Chapter Three — The Sister Who Lied
2650 Words
The darkness swallowed the room.
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything except my own breathing.
Then something scraped beneath the floor.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
My entire body went cold.
“Seraphina?”
“I told you I was sorry.”
Her voice sounded different.
Not the spoiled, mocking voice I had grown accustomed to.
This voice was frightened.
I tightened my grip on Mother's letter.
“What did you do?”
“I didn't have a choice.”
“Everyone has a choice.”
“You don't understand!”
She stepped toward me.
I stepped backward.
“Stay away from me.”
“Elara—”
“Don't say my name.”
Her face crumpled.
I had never seen my sister look like that.
Usually, Seraphina carried herself like she owned the entire pack. She never cried. Never apologized. Never admitted she was wrong.
Now she looked terrified.
“Tell me what happened to my mother.”
She looked away.
“Tell me!”
“She isn't dead.”
My heart stopped.
I had already heard it from her, but hearing it again made something inside me break.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Liar.”
“I swear!”
“Then why did Father tell me she died?”
“Because he was trying to protect you!”
“Protect me from what?”
Seraphina opened her mouth.
A deep growl came from beneath us.
We both froze.
The floorboards trembled.
Seraphina's face drained of color.
“It's waking up.”
“What is?”
She grabbed my wrist.
“Come with me.”
I ripped my arm away.
“You're not taking me anywhere until you tell me the truth.”
“Elara, listen to me. If that thing wakes up, everyone in this house will die.”
I stared at the floor.
“What's beneath us?”
Seraphina whispered:
“The Moon Chamber.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“What is the Moon Chamber?”
“A place your mother created.”
My heart pounded.
“Why?”
Seraphina swallowed.
“To hide you.”
I looked down at Mother's letter.
The ancient voice returned inside my head.
Find the hidden door.
I looked around the room.
“Where is it?”
Seraphina's eyes widened.
“Who told you about it?”
“Answer me.”
She shook her head.
“You can't open it.”
“Why?”
“Because it recognizes Moonblood.”
I looked at my wrist.
The silver crescent glowed brighter.
Seraphina grabbed my hand.
“No!”
The moment she touched me, the mark flashed.
A violent pulse of energy threw her across the room.
She crashed against the wall.
“Seraphina!”
I rushed toward her.
She stared at me in shock.
“I didn't mean to—”
“You did that?”
“I don't know.”
My heart hammered.
The floor began shaking again.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Then I heard footsteps outside.
“Elara!”
Kael.
Seraphina immediately stood.
“No.”
I turned.
“What?”
“He can't come in.”
“Why?”
“Because he will sense it.”
“Sense what?”
Seraphina stared at my wrist.
“The Moonblood.”
I didn't understand.
But before I could question her, the door handle moved.
“Open the door!” Kael shouted.
Seraphina rushed toward me.
“Give me the letter.”
“No.”
“Elara, please.”
“Why?”
“Because if Kael reads it, he'll know where your mother hid the throne.”
I stared at her.
“The throne is real?”
Seraphina nodded.
My pulse quickened.
“Where is it?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you afraid he'll find it?”
“Because he isn't the only one looking.”
A loud crash came from the door.
Kael was trying to break it down.
“ELARA!”
I looked at the door.
Then at Seraphina.
“Move.”
She didn't.
“Seraphina.”
“You need to trust me.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You've spent eighteen years making me hate myself. Why would I trust you now?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was trying to keep you alive.”
I froze.
She continued.
“Father ordered me to make sure you never discovered your powers.”
“Why?”
“Because when you were born, three packs came looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Because the prophecy said the daughter of the Moon Queen would either unite the werewolf clans or destroy them.”
I stared at her.
“And Father was afraid I'd destroy them?”
“No.”
She looked at my wrist.
“He was afraid someone else would use you to destroy them.”
The door cracked.
Kael shouted again.
“ELARA!”
Seraphina grabbed my shoulders.
“Listen to me. You cannot trust anyone.”
“Not even you?”
She hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
I pushed her away.
“Get away from me.”
“I'm trying to save you!”
“Then tell me where my mother is!”
“I can't!”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know if she's still alive!”
My anger disappeared.
“What?”
Seraphina covered her mouth.
I stared at her.
“You said she wasn't dead.”
“I said we never found her body.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“I know.”
My voice dropped.
“Where did she disappear?”
Seraphina looked toward the floor.
“Twenty years ago, she went into the Moon Chamber.”
“And?”
“She never came out.”
A terrible silence filled the room.
“Father sealed it.”
“Why?”
“Because something came out instead.”
I felt the blood leave my face.
“What?”
Seraphina whispered:
“Your mother's wolf.”
The door exploded inward.
Kael stormed into the room.
His eyes immediately found me.
“Are you hurt?”
I stepped away from him.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
His gaze moved to Seraphina.
“What happened?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Then he looked down.
His expression changed.
“What's beneath this room?”
Seraphina went still.
Kael looked at me.
“Did you open something?”
“No.”
He took one step toward me.
I stepped back.
“Don't come closer.”
“Elara—”
“You rejected me.”
His face tightened.
“I know.”
“You don't get to suddenly act like you care.”
“I never said I didn't care.”
“You said I wasn't worthy.”
Kael flinched.
Good.
I wanted him to feel at least a fraction of what I had felt.
“You humiliated me in front of everyone.”
“I was wrong.”
The words stunned me.
I stared at him.
“What?”
“I was wrong.”
Kael's eyes held mine.
“I shouldn't have said those things.”
I laughed.
“That's your apology?”
“No.”
He took another step.
I raised my hand.
“Stay there.”
He stopped.
“I don't forgive you.”
“I know.”
“And I don't want you.”
Something painful flashed across his face.
“You don't get to reject me twice.”
I frowned.
“What?”
His voice lowered.
“The mate bond wasn't completely severed.”
My heart skipped.
“What are you talking about?”
“When I rejected you, the bond fought back.”
I looked at him.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
He rolled his sleeve up.
A silver crescent marked his forearm.
The exact same mark glowing on mine.
My breath caught.
Kael stared at it.
“It appeared after I rejected you.”
I couldn't speak.
Seraphina whispered:
“The Moonblood bond.”
Kael looked at her.
“You knew?”
She immediately looked away.
His expression darkened.
“You knew about this?”
“Not everything.”
“Then what do you know?”
Before Seraphina could answer, the floor shook violently.
Kael immediately moved toward me.
This time, I didn't stop him.
The sound beneath us became louder.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
Something was pounding against a door beneath the floor.
Kael's face became serious.
“Everyone out.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because whatever is beneath this house isn't normal.”
Seraphina grabbed my arm.
“We need to go.”
“No.”
“Elara.”
I pulled free.
“I'm done running.”
Kael looked at me.
I pointed toward the floor.
“My mother disappeared beneath this room.”
“Elara—”
“And whatever is down there may know what happened to her.”
“You don't know what you're dealing with.”
“Exactly.”
I knelt beside the old wooden floorboards.
The silver mark on my wrist began glowing.
One board suddenly lit up.
I touched it.
The entire room went silent.
Then—
Click.
A hidden mechanism activated.
The floor moved.
Seraphina gasped.
Kael grabbed my shoulder.
“Don't touch it.”
I shook him off.
A staircase appeared beneath us.
It descended into darkness.
Cold air rushed upward.
And beneath it came the scent of something I hadn't smelled in eighteen years.
Lavender.
My mother's scent.
My eyes filled with tears.
“She's down there.”
Seraphina shook her head.
“Elara, don't.”
I stepped onto the first stair.
Kael followed.
“I'm coming with you.”
I turned.
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
“This isn't negotiable.”
“You don't command me.”
His eyes flashed.
“I know.”
He paused.
“I'm coming because I don't trust what is down there.”
I wanted to argue.
But a strange instinct told me to let him come.
We descended.
Seraphina followed behind us.
The staircase seemed endless.
The walls were covered with strange silver symbols.
Some looked like wolves.
Others looked like crowns.
At the bottom was a massive stone door.
There was a symbol carved into it.
A crescent moon surrounded by three wolves.
My hand moved toward it.
Kael caught my wrist.
“Wait.”
I glared at him.
“What now?”
“Look.”
He pointed at the door.
There were words beneath the symbol.
I leaned closer.
My eyes widened.
ONLY THE BLOOD OF THE MOON QUEEN MAY ENTER.
Seraphina whispered:
“That's impossible.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because your mother was the last Moon Queen.”
I placed my palm against the stone.
Nothing happened.
Kael frowned.
“Maybe it needs blood.”
I looked at my hand.
Before he could stop me, I bit my palm.
Blood appeared.
I pressed it against the door.
The stone immediately began glowing.
Seraphina stepped backward.
“No.”
The entire chamber shook.
A voice echoed from behind the door.
My daughter.
I froze.
My eyes widened.
“Mother?”
Kael stared at me.
Seraphina covered her mouth.
The voice came again.
Elara.
I pressed my hand against the door.
“Mother, are you there?”
Silence.
Then—
Do not trust the Alpha.
I slowly turned toward Kael.
His expression changed.
“What?”
I looked back at the door.
“Mother said not to trust you.”
Kael's face hardened.
“That's convenient.”
“Why would she say that?”
“I don't know.”
The stone door suddenly opened.
A blinding silver light poured into the corridor.
We shielded our eyes.
Then the light disappeared.
I stepped forward.
The chamber beyond was enormous.
At its center stood a throne.
Not gold.
Not silver.
Black stone covered in glowing silver veins.
Behind it was a mural of a woman wearing a crown.
I stared.
The woman looked exactly like me.
Same eyes.
Same lips.
Same crescent mark.
My knees nearly gave way.
“That's my mother.”
Seraphina whispered:
“Yes.”
I walked toward the throne.
Something was carved into the seat.
I brushed away the dust.
THE CROWN CHOOSES THE HEIR.
Kael stepped beside me.
“There's no crown.”
I looked around.
Then I saw something beneath the throne.
A small black box.
I knelt and opened it.
Inside was a crown.
It was beautiful.
Ancient.
Silver.
A single dark gemstone rested at its center.
The moment I touched it—
BOOM!
Power exploded through my body.
I screamed.
Lyra howled.
My vision turned white.
Then images began flashing through my mind.
My mother.
Running through the forest.
Blood covering her dress.
A baby crying.
Me.
My father holding me.
My mother screaming.
Then another image.
Kael.
But he wasn't an adult.
He was a little boy.
Standing beside another man.
A man with silver eyes.
The man placed his hand on young Kael's shoulder.
Then I heard his voice.
“When the Moonblood heir awakens, kill her before she takes the throne.”
I gasped.
The vision changed.
Kael's father.
My mother.
My father.
All standing together.
And then—
A knife entered my mother's chest.
I screamed.
The vision disappeared.
I collapsed.
Kael caught me.
“Elara!”
I shoved him away violently.
“You knew!”
He stared at me.
“Knew what?”
“My mother!”
“I don't understand.”
“You were there!”
His face changed.
“What?”
“You were a child, but you were there.”
Kael stared at me in confusion.
Then suddenly, his eyes widened.
“My father.”
I stood.
“Who was the man beside you?”
Kael's breathing became heavy.
“My father.”
“And he killed my mother.”
“No.”
“You were there!”
“I was a child!”
“You watched!”
“I don't remember!”
I froze.
Kael looked genuinely horrified.
“I don't remember any of this.”
Seraphina suddenly screamed.
“Get away from the throne!”
I turned.
Her eyes were fixed on the crown.
“Why?”
“Because it's waking.”
“What is?”
The throne began shaking.
The gemstone in the crown turned red.
Kael grabbed my arm.
“Move!”
A deep roar filled the chamber.
The crown flew from my hand.
It floated in the air.
Then a shadow appeared behind it.
A massive wolf emerged from the darkness.
Its fur was silver.
Its eyes were crimson.
I couldn't move.
The wolf stared at me.
Then it bowed.
Seraphina fell to her knees.
Kael stood frozen.
The wolf spoke inside my mind.
The heir has returned.
I swallowed.
“Where is my mother?”
The wolf lifted its head.
She waits beyond the Veil.
“Is she alive?”
A pause.
Then—
Yes.
My heart shattered with relief.
“She is alive.”
Kael stared at me.
The wolf continued.
But she is not the only one waiting.
A cold breeze passed through the chamber.
“What does that mean?”
The wolf's eyes turned toward Kael.
The one who betrayed your mother has returned.
Kael stiffened.
“Who?”
The wolf looked back at me.
Your mate's father.
My stomach dropped.
Kael's expression became grim.
“My father has been dead for fifteen years.”
The wolf growled.
Death is not the same as defeat.
Then the chamber doors slammed shut.
And from somewhere behind us, a man's voice whispered:
“That's what your mother thought too.”
I turned.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
My blood ran cold.
Because I knew that face.
It belonged to my father.
But my father was still upstairs.
The man smiled.
And his eyes were silver.
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