Night stretched long after Kael left. The silence in the room wasn't peaceful-it pulsed with tension, thick enough that Luna could almost hear the echo of his heartbeat.

She couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, fragments of something-someone-flickered in her mind. Hands tangled in her hair. The sound of a low growl against her skin. A promise whispered beneath a blood-red moon.

Then-pain. And darkness.

She sat up, restless. The IV was gone. So was the fog in her body. She swung her legs off the bed, barefoot, the floor cold beneath her toes.

A faint hum drew her attention to the balcony. The door slid open at her touch. Wind brushed through her hair, carrying the scent of rain and pine. Below, city lights scattered like stars. For a moment, she could almost believe this was an ordinary night.

Almost.

Then the moon rose-massive and silver, heavy with power. The moment the light hit her, a sharp heat flooded through her chest. She gasped, clutching her heart. Her pulse roared in her ears.

And then-a voice.

Remember me, Luna.

Her knees buckled. Images flashed-Kael's hands around hers, their laughter, their bodies moving as one beneath a different moon. Her throat tightened.

The door burst open.

Kael stood there, chest bare, eyes glowing faintly gold. He'd felt it too-the bond awakening.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, voice rough with barely contained emotion.

"I don't know," she panted. "The moon-it's calling me-"

He was at her side in two strides, his hands gripping her arms. "Don't fight it. Just breathe."

Their foreheads touched, the contact sparking like static. Luna's breath hitched as warmth spread from where he held her, steadying the wild rhythm of her heart.

"You remember something," he said quietly.

She looked up at him. "Pieces. Flashes. But it hurts."

"Because whoever cursed you wanted it to." His voice dropped lower. "They wanted you to forget me."

"Why would anyone do that?"

Kael's jaw tensed. "Because together, we were dangerous."

Lightning flared, illuminating the raw emotion in his eyes-love twisted with loss. For the first time, she saw the man behind the Alpha: tired, haunted, still tethered to her by a bond neither of them could break.

Her fingers brushed the scar on his jaw. "Who hurt us, Kael?"

He hesitated, then stepped back as if the touch burned. "Not tonight."

"Then when?"

"When I'm sure you won't run again."

Her lips parted. "You think I'd run from you?"

He gave a humourless smile. "You already did."

Before she could respond, he was gone, leaving only the scent of his cologne and the ghost of what used to be.

Luna sank to the floor, moonlight pooling around her. The mark on her wrist pulsed faintly, glowing brighter with each heartbeat.

She whispered to herself, "What did we do?"

Far below, hidden among the shadows, a pair of amber eyes watched her from the forest edge-eyes that did not belong to Kael.

The curse was unravelling. And someone else had been waiting for that to happen.

The next morning came too bright, too quiet.

Luna hadn't slept. Her mind replayed the night before-Kael's touch, the way the moonlight made her skin glow, the memory that shouldn't exist.

When she looked at her wrist again, the mark was different-darker, sharper, like ink burned into her flesh.

It pulsed once. Then again.

A knock shattered the silence.

A woman entered-tall, poised, wearing a sleek black suit. "I'm Mara," she said. "The Alpha asked me to make sure you eat."

"Eat?" Luna repeated, blinking. "I'm not a prisoner."

Mara gave a small, knowing smile. "Of course not." She set the tray down-coffee, fruit, toast-and added, "If you need fresh air, the southern path is unguarded. He didn't forbid it... technically."

Before Luna could ask what that meant, the woman was gone.

The woods felt alive.

The air was crisp, filled with the hum of unseen energy. Luna followed the narrow path until the compound disappeared behind her.

Every instinct said she shouldn't be there.

And yet... something called to her.

A rustle.

She turned sharply.

"Kael?"

No answer.

Then a figure stepped out of the trees-broad shoulders, dark jacket, eyes the color of molten gold. His presence was familiar, unsettlingly so.

"Hello, Luna."

Her breath caught. "Do I know you?"

"Not anymore," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "But you did. Before he erased me from your memory."

"Who are you?"

"Riven." He stepped closer, the scent of smoke and iron thick in the air. "Kael's brother."

Her mind stuttered. "Kael has a brother?"

"He doesn't talk about me. I wonder why." His gaze drifted to her wrist. "Ah. So the mark still binds you."

"You know about this?"

"I made it," he said softly. "Before Kael stole you from me."

The ground tilted beneath her. "That's not possible."

Riven's expression darkened. "You were mine first, Luna. You just don't remember."

He reached for her hand. The moment his skin brushed hers, the mark burned. A sharp flash hit her mind-Riven's face, Kael's roar, a fight under the same moon that had haunted her dreams.

She staggered back. "Stop-"

He caught her wrist, grip firm but not cruel. "He told you I cursed you, didn't he? That I was the villain. Ask him what he did to earn that curse."

"I-" she began, but footsteps crashed through the trees.

Kael.

His eyes flared gold, fangs bared, power rolling off him like heat. "Step away from her."

Riven smiled slowly. "Still territorial, brother."

Luna's pulse raced. The air between them crackled like static. "Kael-what is he talking about?"

Kael didn't look at her. "Get inside, Luna."

Riven chuckled. "He can't protect you from the truth forever."

The two men stood there-mirrors of fury, pain, and something far older than she could understand. The mark on her wrist throbbed violently, pulling toward both of them.

Luna's voice trembled. "Why does it feel like I belong to both of you?"

Neither answered.

The wind howled through the trees, and for the first time, she realized the real danger wasn't the curse-

It was remembering what had really happened the night she lost her memories.

The forest had gone still. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Kael and Riven stood on opposite ends of the clearing-two predators locked in silence.

Luna could feel it, the pull between them, like gravity fighting itself. The air shimmered faintly, charged with the remnants of something ancient and dangerous.

Her voice broke the silence.

"Tell me the truth. Both of you."

Kael's jaw tensed. Riven's eyes gleamed with dark amusement.

Kael spoke first, his tone sharp. "You shouldn't have come here, Luna."

"Too late," she said, stepping between them. "You both keep talking about curses and bonds-then tell me what really happened."

Riven smirked. "He won't, because it makes him the villain in this story."

Kael's eyes flashed gold. "Don't push me, Riven."

"I think I already did," Riven murmured.

Lightning cracked in the distance. The scent of ozone filled the air.

"Enough!" Luna snapped. "I don't care about your feud. I just want to know who I am."

The mark on her wrist pulsed again-once, twice-then flared bright gold, forcing both men to look at her. The energy hummed in her veins, alive and angry.

Kael's gaze softened. "You were everything, Luna. My Luna. Until he-"

Riven cut him off. "Until she chose me first."

The words landed like a strike.

Kael's breath hitched. "That's not how it happened."

"Then tell her," Riven taunted.

Kael's eyes met hers. "You were part of my pack. We trained together, fought side by side. You were strong, reckless, alive. I loved that about you." He hesitated. "But he wanted you too."

"I didn't want her," Riven said, his voice low. "I needed her. You both did. That's why the Moon chose her to bear the dual mark."

"The what?" Luna asked.

Riven's expression softened just a fraction. "The mark of two Alphas. A balance the Moon rarely allows."

"She couldn't survive it," Kael said bitterly. "The bond tore her apart."

Luna's chest ached. "So you fought over me?"

"Not for you," Riven said. "For what you represented. Power. Unity. The chance to merge two packs that had been at war for generations."

Kael's voice turned cold. "And she paid the price for our ambition."

Her knees weakened. "I died?"

Kael caught her before she fell. "Almost. You stopped breathing under that moon. When the bond broke, your memories went with it."

Riven's eyes flickered with something almost like regret. "I tried to save you. He thought I cursed you."

"You didn't deny it," Kael growled.

"Would you have listened if I did?"

Luna looked between them-two men bound by blood and guilt, both telling fragments of a shattered truth.

"So which one of you is lying?" she whispered.

Kael's hand cupped her cheek. "I would never hurt you."

Riven's voice came from behind her, soft but certain. "He already did."

Thunder split the sky. The mark on her wrist burned brighter, as if responding to both voices, both hearts.

Her head spun. She tore herself free and stumbled back. "I need to think."

Kael reached for her. "Luna-"

But she was already running, the forest swallowing her whole.

Behind her, she heard Riven's low voice. "She'll remember everything soon. And when she does..."

He glanced at his brother.

"...let's see which of us she chooses."