Chapter 22: Breaking Bonds
"Rowan!" Liana cried out, feeling his pain rip through her chest. The connection between them pulsed like a heartbeat, getting weaker with each throb. "Stay back," Darius ordered, blocking her way. "That's not your mate anymore—it's a monster taking form." In the distance, Kael wrestled Rowan to the ground as his brother's body contorted strangely. Half-shifted, Rowan's face stretched between human and wolf, his fingers stretching into claws that dug into the earth. "I can help him," Liana urged, pushing against Darius's grip.
"You'll die trying," her uncle warned. "The curse is too strong." A whistle cut through the air. The Shadowfang scouts fled, dragging Rowan with them. Kael looked back once, his eyes finding Liana across the distance. Even without words, his meaning was clear: Come back to us. "He's gone," Jace said, appearing at her side. He leaned heavily on a homemade crutch, still weak from the poison. "But they'll return with the entire pack." Darius turned to his soldiers. "Double the guards tonight. No one sleeps until the perimeter is safe." As the camp burst into action, Liana felt torn in half. Her blood pulled her to stay, to learn more about who she truly was.
But her heart ached for the boys she'd left behind—especially Rowan, who now suffered because of her absence. "You should rest," Darius told her. "Tomorrow, we'll continue your training." Inside the tent, Jace watched her pace back and forth. "I know that look," he said. "You're planning something stupid." "I need to help Rowan," she responded. "And what about me?" Jace challenged. "What about us?" Liana stopped walking. "There is no 'us' until I know the truth. Did you lie about the mate bond?" Pain flashed across Jace's face. "I used a spell once, yes. But what I feel for you now is real." "And what about your brothers? Is their link to me real or another trick?" Jace shook his head. "I don't know anymore. But I know what I feel." He reached for her hand. "Come back with me. We can figure this out together." Liana pulled away. "I'm staying until I learn everything. My mother died for this truth—I need to understand why." Miles away, Kael charged into Elder Mira's chambers. The old woman sat quietly by her fire, as if expecting him. "You knew," he accused, slamming his hands on her table. "About Rowan's curse. About Liana's bloodline. All of it." "Sit down, young Alpha," Mira said, unruffled by his anger. "My brother is turning into a monster, and you want me to sit?" "If you want answers, yes." Reluctantly, Kael lowered himself into a chair. "Start talking." Mira sighed, the firelight deepening the wrinkles on her face. "The Moonshadow Pack was not destroyed because they were dangerous. They were destroyed because they were powerful—too powerful to control." "And Liana is one of them?" "The last royal daughter." Mira nodded. "Your father knew when she arrived as a baby, but he kept her status hidden, suppressed her abilities." "Why not just kill her?" Kael asked, the question bitter on his tongue.
"The prophecy," Mira explained. "It said she would either join the packs or destroy them. Your father chose to keep her close, hoping to control her fate." "And the triplet bond?" "It's real," Mira confirmed. "But not as you understand it. The Moon Goddess didn't choose one of you to be her mate—she picked all of you." Kael stared at her. "That's impossible." "Is it? Think about what you three represent. You, the leader. Jace, the hero. Rowan, the healer. Together, you form the perfect Alpha. And only the perfect Alpha can mate with the last Silverblood." "So we're supposed to...share her?" Kael asked, disgusted. "Not physically," Mira explained. "Spiritually. Your souls are bound to hers in different ways. Break one link, and the others weaken. That's why Rowan's curse returned when she left." Kael stood up, mind racing. "I need to find her. Now." "Be careful," Mira warned. "There are others who wish to use her power." "Celeste," Kael realized. "Where is she?" The full moon bathed the forest in silver light as Celeste knelt in a secret clearing. Before her lay a circle of black stones, each marked with strange symbols that glowed purple in the darkness. "Spirits of the void," she chanted, her voice no longer her own. "Break the bonds that tie the Silverblood to her mates." She placed three objects in the circle: a lock of Kael's hair, Jace's blood-stained bandage, and a piece of cloth torn from Rowan's shirt. In the center, she placed a silver dagger.
"By blood and bone, by moon and stone, I sever what the Goddess has joined." Celeste raised the dagger high. "Let their connection shatter like glass." She plunged the blade into the ground. The earth trembled. In Darius's camp, Liana gasped awake, clutching her chest. Something cold sliced through her, as if an icy blade had pierced her heart. "What's happening?" she cried. Jace sat up beside her, also grabbing his chest in pain. "I feel it too—like something's being cut inside me." Darius burst into the room. "Liana, what's wrong?" "The bond," she whispered, tears running down her face. "Someone's breaking it." In the Shadowfang Pack house, Rowan screamed as the curse sped. His skin rippled with black veins, his eyes now fully amber. "Hold him down!" the pack doctor ordered. Four strong betas pinned Rowan's squirming body to the bed. Kael rushed in. "What's happening?" "The curse is winning," the doctor said sadly. "Whatever was holding it back is gone." Kael felt it too—a cold emptiness where his link to Liana had been. "Someone's tampering with the bond."
Back in the clearing, Celeste smiled as the process reached its peak. Power raced through her body, making her hair float around her head like a golden halo. "Almost there," she whispered, twisting the sword deeper. The ground cracked around it, dark energy pulsing with each turn. A shadow appeared behind her—a person with glowing red eyes. "You've done well, my child," the shadow said. "The bond is breaking, Master," Celeste reported, her eyes now totally purple. "Soon they'll be separated forever." "And the girl will be vulnerable," the shadow agreed. "Continue your work. When the time comes, bring her to me." The shadow dissolved into the darkness, leaving Celeste to finish her spell. With a final twist of the knife, the ground split open. Dark smoke poured out, shooting into the night sky like darts. Liana fell onto the tent floor, gasping for breath. The pain was unbearable—like pieces of her soul were being torn away. "Fight it!" Darius urged, holding her shoulders. "Your royal blood is stronger than any curse or spell."
Through the pain, Liana focused on the connections: the fierce protection she felt from Kael, the wild desire from Jace, the gentle understanding from Rowan. They were disappearing fast, slipping away like water through her fingers. "I can't hold on," she cried. "Yes, you can," Jace urged, crawling to her side despite his own pain. "Remember who you are, Liana. You're not just a Silverblood—you're our Luna." Something sparked inside her—a flash of silver light that pushed back against the darkness. Liana grabbed her pendant, focusing on its strength. "My mother didn't die for me to give up now," she said through hard teeth. The silver light grew, spreading from her heart outward. But the dark magic fought back, wrapping around her like chains. Somewhere in the forest, Celeste laughed as her spell tightened its grip. "Break, little Luna," she whispered to the night. "Break so I can put you back together in my image." The fight for Liana's bonds had begun, and the night was still young.