The nightmares were no longer just dreams.
They called to her.
The sky outside Lucien's penthouse had turned an eerie crimson hue, a warning the supernatural felt deep in their bones.
A blood moon was rising.
And with it… came the memories.
Not hers—not yet—but fragments. Echoes. Faces she didn't recognize but felt connected to. Screams. Fire. A woman cradling a baby wrapped in black silk. The scent of roses and blood.
She woke gasping, bathed in sweat.
Lucien wasn't in bed.
But someone else was.
Veylor's Offer
She stepped into the living room wrapped in only one of Lucien's shirts. The city pulsed beneath her feet—but the man leaning against the bar wasn't Lucien.
It was Veylor.
"You're brave," she muttered. "Or suicidal."
He turned, his silver eyes glowing faintly.
"I'm necessary."
She didn't flinch as he approached, even when he leaned in close, scenting her like a wolf would his prey.
"You feel it now, don't you?" he murmured. "The heat under your skin, the power itching to wake."
She crossed her arms. "What do you want?"
He reached into his coat and pulled out a small, obsidian blade.
"This."
She stared at it, heart thudding. "What is it?"
"The key to unlocking your true blood. One cut. One drop. That's all it takes."
Sera stepped back.
"I'm not ready."
"You're running. There's a difference."
She swallowed hard.
Then he leaned in again, lips brushing the shell of her ear.
"Lucien can't protect you from yourself. But I can teach you how not to be afraid of what you are."
When she turned to answer, he was already gone.
The Alpha Returns
Lucien found her standing in the middle of the room, staring at the black blade still clutched in her shaking hand.
He froze.
"Where did you get that?"
Sera didn't answer.
Lucien's eyes darkened—gold to pitch. His voice dropped an octave.
"Veylor was here."
She finally looked at him. "He wants me to awaken it."
"No."
"Lucien—"
"I said no."
He crossed the room in two strides, ripped the blade from her hand, and hurled it across the penthouse. It hit the wall with a thud and dropped.
His breath was ragged. His muscles tensed.
"Do you even understand what you're playing with?" he hissed. "Your bloodline was locked for a reason. That power—it doesn't come without a price."
She stepped closer, placing a palm on his bare chest.
"And what if the price is already inside me?"
He cupped her face, eyes tormented. "Then I'll fight it. For you. With you. I'll tear down kingdoms to keep you safe."
Her lips brushed his.
But her thoughts were already drifting.
Because part of her… wanted to know.
What was she hiding from?
And what would happen if she stopped?
The Beginning of the End
That night, she snuck out again.
This time, to the cathedral.
The blade was in her pocket.
Her blood was awake.
And when the first light of the blood moon touched her skin…
She remembered everything.
The screams. The betrayal. The reason her family died.
Lucien's pack had done it.
Under orders.
Under his father's rule.
Sera collapsed to her knees, pain lancing through her chest.
And in that moment… her power answered.
It rose.
Wild. Red. Beautiful.
Veylor stepped out of the shadows, smiling.
"Now you know why he wanted to keep you innocent."