Arielle woke up with blood on her hands.

She stared at her palms in the grey morning light filtering through her bedroom window. Red. Wet. Still warm. Her heart kicked into overdrive as she sat up too fast, sheets tangling around her legs.

The blood wasn't hers.

She checked her arms, her legs, ran shaking fingers over her face and neck searching for wounds that had to be there because where else would this much blood come from. Nothing. No cuts. No injuries. Just blood that didn't belong to her coating her skin like she'd dipped her hands in something she couldn't take back.

"What the hell?" Her voice came out hoarse, like she'd been screaming.

Had she been screaming?

Arielle threw off the covers and stumbled to the bathroom, nearly tripping over boots she didn't remember taking off. Her hiking boots. Caked with mud and something dark that looked suspiciously like more blood. She grabbed the edge of the sink to steady herself and looked up at the mirror.

Her reflection looked like it belonged to someone else. Hair matted with leaves and dirt. A scratch across her left cheek that she definitely didn't have when she went to bed. And her eyes looked wrong. Too bright. Almost luminous in the dim bathroom light.

She turned on the faucet and started scrubbing. The water ran pink, then red, then finally clear as she washed away evidence of something she couldn't remember doing. Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold the soap.

Think. What was the last thing she remembered?

Going to bed around midnight after reading her grandmother's journals. Making chamomile tea she didn't drink. Falling asleep with the book open on her chest.

Then nothing. Just blank space where the last eight hours should have been.

Arielle dried her hands on a towel and caught sight of her chest in the mirror. She froze.

The mark had changed.

Three days ago, it had been faint silver lines barely visible unless you knew to look for them. A crescent moon with ancient runes woven through it, sitting just below her collarbone like a brand she couldn't scrub off.

Now it covered half her chest. Silver lines spreading like veins of light across her skin, reaching up toward her throat and down toward her heart. And it was glowing. Actually glowing, pulsing faintly in rhythm with her heartbeat.

She pressed her palm against it and felt heat. Not painful, but intense. Alive. Like something was growing beneath her skin, burrowing deeper with every breath she took.

"No." The word came out as a whisper. "No, no, no."

She'd been researching the mark for three days. Reading every book Mrs. Kovach had given her, poring over her grandmother's journals until her eyes burned. And everything she'd learned pointed to one terrifying conclusion.

The mark was a bond. A soul bond between her and something that wasn't human. Something that was coming for her whether she wanted it to or not.

Arielle grabbed her phone off the bathroom counter. Six missed calls from Mrs. Kovach. Two voicemails. And a text message sent at three in the morning.

Stay inside. Lock your doors. Do NOT go into the forest. He's hunting tonight.

Her blood went cold.

She opened the first voicemail with trembling fingers.

Mrs. Kovach's voice came through, tight with urgency. "Arielle, if you're hearing this, I need you to listen very carefully. The mark has activated. That means he knows where you are now. Can track you anywhere. You need to stay inside until I can get to you. Do you understand? Do not leave your cottage. Do not go outside for any reason."

The message ended. Arielle's thumb hovered over the second voicemail.

"Arielle, please tell me you're still inside. Please tell me you didn't go out last night. There was an incident in the forest. Someone was attacked. They're saying it was an animal, but I know better. I know what's really out there. Call me the moment you get this."

The phone slipped from Arielle's numb fingers and clattered against the tile floor.

Someone was attacked. In the forest. Last night.

The same night she apparently went outside with no memory of doing it. The same night she woke up covered in blood that wasn't hers.

She looked at her hands again. At the scratch on her face. At her muddy boots sitting by the bed.

What had she done?

A sound from outside made her jump. Footsteps on the porch. Heavy. Deliberate. Not trying to be quiet.

Arielle's heart hammered as she moved to the window and peered through the curtains. A man stood on her porch, his back to the door. Tall, broad-shouldered, wearing dark clothes that looked like they'd been through hell. His hair was black and tangled, falling past his shoulders.

She couldn't see his face, but something about the way he stood made every hair on the back of her neck stand up.

He turned his head slightly, and she caught his profile. Sharp jaw. Strong features. And eyes that glowed silver even in the morning light.

Not human.

Arielle backed away from the window, pulse racing. She needed to call someone. Police. Mrs. Kovach. Anyone.

Her phone was still on the bathroom floor. She started toward it, but a knock on the door stopped her cold.

Not a normal knock. Three deliberate strikes that echoed through the cottage like a warning.

"Arielle Wren." His voice carried through the wood, deep and rough and speaking her name like he'd said it a thousand times before. "I know you're in there. I can hear your heartbeat. Smell your fear. You went into the forest last night. Do you remember? Do you remember what you saw?"

She didn't answer. Could barely breathe.

Another knock. Harder this time.

"I need to speak with you. It's about the mark. About what's happening to you. About what you did last night in the woods." A pause. "About the blood on your hands."

Arielle's stomach dropped. How did he know about the blood?

"I'm not going away, Arielle. You can talk to me through the door or you can open it. Your choice. But we need to talk before someone else finds you. Before they start asking questions you don't have answers for."

She moved to the door without consciously deciding to. Her hand reached for the deadbolt.

"Don't." Her own voice surprised her. "Don't come any closer."

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's what monsters always say."

A sound that might have been a laugh. Dark and humorless. "I'm not the monster you need to worry about. Not anymore. That changed the moment the mark appeared on your skin. Now you're one of us whether you want to be or not."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." His voice dropped lower. "You've been researching for three days. Reading about werewolves and soul bonds and marks that appear on chosen mates. You know exactly what I'm talking about. The only question is whether you're brave enough to face it."

Arielle pressed her forehead against the door. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lycian Vale. And three days ago, the Moon Goddess marked you as mine. That mark on your chest? It's a bond. A connection between your soul and mine. And last night, when you went into the forest, you weren't alone. I was there. Watching you. Making sure you didn't hurt yourself or anyone else."

"I didn't hurt anyone."

"Are you sure about that? Because there's a hunter in the village who'd disagree. Claims a woman attacked him in the woods last night. Tore into him with her bare hands. He's in critical condition. And from his description, that woman looked a lot like you."

The world tilted. Arielle grabbed the door frame to keep from falling.

"That's impossible. I was here. I was sleeping."

"Were you? Then explain the blood. Explain the mud on your boots. Explain the scratch on your face that looks suspiciously like it came from fighting through brambles in the dark." His voice gentled slightly. "Arielle, the bond is changing you. Making you stronger. Faster. More dangerous. Last night was the first time, but it won't be the last. If you don't learn to control it, you're going to hurt someone. Maybe kill them. Is that what you want?"

"No." The word came out broken. "God, no."

"Then let me in. Let me explain what's happening to you. Let me help you before this gets worse."

Every rational bone in Arielle's body screamed not to open the door. Don't let the monster inside. Don't trust the voice that knew too much.

But the blood on her hands wasn't going to wash away just because she pretended it didn't exist.

She unlocked the door.

Lycian Vale stood on her porch looking like violence barely contained. Up close, he was devastating in a way that had nothing to do with conventional attractiveness and everything to do with raw, primal power. Those silver eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that made her breath catch.

"You opened the door." He sounded surprised.

"You said you could help me."

"I can. But first, you need to understand something." He took a step forward, not quite crossing the threshold. "That mark on your chest? It's permanent. Unbreakable. Whether you accept me or not, whether you want this or not, you and I are bound now. Your life and mine are tangled together in ways you can't begin to understand. And that means everything you do affects me. Everything I do affects you."

"I don't want to be bound to anyone."

"Neither did I." His jaw tightened. "But we don't get to choose. The Moon Goddess chooses for us. And she chose you for me. Which means we have two options. We can fight it and suffer. Or we can accept it and survive. Your choice."

Arielle looked at him. Really looked. And beneath the power and the threat and the otherworldly silver eyes, she saw exhaustion. Bone-deep weariness. And something that looked almost like fear.

"What happened in the forest last night?"

"You don't remember?"

"No."

Lycian's expression darkened. "That's worse than I thought. The bond is taking hold faster than it should. You're transforming without conscious control. That hunter you attacked? He was hunting me. Set traps all over the mountain, silver-tipped arrows designed to kill werewolves. You stumbled into one of his camps. Saw what he was doing. And something inside you snapped."

"I attacked him?"

"You defended me. Even though you've never met me. Even though you don't know me. The bond recognized that he was a threat, and you eliminated that threat." He took another step closer. "Arielle, you need to understand what you are now. You're not fully human anymore. The mark is changing you. Making you stronger, faster, more aggressive. Making you mine. And in six days, when the eclipse hits, that transformation will complete. You'll either become my mate fully, or the bond will kill us both. Those are your options. Life or death. There's no middle ground."

Six days. Less than a week to decide between accepting a fate she never asked for or dying slowly while dragging this stranger down with her.

"I need time to think."

"You don't have time." Lycian's voice was flat. "The hunter you attacked? He's not alone. He's part of a group that hunts supernatural creatures. And now they know there's something in these mountains worth hunting. They'll come back with more weapons, more traps, more people. And when they do, they won't stop until they've killed everything they find. Including you."

"Then I'll leave. I'll go back to the city where it's safe."

"There is no safe. Not for you. Not anymore." He gestured to the mark on her chest. "That bond is a beacon. I can feel you from miles away. Sense your emotions, your location, your fear. And if I can feel it, other wolves can too. Rival packs who'd love nothing more than to kill you just to hurt me. Rogues who see human-wolf bonds as abominations. Hunters who'll torture you to get information about where the rest of us live."

Arielle's legs gave out. She sank onto the couch, head in her hands, trying to process information that kept piling up faster than she could sort through it.

"This can't be happening."

"But it is." Lycian moved inside finally, closed the door behind him. "And you need to decide right now whether you're going to fight it or accept it. Because six days from now, ready or not, that bond is going to complete. And if you haven't learned to control it by then, if you haven't accepted what you're becoming, the transformation will tear you apart from the inside."

She looked up at him. "What am I becoming?"

"Something more than human." His silver eyes held hers. "Something less than wolf. Something that's never existed before because human-wolf bonds like this are rare. Most humans die during the transformation. Their bodies can't handle the change. But your grandmother was marked too, and she survived long enough to refuse the bond. Which means you have the bloodline. The strength. The potential to survive this."

"My grandmother refused her bond and died slowly over decades."

"Yes. And her wolf went mad and had to be put down like a rabid animal." Lycian's voice went hard. "Is that what you want? To spend the next twenty years withering away while I lose my mind bit by bit? To know that you're killing both of us because you were too afraid to take a chance?"

"That's not fair."

"Nothing about this is fair. But it's real. And it's happening. And you have six days to decide if you're brave enough to face it."

Arielle stood up, moved to the window, stared out at the forest that had apparently witnessed her attacking someone last night. The forest that had always felt safe and now felt like enemy territory.

"I don't even know you."

"Then get to know me. You have six days." Lycian moved to stand beside her, close enough that she could feel heat radiating from his skin. "Let me take you to my territory. Show you what my world looks like. Meet my pack. See what you'd be walking into if you accepted this bond. Make an informed choice instead of running blind."

"And if I still say no?"

"Then we both die. But at least you'll die knowing the truth instead of drowning in fear of the unknown."

The mark on Arielle's chest pulsed with sudden heat. She gasped, pressed her hand against it, felt warmth spreading through her entire body like fever.

"What's happening?"

"The bond is responding to proximity. The closer we are, the stronger it gets. The more it wants to complete itself." Lycian's hand covered hers over the mark, and the heat intensified. "In six days, this feeling will be unbearable. It will consume every thought, every breath, every moment until we either give in or it destroys us. That's what you're up against, Arielle. Not a choice between love and freedom. A choice between transformation and death."

She pulled her hand away, stepped back, needed distance before she couldn't think at all. "I need time alone. To process. To think."

"You have until tomorrow dawn. Then I'm coming back whether you want me to or not. Because hunters are coming, and you need to be somewhere safe when they arrive. My territory is protected. Warded against humans with hostile intent. You'll be safe there."

"I don't want to be safe. I want my life back."

"Your old life ended the moment that mark appeared." Lycian moved to the door, paused with his hand on the knob. "Tomorrow dawn, Arielle. Be ready. Or I'll carry you out of here myself. Your choice whether you come willingly or fighting."

"That's kidnapping."

"That's survival." He opened the door, then looked back at her one more time. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. Sorry the moon chose you. Sorry you're tied to me. Sorry your life got destroyed because of something neither of us could control. But I'm not sorry enough to let you die. So tomorrow dawn. North pass. Don't make me come get you."

Then he was gone, leaving Arielle alone in her cottage with blood-stained boots and a mark that burned like a brand and six days to decide if she was brave enough to become something she'd spent her whole life being taught wasn't real.

She sank back onto the couch and did something she hadn't done since her grandmother died.

She cried.

Not quiet tears. Not dignified grief. She sobbed like a child, shoulders shaking, snot running down her face, making sounds that would have embarrassed her if anyone had been there to hear.

But the cottage kept her secrets. Just stood there, silent and patient, while she broke apart.

When the tears finally stopped, when she'd cried herself empty and hollow, Arielle wiped her face with her sleeve and looked down at the mark on her chest.

It was still glowing. Still spreading. Still changing her into something she didn't recognize.

She thought about her grandmother's journals. About Clara's warning. About decades of regret written in cramped handwriting.

Don't make my mistake. Choose differently.

Tomorrow dawn. Six days until the eclipse. Six days to decide if she was brave enough to let herself transform or stubborn enough to die fighting it.

Arielle looked at her blood-stained hands one more time.

Then she went to pack a bag.

Because deep down, in a place she didn't want to acknowledge, she already knew what choice she was going to make.

The only question was whether she'd survive it.

Arielle stared at the words.

THE FOURTH DIES.

Blood. Fresh enough that it was still wet. Dark enough to be real.

Her hand hovered over the letters. She should touch it. Confirm it was blood. Figure out whose blood. But her fingers refused to move closer.

"Don't."

She spun. Lycian stood at the end of the corridor, fully dressed now in dark pants and a shirt that did nothing to hide the violence in his body. He moved toward her with predatory grace, eyes locked on the message.

"It's a warning," he said.

"I can read."

"Not for you. For me." He crouched beside the words, fingers hovering over the blood without touching. "This is pack blood. Someone cut themselves to write this. That means someone in my pack wants you dead badly enough to spill their own blood as a promise."

Arielle's stomach turned. "Who?"

"I don't know yet." He stood, and fury radiated from him like heat. "But I'll find out. And when I do, they'll regret making threats against what's mine."

"I'm not yours."

"Tell that to the bond." His eyes flashed silver. "Tell that to the mark that's spreading across your skin every hour. Tell that to the fact that you can feel me right now, in your chest, under your ribs, wrapped around your heart like a second pulse."

She couldn't. Because he was right. She could feel him. Constant. Inescapable. Like he'd carved out space inside her and taken up residence without permission.

"I want to leave."

"No, you don't."

"Don't tell me what I want."

"Then stop lying to both of us." He moved closer. Close enough that she could smell him. Pine and mountain air and something underneath that made her mouth water despite her anger. "You're terrified. I can feel it through the bond. But you're not scared of me. You're scared of what you're becoming. Scared that in three days, the woman you were will be gone completely and something else will be wearing your face."

"Stop."

"Why? Because it's true?" His hand caught her chin, forced her to meet his eyes. "I won't lie to you, Arielle. Won't tell you everything will be fine. You are changing. Every second we're near each other, every time we touch, every breath you take in this kingdom accelerates the transformation. In three days, you'll complete the ceremony whether you want to or not. Your body has already decided."

She jerked away from his touch. "Then what's the point? Why pretend I have a choice if the bond is just going to force me anyway?"

"Because how you face it matters." His voice softened. "You can fight it and suffer. Or you can accept it and survive. The first three fought. All three died screaming. I felt every second of their pain through the bond. Felt them burning from the inside out while I could do nothing but watch. I won't feel that again. So if you're going to die, at least die quickly. Don't drag it out for days while we both suffer."

The words hit like a slap. "You're asking me to give up."

"I'm asking you to be realistic about what's coming." He turned away, started walking down the corridor. "The ceremony preparation begins at dawn. Sera will come for you. Try to sleep. You'll need your strength."

"Wait." Arielle's voice stopped him. "What happens during the preparation?"

"Tests. To see if your body can handle the transformation. To see if your mind is strong enough to survive what comes after." He didn't turn around. "Most humans fail the preparation phase. They break before the ceremony even begins. But you're Clara Wren's granddaughter. You're stronger than you think."

"My grandmother refused her bond."

"Your grandmother survived two weeks of transformation before refusing. That's two weeks longer than most humans last. You have her genetics. Her strength. Her stubbornness." Now he looked back. "Use it. Survive this. Because if you die, I'm taking half the pack with me into madness, and I'd rather not have their blood on my hands too."

He left before she could respond.

Arielle stood alone in the corridor, staring at the blood on her threshold. THE FOURTH DIES. Someone wanted her dead. Someone in this kingdom had already decided she wasn't worth saving.

She stepped over the words and closed her door.

Sleep was impossible. She lay in bed watching the ceiling and feeling the mark spread. It had reached her shoulders now. Crept down her arms in silver lines that glowed faintly in the darkness. When she pressed her hand to her chest, she could feel something moving underneath. Reshaping. Preparing.

Her phone buzzed.

Another message. Same unknown number.

They killed the second one. Made it look like the transformation failed. But I saw. I know what they did.

The text deleted itself before she could screenshot it.

Arielle sat up, heart hammering. Someone was feeding her information. Someone who knew what happened to the previous mates. Someone who was risking their life to warn her.

Or trap her.

She typed fast: Who is this?

No response. The number was already disconnected.

A knock on her door. Soft. Almost hesitant.

"It's Sera," the healer's voice called. "I brought food. You need to eat."

Arielle opened the door. Sera stood there with a tray laden with meat and bread and something that looked like stew. The smell made Arielle's stomach growl despite her fear.

"I'm not hungry."

"Your body disagrees." Sera pushed past her into the room, set the tray on a small table. "Sit. Eat. The transformation requires massive amounts of energy. If you don't fuel it properly, your body will start consuming itself."

"Comforting."

"I'm a healer, not a comforter." But Sera's smile was gentle. "Eat. I'll examine you while you do."

Arielle sat and picked at the meat. It tasted better than it should have. Rich. Almost too rich. Like her taste buds had been dialed up to eleven.

"Everything tastes different," she said.

"Enhanced senses. One of the first changes. Your body is preparing to process the world the way wolves do." Sera pulled out a small device that looked like a cross between a stethoscope and something from a science fiction movie. She pressed it to Arielle's chest. "Interesting."

"What?"

"Your heart rate is elevated. Should be around sixty beats per minute for a resting human. Yours is ninety. But it's steady. Strong. The bond is already reinforcing your cardiovascular system."

"Is that good?"

"It means you might survive." Sera moved the device to different points on Arielle's chest, frowning. "The mark is spreading faster than any case I've seen. At this rate, you'll be fully marked by tomorrow night. That gives us less than two days before the ceremony must happen."

"I thought we had three days."

"We did. Twelve hours ago. But the bond is accelerating. Probably because of the blood message. Probably because someone in this pack is actively working against you, and the bond is trying to complete itself faster to protect you." Sera's violet eyes met hers. "Someone wants you dead, Arielle. And they're powerful enough to threaten you inside pack territory without fear of consequences."

"Who?"

"I have suspicions. But no proof." She put the device away. "There's a faction within the pack that believes Alpha Kings should only mate with pure-blood wolves. They see human mates as weakness. Contamination. They wanted Lycian to refuse the moon's choice and let madness take him. When he didn't, when he chose to pursue the bond anyway, they started eliminating the marked humans before the ceremonies could complete."

Arielle's blood went cold. "You're saying someone murdered the previous mates."

"I'm saying three healthy young women died under suspicious circumstances. The first had a heart attack during her ceremony. The second collapsed from organ failure the night before hers. The third survived the transformation but threw herself off a bridge three days later." Sera's voice was careful. "All three deaths were ruled as transformation failures. Natural consequences of human bodies trying to contain wolf power. But I examined all three bodies. And I found things that didn't match natural death."

"What things?"

"Poison. Carefully administered. Slow-acting enough that it looked like organ failure. Fast-acting enough that it killed them before the bond could heal the damage." She leaned closer. "You're in danger. Real danger. Not just from the transformation. Someone in this pack is going to try to kill you before you can complete the ceremony. And they're going to make it look like your body simply couldn't handle the change."

"Then I'll leave. I'll go back to—"

"You can't." Sera's hand caught her wrist. "The bond won't let you. You're too far in. If you try to leave pack territory now, the separation will kill you faster than any poison. You're trapped here until the ceremony completes or you die. Those are your only options."

Arielle pulled her hand free. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I failed to save Lyra. Failed to see the signs until it was too late. Failed to protect her from people who wanted our bond to fail." Sera's voice cracked. "I won't fail again. So I'm telling you the truth, even though it terrifies you, because you deserve to know what you're up against. You deserve the chance to fight back."

"How do I fight back against people who can poison me and make it look natural?"

"You don't eat or drink anything I haven't prepared personally. You don't go anywhere alone. And you complete the ceremony as fast as possible. Once the bond is sealed, once you're fully mated to Lycian, killing you becomes much harder. The bond will make you nearly immortal. Able to heal from almost anything. They have a narrow window to eliminate you. After the ceremony, that window closes."

"So I just survive two more days surrounded by people who want me dead."

"Yes." Sera stood. "I'll be outside your door tonight. Keeping watch. No one will get to you while I'm here."

"Why are you doing this?"

The healer paused at the door. "Because you remind me of her. Lyra. Same fire in your eyes. Same refusal to go down without a fight. She would have liked you."

She left. The lock clicked.

Arielle sat alone with half-eaten food and knowledge that made her skin crawl. Someone had murdered three women. Made it look like natural death. And now they were coming for her.

Her phone buzzed again.

Tomorrow night. Midnight. The old bridge on the eastern side. Come alone. I'll tell you everything.

The text stayed this time. Didn't delete.

A trap. Had to be a trap. No one offered to meet in secret unless they were planning something.

But what if it wasn't? What if someone really did know the truth about the previous mates? What if they had proof?

Arielle looked at the blood message outside her door. THE FOURTH DIES.

She typed back: How do I know you're not the one trying to kill me?

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

You don't. But I'm the only one offering you a way out. Midnight. Old bridge. Don't tell anyone. Especially not Lycian. He has spies everywhere.

The message sent, then the number disconnected again.

Arielle threw her phone across the room. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor, screen cracking.

She was trapped in a kingdom of wolves who wanted her dead. Bonded to a man who'd already lost three mates to murder. And someone was offering her information that might save her life or might be bait to isolate her so they could finish the job.

Some choice.

She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The mark pulsed steadily, spreading with every heartbeat. In two days, maybe less, she'd either be Luna or dead.

The odds weren't great.

Outside her door, she heard Sera settle in. The soft sound of someone sitting against the wall. Preparing for a long night.

Arielle closed her eyes and tried not to think about midnight. About old bridges. About mysterious messages from unknown numbers.

She failed.

When she finally slept, she dreamed of the second mate. A woman with dark hair and terrified eyes, collapsing during her ceremony while everyone watched. While Lycian screamed. While someone in the crowd smiled.

She woke at quarter to midnight with her decision made.

She was going to that bridge.

Even if it killed her, she needed to know the truth.

Arielle dressed quietly. Dark clothes. Soft shoes. She checked the corridor through a crack in the door. Sera was asleep, slumped against the wall, breathing deep and steady.

Too steady.

Arielle stared at the healer's chest, watching it rise and fall in perfect rhythm. Like drugged sleep. Like someone had made sure Sera wouldn't wake.

Her blood ran cold.

Someone had planned this. Someone wanted her to go to that bridge. Wanted her isolated. Vulnerable.

She should stay in her room. Lock the door. Wait for dawn.

But her feet carried her into the corridor anyway. Stepped over Sera's sleeping form. Followed the pull she felt toward the eastern side of the kingdom.

The bond hummed approval. Like it wanted her to go. Like it knew something she didn't.

The old bridge was exactly where the message said. A narrow stone span connecting two cliff faces, ancient and crumbling, suspended over darkness that seemed to have no bottom.

A figure stood at the center. Hooded. Waiting.

Arielle stopped at the bridge's entrance. "Who are you?"

The figure turned. Pulled back its hood.

Arielle's breath caught.

It was a woman. Young. Maybe twenty-five. With silver marks covering half her face and eyes that glowed with the same light as Lycian's.

"My name is Maya," she said. "And I'm the third mate. The one who was supposed to be dead."

Arielle couldn't move.

The woman on the bridge looked like something from a nightmare. Half her face covered in silver marks that glowed in the darkness. Hair matted and wild. Clothes torn and filthy like she'd been living in the forest for months.

But her eyes. God, her eyes were the worst part. They held intelligence. Awareness. And something that looked like madness barely restrained.

"You're dead." Arielle's voice came out as a whisper. "They said you threw yourself off a bridge."

"I did." Maya's smile was broken. Wrong. "Fell a hundred feet onto rocks. Should have died. Would have died if I was still human. But the transformation had already started. Made my bones stronger. Made my body heal. I woke up three days later in a cave with no memory of how I got there."

"That was ten months ago."

"Ten months, two weeks, and four days." Maya took a step forward. Arielle stepped back. "I've been counting. Watching. Waiting for the moon to send him another sacrifice. And here you are. Number four."

"I'm not a sacrifice."

"That's what I thought too. That's what they all thought." Her laugh echoed off stone. "The first one believed she was special. Chosen. The moon's gift to an Alpha King. She died during her ceremony with her heart literally exploding in her chest. I watched it happen. Watched Lycian try to save her while she bled from her eyes."

Arielle's stomach turned. "Stop."

"The second one was smarter. Suspicious. She tried to investigate. Tried to figure out who was sabotaging the bonds. They poisoned her the night before her ceremony. Made it look like organ failure. Natural consequence of a human body rejecting wolf power." Maya moved closer. "I was the third. I didn't believe in destiny or fate or the moon's plans. I was just trying to survive. And look what it got me."

She pulled aside her torn shirt. Silver marks covered her entire torso. But they weren't like Arielle's marks. These were twisted. Wrong. Like they'd been burned into her skin and then tried to crawl off her body.

"The transformation broke halfway through. Left me stuck between human and wolf. Can't shift. Can't heal properly. Can't even die when I want to because this cursed bond keeps my heart beating no matter how much I beg it to stop." Tears ran down Maya's marked face. "Ten months I've been living in the forest. Hiding. Watching. Waiting for someone who might believe me. Someone who might be able to stop them before they kill you too."

"Stop who?"

"The faction." Maya's voice dropped to a whisper. "Pure-blood wolves who believe Alphas should only mate with their own kind. They've been sabotaging the bonds. Killing the marked humans before the ceremonies can complete. They want Lycian to go mad. Want him to die so someone stronger can take his place. Someone who won't sully the bloodline with human mates."

"Why didn't you tell someone? Why hide for ten months?"

"Because they'll kill me if they know I survived. I'm evidence. Proof that the deaths weren't natural." She grabbed Arielle's arm. Her grip was strong. Too strong. "You need to leave. Now. Tonight. Before they do to you what they did to me."

"I can't leave. The bond won't let me."

"Then you're already dead." Maya released her. "Just like I am. Just like the first two were. We're all corpses waiting for the killing blow. The only question is whether you'll see it coming."

Footsteps echoed behind them. Multiple sets. Moving fast.

Maya's eyes went wide. "They followed you. I told you to come alone."

"I did come alone."

"Then they were watching. Waiting to see if I'd contact you." She backed toward the bridge's edge. "Don't trust anyone. Not Sera. Not Kael. Not even Lycian. One of them is working with the faction. One of them wants you dead."

"Wait." Arielle reached for her. "Don't go. We can figure this out together."

"There's nothing to figure out. You're going to die. Just like I did. Just like they all did." Maya climbed onto the bridge railing. Balanced there like a tightrope walker. "But maybe you'll be luckier. Maybe you'll actually stay dead."

She jumped.

Arielle screamed and lunged for the edge. Looked down into darkness that swallowed everything. No sound. No impact. Just void.

Then hands grabbed her shoulders and hauled her back from the edge.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lycian spun her around. His eyes blazed silver. "You could have fallen."

"Someone was here. Maya. The third mate. She's alive."

"Maya is dead. You saw a ghost. Hallucination from stress and exhaustion and the bond messing with your head."

"I'm not hallucinating. She was real. She told me—"

"She told you lies." Kael appeared behind Lycian. "Classic faction tactic. Make you paranoid. Make you think everyone around you is trying to kill you. Isolate you from the people who can actually protect you."

"She had marks. Transformation scars."

"Anyone can fake scars." Lycian's grip tightened. "How did you even get out here? Sera was supposed to be watching your door."

"She was asleep. Or drugged. Someone wanted me out here."

"Or you snuck out." Kael's voice was hard. "Disobeyed direct orders to stay in your room. Put yourself in danger. For what? To meet a ghost?"

"She wasn't a ghost. She was real and terrified and trapped between human and wolf because the transformation broke her." Arielle pulled free from Lycian's grip. "And she said one of you is working with the faction. Said I can't trust any of you."

Silence fell. Heavy. Dangerous.

Lycian and Kael exchanged a look. Something passed between them. Some silent communication that made Arielle's blood run cold.

"If Maya was alive," Lycian said carefully, "if she survived the fall and has been hiding for ten months, then she's insane. The broken transformation would have destroyed her mind. Anything she told you is the product of madness and paranoia."

"Or it's the truth and you just don't want me to know it."

"Why would I bring you here if I wanted you dead?" His voice rose. "Why would I spend months searching for you, protecting you, trying to keep you alive long enough to complete the bond if my plan all along was to kill you?"

"Maybe because you need me alive until the ceremony. Maybe because the faction needs the bond to get close to completion before they strike. Maximum damage to you when I die."

"That's insane."

"Is it? Because Maya said the first two died during or right before their ceremonies. Died at the moment when it would hurt you most. When you'd invested everything into keeping them alive and then watched them die anyway." Arielle's voice shook. "What better way to torture an Alpha King than to give him hope and then rip it away over and over?"

Kael moved closer. "You're spiraling. The bond is messing with your head. Making you paranoid."

"Or I'm finally seeing clearly." She looked between them. "One of you is lying. Maybe both of you. But I know Maya was real. I know she's out there. And I know someone in this pack wants me dead."

"Everyone in this pack wants you dead." Lycian's voice was flat. "You're human. Weak. Contaminating the bloodline. Half the pack thinks I should refuse you and let the curse take me. Die with honor instead of bonding to something inferior."

The words stung more than they should have. "Then why fight it?"

"Because I'm a coward." His eyes met hers. "Because I'd rather damn you than die myself. Because I'm exactly as selfish as everyone says. Because keeping you alive serves me, and I don't care what it costs you as long as I survive."

The honesty was brutal. Refreshing. Terrible.

"At least you're not lying anymore."

"I never lied. I told you from the beginning this bond was survival, not romance. I told you I was using you. You just didn't want to believe me." He turned away. "Go back to your room. Don't come out until dawn. And don't ever sneak out alone again. Next time, you might actually fall off that bridge and I'll feel you die through the bond. I've felt that three times already. I'm not eager for a fourth."

He started walking. Kael followed.

Arielle stood alone on the bridge where Maya had jumped. Where she'd vanished into darkness that swallowed everything.

Real or hallucination. Truth or manipulation. She didn't know anymore.

But she knew one thing. The mark on her chest was spreading faster now. Had reached her wrists. Crept up her throat. In another day, maybe less, she'd be completely covered.

Completely transformed.

Completely trapped.

She looked down into the void where Maya had disappeared. "If you're real, if you're out there, help me. Tell me who I can trust."

The darkness didn't answer.

Arielle walked back to the kingdom alone. Every shadow felt like a threat. Every sound like footsteps. By the time she reached her room, she was shaking.

Sera was awake now. Standing by the door with guilt written across her face.

"I'm sorry. Someone drugged the food I ate. Put me out cold for hours. I failed you."

"Or you drugged yourself so I'd have no protection." Arielle pushed past her. "I don't know who to trust anymore."

"I understand. But Arielle, you need to trust someone. You can't survive this alone."

"Maya survived alone for ten months."

Sera's expression went carefully blank. "Maya is dead."

"Is she? Because I just spoke to her. She told me things about the first two mates. Things she couldn't know unless she'd witnessed their deaths."

"What things?"

"That the first one's heart exploded. That the second one was poisoned the night before her ceremony." Arielle watched Sera's face. "Were those public knowledge? Did everyone know how they died?"

"The details were kept quiet. Only the healer who examined the bodies would know specifics." Sera's voice was cautious. "And I was that healer."

"So either Maya is alive and was there when they died, or someone who examined the bodies told her. Which means you or someone with access to your records."

"Or you're being manipulated by someone who wants you to distrust the only people trying to keep you alive." Sera moved closer. "Think, Arielle. Who benefits from you being paranoid? Who benefits from you isolating yourself and refusing help? The faction. The people who want you dead. They're playing on your fear."

"Everyone keeps telling me what to think. What to believe. Who to trust." Arielle's voice rose. "But no one is telling me the truth. No one is being honest about what happened to the first three. About who really killed them. About why a faction would rather see their Alpha King go mad than accept a human mate."

"Because tradition matters more than survival to some wolves." A new voice came from the doorway.

Arielle spun. A woman stood there. Older, maybe sixty, with white hair and eyes like chips of ice. She carried herself with authority that made even Sera step back.

"Who are you?"

"Morrigan Ashwood. Elder of the Northern Pack. Voice of the council." The woman entered without invitation. "And the one who's been investigating the deaths since the first mate died eighteen months ago."

"You knew they were murdered."

"I suspected. Couldn't prove it. But I've been watching. Gathering evidence. Building a case." Morrigan's ice-blue eyes held Arielle's. "And I think I finally know who's behind the killings. But I need your help to prove it."

"Why would I help you? I don't even know if you're telling the truth."

"Because if I'm right, the person killing the marked mates is someone Lycian trusts completely. Someone close enough to sabotage the ceremonies without suspicion. Someone who's been planning this for years." She pulled out a small device. "And I have evidence. But it's incomplete. I need you to do something dangerous. Something that will expose the killer. Something that might get you killed."

Arielle stared at the device. "What kind of something?"

"Complete the ceremony. Go through with the mating bond. And when the saboteur strikes, when they try to kill you during the transformation, I'll be watching. Recording. Getting proof that will stand up before the council."

"You want to use me as bait."

"I want to save your life by catching a murderer." Morrigan's voice was hard. "But yes. You'll be bait. The killings always happen during the ceremony. That's when the marked mate is most vulnerable. That's when the saboteur strikes. If we can catch them in the act, we can end this. Save you. Save Lycian. Save every human the moon marks after you."

"And if you're wrong? If I die while you're gathering evidence?"

"Then you die. But at least you die knowing the truth." She moved closer. "I won't lie to you like everyone else has. This plan is dangerous. You might not survive. But it's the only way to expose the killer and stop them from doing this again. The choice is yours."

Arielle looked at Sera. The healer's face was unreadable.

Looked at the mark covering her arms. Spreading up her throat. Glowing brighter every hour.

Looked at the window where dawn was starting to break. One more day until the ceremony. One more day until she either completed the transformation or died trying.

"If I do this, if I let myself be bait, I want answers. Real answers. About Maya. About the faction. About who I can actually trust in this place."

"Done." Morrigan held out her hand. "We have a bargain."

Arielle stared at the offered hand. Taking it meant committing. Meant walking into the ceremony knowing someone would try to kill her. Knowing she might die.

But not taking it meant dying anyway. Meant staying ignorant. Meant letting the killer keep hunting marked humans until Lycian went mad or gave up.

She took Morrigan's hand.

The elder smiled. "Good. Then let's catch a murderer."

Outside, the sun rose over the impossible city. First light of the last day before the ceremony.

The last day before Arielle either became Luna or became the fourth corpse.

Somewhere in the forest, Maya watched from the shadows and whispered, "She's going to die just like I did. And there's nothing anyone can do to stop it."