, her fear, her determination.
She was on the move.
He looked up at his father.
"Let me go."
"No."
Luca stepped forward, voice rising.
"If anything happens to her—"
Magnus slammed his palms against the bars, eyes blazing.
"She is not your responsibility!"
Luca's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
"She's my bond."
Magnus flinched as if struck.
Before he could respond, a chilling howl cut through the air outside—three sharp notes, then one long cry.
A warning signal.
Wolves on the hunt.
Magnus paled. "The Council patrols are out tonight."
He whispered the next words like a curse.
"If they're hunting vampires… she's already in danger."
Luca didn't hesitate.
He stepped back.
Closed his eyes.
And let the bond guide him.
Heat flared beneath his skin—
silver light rippled across his arms—
and with a burst of raw instinct, he transformed mid-breath into wolf form.
Massive, silver-furred, eyes glowing like moon fire.
With a single powerful leap, he shattered the metal bars and burst through the wall.
Magnus shouted his name—
but Luca was already gone.
He ran into the night, following the one heartbeat he could never ignore.
Deep in the forest — the trap closes
Selena moved like a shadow across the treetops, silent and swift. But she felt them behind her—
a cluster of heartbeats, heavy paws in the leaves, the smell of wolves thickening the air.
They weren't rogues.
These were trained warriors.
Silver fang soldiers.
How did they know I left the citadel?
The Queen's words echoed in her mind.
"Someone is watching you."
She pressed forward, leaping from branch to branch until she landed in a clearing.
Then she smelled it—
smoke.
Metal.
And wolf scent.
Too late.
Arrows flew from the trees, silver-tipped and venom-laced.
Selena dodged the first two—
the third grazed her arm.
Pain exploded instantly, burning like molten ice.
Silver poison.
She staggered, clutching the wound as the forest spun.
Shapes emerged from the trees—
wolves, armored, eyes cold.
Their leader stepped forward in human form.
Commander Thorne.
Luca's uncle.
"Selena Night thorn," he announced, bow raised. "By order of the Silver fang Council, you are to be captured or killed."
Selena bared her fangs.
"Why?"
"Because a vampire meddles with the Blood Moon," Thorne growled. "And no vampire walks free near our prince."
She froze.
They know.
Her heartbeat thundered. She reached for her dagger—
but her limbs felt heavy.
Too slow.
Thorne aimed directly at her heart.
"Any last words, leech?"
Selena's vision blurred—
but she didn't look at him.
She looked at the shadows behind him.
They trembled.
A low, monstrous growl rumbled through the clearing.
The wolves stiffened.
Thorne slowly turned.
Silver eyes burned through the mist.
A massive wolf stepped out—fur glowing with moonlight, muscles coiled with violence.
Luca.
He leaped into the clearing, landing between Selena and the warriors.
Thorne's face drained of color.
"You… broke containment."
Luca snarled so deeply the earth shook.
And for the first time in his life, Commander Thorne stepped back.
Selena dropped to her knees, dizzy from the poison.
Luca moved instantly, shielding her with his body.
Thorne glared. "You protect her?"
Luca's growl deepened, swelling like a storm.
"She is the prophecy," Thorne whispered in horror. "You've bonded with her."
Every wolf around him froze.
The truth was out.
And truth was the deadliest weapon of all.
Luca turned his head slightly toward Selena, pressing gently against her as if asking:
Can you stand?
She touched his fur weakly.
"Don't… fight them alone," she whispered.
But Luca's answer came through the bond—
fierce, stubborn, unshakeable:
I will not let them take you.
He faced the wolves, fangs bared, ready to kill his own people.
Selena drew her dagger despite her trembling hand.
Two enemies.
One bond.
Against the world.
The forest went silent—
the kind of silence that comes just before everything changes.