Lyra’s words dripped with false sweetness, but her body pressed closer against Jace’s, her head resting against his chest as if she already wore my mark.
“Lyra,” Jace murmured, brushing her arm as if she were made of glass, “stop teasing. The wound on your back hasn’t healed, and now you’ve twisted your ankle again.”
His hand slid down to steady her wrist, his eyes cutting coldly toward me.
“If you can’t stand having Lyra rest here, Seris,” he said, voice low and threatening, “then you can find somewhere else to stay. The Crescent Inn takes guests.”
My fingers curled. “No need,” I replied evenly. “She can stay. Let her heal… right here.”
I turned and climbed the staircase, forcing my trembling legs to carry me upward. Behind me, I could feel their shared breath, hear the pulse of their hearts beating in one rhythm.
---
Later, the door to my chamber creaked open.
Lyra entered without knocking, the scent of her perfume — foxglove and wolfbane — thick in the air.
“My dear sister,” she cooed, leaning against the doorframe. “I heard you’ve been trying to conceive Alpha Jace’s pup for two years. All those rituals, the healers, the blood tonics… how exhausting.”
Her tone shifted, a blade hidden beneath silk.
“Too bad,” she sneered, “you’ll never give birth to anyone’s pup. Not when you don’t even have a womb anymore.”
The words sliced through me. “What did you say?”
Lyra’s eyes glinted with amusement. “Do you even know why your parents were taken that night of your Moon Ceremony?”
A chill swept through my body. “What do you mean?”
She stepped closer, the click of her heels echoing like bone against stone. “Because you came of age. Because your organs matured. They wanted you compliant — ready to donate. At first, only one of your sacred wolf kidneys was needed. But Jace…” She smiled slowly, cruelly. “He didn’t want you bearing his heir. He married you only to keep your body close, so he could harvest what I needed.”
My vision blurred. “You’re lying. We share blood — we’re sisters.”
“Sisters?” Lyra’s face twisted in fury. “Who told you that lie?”
She leaned in, her whisper colder than moonlight. “You’re not my sister, Seris. You’re nothing but a blood vessel Father and Mother raised beside me — a living reservoir. My personal blood bank. They called you their adopted daughter, but you were my property. A replacement heart waiting to be carved open.”
Her laughter rang like a curse. “And now that my health’s restored, we don’t need you anymore. That’s why Jace poisoned you — slow, steady doses disguised as ‘medicine.’ How does it taste, hmm? Sweet? Metallic?”
I froze, realization crashing over me.
So that was why he’d always insisted the steward watch me drink.
Why he dismissed my protests as “hormonal weakness.”
Lyra tilted my chin upward, nails digging into my skin. “Every month you drank your death a little deeper. Jace kept you close so you’d never run. You were just… convenient.”
Then her voice dropped to a whisper, almost tender. “Do you ever wonder why you wake with bruises on your arms? Those aren’t accidents, darling. Jace drains your blood while you sleep, mixing it into my tonics so my wolf stays strong.”
The world shattered. My wolf inside me whimpered — wounded, furious, desperate.
Before I could move, Lyra slapped herself, a sharp crack splitting the silence.
She stumbled backward, clutching her stomach.
“Ah!” she screamed. “Sister, please don’t hurt me! My pup — the Alpha’s heir — please, have mercy!”
Jace burst through the door in seconds, eyes blazing. He didn’t hesitate.
His boot slammed into my chest, knocking me to the ground.
“Seris!” he roared. “I never thought you’d fall so low. Lyra’s carrying my heir, and you dare raise a hand against her?!”
I gasped, struggling for breath. “I can’t bear a child because of you! Because you—”
His expression flickered—just for a heartbeat—before guilt turned to rage.
Then Lyra whimpered again, clutching her belly, and his resolve hardened.
Without another word, he swept her into his arms and carried her away.
The sound of the door slamming echoed through the hollow corridors of our home—
the place I once believed was my sanctuary.
---
My last hope burned to ash.
I reached for my communicator crystal, the one I’d sealed years ago with a blood rune only I could break.
As it lit with blue fire, a familiar voice answered on the other end.
“Seris?”
“I’ll take the mission,” I said, voice steady despite the tremor in my hands. “The one you offered me years ago—the Bloodmoon Rebellion.”
A pause, then a low, approving growl. “Are you certain, Luna? Once you step on this path, there’s no turning back.”
My eyes turned silver.
“I lost everything once,” I whispered. “This time, I’ll take it all back.”
