The forest still trembled from the fight. Smoke and silver mist curled through the trees, carrying the metallic scent of blood and moonlight. Aurelia's pulse roared in her ears as she stared across the ruined clearing.
Lysandra stood there alive. The crimson glow from the moon poured over her, turning her dark hair into a red halo and her eyes into twin mirrors of the past.
Aurelia's claws half-formed before she could think. "It can't be you."
Lysandra smiled, slow and deliberate, the same smile she used to wear before their pack was slaughtered. "You always said I was hard to kill."
Kane moved first, a shadow sliding between them. His coat swirled like smoke. "Step back, Aurelia."
"Don't you dare," Aurelia snapped. Her gaze never left her sister. "You knew she was alive?"
"I suspected," Kane said quietly. "The massacre left too many questions."
Lysandra's laugh was brittle. "Questions you helped create, Alpha."
The word hit the air like a weapon. Kane's eyes narrowed, but Aurelia barely heard him. The bond at her collarbone pulsed so hard it hurt. Each heartbeat tangled with Kane's, a rhythm she couldn't silence.
Lysandra's expression softened for just a moment. "He told you I was dead, didn't he?"
Aurelia's throat tightened. "He didn't have to. I saw the flames."
"The flames were his," Lysandra said, pointing a blood-streaked finger toward Kane. "His empire wanted our pack erased. Every survivor was hunted down, except me."
"That's a lie." Kane's voice was quiet, too quiet. The air between them thickened until Aurelia could barely breathe.
Lysandra tilted her head. "Then tell her the truth. Tell her why she carries your mark."
Aurelia's stomach turned. She looked at Kane. "What is she talking about?"
Kane didn't answer. His silence was heavier than denial.
Lysandra took a step forward. "You think the bond was fate? No, little sister. It was forged blood magic and old deals. You're his weapon, not his mate."
The bond flared white-hot, a shock of pain and longing. Aurelia staggered. Kane caught her before she hit the ground, his hands steady, his voice a low command. "Enough."
But the touch was fire. She could feel his heartbeat under his gloves, fast and ragged. The world narrowed to that pulse, that scent of steel and smoke.
"Let go of me," she whispered, but her body betrayed her, leaning into the warmth before she could stop it.
Kane's breath brushed her ear. "You don't want that."
For a moment the forest faded. The pull between them felt alive, a thread burning through every nerve. If she looked up, she knew she'd find those silver eyes waiting half promise, half danger.
Then Lysandra's voice cut through the haze. "He'll use you until there's nothing left!"
The spell broke. Aurelia pushed away, shaking, furious with herself. "Both of you stop! I don't know what to believe."
The wind carried whispers from deeper in the woods watchers, soldiers of Kane's empire, moving closer. He turned toward the sound, his jaw hard. "This isn't the place for truth."
Lysandra raised a dagger, its blade glowing faintly red. "There's no safer place than the shadows."
Aurelia stepped between them before either could strike. "If one of you moves, I swear I'll tear the forest apart." Power flickered under her skin, wild and bright. The trees bent toward her like they recognized something ancient.
Kane's expression shifted surprise, then something like respect. "You're awakening faster than I thought."
"I don't care about your prophecy," Aurelia hissed. "Tell me why my sister lived when everyone else burned."
Lysandra's voice softened. "Because I made a deal to save you. A deal with his father's council. You were supposed to die, Aurelia. They needed your bloodline extinguished. Instead, they bound you to him."
Kane's eyes flashed. "That's not the whole story."
"It's enough," Aurelia said. Her hands trembled, not from fear but from the storm building inside. "Both of you lied to me."
Kane took a slow step toward her. "I protected you."
"By chaining me?"
"By keeping you alive."
The words cracked something open. The bond surged again, a violent, dizzy rush that blurred the line between rage and desire. The crimson moon seemed to pulse with them, its light spilling over their faces until even the air felt charged.
Lysandra watched, unreadable. "And that," she murmured, "is how he'll destroy you."
A howl rose from the distance warning, signal, or curse. Kane glanced toward it. "We're out of time. The council's enforcers are coming."
"Then go," Aurelia said.
He met her gaze. "If I leave you, they'll kill you."
"Maybe that's what I want."
Kane's voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't lie to me, little wolf."
She wanted to deny it, but the bond wouldn't let her. The air between them vibrated, alive with everything unspoken. Her breath caught, his fingers brushed hers barely and the world seemed to tilt.
Lysandra's dagger sliced the moment in half, embedding in the tree beside them. "She's not yours to claim."
Kane's eyes turned to silver flame. "Then stop me."
For a heartbeat, the three of them stood frozen under the red moon sisters divided, predator and protector indistinguishable.
Aurelia broke first. "If you want me alive, both of you, then stop fighting and start talking."
Silence answered. Somewhere beyond the trees, engines roared a convoy approaching through the night. Kane looked toward the sound, then back at her.
"We go to the estate," he said. "There's truth there you need to see."
Lysandra shook her head. "And chains waiting for her."
Aurelia turned toward her sister. "If you follow, don't attack him. Not yet."
"And if I do?"
Aurelia's claws gleamed. "Then I'll stop you myself."
Lysandra smiled sadly. "You really have changed."
The red moon bled deeper into the horizon as they left the clearing Aurelia caught between two predators, between blood and bond. The forest whispered her name, warning and prophecy in one.
She didn't look back. She couldn't. Because part of her already knew the truth: whatever waited inside Kane's empire would decide everything love, loyalty, and the fate of every shadow still breathing.
And under the fading light of the crimson moon, the bond burned hotter than ever.