His Reluctant Luna

Chapter 7: The Truth in the Mirror

Selene's arrival changed the atmosphere of the keep.

She was charming, effortlessly so. Within a day, she had the kitchen staff laughing, the guards smiling, and the servants competing to bring her tea. She moved through the castle like she already owned it.

I watched her from a distance, trying to find the cracks in her perfect performance.

She caught me watching once. And winked.

I wanted to throw a knife at her head.

"The southern packs have a new leader," Damon said that evening, unrolling a map across the war table. Kael stood at his right. I stood at his left. Selene was conspicuously absent.

"Who?" I asked.

"A wolf called Viktor. He's been consolidating power for years. The attack on your father's manor was his doing. The letter Selene brought confirms it."

"So the traitor in the keep is working for Viktor."

"Possibly." Damon traced a line on the map. "But the letter implicates Kael. Which means either Kael is the traitor, or someone wants me to believe he is."

"And if it's the second option?"

"Then the real traitor is still in the dark. Waiting."

A knock at the door. A servant entered, bowing. "Alpha. Lady Selene requests your presence in the library. She says she has found something that may interest you."

Damon and I exchanged a glance.

"Tell her we'll be there shortly."

The library was dim, lit only by a single candelabra on the central table. Selene stood beside it, a book open in her hands.

"Thank you for coming," she said, her voice silky. "I know you don't trust me. I don't blame you."

"Get to the point," Damon said.

Selene smiled. She turned the book toward us, revealing a page covered in handwriting — old, elegant script.

"This is Elena's diary."

I felt Damon go still beside me.

"Where did you find it?" His voice was controlled. Too controlled.

"It was hidden in Father's study. Among Elena's belongings that were sent back to the Blackwood family after her death." Selene's eyes glittered. "I think you should read the last entry."

Damon didn't move. So I stepped forward and took the book.

The last entry was dated the night of Elena's death.

I know now that I cannot trust anyone. Not my brother. Not my pack. Not even my own heart. The person I love most in this world is also the person who will destroy everything I care about. I have to tell Damon the truth. I have to tell him before it's too late.

But I'm afraid.

If he knows what I am, he will never look at me the same way again.

And I would rather die than see that look in his eyes.

The entry ended there. The next page was blank.

I looked up. Damon's face was unreadable, but his hands were shaking.

"She knew," he said quietly. "She knew someone was going to kill her."

"Or she knew someone she loved was going to do it," Selene said.

"Who?" I asked. "Elena's brother is Kael. Are you saying—"

"I'm not saying anything." Selene closed the book. "I'm just giving you the evidence. What you do with it is your choice."

After Selene left, Damon and I stood in silence.

"It's not Kael," I said.

"How do you know?"

"Because if Kael wanted you dead, he would have killed you centuries ago. He's had a thousand opportunities. He's been nothing but loyal."

"Loyalty can curdle."

"Not like this." I stepped closer. "Someone is feeding you breadcrumbs. Making you doubt the one person you trust most. That's what I would do if I wanted to destroy you."

He looked at me, and something shifted in his eyes.

"You sound like you've thought about this."

"I've had time to think. Living in a castle full of wolves teaches you strategy."

A pause. Then, quietly: "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not believing the worst of Kael. For staying." He held my gaze. "For being here."

The words hung between us, heavier than they should have been.

"I don't have a choice," I said. "I'm stuck here, remember?"

"Liar."

I opened my mouth to argue. Closed it.

Because he was right.

That night, I stood at my window and looked at the moon.

It was almost full now. Three days away.

I raised my hand. The moonlight bent toward me, pooling in my palm like liquid silver.

And this time, I didn't just feel warmth.

I heard a voice.

Aurora.

I spun around.

The room was empty.

But the voice had been clear — a woman's voice, soft and familiar.

Aurora. Find me.

I looked at the mirror on my wall.

The reflection was wrong.

I was standing with my hand raised. But the reflection showed me standing with my hand lowered. And my reflection's lips were moving.

Aurora, my reflection whispered. Find me before the full moon.

Or we both die.