His Reluctant Luna

Chapter 6: The Sister

Three days after the poisoning, a carriage arrived at the gate.

I was in the training yard with Damon — he was true to his word, pushing me harder than Kael ever had — when Kael appeared at the edge of the yard, his face unreadable.

"Alpha. A visitor."

Damon didn't lower his sword. "Who?"

"Lady Selene Blackwood."

My blood went cold.

Damon finally stopped. He looked at me. "Your sister?"

"Unfortunately."

He studied my face for a moment, then nodded. "Bring her to the main hall."

I changed out of my training clothes and into the best dress I had — dark blue, silver-threaded, the one the seamstress had made for me. I didn't know why I wanted to look good in front of Selene. Maybe to prove I hadn't been broken. Maybe to show her that her cast-off life wasn't a punishment after all.

Selene was already in the hall when I arrived.

She looked exactly as she had the day I left — golden hair, perfect posture, a smile that never reached her eyes. She was wearing a traveling cloak dusted with road dirt, but she still managed to look like she belonged on a throne.

Damon stood near the fireplace, arms crossed, watching her with the same cold expression he wore in battle.

Selene turned as I entered. Her smile widened.

"Aurora." Her voice was warm, like we were old friends meeting for tea. "You look... well."

"Selene." I kept my voice flat. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't a sister visit?"

"No."

Her smile flickered. Then she laughed — a light, musical sound that I remembered hating. "Still so direct. I forgot that about you."

"Answer the question."

She looked past me, at Damon. "I came to warn you."

"Warn us about what?"

"Father is dead."

The words landed like a blow. I felt the air leave my lungs.

"Three days ago," Selene continued. "The southern packs sent men to the manor. They wanted information about the Bloodmoon Keep. Father refused to give it."

"They killed him?"

"They made an example of him." Her voice was flat. "I barely escaped with my life."

I stared at her. Trying to find the lie.

"You came all this way to tell me in person," I said slowly. "After you sent me here to die."

Selene's expression softened — a perfect imitation of regret. "I didn't send you to die, Aurora. I sent you because I was scared. I'm not proud of it. But when I heard what happened to Father, I knew I had to come. To make it right."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

She looked at Damon. "I have information. About the southern packs. About who's leading them. About the traitor in this keep."

Damon's eyes narrowed. "What do you know?"

"I know that the attack on the manor wasn't random. They were looking for something. A letter. From a contact inside the keep."

"And you have this letter?"

Selene smiled. "I have a copy."

She reached into her cloak and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. Damon took it, his jaw tight as he read.

His face went pale.

"The traitor," he said quietly, "is someone I trust with my life."

"Who?" I asked.

He didn't answer. He just looked at Selene with an expression I couldn't read.

"Why are you really here, Selene?" I asked. "The truth."

Selene met my eyes. And for the first time, her mask cracked.

"Because I'm tired of being the coward who let her little sister take her place."

That night, I found Damon on the balcony.

"She's lying," I said.

He didn't turn. "Probably."

"Then why did you accept the letter?"

"Because even a liar can tell the truth sometimes." He looked at me. "The name in this letter matches someone I've suspected for weeks."

"Who?"

"Kael."

The world stopped.

"Kael?" I shook my head. "No. He saved my life. He trained me. He—"

"He was Elena's brother."

I stared at him.

"He never forgave me for her death," Damon continued. "He's been loyal. Flawlessly loyal. For three hundred years. But loyalty and forgiveness are different things."

"But if he wanted me dead, he could have killed me a hundred times."

"Exactly." Damon turned to face me. "Which is why I don't think the letter is the whole truth. Someone wants me to doubt Kael. To push me into making a mistake."

"Selene?"

"Or the person she's working for."

I felt the pieces clicking into place. "You're using her."

"I'm letting her show her hand." His golden eyes met mine. "But I need you to be careful. If Selene is here to hurt you, she'll do it in a way that looks like an accident."

"I can handle Selene."

"I know." He said it like a fact, not a compliment. "That's what worries me."