Blessed by the Moon, Claimed by Two

Chapter 9

Kaelani POV

That night in the altar, right after the tournament, Kaia wastes no time the moment the doors seal behind us.

“I saw Aliza in the locker room today,” she says, her voice tight. “She had this mark on her arm. It looked like a bruise, but there were black lines coming out of it.”

The second she says it, my body moves on instinct.

I step into the circle and speak the name of the spell aloud.

“Veil of Severance.”

A book drops into my hands with a dull thud. I carry it over to where Kaia and Liam are sitting and place it between us. I rest my hand on the cover and close my eyes.

The page comes to me.

I open the book—and Kaia snatches it out of my hands.

She reads for a few seconds, then gasps.

“This spell is bad, Lani,” she says. “It says if it isn’t broken, both the person who cast it and the victim could die. It’s meant to disrupt bonds—any type of bond.”

She swallows hard. “It says the person who casts it starts losing the ability to feel anything. And a witch’s mark appears where the blood was taken for the spell.”

My stomach twists.

“Oh Goddess,” she breathes. “It says the only way to break the curse is for the suppressed bond to be broken. If it’s a true mate bond, rejection is required. If it’s not, then the bond has to be severed in a way that causes the victim true pain of the heart—in all its forms.”

Liam stares at the page. “Wait. So the only way to break the curse your sister put on a guy who wasn’t even into her… is for his mate to reject him? Or for you to somehow sever a bond you and him never even really had?”

He lets out a humorless laugh. “How f*****g ironic.”

“Liam, please,” I snap.

“No, Kae,” he says, voice rising. “How are you supposed to sever a bond between you and him when you don’t even know if he’s your mate? And if he is—are you really going to reject him?”

“Yes,” I shout. “If it means saving his life.”

The words hang heavy in the air.

“Is there a way to save Aliza?” I ask quietly. “What happens to her if the spell is broken?”

Kaia reads further. “She suffers physically the moment the spell breaks. And emotionally… it says she may be permanently unable to feel anything. Including her true mate bond.”

She looks up at me. “Kieran will be fine physically. But emotionally… he’ll be heartbroken. The only way for him to be free is to lose his mate.”

I close my eyes.

“Let’s hope the Moon Goddess gives him a second-chance mate,” I whisper. “He didn’t deserve this.”

I straighten. “We’re done here for tonight. There’s nothing we can do right now. I’ll stay away from him so he doesn’t feel any more physical pain. When the time comes, we’ll fix this.”

I shut the book. “I need to focus on the tournament, school, and my magic. Let’s go home.”

Back in my room, Nyra’s voice is unusually quiet.

“Our birthday isn’t for months,” she says. “How are we supposed to stay away from him that long?”

“We don’t even know if he’s our mate,” I reply.

“Yes, but he would,” she says. “His birthday passed during that first month when he went cold on us.”

She pauses. “His wolf called out to us. Not him.”

“The spell affects the human, not the wolf,” I say.

“Exactly.”

My chest tightens. “Kieran is my mate.”

“He’s not meant to be yours,” Nyra says gently.

“What?” I whisper. “How? He is literally my mate.”

“You are meant to break the spell, Kaelani,” she says. “We are meant for something else. And Kieran isn’t meant to walk that path with us.”

I sink onto my bed. “I can’t tell Liam this. He won’t take it well.”

“Fine,” Nyra says quietly. “Then don’t. Not yet.”

Aliza POV

Nothing is going how I planned.

The mark is getting worse—and that stupid Beta’s daughter saw it. I know she told Kaelani.

Being around Kieran feels… empty now.

I don’t feel his touch. I don’t feel anything when he kisses me or when we have s*x. And on top of that, he’s spiraling.

That scene at the tournament—everyone saw it. Teachers. Students.

Everything is going wrong.

“But we won,” Seris says quietly.

I laugh, hollow. “Is this what winning feels like? I got him, and I can’t even enjoy it. And the spell is cracking the more he’s around her.”

She’s silent for a moment.

“Things will get better once he rejects his mate,” Seris says. “Then we’ll have him.”

She retreats, leaving me alone with the growing ache under my skin.