CARVED IN MOONFIRE

EPISODE FOUR: THE ARCHITECT’S SACRIFICE

The red dot on Reid’s chest is a tiny, lethal eye. He stands perfectly still, blocking the entrance to the tunnel with his own body. My breath is trapped in my lungs, a sharp bird fluttering against my ribs.

Gregor Valen steps into the basement. He looks exactly like a man who has won. Behind him are four Council Enforcers, their rifles leveled at us.

"Gregor," Reid says, his voice steady. Too steady. "You’re early."

"And you’re late," Gregor counters. He looks at me, a smirk playing on his thin lips. "Nora. You look... broken. It’s a pity. You were almost a worthy Alpha."

"Go to hell," I spit. My fingers find a heavy iron wrench on the workbench nearby. I’ll use it to c***k his skull if it’s the last thing I do.

"Reid, move," Gregor commands. "The Council wants the girl at the Grove by dawn. The Aldric Protocol is active."

"The Council or you, Gregor?" Reid asks. "Because the injunction you filed was based on a lie."

Gregor laughs, a dry, rattling sound. "The law is a tool, Reid. You taught me that yourself when you were working for Aldric."

My heart stops. I look at Reid’s back. "Working for... Aldric?"

"Oh, did he not tell you?" Gregor’s eyes gleam with malice. "Your 'husband' wasn't just an investigator. He was Aldric’s protégé. He helped design the very clauses I’m using to take your pack. He’s been the architect of your ruin since the day he met you. He didn't fall in love with you, Nora. He was assigned to you."

The world feels like it’s dissolving. Every memory of the last six years—every kiss, every "I love you"—is being rewritten in acid.

I look at the man standing between me and the guns. He doesn't deny it.

"The girl, Reid," Gregor repeats, his finger hovering over a remote detonator. "Or I blow the supports for this entire mansion. Nora, Callum, and the staff... they all die in the rubble. You can save her, or you can bury the woman you've been lying to for half a decade."

Wren's voice is a tiny, trembling thread. "Daddy? The man has a dark heart. He wants to hurt the trees."

Reid’s shoulders shake. "Nora," he says, his voice cracking. "In the bag I gave Callum... there is a blue folder. Read it. Don't let them take her to the Grove."

"Reid, what are you doing?" I scream.

He turns then. He looks at me, and his eyes are wet, full of a desperate, agonizing love that I no longer trust. He leans down and kisses Wren’s forehead.

"I love you, Little Bird. Remember what the voice said. The key is in your chest, but the lock is in your heart."

Then, he lunges—not at me, but at Gregor.

"RUN!" Reid roars.

He tackles Gregor into the concrete floor just as the enforcers open fire. The sound is deafening. I don't think. I shove Wren into the tunnel and dive in after her, hitting the manual override.

The stone wall slams shut.

I can hear the muffled sounds of gunfire and shouting on the other side. Then, a massive explosion rocks the earth. The floor beneath us heaves, and the tunnel ceiling groans as the mansion above us begins to collapse.

We reach the end of the tunnel, which opens into a hidden grotto. Callum is there, waiting with the car. But he isn't alone.

Standing by the passenger door is a woman with silver-blonde hair and eyes like ice. The woman from the portraits. The woman whose dream house I’ve been living in.

The "dead" wife.

"Hello, Nora," she says, her voice like silk over a blade. "I believe you have something of mine. My house... my husband... and most importantly, my daughter’s blood."

Wren steps back, her eyes wide. "The voice," she whispers. "Mommy... she’s the one the voice is scared of."