Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Bloodlines and Betrayal

Chapter 40: Bloodlines and Betrayal

I adjusted the blanket around Elera one last time before standing. Her breathing was steady now, weak but alive.

That was enough for the moment. I couldn’t linger. Whoever had dared touch her had crossed a line, and I had a reckoning to deliver.

I cast one last glance at her and stepped out of the hidden room. The main chamber was quiet. Liora lay resting, eyes closed but her body tense even in apparent sleep. I ignored her presence, my focus narrowed to a single thought: Seraphina.

I moved through the corridors, every step measured, purposeful. Anger simmered low, threatening to boil over. The fortress had dared to underestimate me again. It wouldn’t happen twice.

When I reached Seraphina’s chamber, I didn’t knock. The door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open and stepped inside.

"So what?" she asked casually, as though I were interrupting nothing more than her evening tea.

"I told you not to touch her," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "Not Elera, not Liora. You should’ve known better."

Her eyebrows rose. "How dare you barge into my chamber and tell me what to do? Have you forgotten that I hold your life?"

"The via?" I laughed, sharp and humorless. "Forget it. You can forget the via if anything happens to her. Anything."

"Kael—?" she started, but I cut her off.

"She is my Luna. If anything happens to her, then forget the bloodline you’ve been hunting for decades. Forget it. Forever."

Her smirk didn’t falter. "You’ve grown a lot, Alpha. But tell me, why risk everything for a wolfless girl? You brought her here, unshifted, untrained, and yet—" She leaned back, amused. "—I can see why you care. But why?"

"Stay away from her," I said, sharp as a whip.

"No. Not until I find out what she is," Seraphina countered, tilting her head.

"Stay away from her," I repeated, my calm voice carrying the weight of every threat I had ever made.

I turned, ready to leave.

"Oh, congratulations," she said lightly, her voice laced with venom. "I heard she carried your heir."

"I’m not surprised you found out already," I replied evenly, keeping my back to her as I left.

The corridors felt smaller on the way back. My mind churned. My blood burned.

Whoever had orchestrated the attack on Elera had made a critical mistake, they had underestimated me. I wouldn’t forgive that.

--- 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Liora’s POV

I had pretended to sleep the moment Kael left. But the second I heard the door click shut, I sat up.

My body was stiff from lying in one position too long, my mind a tangle of fear, exhaustion, and rising anger.

Ivy stood in the corner, stretching slightly, feigning concern. "Can’t sleep?" she asked softly. "Want to take a walk?"

I knew the act. I didn’t need her kindness. I needed air. I needed to think.

"Fine," I said quietly, standing and following her out into the courtyard. The night air was sharp, biting, but I welcomed it. It cleared my head or at least tried to.

We walked in silence. Ivy’s presence was near but not close enough to feel comforting. She didn’t try to engage, but her eyes calm, calculating, followed me like she was already planning my steps. I ignored it.

I had survived worse than this. The truth was, my life had always been a countdown.

I had no power, no shift, yet I carried life inside me. A bloodline hunted, and I was still breathing. That alone was a small miracle.

When I turned a corner, I expected Ivy to be beside me. She wasn’t. My steps slowed.

A rustle of movement drew my gaze, and then I saw them. Wolves. Crouched low, muscles tense, eyes gleaming in the dark. My stomach dropped. I knew my end was near.

I shut my eyes, bracing for death.

Nothing.

I opened my eyes slowly.

Kael was there. Blood covered him, dark, heavy, relentless. Holes in his armor and skin marked the brutal force he had endured. Even his chest bore the cruel evidence of a strike that should have ended him.

"Nooo!" I screamed, rushing toward him.

He staggered, voice ragged but strong. "Stay back, Liora. I can’t lose you too."

I froze. "Kael... you’re... bleeding! How are you standing?"

"I don’t have time to explain," he rasped, taking a step closer. "Move. Now."

The wolves snarled low in the shadows, muscles coiled to strike, but his gaze, burning and unyielding, made them hesitate.

I tried to take another step, my hands reaching for him. "You’re dying!"

"Not yet," he said. "Not while there’s still a chance for you to survive. Not while there’s a chance to protect everything we’ve built."

I swallowed, fear squeezing my chest. "Kael... you can’t..."

"You can," he interrupted, voice hoarse, gripping my wrist to stop me from rushing him. "If you falter, if you break down, everything dies with you. Do you understand?"

I nodded, trembling. My hands fell to my sides, panic settling into cold clarity. This wasn’t just about me. It never had been.

Kael’s hand moved to shield me instinctively, even as blood leaked from his wounds. "You’re mine," he whispered through gritted teeth. "No one is taking you tonight."

The wolves shifted, snarling, but he didn’t flinch. Not an inch.

I wanted to speak, to scream, but words failed me. My mind focused on him, his survival, his promise, his presence and for the first time that night, I believed it could be enough.

He stumbled slightly, pain evident, but his grip on me never faltered. "Look at me," he rasped. "I am standing because of you. Because nothing can let you die, not tonight, not ever."

My breath hitched. "Kael..."

Then the realization hit me, the wolves, Ivy’s betrayal, the danger outside... and Kael’s body riddled with injuries.

I gasped. "No...!"

He caught my hands again, voice firm despite the agony. "I am still here. And I will stay here, Liora. You are my bloodline, my future, and nothing will take that from me. Not tonight. Not ever."

The shadows pressed closer. Ivy’s presence lingered, unseen but unmistakable. The night had not ended, and neither had the fight.

And I knew, in that moment, that survival wasn’t just about strength. It was about trust, love, and the will to face every danger together.

I held his gaze, my chest tight, knowing the storm was just beginning.