The Silver Oath Between Us

The Forgotten King

The silver flames vanished.

Silence settled over the lake.

Aria couldn't move.

The man standing before her looked nothing like the monster the world would expect an Alpha King to be.

He looked... tired.

Not the kind of tired that came from a sleepless night.

The kind that came from carrying grief for centuries.

His dark hair fell over his forehead, damp from the mist rising off the silver lake. The moonlight sharpened the lines of his face, making the scar across his chest seem even more haunting.

His blue eyes never left hers.

Those eyes...

She had seen them in every dream.

Every vision.

Every heartbeat she couldn't explain.

"My name is Lucian Nightbane," he repeated quietly.

The words echoed inside her.

Not because they were loud...

But because they felt familiar.

Too familiar.

"You've been..." Aria swallowed hard. "You've been the wolf all this time?"

Lucian gave a slow nod.

"Yes."

"And you can transform whenever you want?"

"I used to."

His voice was calm, but there was pain beneath every word.

"The curse no longer gives me that freedom."

Aria frowned.

"What do you mean?"

He looked toward the moon.

"My human form is becoming weaker."

"The wolf is all the curse wants me to be."

A cold breeze swept across the lake.

For the first time, Aria noticed how pale he looked.

Even standing still seemed to exhaust him.

She remembered the silver blades.

The poison.

The wounds that had refused to heal until she touched him.

Her chest tightened.

"You were dying."

"I still am."

He said it so simply that it hurt.

---

Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

The silver scroll continued floating above the ancient altar.

Its last message still glowed.

The wedding must be completed before the next full moon... or both souls will perish forever.

Aria looked away.

"No."

Lucian remained silent.

"I can't accept this."

She took a step back.

"I don't even know you."

His expression didn't change.

"I know."

"You expect me to believe I loved you five hundred years ago?"

"I don't expect anything."

"You said you've waited centuries."

"I have."

"And now some magical scroll says we have to get married?"

His lips curved into the faintest smile.

"I never wanted it to happen this way."

She laughed bitterly.

"This way?"

She pointed at the glowing scroll.

"I've been chased by monsters."

"I hear voices in my head."

"I keep seeing memories that aren't mine."

"And now I'm apparently engaged to a king who spent five hundred years trapped as a wolf!"

Her voice cracked.

"My life was normal three days ago!"

Lucian looked at her quietly.

"No."

She blinked.

"What?"

"Your life was never normal."

Before she could ask what he meant...

A familiar voice echoed across the lake.

"She's right."

Both of them turned.

The elderly woman from the cabin stepped onto the stone platform.

She carried a lantern that burned with silver fire.

"You deserve the truth, child."

Aria frowned.

"You know him."

The old woman smiled gently.

"I changed his bandages before your grandparents were born."

Aria stared.

"What?"

Lucian bowed his head respectfully.

"Elder Mira."

The old woman nodded.

"My King."

Aria looked between them.

"Someone had better start explaining."

---

They gathered around the ancient altar.

The silver flames inside Mira's lantern flickered softly.

She looked at Aria with kind eyes.

"Five hundred years ago, the Nightbane Kingdom was the strongest wolf kingdom in existence."

Lucian remained silent.

"Its people believed strength meant protecting the weak."

"Their king..."

She smiled sadly at Lucian.

"...was loved by everyone."

Lucian looked away.

"Until jealousy destroyed everything."

Mira continued.

"The Shadow King wanted the Moon Goddess's blessing for himself."

"Darius?" Aria asked.

Mira nodded.

"He believed the Silver Oath gave Lucian unlimited power."

"So he declared war."

Images from the lake flashed through Aria's mind.

Fire.

Blood.

The battlefield.

"The wedding," she whispered.

"It happened that night."

Mira's eyes filled with tears.

"Yes."

"The entire kingdom gathered to witness the Silver Oath."

"But before the ceremony ended..."

She closed her eyes.

"...betrayal entered the palace."

Lucian's hands slowly clenched into fists.

"Darius murdered hundreds."

"He burned the palace."

"He slaughtered innocent families."

"And when he couldn't defeat Lucian..."

Her voice trembled.

"...he chose another target."

Aria suddenly felt sick.

"The bride."

Mira nodded.

"The woman Lucian loved."

The silver mark on Aria's wrist burned.

A scream echoed inside her head.

Not someone else's.

Her own.

She grabbed her temples.

"No..."

Another memory surfaced.

Running through burning hallways.

A silver wedding dress stained with blood.

Someone pushing her away.

Lucian shouting her name.

Then...

A blade piercing her chest.

She gasped.

Her knees buckled.

Lucian caught her before she fell.

"It's all right."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"You don't have to remember tonight."

But she couldn't stop.

More memories flooded in.

She saw herself smiling.

Laughing.

Holding Lucian's hand beneath a waterfall.

Dancing during festivals.

Planning a future.

She loved him.

She truly had.

Then...

Darkness swallowed everything again.

---

When Aria finally opened her eyes, she found herself sitting beneath the silver tree beside the lake.

Lucian sat several feet away.

Giving her space.

He always seemed to know exactly how much distance she needed.

"You remembered something."

She nodded weakly.

"I remembered..."

She hesitated.

"...being happy."

His shoulders relaxed slightly.

"You smiled."

"What?"

"In the memory."

His own smile appeared for only a second.

"It was always my favorite smile."

Aria looked down.

"I still don't remember your face."

"I know."

"But..."

She met his eyes.

"I remember how you made me feel."

Silence.

The words hung between them.

Hope flickered inside his eyes before he quickly hid it.

"I shouldn't ask anything from you."

"You've already waited long enough."

He laughed quietly.

"A few more days won't matter."

She looked at him carefully.

"You're lying."

He blinked.

"What?"

"You're pretending you're okay."

Lucian didn't answer.

She stood.

Walked toward him.

"You said you're dying."

"It's nothing."

She frowned.

"Don't."

"What?"

"Don't lie to protect me."

For the first time...

The mask cracked.

Pain flashed across his face.

"The curse feeds on time."

He looked toward the moon.

"Every full moon that passes..."

"My humanity fades."

"The wolf becomes stronger."

"And eventually..."

His voice lowered.

"There will be nothing left of Lucian Nightbane."

Only the beast.

Aria's heart sank.

"How long?"

He hesitated.

"Tell me."

He closed his eyes.

"If the oath isn't restored before the next full moon..."

"I disappear forever."

---

The words shattered something inside her.

She barely knew him.

She shouldn't care.

Yet...

The thought of him disappearing filled her chest with unbearable pain.

Why?

Was it because of the old memories?

Or...

Was her heart already beginning to choose him again?

She didn't know.

And that frightened her.

A loud c***k echoed through the forest.

Lucian stood instantly.

His eyes turned sharp.

"Someone's here."

Mira hurried toward them.

"They found the sanctuary."

"What sanctuary?" Aria asked.

"The Silver Lake."

Lucian's expression darkened.

"No one should know this place."

Another explosion shook the ground.

Trees collapsed beyond the shoreline.

Birds scattered into the night sky.

Then...

A young man burst through the forest.

His clothes were torn.

Blood covered his face.

He fell to one knee before Lucian.

"My King..."

Lucian immediately recognized him.

"Cassian."

The young warrior struggled to breathe.

"We've been attacked."

"Who?"

"Our hidden villages."

Mira gasped.

"No..."

Cassian looked directly at Lucian.

"Darius found every survivor."

Lucian's jaw tightened.

"The children?"

Cassian lowered his head.

"We couldn't save them all."

Silence.

The grief in Lucian's eyes was almost unbearable.

He closed them for only a second.

When he opened them again...

The king had returned.

Cold.

Focused.

Commanding.

"Gather everyone who remains."

Cassian hesitated.

"My King..."

"What is it?"

"The enemy..."

His voice shook.

"They weren't alone."

Lucian frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Cassian looked toward Aria.

Fear filled his eyes.

"I saw him."

Lucian's face lost all color.

"No..."

Cassian nodded slowly.

"He came out of the shadows himself."

Aria frowned.

"Who?"

Cassian whispered the name like it was a curse.

"Malachar."

The entire forest seemed to grow colder.

Even Elder Mira stepped backward.

Lucian's hands trembled.

It was the first time Aria had seen genuine fear on his face.

She stepped closer.

"Who is Malachar?"

No one answered.

Before she could ask again...

The silver scroll hovering above the altar suddenly burst into brilliant light.

Its glowing words disappeared.

New ones began writing themselves.

Slowly.

Painfully.

As though each letter had been carved in blood.

Aria read the message aloud.

"The Third Moon Bearer has awakened..."

The air froze.

A final line appeared.

Lucian's eyes widened in horror before Aria could even finish reading.

"...and the traitor walks beside the chosen bride."