THE ALPHA WHO KILLED HIS FATED MATE

The night King Kael Blackthorn killed his fated mate, the moon turned red. Ten years later, the kingdom still heard her screams. No one dared speak of the wedding. No one dared mention the blood on the chapel floor. Or the silver dagger the King himself had driven into his bride's heart. Royal historians were ordered to erase her. The kingdom obeyed. But the King did not. --- Kael Blackthorn was thirty-two. Alpha King of the North. Feared. Ruthless. Untouchable. His wolf, Nightbane, was a legend that made enemies kneel. Tonight was the anniversary of her death. And like every year, Kael locked himself in the sealed chapel. Dressed in black, he stared at the dark stain on the marble. Ten years of scrubbing. The stain never left. "Stop," he growled. The empty chapel echoed. Inside him, Nightbane snarled. _She was our mate._ "I know what she was," Kael whispered. _Then why did you let her die?_ His fists clenched. "Silence!" A small silver crescent lay under the broken altar. Elena's. From their wedding day. He picked it up. And for a second — he saw her. White gown. Dark hair. Silver eyes full of tears, smiling at him. Then blood. So much blood. Her hand reaching for him. Kael stumbled back. The crescent fell. A voice he had never forgotten hissed in his memory. _If she lives, the kingdom will burn._ He had told himself for ten years that Elena was dead. Tonight, he wasn't so sure. A knock shattered the silence. "Your Majesty!" Darius Vane, Captain of the Royal Guard, stood pale in the doorway. "I told you not to disturb me." "Forgive me. The Moonstone... it's gone." Kael went still. The Moonstone was a gift from the Moon Goddess herself. Guarded for centuries. Never touched. "Stolen?" "No forced entry. Three guards unconscious. And—" "Speak!" "One guard woke up. He saw the thief." Kael's silver eyes narrowed. "A young woman. Black hair. Silver eyes." The air turned to ice. Inside him, Nightbane roared. _MATE!_ "Where is she?" Kael seized Darius's collar. "Held at the lower courtyard. Eastern gate intercepted her." "Bring her to my throne room. NOW." --- She stood in the center of the throne room. Wrists bound in silver. Dress torn. Cheek dirty. But her chin was high. She did not look like a thief. She looked like a queen who refused to beg. "Lift your head," Kael commanded. She obeyed. And the world stopped. Kael couldn't breathe. It was her. Not similar. Not a trick. It WAS Elena. The same silver eyes. The same lips. Even the tiny crescent mark under her left ear. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she snapped. Her voice. Elena's voice. _OUR MATE!_ Nightbane howled. Kael crushed the armrest of his throne until it cracked. "What is your name?" She frowned. "Elena." A gasp ripped through the hall. Queen Mother Seraphina shot to her feet, face white as paper. "No," she whispered. "It can't be." Elena looked at her. "Do I know you?" Seraphina said nothing. Kael stepped down from the throne. Slowly. "Who sent you?" "Nobody." "Who taught you to steal the Moonstone?" "I didn't steal it!" Her silver eyes flashed. "I found it in the eastern forest, wrapped in cloth!" "Do you expect me to believe that?" "I don't care what you believe!" The guards stared, shocked. No one spoke to the King like that. For the first time in ten years, Kael almost smiled. Then Elena's eyes dropped to the scar on his hand. She froze. And screamed. "No!" She fell to her knees, clutching her head. Images slammed into her. A chapel. A white gown. Blood on marble. A man with a silver dagger. "You!" she choked, staring at Kael in horror. "I know you!" "From where?" Kael demanded. Tears filled her eyes. "Every night... I dream that you kill me." Silence. Dead silence. Then she looked straight into his soul and whispered the words no living person had ever heard. "In my dream, you always say the same thing before you stab me." Kael's blood ran cold. "What does he say?" he forced out. Her lips trembled. "Forgive me, my love. They will kill us both if you remember."