The witches stood in silence, encircled around a glowing altar.
On top of the altar , a ring was right on it … and blood was contained in it.
Dark. Pure. Potent.
Zyra's blood.
Serena had done it.
Before her capture, she had managed to slip it to them quietly, secretly. A final act of betrayal disguised as devotion.
Edris lifted the ring delicately, her long fingers trembling with dark satisfaction. She turned to Veyron, her voice low and smooth. "The bond can be undone. As long as this blood remains untainted."
She offered it to him.
Veyron smirked, taking the ring slowly, admiring the swirling red liquid trapped within. "How long do I have to wait?"
"The Second Moon," Edris replied. "Still some time away. But when it rises... the ritual begins."
Veyron's smirk widened, crimson eyes glowing. "That's far too long."
"Patience, my lord," Morgath said, stepping forward. "We'll erase her memory before then. She will forget her name, her bond, her pack… everything. When she wakes, she'll believe she was born here."
Edris handed a tiny pouch of herbs to the vampire servant nearby. "Bathe her with this."
"What is it?" Veyron asked, eyeing the dusty mixture.
"It will mask her scent. Make her seem like one of you. Her aura, her wolf ….everything, suppressed," Edris explained. "No one will be able to tell she was ever one of them."
"Use this second chance wisely," Morgath warned. "This time, there won't be a third."
Sythea stood quietly, uncomfortable. Her eyes flicked to Liora ,unconscious on the velvet bed, her skin pale, her heartbeat calm.
She hesitated. Then exhaled. "We'll leave now to begin preparing the last pieces. The ritual needs time. And power."
She turned to Veyron. "Until then… don't control her, touch her ,Don't act rash. Let her roam. She'll remember nothing. The more natural it feels, the easier it will be to anchor the spell."
"And Zyra?" Veyron asked casually.
Morgath's mouth curled. "We already made sure she remembers nothing. Her mind has been splintered. All they can do now... is wait for their own catastrophe."
Veyron chuckled darkly.
He stepped to Liora's side, brushing her cheek lightly with the back of his hand.
"So delicate," he whispered. "So powerful."
Then, with the ring in one hand and darkness curling around the other, he leaned down.
"You don't have to worry," he said softly. "I'll treat her like royalty."
He kissed her hand gently.
"She is my queen, after all"
—------------
Ciara stumbled slightly, brushing dirt off her cloak as she walked behind Vaelna and Selene.
"Seriously, Vaelna," she huffed, wiping sweat off her brow. "Why is this distance so damn much?"
Vaelna rolled her eyes. "Calm down. We're almost at the portal. You're acting like I'm dragging you through fire."
Ciara groaned. "It feels like fire."
Vaelna sniffed the air, then turned sharply. "There. The portal just shifted."
Ciara blinked. "Shifted, where, how?"
"It doesn't stay in one place, Alpha," Selene added, her voice soft but steady. "Vampire portals shifts according to its will , it didn't exist at the beginning of our world …but it emerged centuries ago ,You'd know that if—"
"Okay, okay!" Ciara snapped. "Lead the way."
They stepped through the faint shimmer that pulsed between two trees….barely visible to the untrained eye. As soon as they crossed, they stumbled out onto Moonveil soil.
Ciara stopped, breathing in the air.
The scents hit her instantly—ash, moss, blood, and...emptiness.
"Sera? Liora?" she shouted.
There was a tense pause.
"Ciara?" Sera's voice rang from behind the barricades. She emerged fast, weapons drawn, but dropped them in shock. "Where did you run off to?! We searched everywhere!"
Ciara jogged to her, catching her breath. "I'm sorry—I got caught up. These two helped me."
Sera's eyes flicked to Vaelna and Selene.
"Who are they?"
"They're strays," Ciara said quickly. "They don't have a pack. But they helped me."
Sera eyed them cautiously.
"Anyone who helps Moonveil isn't an enemy," she said at last, though her tone remained wary.
Ciara's smile dropped. "Where is Liora?
She... she isn't here?"
Sera's face darkened. "She ran off."
"Ran off?" Ciara echoed. "What do you mean she ran off?!"
Sera narrated everything—the battle, the dagger, the fight, the shift, and Liora's sprint into the woods without a single word.
Selene finally stepped forward. "If she's still out there, we must move now. She could be in danger."
"I looked for her," Sera said, voice strained. "But I couldn't find her anywhere. It's like she vanished."
They fell silent for a moment… until the scent in the air changed….
Sera sniffed the air.
Her nose twitched. "Lunarion..."
Kael and Zyra emerged from the forest edge stepping forward to their pack grounds, calm but alert.
Sera didn't wait…..she lunged, fury in every step.
Kael blocked the blow just in time, but Sera landed a hard kick to his ribs before Zyra caught her wrist mid-air.
"Wait!" Zyra shouted, voice low but urgent.
"Liora is in danger. I can't feel her energy. Something is wrong, she is not here right? ."
Sera froze mid-swing. "And why do you care?"
Ciara narrowed her eyes. "I knew being bonded to you would hurt Liora."
"She can't just vanish like that," Sera said, trying to regain composure. "She's our Omega. She's my friend, my sister …."
"She's in vampire territory," Selene said suddenly, cutting through the air like a blade.
Everyone turned.
Zyra's eyes sharpened. "That's not possible. Vampires don't exist."
"They do," Selene replied. "I've read records.... books and If you can't feel your mate's bond, it means she's beyond the range….hidden in a realm sealed from werewolves. Vampires can do that. The witches too."
Vaelna and Selene exchanged a knowing look, but said nothing more.
"And how do you know all this?" Kael asked, suspicious.
Selene smiled sweetly. "I like books."
Sera took a little time to look at Selene. "Then we have to find her. Now."
Zyra nodded. "I agree. If Liora is in danger, none of this rivalry matters."
"You tried to kill my father," Ciara snapped.
Zyra looked at her. "And I regret it. I won't ask for forgiveness, only a chance to make it right."
"Peace," Sera scoffed. "That's a new word in your mouth."
"I mean it," Zyra said simply. "That's the only way we can get to her."
There was a long pause, filled only by the sound of wind in the trees.
"Fine," Sera said, eyes hard.
Selene frowned slightly. "It won't be easy. Vampire portals don't like to be found."
"I don't care," Sera said, her voice trembling with restrained emotion. "I will find my Omega."
"We move by dusk."