Jack and Lucien are standing in front of me like two storms about to collide.

The space inside the tent suddenly feels too tight. The air thickens. Jack’s hands curl into fists. Lucien keeps his arms loose, but there’s a tension in his shoulders. His calm is practiced—dangerous in its own way.

I step between them before things explode.

“Enough,” I say, looking at Jack first. “This isn’t the time for growling contests.”

“He’s a stranger,” Jack growls. “And you’re mine.”

“No,” Lucien says quietly. “She was yours. That bond is broken. The Moon has marked her again. This time with me.”

Jack’s eyes flash with fury. “You’re lying.”

Lucien looks at me. “Tell him.”

I hesitate. My heart is beating so loud I can barely hear myself think. I swallow hard and nod once.

“I felt it two moons ago. When you were hunting rogues near Frostveil. I was close. You didn’t see me. But I felt it.”

Jack turns to me, confused. “You knew? You didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t think it mattered,” I say. “I wasn’t going to come back to this world, Jack. Not until they took the kids.”

Lucien speaks again, his voice softer now. “I didn’t want to force the bond. I’ve been waiting, watching from afar. I knew she’d come back into your life… but I didn’t know it would be like this.”

Jack takes a shaky breath and paces the tent. “The timing is too perfect. You show up the same day she returns? When her children go missing? It smells like a setup.”

Lucien’s eyes narrow. “Believe what you want. But I know where to start looking. That symbol she found? The spiral? I’ve seen it burned into a ruin near the Southern Pass. That’s where Victor’s been gathering power.”

I freeze. “You’ve seen it?”

He nods. “Only once. I couldn’t get close. But I saw… cages.”

I step toward him. “Cages? Children?”

“Too far to tell. But there were guards. Magic wards. Something was alive in there.”

Jack watches us both, his eyes guarded. “How do I know you’re not leading us into a trap?”

Lucien turns fully to him. “You don’t. But ask yourself this—if I meant to harm her, why would I come here at all?”

I raise a hand. “This arguing won’t bring the kids back. Jack, we need to act fast. If what he says is true, we have a location.”

Jack looks at me long and hard. “Fine. We check it out. But we do it my way.”

Lucien gives a small, mocking bow. “As long as we get there before it’s too late, I don’t care whose way we use.”

An hour later, we’re riding through the forest on horseback.

The woods are quiet, too quiet. Even the birds are silent, as if they sense what we’re heading into. I grip the reins tightly and lean forward, the wind pushing my cloak back.

Lucien rides beside me, calm and focused. Jack is ahead of us, leading with quiet rage. I can feel the tension in him, the way his shoulders are stiff, his jaw clenched.

I finally speak.

“You’ve changed.”

Jack glances back. “So have you.”

“I had to.”

He slows down a little, letting us ride side by side. “Why didn’t you send a letter? A message? Anything?”

“What would I have said? ‘Hi, I’m alive. Also, you’re a father to three kids you never met’? You made it clear you didn’t want me.”

“I didn’t know the truth, Eleanor.”

“You didn’t ask for the truth.”

He flinches. “That’s fair.”

Silence stretches between us again.

Lucien cuts in, quietly, “We don’t have time to dig up the past. Focus on what’s ahead.”

Jack gives him a look but says nothing.

I stare at the path, whispering to myself, “Please be alive… please.”

As the sun sets, we reach the edge of a cliff overlooking a ravine.

Lucien holds up a hand. “There. Down there. You see the smoke?”

I squint. A thin line of smoke curls up from the trees. It’s faint, almost invisible in the twilight.

“That’s it,” he says.

Jack climbs down first, moving like a shadow. I follow, keeping my steps light. Lucien comes last, always watching our backs.

The scent hits me hard.

Burned wood. Blood. Wolfsbane.

I press a hand to my mouth.

Jack kneels near a mark on a stone. “Claw marks. Three sets. They were dragged.”

I kneel beside him, touching the grooves. My vision blurs.

“They fought,” I whisper. “Luan would’ve fought.”

“He’s the strongest?” Jack asks.

I nod. “Physically, yes. Lara’s the smart one. Luan protects them. Leo’s sensitive. He’s the one who talks to the moon in his sleep.”

Jack blinks. “What?”

“I mean it. He dreams of it. He always says the moon tells him things. I thought it was just imagination, but now…”

Lucien frowns. “It’s not. Children born under a Blood Moon often hear the Moon Goddess clearer than adults.”

Jack exhales. “Victor’s going to try and use that. Twist it.”

“I won’t let him,” I say. “Not again.”

We move forward, reaching the clearing.

It’s a ruin—half a temple, broken stone walls, moss crawling over cracked carvings. And in the center, a pit.

Empty.

Jack growls. “Too late.”

Lucien sniffs the air. “No. They were here. Recently. The trail leads west.”

I walk slowly into the pit, breathing in. I kneel and press my palm to the stone.

I close my eyes.

I hear Lara’s voice in my head.

“Mama… he says he needs our blood. He says we’ll see stars if we’re brave. We don’t want to be brave anymore.”

I jerk back.

Lucien grabs me. “What did you see?”

I shake my head. “She’s scared. They all are. They’re alive. But they’re in pain.”

Jack snarls. “Victor’s going to use the ritual. Soon.”

“We need to stop him before the next full moon,” Lucien says. “If he completes the cycle under the Blood Moon, he’ll unlock the full spirit of the Primordial Wolf.”

“And if he does?” I ask.

“Then no one will stop him,” Jack answers grimly. “He’ll be more than Alpha. He’ll be a god.”

That night, we set camp in a hidden glade.

Jack sits by the fire, staring into it. I sit across from him, holding the photo of my children. Lucien stays on the outer edge of the trees, keeping watch.

The silence weighs on me.

I finally speak.

“Do you regret it?”

Jack lifts his head. “What?”

“Rejecting me.”

He exhales. “Every day.”

I look down. “Then why didn’t you find me?”

“I thought you were dead,” he says quietly. “Victor told me you were killed by rogues. They even held a funeral.”

I blink. “What?”

“I mourned you,” Jack whispers. “I buried what was left of your cloak. I blamed myself for your death. I wanted to die with you.”

Tears sting my eyes. “You still chose Moraine.”

“I had no choice. She saved my life during an ambush. The council pushed the match. They said I needed stability to lead.”

Lucien steps out of the trees. “Power doesn’t come from arranged bonds. It comes from truth. From the Moon’s will.”

Jack looks at him. “And you think you’re the Moon’s will?”

Lucien meets his gaze calmly. “She wouldn’t have marked me if I wasn’t.”

I stand. “Stop. Both of you. This isn’t about who’s right. It’s about getting my children back.”

Jack rises. “They’re mine too.”

Lucien doesn’t move. “Then act like it. Lead with love, not ego.”

The silence that follows is heavy. But for once, it’s not angry.

It’s full of something else.

Understanding.

Grief.

Hope.

Later, as I lie beneath the stars, Lucien approaches me. He sits beside me, quiet.

“I’m sorry if I made things harder,” he says softly.

“You didn’t.”

He glances at me. “I won’t force the bond. I want you to choose. Freely.”

I nod. “Thank you.”

He stands to leave, but then turns back. “One more thing. I saw something in a vision.”

“What?”

“You’ll have to choose between saving the children… or saving Jack.”

I sit up. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking,” Lucien says. “The Moon never lies. Just… be ready.”

He disappears into the shadows.

And I lie awake, the fire crackling softly, my heart aching with fear.

Because I know this journey won’t end without a sacrifice.

And I don’t know if I’m strong enough to make it.