Chapter 36: What She Found

Kael was halfway through the corridor when he heard quick footsteps behind him.

He didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

"Kael."

He stopped anyway and looked back.

Isolade stood a few steps away from him, breathing faster than usual, her expression no longer calm or controlled.

Whatever Seraphina had told her had clearly shaken her more than she wanted to admit.

"You really let that wolfless thing carry your pup?" she asked without hesitation.

The words were sharp, but the anger behind them was even clearer.

Kael didn’t react immediately. "You should choose your words more carefully."

"I’m not interested in choosing my words," she replied. "I’m interested in understanding how you allowed this to happen."

"She is my Luna," he said calmly. "She has every right to carry my child, and besides how do you know that already?."

Isolade stared at him as if the answer had made everything worse instead of better.

"So that’s it?" she asked. "That’s all you have to say? After everything we’ve known each other for years, you’re just going to pretend she matters more than I do?"

"I’m not pretending anything," Kael replied. "You are the one imagining things that never existed."

Her expression changed slowly, the anger turning into something more personal.

"I have loved you since we were children," she said quietly. "Since before anyone else had the courage to stand next to you. I was always there. I never left your side. And now you are telling me none of that means anything to you?"

Kael held her gaze without hesitation. "I never promised you anything. I never asked you to stay. And I never betrayed you."

The words hit harder than she expected. It showed immediately in the way she stepped back, like she needed distance just to stay calm.

"So this is how it ends?" she asked. "You choose her. Someone who cannot even shift. Someone who doesn’t belong here. Someone who only became important because she is now carrying your heir."

"She belongs here because she is my Luna," Kael replied. "That is the only thing that matters."

Isolade let out a short, frustrated breath, her hands tightening at her sides.

"You really think this will end well for you?" she asked. "You really think she will survive long enough to give you that child without something going wrong?"

Kael’s expression hardened slightly. "If you are suggesting something, say it clearly."

"I’m not suggesting anything," she replied quickly. "Not yet."

She turned toward the door without looking at him again, but before leaving, she stopped for a second and spoke quietly.

"I will show you how wrong you are."

Then she walked away without waiting for a response.

---

Liora

I couldn’t sleep.

I tried closing my eyes more than once, but the moment the room became quiet again, my thoughts refused to stay still.

The healer’s words kept repeating in my head whether I wanted them to or not.

Pregnant.

I turned slightly on the bed and looked toward the other side of the room.

Ivy was already asleep. She looked peaceful, completely relaxed, as if nothing had happened that day.

It was strange, especially because she had been the one who wrote the letter. Someone who had just betrayed me should not have been able to sleep that easily.

The thought made my chest tighten again.

She had no idea that I already knew.

I didn’t say anything because I needed to understand what she was planning first, but pretending everything was normal felt harder the longer I stayed in the same room with her.

I sat up slowly, careful not to make too much noise, and waited for a few seconds to make sure she wasn’t pretending to sleep.

She didn’t move at all.

Kael still hadn’t come back either. That part bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

The fortress felt different at night when he wasn’t around, like the silence carried more weight than usual.

I couldn’t stay in the room anymore.

I stood up quietly, put on the cloak hanging near the chair, and stepped outside without waking anyone.

The corridor was empty. Most of the torches had already burned low, and the guards standing near the entrance barely looked at me when I walked past them.

Being Luna meant no one asked questions anymore, even when I left the room late at night.

I didn’t have a destination in mind. I only needed space, something that would help me stop thinking about everything at the same time.

Before I realized it, I had already crossed the main courtyard and reached the path that led outside the pack territory.

I stopped there, surprised at how far I had walked without noticing.

I should go back, I thought immediately.

But something didn’t feel right.

It wasn’t fear exactly. It felt more like a strange pull, the same quiet feeling that made you turn around even when you knew you shouldn’t.

I hesitated for a few seconds, then followed the path a little further, telling myself I would only go a short distance before returning.

The forest was quiet. Too quiet for a place that usually felt alive even at night.

I slowed down instinctively, trying to understand what felt wrong, and then I saw it.

At first I thought it was just a shadow near one of the trees. Something dark that didn’t belong there. But the closer I got, the clearer it became.

Someone was chained to the tree.

The metal restraints were tight around their wrists, forcing their arms above their head. Their clothes were torn, stained with blood, and their head hung forward as if they didn’t have the strength to lift it anymore.

My heart started beating faster before I even understood why.

Recognition came slowly at first, then all at once.

I rushed forward without thinking.

"Elera," I whispered, stepping closer. "Is that you?"

The figure moved slightly, just enough to confirm what I already knew.

And in that moment, I understood that whatever was happening inside the fortress was far worse than I had imagined.