The silver light vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
Darkness reclaimed the ancient library.
Only the crackling fire remained, casting long shadows across overturned chairs and books scattered over the stone floor.
Seren's pulse hammered painfully in her ears.
The weathered tome lay open in her trembling hands, its pages once again faded and lifeless, as though nothing extraordinary had happened.
Yet the words she had read still echoed through her mind.
The Daughter of the First Moon...
...shall unite the Twelve Kingdoms... or destroy them all.
Kael crossed the room in three long strides.
"What happened?"
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
The dangerous kind of calm that came before a storm.
Seren looked up.
"I... I only touched the page."
Lady Isolde, still visibly shaken, steadied herself against a bookshelf.
"The book awakened."
Kael frowned.
"That isn't possible."
"I watched it happen."
"So did I."
His blue eyes shifted to Seren.
"And you read something."
She hesitated.
Should she tell him?
The words felt impossibly heavy.
As though speaking them aloud would somehow make them real.
Finally she nodded.
"There was another prophecy."
Lady Isolde inhaled sharply.
"Do not repeat it here."
Kael looked between the two women.
"Why?"
The elderly Luna lowered her voice.
"Because some prophecies have listeners."
Silence settled over the room.
Even the fire seemed quieter.
Kael finally closed the ancient book with deliberate care.
"No one outside this room hears about today's events."
Neither woman argued.
That evening, Frosthold buzzed with rumors despite Kael's order.
Servants whispered.
Guards exchanged uneasy glances.
Everyone had seen the burst of silver light erupt from the Archive Tower.
No explanation had been offered.
And in a castle filled with wolves...
Silence created stories far faster than truth.
Seren noticed them watching her during supper.
Not openly.
Never openly.
But every conversation stopped whenever she looked their way.
She had become a mystery.
Perhaps...
A threat.
Across the hall, Lyra watched as well.
Unlike everyone else, however, she smiled.
A patient smile.
One that never reached her eyes.
Later, unable to sleep, Seren wandered into Frosthold's gardens.
Northern flowers somehow bloomed despite the snow.
White moon lilies opened beneath the stars, filling the frozen air with a delicate fragrance.
She knelt beside one blossom.
"So they're beautiful even here."
"They only bloom under a full moon."
Kael's voice came from behind.
She stood quickly.
"I didn't know anyone else was awake."
"I rarely sleep."
He approached slowly, stopping a respectful distance away.
For several moments neither spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
Only uncertain.
Finally Kael looked toward the moonlit sky.
"My mother loved this garden."
Seren remembered the portrait she'd seen earlier.
"The Queen who planted hope in winter."
He looked surprised.
"You've heard that saying?"
"My grandmother used to tell stories."
A faint smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.
"She did."
The expression disappeared almost as quickly as it came.
"I owe you an apology."
Seren blinked.
"For what?"
"I brought you here knowing I couldn't give you what you deserved."
His gaze remained fixed on the flowers.
"I thought distance would make the bond weaker."
"Has it?"
He answered after a long silence.
"No."
The honesty in that single word stole her breath.
He continued quietly.
"If anything..."
His jaw tightened.
"It grows stronger every day."
Seren felt it too.
The invisible thread connecting them had become impossible to ignore.
Whenever he entered a room...
She knew.
Whenever he was troubled...
Something inside her stirred.
It frightened her.
Because it wasn't merely attraction.
It felt...
Ancient.
"I never wanted to replace anyone," she whispered.
"I know."
"And I never asked for your heart."
"I know."
"But one day..."
She looked at him.
"...I hope you stop apologizing for something neither of us chose."
Kael finally met her eyes.
Moonlight reflected within them like frozen oceans.
For the first time...
There was no resentment.
Only exhaustion.
And confusion
He stepped closer.
Close enough that she could hear his breathing.
Close enough to feel the warmth radiating from him despite the winter air.
Slowly—
Almost unconsciously—
He reached toward her face.
His fingers brushed a snowflake from her cheek.
The touch was impossibly gentle.
The mate bond exploded between them.
Warmth surged through Seren's body.
Kael inhaled sharply.
His hand lingered longer than either intended.
Their eyes locked.
Neither moved away.
The world seemed to disappear.
Just as Kael leaned closer—
A howl shattered the silence.
One.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Not ceremonial.
Not welcoming.
Alarm.
Kael spun instantly toward the castle walls.
The warmth vanished from his expression, replaced by the Alpha every wolf respected.
A guard sprinted across the courtyard.
"Alpha!"
Kael was already moving.
"What happened?"
"The eastern patrol has returned."
The young warrior struggled to catch his breath.
"They found an entire border village..."
He swallowed.
"...empty."
Seren felt cold settle deep inside her chest.
"Empty?"
"No bodies."
"No survivors."
"No tracks."
The guard's voice shook.
"It was as though every wolf simply..."
He looked toward the dark forest beyond Frosthold.
"...vanished."
Kael's instincts ignited immediately.
"Gather the council."
"Yes, Alpha."
As the guard disappeared, Kael turned back to Seren.
For a heartbeat, the distance between them returned.
Duty had reclaimed him.
"You should stay inside the castle."
She lifted her chin.
"If innocent wolves are missing, I won't hide behind stone walls."
His expression hardened.
"This isn't a request."
"And I'm not one of your soldiers."
A flicker of reluctant admiration crossed his face.
Before he could answer—
A chilling laugh drifted through the winter wind.
Neither of them could tell where it had come from.
The trees.
The mountains.
Or somewhere much closer.
Far beyond Frosthold's walls...
Hidden among towering pines...
A pair of crimson eyes watched the castle.
The mysterious black wolf lowered its head.
"The First Moon has awakened..."
Its voice was almost human.
"Now let the kingdoms remember why they buried Her name."
End of Chapter.
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