The Dying Luna’s Second Chance

Chapter 10

Kaelira POV

I woke up with the taste of smoke in my throat. My body jerked upright before I could stop it, breath coming in sharp, uneven pulls.

The room was dark. Quiet. But my heart refused to slow, pounding like I was still trapped inside it…

The fire. The screams and him.

That boy. I dragged a hand over my face, pressing hard like I could force the images out of my head. It didn’t work. His eyes were still there. Watching me, not scared or lost.

Waiting.

“For me…” I whispered.

My wolf stirred faintly, not in fear but in recognition.

That was what unsettled me the most.

Not the dream.

Not the fire.

But the feeling that it wasn’t just a dream.

I swung my legs off the bed, forcing myself to stand. The room felt too small suddenly, like the walls were closing in with memories that didn’t belong to me.

And then it hit again…

A flicker.

Quick.

Violent.

Flames swallowing a doorway.

A woman screaming..

I sucked in a breath and steadied myself against the edge of the table.

“This isn’t normal…”

It wasn’t imagination.

It wasn't a memory.

It was something else.

Something trying to surface.

And I had a feeling..

It started the moment he looked at me.

The LYCAN.

The first time this nightmare happened, I thought I had imagined it.

I was walking down the eastern corridor…nothing unusual, nothing out of place, when it hit. A flash. Fire.

Not memory.

Not exactly.

Just… there.

Sharp and violent. Gone before I could catch it.

I stopped mid-step.

My fingers curled slightly at my sides as my breath caught.

“What was that…?”

Nothing answered.

My wolf stirred faintly, restless but not alarmed. That was the strange part. If it were dangerous, she would’ve reacted harder.

But this?

She was… watching.

Like she recognized it.

I swallowed and kept walking.

By the time night fell, it had happened three more times.

Each one is worse than the last.

A scream echoing through trees.

Blood staining stone.

A door marked with a crescent…burning.

None of it felt like imagination.

And none of it felt like mine.

I stood outside the archive doors, staring at the old iron handles like they might answer me.

I hadn’t been here in years.

Not since…

I exhaled slowly.

“Get a grip, Kaelira.”

Still, my hand lifted.

Pushed the door open.

The archive room smelled like dust and forgotten things.

Scrolls lined the walls. Old records stacked in uneven piles. History that no one cared enough to revisit.

Or maybe..

History no one wanted remembered.

I stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind me.

No guards.

No witnesses.

Just me.

And whatever I was starting to uncover.

My fingers brushed over the nearest shelf, trailing across aged paper and cracked leather bindings.

“Crescent…” I murmured under my breath.

Nothing was labeled clearly.

Of course not.

Why make it easy?

I moved deeper into the room, scanning titles, pulling a few scrolls loose.

Pack treaties.

Territory disputes.

Bloodline records…

My hand stilled.

I pulled that one out.

Unrolled it slightly.

Names.

Generations.

Most of them crossed out.

Erased.

My chest tightened.

“What the hell…”

Footsteps.

I froze.

Then quickly rolled the scroll back, sliding it into place just as the door creaked open.

“Kaelira?”

Serenya.

Of course.

I didn’t turn immediately. “You’re getting predictable.”

She stepped in anyway, shutting the door behind her. “And you’re avoiding me.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “Am I?”

“Yes.”

A pause.

Then..

“You’ve been off since the gate.”

I turned fully now, leaning lightly against the shelf. “Off how?”

Serenya crossed her arms. “You tell me.”

I held her gaze.

Steady.

Careful.

“I handled the situation.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

I exhaled quietly. “I’m fine.”

“You’re lying.”

The words came too fast.

Too sure.

I tilted my head slightly. “You seem confident.”

“Because I know you,” she said simply.

That almost made me laugh.

Almost.

But something else flickered instead…

Another flash.

Stronger this time.

A woman…

Dark hair.

Blood on her hands.

A crescent mark at her throat.

I flinched.

Just slightly.

But Serenya saw it.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Kaelira…”

“I said nothing.”

Too sharp.

Too quick.

Silence dropped between us.

Serenya studied me for a long moment.

Then softer…

“You’re seeing something, aren’t you?”

My jaw tightened.

I looked away.

“That Lycan said things,” she continued carefully. “About your bloodline. About the m******e. You think this is connected?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t know.

And I hated not knowing.

“I need to check something,” I said instead.

“In here?” she asked, glancing around.

“Yes.”

Serenya hesitated.

Then nodded once. “I’m staying.”

I didn’t argue.

I didn't have the energy.

We searched in silence for a while.

Or at least..

She searched.

I followed instinct.

I didn’t know why I moved the way I did.

Why certain shelves pulled my attention.

Why did my fingers stopped at specific sections.

But they did.

And I listened.

“Kaelira,” Serenya said quietly, holding up a scroll. “This one mentions the northern territories during the time of the massacre.”

“Read it.”

She scanned quickly. “It’s vague. Says there was ‘internal betrayal’ that led to the fall of allied bloodlines.”

My chest tightened.

Betrayal.

That word again.

Another flash…

Fire spreading across wooden beams.

A voice shouting…

Run!

I sucked in a sharp breath.

“Kaelira.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“I said I’m fine.”

Silence again.

Then…My hand stopped.

Lower shelf.

Half-hidden behind older records.

A bundle of documents, edges blackened.

Burnt.

My pulse picked up.

“Wait,” I murmured.

Serenya moved closer. “What is it?”

I crouched, pulling the bundle free.

Ash flaked off at the edges.

Like someone tried to destroy it.

And failed.

“Why would this be down here…” I muttered.

“Because someone didn’t want it found,” Serenya replied.

Fair.

I loosened the tie carefully.

The papers inside were fragile.

Damaged.

But not gone.

My fingers trembled slightly as I unfolded the first one.

Names.

Dates.

Accusations.

My eyes scanned quickly…

Until they stopped.

My breath caught.

“No…”

“Kaelira?” Serenya stepped closer.

I didn’t answer.

Couldn’t.

Because right there…

Clear despite the burn marks.. A name stared back at me.

LYSARA VALE.

My mother.

My throat went dry.

Serenya leaned in slightly. “What does it say?”

I swallowed.

Forced the words out.

“…It’s a report.”

“About what?”

My grip tightened on the paper.

“About the massacre.”

Silence.

Heavy.

“What does it say?” she pressed.

I didn’t want to read it.

I didn't want to see it. But I did anyway. Line by line. Word by word.

Until..

My stomach dropped. “…No,” I whispered.

“Kaelira—what?”

I looked up at her slowly. The world felt… wrong.

Like something had just cracked open beneath my feet.

“They listed her,” I said quietly.

“Listed who?”

“My mother.”

Serenya frowned. “Listed her as what?”

I held up the burnt document.

My fingers tightened around the edges.

“Not a victim.”

A pause.

Then….

“A traitor.”