The horn's sound died in the wind. Kael's arms tightened around Lyra like he could hide her from what was coming. "We have to go back," she whispered. "The trial—" "Forget the trial." His voice was rough. "That thing threatened to kill everyone I care about. We're going. Now." Elder Voss snorted. "Run where, boy? The river's curse follows families. It'll hunt her to the ends of the earth." "Then I'll fight it." "With what? Your claws?" The old man shook his head. "This curse is older than your great-grandfather. It's taken three generations of Blackthorns. Only blood can break what blood started." Lyra pulled away from Kael's hug. "What do you mean?" "Your grandma made a deal with that river years ago. Trading lives for power. When she tried to break free, it cursed her entire family line.
One Blackthorn from each generation must feed the water, or it takes everyone they love instead." The words hit like ice water. "So I'm supposed to just drown myself?" "Not drown. Sacrifice. There's a difference." Another horn blast, closer this time. Through the woods, Lyra could see torches moving toward them. The pack was coming. "They're looking for you," Kael said, his nostrils flaring as he caught their smell. "We have maybe two minutes before—" "There she is!" Jonas burst through the treeline, followed by six pack fighters. His eyes blazed with excitement. "The Alpha's lost mate, hiding by the forbidden river. How fitting." Kael stepped in front of Lyra, his body radiating danger. "Back off, Jonas." "Or what? You'll protect your sweet little rogue?" Jonas grinned, showing too many teeth. "The whole pack knows you've gone soft for her. It's pathetic." "I said back off." "Make me." The challenge hung in the air like smoke. Pack law was clear—Jonas had just questioned Kael's authority in front of witnesses. There could only be one answer. Kael's shift was lightning-fast. One second he was human, the next a huge black wolf with silver eyes that promised death. Jonas barely had time to gasp before Kael's jaws closed around his throat. "Don't kill him," Lyra said quietly. "He's not worth it." Kael held the grip for three heartbeats, then released. Jonas fell, clutching his bleeding neck. "Next person who disrespects my mate answers to me," Kael growled, shifting back to human form. "Spread the word." The warriors nodded furiously. But one of them, a young female called Sara, looked confused. "But Alpha, what about the trial? Brutus is ready. The whole pack is gathered." Elder Voss stepped forward. "There won't be a trial tonight." "What?" Sara's eyes widened. "But the blood moon—" "Changes everything." The old man's voice carried ancient power. "By morning, either the curse breaks or we're all dead. A fighting match seems rather useless, don't you think?" Jonas stumbled to his feet, still clutching his throat. "The pack won't accept this.
They want blood. They want justice for what she did to Mira." "What I did to Mira?" Lyra stepped around Kael. "I defended myself." "You nearly killed her!" "She nearly killed me first!" "Enough." Kael's order silenced them both. "Jonas, return to the pack. Tell them the trial is postponed." "And if they refuse?" Kael's smile was all teeth. "Then they can discuss it with me personally." Jonas glared but nodded. He motioned to the other warriors. "You heard the Alpha. Move." As they disappeared into the trees, Elder Voss grabbed Lyra's arm. "We need to talk. Privately." "Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Kael." "Can I?" The old man's pale eyes studied her face. "Even if it means choosing between saving him and saving everyone else?" Lyra's blood cooled. "What are you talking about?" "The river's curse has rules. Ancient ones. It can only be broken by willing sacrifice—a Blackthorn who gives their life freely to save others. But here's what your grandmother never knew: the sacrifice doesn't have to die." Kael frowned. "Explain." "The river doesn't want death. It wants relationship. A permanent link with the Blackthorn line. Someone to serve as its center in the mortal world." "Serve how?" Lyra asked. "As its voice. Its eyes. Its hand when it needs to touch the world above water." Voss's face was grim. "You'd live, but you'd never be fully human again. Part of you would always belong to that black water." "And if I refuse?" "The red moon rises in five hours.
When it hits its peak, every person you've ever cared about will be dragged into the river. Your father. Your pack mates. Him." He pointed at Kael. "All of them drowning while you watch." Kael stepped closer to Lyra. "There has to be another way." "There is." Voss smiled, but it wasn't comforting. "Kill her before the moon rises. Break the family completely. The curse dies with her." The silence stretched like a held breath. "You're insane," Kael said finally. "Am I? One life to save hundreds. It's simple math." "She's my mate." "And she's the key to everyone's destruction." The old man's voice hardened. "I've watched this curse eat three generations. I won't watch it take a fourth." Lyra felt the weight of choice resting on her shoulders like a stone cloak. Save everyone by becoming something evil. Or let them die to stay herself. "How long do I have to decide?" "Until the moon bleeds red." Voss pointed at the sky, where the sun was already sinking toward the horizon. "Choose wisely, child. Some choices can't be undone." He turned and walked away, leaving them alone by the babbling river. Kael took her hand. "We'll find another way." "What if there isn't one?" "Then we face it together." A new sound floated through the forest—howling. Not the ceremonial howl of a pack meeting, but something wild and desperate. Something afraid. "That's coming from the castle," Kael said, his face going pale. They ran. Through the dark trees, over fallen logs, chasing the dying light. But when they reached the edge of Blackwood Forest, they stopped dead. The Bloodmoon Pack's home was under attack. Not by wolves or people, but by water. A huge wave of black river water was flowing uphill, defying gravity, surrounding the stone walls like a liquid siege. Pack members stood on the battlements, howling in fear as the dark tide rose higher. "It's not waiting for the blood moon," Lyra breathed. In the rushing water, pale faces pressed against the surface.
The drowned dead, reaching for the living with grabbing fingers. And floating above them all, beautiful and terrible, was Elara. Her silver eyes blazed as she lifted her arms, and the water rose higher. "Sister!" her voice carried on the wind. "Time to pay what you owe!" The castle shook as black water crashed against its walls. Kael grabbed Lyra's shoulders. "Whatever you're thinking, don't." But she was already pulling away, already running toward the flood. "I have to stop this!" "Lyra, no!" His howl of rage and fear echoed across the valley as she dove into the rising darkness. The last thing she heard before the black water closed over her head was Elara's laughing, sharp as breaking glass. And then everything went cold and quiet and wrong.