Elara’s heart pounded against her ribs as she stared at Kael. "What do you an? Which brother isn’t a brother?"
Before Kael could answer, a howl pierced the night—the pack’s alarm signal.
"Border breach," Kael growled, his eyes flashing gold. "We’ll finish this later." He rushed out, leaving Elara alone with her questions.
She grabbed her mother’s diary and the pendant, then slipped out the window. Everyone would be racing toward the border. No one would notice her heading into the woods.
The full moon lit her path as she ran, her feet carrying her to the small clearing where she’d first t Tobias. If anyone had answers, it would be him.
"I knew you’d co," said a voice behind her.
Elara spun around. Tobias stood there, looking tired but unhard despite being dragged away by guards earlier.
"How did you escape?" she asked.
"I have friends in unexpected places," he said with a small smile. "But we don’t have much ti. Did you read the diary?"
Elara nodded, clutching the book tighter. "It says one brother isn’t a brother at all. Kael just told he knows which one."
Tobias’s eyes widened. "He told you that? Then it’s worse than I thought. The prophecy is accelerating."
"Why won’t anyone tell what’s happening?" Elara cried, frustration bubbling over. "Everyone keeps talking about choices and prophecies, but nobody explains anything!"
"Because they’re afraid," Tobias said gently. "Sit down, silver eyes. It’s ti you learned the truth."
They sat on a fallen log. In the moonlight, Tobias looked older, weary.
"Eighteen years ago," he began, "a silver-eyed baby was born to the Luna of the Moonstone Pack. That sa night, the pack was attacked and destroyed. Only a handful escaped."
"My mother was from another pack?" Elara whispered.
"She was the Luna of that pack," Tobias corrected. "And you were never an oga, Elara. Your powers were bound at birth to hide you."
Elara stared at her hands. "From what?"
"From who," Tobias said darkly. "From the one who ordered the attack—the one who feared the prophecy more than anything."
"Alpha Marcus," she guessed.
"No," said Tobias. "Soone closer to you than you realize."
A twig snapped nearby. Tobias jumped to his feet, instantly alert.
"We’re not alone," he whispered. "Listen carefully—your pendant is the key. It doesn’t just protect you; it contains your true power. When the ti cos, break it."
"Break it? But—"
"Soone’s coming. I have to go." Tobias gripped her shoulders. "Trust your instincts, not what you’ve been told. And rember—one of them loves you truly, one desires your power, and one isn’t who he seems."
Before she could ask more, he vanished into the shadows.
Heart racing, Elara hid behind a thick oak tree. Footsteps approached, then stopped in the clearing.
"I know you’re here, Elara," called Ronan’s voice. "I followed your scent."
She stepped out cautiously. Ronan stood alone, his dark hair wild from running.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "There’s been an attack at the border."
"I needed space to think," she said, hiding the diary behind her back.
Ronan moved closer, his gaze intense. "It’s not safe. You shouldn’t be alone."
"Why? Because soone might kill like they killed Beta Rivers?"
"Because soone is definitely trying to kill you," he said bluntly. "And I’m not sure my brothers can protect you anymore."
Elara stepped back. "What do you know about the prophecy, Ronan? About one brother not being a brother?"
Sothing flashed in his eyes—surprise or fear, she couldn’t tell.
"Where did you hear that?" he demanded.
She held up the diary. "My mother wrote it down before she died."
Ronan reached for the book, but Elara pulled it away.
"No more secrets," she said firmly. "Tell what you know."
He ran a hand through his hair, looking torn. "It’s complicated."
"Then make it simple."
Ronan sighed. "The triplets... we aren’t what everyone thinks."
A howl cut through the night—closer this ti.
"That’s Darian," Ronan said, suddenly tense. "He’s tracking you too."
"Why would he—"
"Listen to ," Ronan cut in, his voice urgent. "Don’t trust anyone—not Kael, not Darian, not even —until you know the truth."
"How am I supposed to know what’s true anymore?" she asked, frustration making her voice shake.
Ronan touched her cheek gently. "Your heart knows. It always has."
His touch felt warm, familiar. For a mont, Elara leaned into it, drawn by the bond between them.
Then she rembered Tobias’s warning.
She pulled away. "I need to get back."
As they walked through the woods, a strange sensation prickled at her neck. Elara glanced over her shoulder and froze.
A pair of red eyes watched from the darkness.
"Ronan," she whispered, grabbing his arm.
He turned, saw the eyes, and imdiately pushed her behind him.
"Run back to the house," he ordered. "Now!"
"I’m not leaving you—"
"That’s not a pack wolf," he growled. "Go!"
The red-eyed creature stepped into the moonlight. It looked like a wolf, but wrong—too large, its fur patchy, its face twisted.
"What is that?" Elara gasped.
"A cursed one," Ronan said grimly. "They only co when the prophecy nears completion."
The creature snarled, saliva dripping from its jaws.
"Go!" Ronan shouted, pushing her away as he began to shift.
Elara ran, heart hamring. Behind her, growls and snarls erupted as Ronan fought the monster.
She tore through the trees, the pendant burning hot against her skin. Break it, Tobias had said. But how could she destroy her only link to her mother?
Suddenly, a figure stepped into her path. Elara skidded to a stop.
Darian stood there, watching her with unreadable eyes.
"Where’s Ronan?" he asked calmly.
"Fighting... so kind of monster," she panted. "We have to help him!"
"I’ll handle it," Darian said, not moving. "But first, I need to know what Tobias told you."
Elara stared at him. How did he know about Tobias?
"Nothing important," she lied.
"Don’t protect him," Darian said, his voice hardening. "He’s been feeding you lies."
From the woods ca a pained howl—Ronan.
"He needs help!" Elara cried, trying to push past Darian.
He caught her arm, his grip surprisingly strong. "What did he tell you about the brothers?"
Sothing in his tone made her blood run cold.
"Let go of ," she demanded.
Darian’s eyes changed, a flicker of sothing inhuman crossing his face. "You have no idea what you’re part of, do you? No idea what your choice will unleash."
The howling stopped. The forest fell silent.
"Ronan?" Elara called, terror rising in her throat.
Darian’s grip tightened. "He can’t help you now. No one can."
He reached for her pendant with his free hand. "It’s ti to end this prophecy my way."
As his fingers touched the moon-shaped stone, it flared with blinding light. Darian cried out, releasing her as if burned.
Elara stumbled backward, clutching the glowing pendant.
"Who are you?" she whispered. "What are you?"
Darian’s face twisted into sothing not quite human. "The one who’s been waiting eighteen years for you, silver eyes."
From behind him erged the red-eyed creature, muzzle stained with blood.
"Where’s Ronan?" Elara demanded, voice shaking.
Darian smiled coldly. "He served his purpose."
In that mont, Elara knew what she had to do. She ripped the pendant from her neck and threw it to the ground.
"You want it? Take it!"
As Darian lunged for the pendant, Elara brought her heel down hard on the moon stone.
It shattered with a sound like thunder.
Light exploded outward, knocking them both off their feet. Power surged through Elara’s veins, electric and wild.
When she stood, silver flas danced along her fingertips.
Darian stared at her, his face a mixture of rage and fear. "What have you done?"
"Exactly what my mother wanted," Elara said, her voice stronger than it had ever been. "I’ve made my choice."
Behind her ca a rustling. She turned, ready to fight.
But it wasn’t the monster.
It was Kael, clothes torn, eyes wide with shock as he took in the scene—Elara wreathed in silver fire, Darian backing away, the shattered pendant.
"It’s true," Kael whispered. "You’re the one from the prophecy."
"Yes," said Elara, the truth finally clear. "And now I know which brother isn’t a brother at all."
Darian’s form began to waver, like heat rising from hot pavent. His handso face flickered, revealing sothing ancient and terrible beneath.
"This isn’t over," he hissed in a voice no longer human. "You’ve only hastened your destruction."
Then he vanished—not running away, but simply ceasing to be there.
The red-eyed creature howled once, then followed, lting into shadow.
Kael moved toward her cautiously. "Elara, your eyes..."
"Are silver," she finished. "I know. Where’s Ronan? Is he—"
"Alive, but hurt," Kael said. "We need to get back to the pack."
Elara stared at the spot where Darian had vanished. "But what about—"
"That wasn’t Darian," Kael said grimly. "It never was."
"Then where is the real Darian?" Elara asked, dread filling her stomach.
Kael’s face darkened. "That’s what we need to find out. Because if that thing has been pretending to be my brother all this ti..."
He left the thought unfinished, but Elara understood.
The real Darian could be anywhere.
Or nowhere at all.
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