Chapter 9

[IZEL]

Far across the keep, inside her chamber, Izel stands before her mirror, brushing out her long, wine-coloured hair. The Head Housekeeper, Vanya, bows low behind her, whispering, “It is true, my lady. She no longer drinks tea or ale at the table. She only pretends. The healer has her on something else. She has also been seen training with soldier Tamsin.”

Izel’s brush halts. Her reflection smirks back at her, sweet as poison. “So… she thinks she can crawl out of her grave.” She sets the brush down with intended calm. “Then we accelerate.”

Vanya hesitates for once, her conscience breaking through the glamour. Izel doesn’t feel endangered. She doesn’t have to keep her power flowing all the time. Not to maintain her control on this woman, at least. “Accelerate what?”

“Everything.” Izel’s cruel smile widens. Her fingers trace the edge of the amulet resting against her neck—a kind gift from her otherwise unkind mother. “If Freya Vale-Thorne is climbing back to life, then I will make sure she has no breath left to claim.”

[FREYA]

With twenty-five days left until the Blood Moon Conclave, I find my brother, Jax on patrol near the courtyard walls. The torches spit and waver in the wind, their light catching the jagged scar that cuts across his brow.

“Brother,” I say softly.

He stops but doesn’t bow. He hasn’t bowed to me in a while. “Sister,” he acknowledges with a curt nod. “Why have you come here?”

“I need your help.”

His brows furrow. “With what?”

“Breaking into Kade’s study.”

His gaze hardens; he knows I’m not joking. “You’ve come to the wrong wolf.”

I sigh. “I’m not asking you to betray him.”

“That’s exactly what you’re asking.”

I take a step closer. “I’m asking my brother. The only family I have left in the world.”

His eyes flicker with something wounded before the solider takes over again. “Right now, I’m not a brother. I serve the Alpha.”

“Fine. I’ve come to a man who remembers his oath.”

His shoulders shift, uneasy. “Don’t start with oaths, Freya. I swore mine to him.”

“And to me.” I step closer, reminding him. “The day Kade claimed me, you bent the knee and pledged to protect his Luna. You might have forgotten, but I haven’t.”

“That was years ago.”

“So was the day you stopped protecting your sister,” I snap.

He winces, then shakes his head like he can’t believe me.

“I am still Luna,” I say sharply, surprising even myself. “My marriage bond with Kade still exists even though he might have named Izel as the lady of the house.”

He studies me for a long, silent beat. Nyx growls within me, projecting her power, using her authority. His wolf flickers in his eyes, restless. Finally, he exhales through his nose. “What you’re asking me to do is treason.”

“So is poisoning a Luna to silence her wolf! Don’t tell me you don’t see it. Don’t tell me you don’t smell it on me.”

He responds with a confused frown. “What are you saying, Freya?”

I scoff, realising he could be under the glamour too. But he’s still my only hope if I want to get into Kade’s study.

It was easier that night. There were no protective enchantments. But Kade probably put them in place after I demanded that he return my crown. If there’s anyone I know who’ll have access, it’s Jax. His beta.

“Just help me get into his study. I only want to take back my crown. I won’t let him know it was you.”

He curses under his breath. “Damn you, Freya. If the Alpha finds out—”

“You warned me once,” I remind him. “You said I was being pushed out. Help me stop it. For just this once. Please. Ten minutes. That’s all I need. Help your only sister.”

A muscle ticks in his cheek. He mutters something low and profane, then jerks his head toward the east wing. “Ten minutes. After that, you’re on your own.”

***

“You’ll need to hold my arm to gain access,” Jax tells me as we stand in the open doorway leading to Kade’s study.

I glance at the threshold, trying to spot any glimmer that reveals an invisible barrier, but to my eyes, there’s nothing but plain air.

With a nod, I reach out and place my hand over his arm. He gasps, flinching. His alert gaze flicks to me.

“What happened?” I ask.

He shakes his head, though his brows furrow. “Nothing. Your wolf. She’s stronger…” he hesitates before the words scrape out of his mouth, “Luna Freya.”

He recognises my strength…

I swallow the sudden emotion that strikes me. I can’t let myself get overwhelmed now. I tilt my head at the study, and he starts walking, tugging me along. We pass through the threshold. This time, nothing pushes me back or electrifies my senses.

Jax steps back. “Do it fast.”

I press my palm against the cold metal of the safe. It hums under my skin, and with a groan, the door swings open. The diadem lies within, a silver circlet studded with sapphires, glowing like frozen fire. My fingers tremble as I lift it.

‘The vault,’ Nyx says with urgency. ‘You need to see the vault.’

I turn to Jax. “Open the vault.”

His lips part as if he’s going to protest, but then he moves. His hand presses along the carved panel at the far wall until it gives way with a click.

It opens to reveal shelves after shelves filled with parchments.

‘That one on the right,’ Nyx guides, urging me.

I move with hesitant steps before examining the shelf she indicated. I gasp when I see broken seals, my name scrawled in ink I never wrote. Contracts. Land. Wealth. All signed by “Freya Vale-Thorne.”

My stomach twists. “Goddess. She forged everything.”

Before Jax can answer, the door slams. We both whirl.

Kade fills the doorway, shadows crawling at his back. I can sense his anger, his fury. His gaze goes first to Jax, then to me, then to the diadem in my hands.

“Out,” he orders.

Jax bows his head and slips past him without a word, leaving me alone with the Alpha. Kade steps into the room, closing the door behind him. His eyes lock on mine. “How,” he says quietly, “did you open that safe?”

I tighten my grip on the crown. “Don’t you understand? It’s mine. It knows me, so it obeys. It opens.”

He circles me slowly, like a predator. “It was yours. Once. You lost the right to it.”

“No,” I bite out. “I did nothing to lose my right! It was you who got swayed by another woman! It was you who couldn’t remain faithful to me, Kade! You locked my crown away, but that doesn’t change who I am.”

“You are what I decide you are,” he snaps through gritted teeth.

I feel Nyx recoil under his power, but I force myself to meet his gaze. “Then decide carefully, Kade. This crown was forged for me. Take it from me now, and you make yourself a thief in your own house.”

For a heartbeat, I think he’s going to strike me, or rip it from my hands. Instead, something flickers across his face—something sharp, almost pained. He exhales slowly. “Keep it,” he says at last.

My breath stutters. “What?”

“Keep it. Wear it in your chamber, polish it if you like.” His tone sharpens. “But you will not wear it in court. Not before the pack. Not before the Council.”

Anger burns hot in my chest. “You parade her in white silks, crown her lady of the house, and I am forbidden to even stand with what is mine?”

“You are forbidden,” he repeats, colder. “Defy me, and I’ll take it back myself.”

Neither of us moves. The crown feels heavy in my hands, heavy with everything he’s stolen, everything I’ve lost. Finally, I lift my chin. “One day, you won’t be able to stop me.”

His eyes darken. “Try me.”

I push past him, crown clutched to my chest, and walk out.