The Crimson Oath

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Crimson Oath

POV: Seraphina Vale.

"The rogue called me Queen. The same girl who faced mockery, humiliation, disdain and the one which I pray earnestly to the moon goddess to heal-the rejection. But why did this rogue whimper like he owed me his life?"

He was still on his knees, breath shallow, eyes wide in awe—and fear.

"My Queen..." he whispered again.

I didn't move, my eyes still hung on his body.

My heart thundered like it wanted to escape my chest, but my body was frozen. Not from fear. From something deeper. Recognition? Memory?

But I had never seen him before in my life.

He stretched his trembling hand toward the mark on my collarbone, and that’s when the arrow slammed into his chest.

He gasped, blood blooming beneath his ribs.

"No!" I shouted, catching him as he collapsed into my arms. "What did you do?!"

A second arrow pierced his throat.

I looked up just in time to see two pack warriors drop from the trees—they were Kael’s warriors. “Stand back, omega,” one of them growled, already stringing another arrow.

"He wasn't attacking me!" I cried. “What are you wolves looking for, hasn’t your leader done enough already.”

"You were found in the woods with a rogue. And the last time we checked the pack laws, this is an act of treason, Sera."

Treason? Are you being serious?

But they didn’t care. They didn’t see the man. All they saw was the threat. All acts laced to me committing treason.

His blood stained my hands, warm and sticky, as his final breath rasped against my palm. His gaze locked onto mine—unwavering until he gasped his last breath.

It was then I saw it on his face. The rogue really knew me, even more than I know myself.

“Move it, Sera.” One of the warriors charged. “Move it!”

********

I was trapped in the eerie silence of the dungeon, the dripping sound of water and the steady hum of magic in the walls, each rat scurrying and little stones falling from the cracked roof reminded me of my place as an omega--an outcast. A nobody.

No trial. No questions. No Kael.

The dungeons under Silvercrest were ancient—carved from cold stone, damp and echoing as I sat in the darkness, covered in the rogue’s blood, shivering and shaking from something I couldn’t name.

Whether it was Guilt? Confusion? Power? I couldn’t fathom.

All I knew was that my hand hurt where he bled on me. But when I lifted it to inspect the gash—there was none. The same healing had occurred again.

I was still looking at the mysterious healing of my injuries when a bright light blurred my vision.

I heard the soft tapping of a cane before I saw a curvy figure, her movements like smoke—quiet, regal, otherworldly.

Her hair was white, falling in waves past her waist, and her eyes were clouded over in silver fog. “Seraphina,” she said softly.

I rose, clutching the bars. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

She smiled without humor. “Which do I start from? Is it the introduction or what am actually doing here.”

“Any of them.”

“Alright, if you say so; I am a woman who knew your mother. A priestess who has been waiting for too long to meet you.”

I would be sincere-her presence scared me as it filled the room like an incense. Her presence was freaking slow, thick, and ancient.

"I am High Priestess Nathan," she said, bowing her head slightly.

I stared, my eyes not ready to leave her soon. The name “Priestess Nathan” was taught as a myth. She hadn't been seen in centuries. Some said she died during a rival dynasty war. Others claimed she vanished into the wilds.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"Nothing," she chuckled. "But there are things you need from me."

“What do you mean by I need something from you.”

Without saying a word, just a little movement of her fingers, the chains on my wrist broke. “Now, do you need me or not.” A warm smirk tugged at her lips.

I was rude, but I couldn’t allow her see my weakness. “I don’t feel like following you, priestess Nathan. I barely know if you’re genuine or not.”

“You have been maltreated alot from this pack, and your mother who lives at the Coven of Highnesses has heard your cry. And it is time for your redemption, Seraphina.”

The mention of my mum broke my heart, tears streaming down my cheeks, “Where is Coven of Highnesses, can I see her please.”

Nathan chuckled, “Am sorry you can see her, Seraphina. She lives in the throne room of the moon goddess, and it can only be death and high power that can take you there.”

I hissed, “Kill me then. What do I live for.”

“Don’t even say that again, Sera.” Lysandra’s voice echoed.

“That is your business, Lysandra.” I replied through the mindlink.

“Follow me!” Nathan’s voice cut through the already tensed air.

She had me released into the sacred chamber beneath the main temple, guarded by spellbound stone. “You know, Sera-only bloodline wolves could enter here,”

I didn't even know what that meant, but I know it was something only few were opportune to have.

“You’ve felt the power of crimson, haven’t you?” she asked, guiding me through the runic archways.

I hesitated. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” My eyes still rested on the ground.

She chuckled. “Don’t act hard, Sera.”

“Okay, fine. I just healed, nothing serious,” I shrouded.

“You did more than that, Sera.”

She paused at a pedestal—a stone altar etched with ancient glyphs. A scroll and a dagger lay upon it.

“The Crimson Oath,” she whispered. “The blood mark of the Luna Reborn. The mark on your collar bone.”

“No,” I said instantly. “I’m not reborn anything. I’m just—”

“An orphan? An omega? A mistake?” Her blind eyes seemed to pierce me anyway. “You were born under blood and moonlight, wrapped in the royal crest of the Lunaria bloodline. You think you’re weak, but you’re the opposite, Seraphina. You are the key.”

“Key to what?” I asked sneeringly.

“To the world they’ve tried to bury,” she said, stretching forward as she took my hand gently. “I need your blood.”

“Leave me alone.” I slapped her hands away from mine. “Where were you when I was humiliated, spat on and rejected by my mate. Something your so called goddess could have intervened.”

“You’re not an ordinary wolf, Sera,” she said with confidence, resting her hands back on my shoulders. “Come, let me show you something.”

“Show me what?” I asked.

“The truth.”

Something for a flick moment wanted me to run.

But another thing in me—maybe my wolf, maybe fate—held me in place.

I nodded. “Alright, go on.”

She took the dagger and made a shallow cut across my palm. It barely stung.

Then she pressed my bleeding hand to the surface of a flat black stone.

Panic swirled through my chest, the expectation of what might happen next filled my mind.

But the moment my blood touched it, the stone glowed.

Crimson lines flared across its surface, like rivers pulsing with light. The glyphs shifted and rearranged themselves, forming a map.

A place I didn’t recognize appeared—mountains curved around a silver lake, a forest thick as shadow.

“It’s not on any map,” I whispered.

“Because it no longer exists in your world,” Nathan murmured. “It disappeared after the Eastern m******e. But your blood remembers. Your blood calls it back.”

I traced the glowing markings.

“What is this place?” I asked.

Nathan turned to me, her voice heavy with reverence. “It’s the Forgotten Vale--the last sanctuary of the royal bloodline linked to your family, Sera.”