Chapter 4 The Stranger at the Edge of the Woods

The next morning came too bright, too quiet.

Luna hadn't slept. Her mind replayed the night before-Kael's touch, the way the moonlight made her skin glow, the memory that shouldn't exist.

When she looked at her wrist again, the mark was different-darker, sharper, like ink burned into her flesh.

It pulsed once. Then again.

A knock shattered the silence.

A woman entered-tall, poised, wearing a sleek black suit. "I'm Mara," she said. "The Alpha asked me to make sure you eat."

"Eat?" Luna repeated, blinking. "I'm not a prisoner."

Mara gave a small, knowing smile. "Of course not." She set the tray down-coffee, fruit, toast-and added, "If you need fresh air, the southern path is unguarded. He didn't forbid it... technically."

Before Luna could ask what that meant, the woman was gone.

The woods felt alive.

The air was crisp, filled with the hum of unseen energy. Luna followed the narrow path until the compound disappeared behind her.

Every instinct said she shouldn't be there.

And yet... something called to her.

A rustle.

She turned sharply.

"Kael?"

No answer.

Then a figure stepped out of the trees-broad shoulders, dark jacket, eyes the color of molten gold. His presence was familiar, unsettlingly so.

"Hello, Luna."

Her breath caught. "Do I know you?"

"Not anymore," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "But you did. Before he erased me from your memory."

"Who are you?"

"Riven." He stepped closer, the scent of smoke and iron thick in the air. "Kael's brother."

Her mind stuttered. "Kael has a brother?"

"He doesn't talk about me. I wonder why." His gaze drifted to her wrist. "Ah. So the mark still binds you."

"You know about this?"

"I made it," he said softly. "Before Kael stole you from me."

The ground tilted beneath her. "That's not possible."

Riven's expression darkened. "You were mine first, Luna. You just don't remember."

He reached for her hand. The moment his skin brushed hers, the mark burned. A sharp flash hit her mind-Riven's face, Kael's roar, a fight under the same moon that had haunted her dreams.

She staggered back. "Stop-"

He caught her wrist, grip firm but not cruel. "He told you I cursed you, didn't he? That I was the villain. Ask him what he did to earn that curse."

"I-" she began, but footsteps crashed through the trees.

Kael.

His eyes flared gold, fangs bared, power rolling off him like heat. "Step away from her."

Riven smiled slowly. "Still territorial, brother."

Luna's pulse raced. The air between them crackled like static. "Kael-what is he talking about?"

Kael didn't look at her. "Get inside, Luna."

Riven chuckled. "He can't protect you from the truth forever."

The two men stood there-mirrors of fury, pain, and something far older than she could understand. The mark on her wrist throbbed violently, pulling toward both of them.

Luna's voice trembled. "Why does it feel like I belong to both of you?"

Neither answered.

The wind howled through the trees, and for the first time, she realized the real danger wasn't the curse-

It was remembering what had really happened the night she lost her memories.