The Trap In The Mountains
1499 Words
The next morning, I woke to the sound of horns.
Not one.
Several.
I rushed out of my room and found warriors running toward the northern gate.
For a moment, I thought Blackridge had attacked.
Then I saw Kael.
He was standing in the courtyard, speaking to the patrol leader.
“What happened?” I asked.
Kael turned.
“Three scouts haven’t returned.”
My stomach tightened.
“From the northern border?”
He nodded.
“They were supposed to report before sunrise.”
“Could they have been attacked?”
“We don’t know.”
He looked toward the gate.
“I want to find them.”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Kael—”
“You’re staying here.”
I stared at him.
“You just told me I can’t keep disappearing whenever things become difficult.”
His expression softened slightly.
“This isn’t about keeping you away from danger.”
“Then what is it?”
“The people we’re dealing with are looking for you. If you come with me, you’re giving them exactly what they want.”
I understood his reasoning.
I still didn’t like it.
“I can help.”
“You already have.”
He stepped closer.
“I need you here.”
I nodded reluctantly.
“Come back.”
“I will.”
He left with twenty warriors.
I watched until they disappeared beyond the gate.
Something felt wrong.
⸻
By midday, there was still no word from Kael.
I tried to distract myself by returning to the records room.
Elder Rowan was there, surrounded by old books.
“You look worried,” he said.
“Kael hasn’t returned.”
“He’ll be fine.”
“I hope so.”
Rowan closed the book in front of him.
“There is something I need to tell you.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“The prophecy.”
My stomach tightened.
“I thought we already knew it.”
“We know part of it.”
He pulled another scroll from a locked drawer.
“This was discovered this morning.”
I unfolded it.
The handwriting was old.
The true Luna shall not claim the crown by force.
I frowned.
“That sounds different.”
“There is more.”
Rowan pointed to the next line.
She must choose the throne when the throne chooses her.
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means your bloodline doesn’t automatically make you Luna.”
“Then what does?”
“Choice.”
I stared at the words.
“That doesn’t sound like a prophecy.”
“It is.”
Rowan’s voice lowered.
“The Moon Queens believed their power should never belong to someone who wanted it for the wrong reasons.”
I thought about Selene.
She had spent her entire life wanting to become Luna.
I had never wanted it.
Not once.
“Then why does the prophecy say one sister will rise and the other will fall?”
“I don’t know.”
He looked troubled.
“But perhaps the meaning has been misunderstood.”
Before I could ask more, the door opened.
A young warrior stood there.
“Liana.”
I turned.
“What happened?”
“Someone came to the southern gate.”
“Who?”
“He asked for you.”
My heart sank.
“What did he look like?”
The warrior hesitated.
“He said he knew your mother.”
⸻
I followed him to the gate.
A man stood outside the pack boundary.
He was alone.
He wasn’t wearing the crescent symbol.
He looked ordinary.
Too ordinary.
“Liana Rose?”
“Yes.”
“I have something from your mother.”
My heart jumped.
“What?”
He held up a small leather pouch.
“This.”
I stared at it.
I recognized the stitching immediately.
My mother had used the same pattern on the clothes she made for me when I was young.
“Where did you get that?”
“She gave it to me.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“Where is she?”
The man’s expression changed.
“She wanted me to bring you this when the time came.”
“What time?”
“When your wolf began to awaken.”
I stepped closer.
“What is inside?”
“You’ll know when you see it.”
I reached for the pouch.
The moment my fingers touched it, my wolf reacted.
A sharp pain shot through my wrist.
I gasped.
The silver crescent mark appeared beneath my skin.
The man smiled.
“It’s happening.”
I immediately pulled my hand away.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
His eyes suddenly changed.
They became pale silver.
My breath caught.
“You’re one of them.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
Then he whispered,
“I’m one of you.”
Before I could understand what he meant, he grabbed my wrist.
My wolf surged forward.
The world around me blurred.
And then I heard a voice.
Run.
I pulled away with all my strength.
The man staggered backward.
Guards rushed toward us.
He disappeared into the forest.
I stood there, breathing heavily.
The pouch was still in my hand.
I opened it.
Inside was a silver ring.
My mother’s ring.
And beneath it was a folded piece of paper.
I opened it with shaking hands.
Only four words were written.
Go to Lunaris alone.
My heart dropped.
⸻
That evening, Kael finally returned.
The moment he entered the courtyard, I ran toward him.
He looked exhausted.
There was blood on his sleeve.
“Are you hurt?”
“It’s not mine.”
I breathed out.
“Thank goodness.”
He studied my face.
“What happened?”
I told him everything.
His expression changed when I showed him the note.
“You’re not going.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
“Kael, this came from my mother.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to follow it.”
“What if she’s there?”
He looked at the ring.
“I understand why you want to go.”
“Then let me.”
“Alone?”
I nodded.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is trying to separate you from everyone protecting you.”
I thought about it.
He was right.
But something about the message bothered me.
If my mother had really written it, why would she ask me to come alone?
Before I could answer, a warrior rushed into the courtyard.
“Alpha!”
Kael turned.
“What?”
“The three missing scouts have been found.”
“Where?”
The warrior looked at me.
“In the eastern mountains.”
My blood ran cold.
“Are they alive?”
“One of them is.”
Kael’s expression hardened.
“Take me to him.”
⸻
The injured scout was brought inside.
He could barely speak.
Kael knelt beside him.
“What happened?”
The warrior opened his eyes.
“They knew we were coming.”
“Who?”
“The Moon Guard.”
“What did they want?”
The warrior swallowed.
“They weren’t interested in us.”
Kael waited.
“They were waiting for Liana.”
My heart sank.
“How did they know she wasn’t with us?”
The warrior looked at me.
“They said she would come.”
“Come where?”
He struggled to breathe.
“Lunaris.”
Silence filled the room.
Kael slowly stood.
The warrior grabbed his arm.
“Alpha…”
“What?”
“They said…”
He coughed.
“They said the door to Lunaris can only be opened by the blood of the Moon Queen.”
My heart began pounding.
I looked at the silver ring in my hand.
Then at the map.
Lunaris wasn’t just a sanctuary.
It was a place that had been waiting for me.
And someone had gone to great lengths to make sure I reached it.
Kael looked at me.
“We’re not going there alone.”
I nodded.
But deep down, I already knew.
If Lunaris held the truth about my mother, I wasn’t going to turn back.
Not now.
Not when I was finally close to the answers I’d spent my entire life searching for.
The next morning, we left for the mountains.
But we never made it there.
Halfway through the journey, our horses suddenly stopped.
A line of warriors stepped out from the trees.
Blackridge.
Kael reached for his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
Their leader smiled.
“We’re not here to fight you, Alpha.”
“Then why are you here?”
The man looked directly at me.
“Because she is coming with us.”
I felt my wolf rise inside me.
And for the first time, I didn’t feel afraid.
Then someone struck me from behind.
The world went black.
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