Lucy's POV:
"We need to leave. Now." Stellan grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the door. "Wait!" I yanked free, my mind racing. "That message said 48 hours. Forty-eight hours to accept our fate. What does that even mean?" "It means they want us to stop exploring and accept this forced marriage as real." His voice was tight with barely controlled rage. "It means they're willing to hurt Celeste to make us obey."
The cut wolf's head stared at us with dead eyes. My stomach churned, but I pushed myself to think past the horror. "The note said 'the ones who made you,'" I pointed out. "Made us what? Made us marry? That means different people are involved in this."
Stellan stopped at the door, his hand on the handle. "You're right. This isn't just Vivian acting alone. She doesn't have the power or understanding to pull off something this complex." "Dorian," I whispered. "Last night, before you found me in the storage room, I heard Chancellor Dorian talking to someone. He said everything was ready for 'tomorrow night', which was last night. He said once the king was bound, the council would have no choice, and the Five Territories would be his."
Stellan's face went dangerously still. "Dorian said that? You're certain?"
I nodded. "I saw red threads everywhere when he spoke. He was lying about something, planning something. That's why Vivian's guards locked me in the storage room; they caught them listening." "Red threads?" Stellan's eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean?"
Right. I'd forgotten he didn't know about my skill yet.
I took a shaky breath. "I can see when people lie. It's a special skill I was born with. Lies show as glowing red threads around the person speaking. That's probably why they wanted to 'remove the truth-seer problem.' They knew I could expose them."
Stellan stared at me for a long moment. I waited for him not to believe me, to call me crazy, to "Show me," he said simply. "What?" "Tell me a lie. Let me see if I can notice the threads."
I blinked, surprised. "You... you believe me?" "I just woke up married with no memory of my own wedding. I'll believe anything at this point." His mouth quirked in something that might have been a smile under different conditions. "Now lie to me."
I thought for a second. "I love the Winter Solstice. It's my favorite holiday."
As I spoke, I felt the usual tingle of my power activating. Red threads emerged around me, visible only to my eyes. Stellan squinted, focusing hard. "I can't see anything," he revealed. "But I felt something. Like static in the air." "Most people can't see them. Only me." I let the lie fade. "It's a bloodline skill from my pack. We were guardians of truth." "Were?" Stellan caught the past tense instantly.
This was it. The moment I'd been dodging for five years. "My real name isn't Lucy Hart," I said quietly. "It's Lucy Thorne. I'm from the Moonvale Pack. The pack that was slaughtered five years ago on Winter Solstice night."
Stellan's eyes widened. "The Moonvale slaughter. The official report said there were no survivors." "The official version was wrong." My voice cracked despite my best effort. "I survived. I was twenty-one, just finished my training as a truth-keeper. That night, while everyone was enjoying the Solstice, attackers came. They wore masks, but I saw the royal crest on their outfits before I ran." "The royal crest?" Stellan looked shocked. "That's impossible. I would never authorize. "I know. I've spent five years trying to figure out who really sent them. Who wanted my pack dead badly enough to make it look like a random attack." I met his eyes. "Now I think I know. Chancellor Dorian. He planned the slaughter, and he planned our forced marriage. Both on the Winter Solstice. That can't be a coincidence."
Stellan was quiet for a moment, processing. "Why would Dorian want your pack dead?" "I don't know. But whatever the reason, he's not finished. He forced us together for a reason. We need to figure out what that goal is before he."
A phone rang, cutting me off. Stellan pulled it from his pocket, looking at the screen. His face went pale. "It's Celeste." He answered instantly, putting it on speaker. "Celeste? Are you okay?" "Brother!" Her voice came through shaky but alive. "I'm fine, I'm in my rooms, but something weird just happened. Someone slid a note under my door, and when I had my guard check the hallway, there was nobody there." "What did the note say?" "It says... 'Your brother's new wife is in danger. Tell him to check his office safe. The password is MOONVALE." She paused. "Stellan, what's going on? Who's your new wife? When did you get married?"
Stellan and I traded glances. "It's tricky. Stay in your rooms with your guards. Don't let anyone in except me. I'll tell everything soon." "But," "Please, Celeste. Trust me." "Okay." She sounded worried but didn't argue. "Be careful."
He hung up and immediately headed for the door. "My office. Now."
We rushed through the palace halls. It was early morning most people were still sleeping off last night's parties. The few staff we passed gave us strange looks, but nobody tried to stop us.
Stellan's office was in the executive wing, behind three layers of security. He unlocked each one with practiced speed, then went straight to a big safe hidden behind a painting. "How would anyone know the password to your safe?" I asked. "They shouldn't. I change it monthly and never write it down." He typed in MOONVALE, and the safe clicked open.
Inside was a single folder, thick with papers.
Stellan pulled it out and opened it. His face went from pale to completely white. "What is it?" I moved closer.
The folder was titled "MOONVALE PACK - CLASSIFIED - EYES ONLY."
Inside were photos. Crime scene shots from the massacre. My pack's area was burned and destroyed. Bodies covered with sheets. Reports made on official royal letterhead.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was the signature at the bottom of the permission order for the attack. "Chancellor Dorian Crane, acting on behalf of the Crown."
My legs nearly gave out. "He did it. He really ordered the slaughter."
Stellan flipped through more pages, his jaw tightening with each one. "These are reports about your pack's skills. The truth-seeing power. Notes about items, bloodlines, magical inheritance..." He stopped on one page, his breath catching. "Lucy. Look at this."
He turned the paper so I could see.
It was a family chart. My family tree goes back generations. And at the very top, written in red ink: "The Moonvale Pack holds the Goddess's Truth. This power can be passed through forced bonding during the Winter Solstice. Requirements: Last living Moonvale child + Royal bloodline + Sacred ceremony at midnight Memory suppression to prevent resistance."
The words blurred as tears filled my eyes. "They planned this five years ago," I whispered. "Dorian killed my pack, left me alive on purpose, waited until I was found, then forced me to marry you so he could steal my family's power." "But how?" Stellan asked. "How would our marriage give him your power?"
I scanned more of the papers, my hands shaking. Then I found a page named "Transfer Ritual." "It says here that during the final Solstice ceremony, which is tonight, married couples can ask the Moon Goddess for blessings. If someone controls both people in the marriage bond, they can redirect those gifts to themselves." I looked up at Stellan. "You're the king. In werewolf law, I'm your wife now, which means I'm legally bound to follow you. If Dorian controls you," He controls you," Stellan finished grimly. "And he can force you to give up your power during tonight's closing ceremony." "That's why he wants us to 'accept our fate.' Stop exploring, accept the marriage as real, show up to the final ceremony like obedient puppets." My voice rose with anger. "Then he'll use us to steal my family's power and probably kill us both afterward so there's no witnesses."
Stellan slammed the folder shut. "Not happening. We'll expose him first. These papers are proof." Are they?" I picked up one of the papers. "Look at the signatures. Look at the times. Everything is perfectly forged to look like it came from government sources. If we show these to the council, Dorian will just say we faked them to avoid punishment for our illegal marriage." "Then we make him admit. You can see lies; you'll know if he's telling the truth." "The board can't see my red threads. It would be my word against his, and I'm just a commoner nobody. He's the respected Chancellor who's served for twenty years."
We were stuck. Even with proof, we couldn't prove it.
Stellan paced like a caged wolf. "There has to be something. Some way to"
His phone rang again. Same number. Celeste. "Celeste? What's wrong?"
But the voice that came through wasn't Celeste's.
It was Dorian's. "Good morning, Your Majesty. I hope you found the papers enlightening." His voice was smooth, pleased. "I suppose by now you understand your situation. You and your lovely bride have two choices: attend tonight's final Solstice wedding as planned and cooperate fully, or..." He paused. "Well. Let's just say Princess Celeste is having some tea with Lady Vivian right now. Such a sweet girl. It would be terrible if something happened to her." "If you hurt her," Stellan's voice was pure menace. "I won't. As long as you behave." Dorian chuckled. "Think of it this way, Dad. You'll be making history. The first king to freely sacrifice his power for the greater good. People will write songs about your selflessness." "Let me talk to my sister. Now."
A moment of silence, then Celeste's words came through, scared but trying to be brave. "Stellan? I'm okay. Don't worry about me. Do whatever you need to"
The phone cut off.
Stellan stood frozen, his whole body shaking with rage and fear.
I touched his arm gently. "We'll get her back. We'll stop Dorian and save Celeste, and "How?" He whirled to face me, and for the first time, I saw the Ice King completely broken. "How, Lucy? He has my sister. He has the council's backing. He has everything planned perfectly. In less than twelve hours, he'll take your power, probably kill us both, and become the most powerful person in the Five Territories. And there's nothing we can do to stop him."
I wanted to fight. Wanted to say we'd find a way.
But the truth was, I didn't know how either.
We stood in his office, surrounded by proof we couldn't use, racing against a deadline we couldn't stop.
Then I remembered something. Something important. "The goddess," I said suddenly. "The one who did our ceremony last night. She would have seen what really happened. She could swear that we were drugged and coerced."
Stellan's eyes lit up with hope. "The High Priestess of the Royal Temple. If she tells the council we were forced into the marriage," They'd have to investigate. They couldn't ignore evidence from the temple."
It wasn't much. But it was something. "The temple is ten minutes from here," Stellan said, already moving toward the door."We can make it before.""
The office door burst inward.
Six council guards rushed in, guns drawn. Behind them stood Lady Vivian, smiling her beautiful, terrible smile. "Going somewhere, Your Majesty?" she purred. "I'm afraid the council has made an emergency order. You and your... bride... are under house arrest until tonight's wedding. For your own safety, of course." "You can't do this," Stellan growled. "I'm still king." "Are you?" Vivian tilted her head mockingly. "The council isn't so sure anymore. Not after your illegal marriage. Not after you've been acting so strangely. They think perhaps you need... direction. Rest. Time to clear your head before making any more impulsive choices."
The guards moved closer, surrounding us.
We were stuck. No way out. No time left.
And in less than twelve hours, Dorian would win everything.