The dawn broke red.

Not the gentle blush of morning, but a violent wash of scarlet that bled across the horizon, staining the snowfields and fortress walls alike. The air itself seemed to shiver, heavy and strange, as if the world knew what the sky meant before any of us spoke it aloud.

“The Blood Moon comes,” Rowan muttered behind me, his voice rasping like brittle parchment.

I turned to him, arms wrapped around myself against the chill. His eyes were fixed on the horizon, reflecting that terrible red glow. It wasn’t awe in his gaze—it was dread.

“What does it mean?” I asked, though I already sensed the answer.

Rowan didn’t look at me. “It means curses grow teeth under its light. And so do bonds.”

The words curled in my gut like fire and ice together. My hand twitched toward my stomach, an unconscious gesture I’d grown accustomed to hiding.

The child.

The bond.

The curse.

All of it pulsed stronger in my blood with every breath of crimson dawn.

–––

By midmorning, the fortress swarmed with tension. Kaelen had called the council, and not just his usual circle—envoys from allied packs had come, braving the cold to sit in the blackstone chamber.

The war table stretched long, heavy with maps and sealed letters. Kaelen stood at its head, a king cloaked in shadow and gold, his presence enough to silence most men. But today… silence didn’t last.

The moment I entered, the scent hit them. My scent. It wasn’t just wolf anymore—it carried something richer, sharper, threaded with power none of us fully understood.

The reaction was immediate.

“She carries it,” spat one Alpha, his beard bristling as he shoved back his chair. “The cursed heir.”

“An abomination,” another hissed, fists slamming the table.

“Kill it before it kills us all—”

The chamber erupted, voices colliding in a storm of accusations. Fingers pointed, teeth bared, the stink of fear and fury filling the air.

Through it all, Kaelen stood unmoving. His golden eyes burned brighter than the torches lining the walls, fixed on the men daring to speak treason under his roof.

“Enough.”

He didn’t roar at first—his voice was quiet, deadly. But when the shouting didn’t stop, his beast surged forward.

The roar that followed cracked through the chamber like thunder. The very stones trembled, torches guttering. Silence slammed down, absolute and suffocating.

Kaelen’s chest rose and fell, shoulders coiled like a predator ready to strike. His gaze swept the room, pinning each Alpha in place.

“She is mine,” he growled, low and lethal. “And she stays.”

No one spoke after that, though the air was thick with unswallowed words. They feared him, but fear was not loyalty. I saw it in their eyes—the cracks widening, the doubt spreading.

–––

Later, I found Kaelen in the war hall alone, staring at the map etched into the blackstone table. His hands gripped the edge so tightly veins bulged along his arms.

“You silenced them,” I said softly, stepping closer.

His jaw clenched. “For now.”

The quiet between us stretched, taut as a bowstring. His golden gaze flicked to me, hard, searching.

“They fear you,” he said at last. “Not because of what you’ve done, but because of what you carry. They believe our child will claim more than one throne. That it will rise above every Alpha’s bloodline.”

My breath caught. “And what do you believe?”

For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t answer. Then he turned, closing the space between us. His hand hovered near mine, not touching, as if afraid of the gravity that always pulled us closer.

“I believe fate has a cruel sense of humor,” he said darkly. “To bind me to you. To bind you to this.” His gaze flicked to my stomach, possessive and pained all at once. “And yet… I cannot let go.”

The bond flared between us, fierce and wild. Heat rippled under my skin, my pulse stuttering at the nearness of him. Every instinct screamed to close the distance, to surrender to that inexorable pull.

But trust was another matter. Desire warred with the memory of betrayal—his walls, my scars, the shadows of our bloodlines.

I stepped back first, breaking the moment. His jaw tightened, but he let me go.

–––

Rowan’s chamber stank of ink and dust when I entered that evening. Scrolls littered the table, scattered like bones cast for divination. His hands trembled as he spread another parchment open, eyes scanning lines as if salvation hid between them.

“Tell me it isn’t as bad as it feels,” I said quietly.

Rowan lifted his head. The look in his eyes told me everything before he spoke.

“The child is tied to the Blood Moon cycle,” he said, voice raw. “Its fate sealed on its rising. What lives or dies in you, Aria… will be decided tonight.”

The room tilted around me. My hand pressed against my stomach as if I could shield the life inside with flesh alone.

“Sealed?” I whispered.

Rowan nodded grimly. “If the Blood Moon favors you, the child may end both curses. If not—” His mouth snapped shut, but I didn’t need the words. The silence screamed them well enough.

–––

Night fell.

The moon climbed, red and swollen, casting its light through the fortress windows. The air grew thick, heavy with power. My skin prickled with every breath, the bond pulling tighter, unbearable.

I staggered against the wall, the world spinning. My body burned, as if every vein was alight with molten silver.

“Aria.”

Kaelen’s voice. His arms caught me before I collapsed, his heat steadying me against the storm tearing through my body. His heartbeat thundered against my cheek.

“I can’t—” The words broke, lost in the force dragging me toward him. The bond wasn’t a thread anymore—it was a chain, searing, unbreakable.

His golden eyes locked on mine, blazing with the same torment, the same hunger. “Hold on.”

But before either of us could move, the bells rang.

A sound of dread, not warning.

The fortress roared to life, shouts echoing through the halls, boots pounding the stones.

Kaelen’s head snapped toward the sound, eyes narrowing. His beast surged beneath his skin, fury crackling like fire.

“They’re here.”

Through the window, I saw it—the wards, glowing faint blue in the distance, flickered and broke like shattered glass.

Selene’s wolves poured through the breach, their howls rising to meet the blood-red sky.