Silence returned the moment Liana closed the door. Luciana remained lying down for a few minutes, breathing slowly, as if that would help organize everything she now knew. I'm Abigail. I'm a princess. I'm alive. And I'm going to die again if I don't get my act together.
With a grimace of pain, she sat up. Every muscle protested as if she'd been run over by an imperial carriage. Limping toward the full-length mirror resting beside the wardrobe, she forced herself to look.
The reflection staring back at her was that of a beautiful young woman, porcelain skin, light brown hair in soft waves, and large expressive eyes. Delicate. Fragile. Too much so.
—You look like one of those expensive dolls no one lets you play with —she said in a low voice, one eyebrow raised—. But don't worry, dolly... I've survived worse. I'm going to toughen you up.
She leaned closer to the mirror, touching her face with curiosity. This was her new life. Her new body. And she had a story to change. A war to prevent. A wolf to face.
—This time I'm not dying —she promised—. Especially not because of a sister with a supporting-villainess complex.
---
Hours later, the sound of hurried footsteps announced Liana's return. She entered with a tray full of papers, scrolls, ink, a quill with a golden tip, and a proud expression as if she'd hunted a dragon with a spoon.
—Here's everything, Your Highness —she said excitedly—. Information on the Emperor of the North, the treaty, court rumors, his dietary habits... I even got his hunting schedule!
Luciana raised an eyebrow as she picked up one of the scrolls. She began reading in silence... and as she went on, her frown deepened.
—This isn't everything I asked for —she murmured, her voice as sharp as a well-honed dagger.
Liana shrank like a frightened rabbit.
—I'm sorry, Your Highness... But there are no records of those creatures... werewolves... existing.
Luciana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn't surprised. The same thing happened in the novel: neither scholars, nor nobles, not even the emperor himself believed in their existence. At least not publicly. It was part of the mystery.
Hidden in plain sight. That was part of the werewolves' game.
She turned her attention back to the reports and reviewed the details of the King of the North: Kilian Aurelian Luperca, twenty-seven years old, still single —which, by the way, had half the continent whispering obscene things—, undefeated in battle, cold, methodical, hated audiences and rarely left his territory. A real gem.
According to official records, his engagement to Abigail was part of a peace treaty arranged by the emperor father. But it wasn't love. It never had been.
What no one said —but she knew— was that Kilian still hadn't found his luna. His destined mate. And if he didn't find her before the tenth blood moon, his inner wolf, the ancestral Alpha, would take control and drag him into an unstoppable spiral of violence.
Luciana mentally reviewed the details of the novel.
Kilian had only nine blood moons before the deadline. Abigail was the tenth. The king's last chance... and the only barrier preventing the entire world from becoming his hunting ground.
—What does the emperor know about this treaty? —she asked suddenly.
—His Majesty said it was the most convenient deal to secure the borders. The North stays away, but no one dares provoke them. Some say they only seek trade. Others... that they fear a war.
Luciana nodded. Of course. No one suspected anything supernatural. No one dared to say that the King of the North was more than a man. He was the shadow that whispered from the edges of the map.
—And the rumors about why he doesn't marry?
—They say he's cursed. That the women who reject him disappear. That his gaze is enough to freeze your blood.
Luciana let out a dry laugh.
—If only it were just that.
She ran her finger across the surface of the desk. The quill rested, ready. The blank paper, waiting.
If the story she remembered was true, she had little time to awaken her legacy before her body collapsed. The wolf blood slept within her. And only her will could activate it before the circumstances forced her... or destroyed her.
—I need a book —she said suddenly—. Something forbidden. Old. Something that talks about transformations, about magic... or curses.
Liana looked at her in fear.
—Your Highness... are you sure? That kind of text is in the hidden chambers of the royal library. Only the high mages or the emperor can see them.
—Then get me a map of the library.
—Are you going to...?
—Liana —she interrupted with a smile—. Have you ever burned your eyebrow with a candle out of curiosity?
—Yes...
—Well, this is the same, but with more style and a higher risk of decapitation. You in?
The maid paled, but finally nodded.
Luciana leaned back in her chair, arms crossed.
Time was ticking. She couldn't wait for someone to save her. This time, she was the moon. She was the change. And she wasn't going to sit around waiting for the king in a pretty dress.
She was going to find answers.
And if, in the process, she had to shake the foundations of that empire, she'd do it gladly.