Chapter 149 Cole's Confession
POV: Luna
They kept Cole in a special holding cell.
Not the dungeons. Something worse.
A room designed to contain wolves with no magical core. Reinforced. Warded. Escape-proof.
I shouldn't have gone to see him.
My friends told me not to. Liam especially.
"He'll just manipulate you again," he'd said. "That's what he does."
But I needed closure. Needed to hear him explain why.
So I went.
The guard let me in with a warning. "Ten minutes. And we're watching."
Cole was sitting on the bed when I entered. He looked terrible. Pale. Hollow.
Like losing his magic had drained the life from him.
"Luna," he said. "You came."
"I almost didn't."
"I'm glad you did. I need to talk to you. To explain."
"There's nothing to explain. You betrayed me. Repeatedly. It's over."
"Please. Just listen. That's all I ask."
Against my better judgment, I sat down. Keeping distance between us.
"Talk."
He took a breath. "Everything I did. Every lie. Every manipulation. It was to protect you."
"That's what you always say."
"Because it's true! Luna, the It-Girls didn't want me to get close to you. That was my idea. My choice."
"Why?"
"Because I saw what they were planning. Saw how they wanted to use you. And I thought if I could control the situation, I could keep you safe."
"By lying to me?"
"By being the one they trusted. The insider. I fed them information, yes. But never anything that would actually hurt you."
"Cole, you literally knocked me unconscious and helped kidnap the princess!"
"I had to! Don't you see? If I'd refused, they would have known I'd turned. They would have killed you."
"Or you just wanted power. Wanted to be part of something bigger than yourself."
"No. I wanted you. Only you." His eyes were desperate. "Luna, I love you. That was never fake. Never manipulation. I fell in love with you the moment we met."
Through our pack bond, I felt his sincerity. He believed what he was saying.
Which somehow made it worse.
"Love isn't supposed to hurt like this," I said quietly.
"I know. And I'm sorry. If I could go back—"
"You can't. What's done is done."
"Then let me make it right. Let me help you find who's really behind this."
"You already told us. The It-Girls. Victoria. The Thornheart clan."
"They're pawns. Just like me. Someone bigger is pulling the strings."
"Who?"
"I don't know. They kept that information compartmentalized. But I can help you find out."
I wanted to believe him. Part of me still cared about the boy I'd fallen for.
But that boy might never have existed.
"Why should I trust you?" I asked. "After everything?"
"Because I have nothing left to lose. My magic is gone. My future with the It-Girls is over. All I have left is the truth."
"And what is the truth?"
He leaned forward. "That you're in more danger than you know. That the ritual we tried wasn't the endgame. It was just phase one."
My blood ran cold. "Phase one of what?"
"I don't know. But whatever they're planning, it's bigger than opening the otherworld. Bigger than anything we've seen."
"And you expect me to believe you'll help stop it?"
"I expect you to be smart enough to use any resource available. Even if you hate that resource."
He had a point. Information was information.
"What do you know about their next move?" I asked.
"Not much. But there's someone you should watch. Someone who's been at Silverwood longer than anyone realizes."
"Who?"
"I can't say. Not here. Too many listening ears." He glanced at the guards. "But if you come back. Alone. I'll tell you everything."
Red flags went up immediately. "That's a trap."
"It's not. I swear. I just need privacy. Need to know we won't be overheard."
"Then write it down."
"Can't. They search everything I write. Confiscate it."
"So convenient."
"Luna, please. I'm trying to help."
"No. You're trying to manipulate me one last time. And I'm done falling for it."
I stood to leave.
"Wait," Cole said. "Before you go. One question."
"What?"
"Liam. Do you trust him? Completely?"
"More than I ever trusted you."
"Even knowing he was sent here to recruit you? To bring you into his family's network?"
"He told me that himself. He was honest about it."
"Was he? Because I've been doing some digging. Liam's family isn't what they seem. They're not protectors. They're collectors. They find powerful wolves and bind them into service."
"Liam's not like that."
"How do you know? Because he says so? Because the mate bond makes you feel safe?" Cole's voice turned urgent. "Luna, the mate bond can be faked. Manipulated with the right magic."
"That's not possible."
"It is. I've seen it done. The It-Girls taught me how."
Doubt crept in. Cold and insidious.
"You're lying," I said. "Trying to turn me against him."
"I'm warning you. Just like I tried to warn you about the It-Girls. About the ritual. About everything."
"And I should have listened to you instead of my instincts?"
"Your instincts told you to trust me once. Were they wrong then?"
Yes. They were.
But what if they were wrong about Liam too?
No. I couldn't think like that. Couldn't let Cole plant seeds of doubt.
"I'm done here," I said.
"Luna—"
"Goodbye, Cole."
I left before he could say anything else.
Outside, the guard asked, "Get what you needed?"
"I'm not sure."
I walked back to my dorm, mind racing.
Cole's words kept echoing. About Liam. About fake mate bonds. About hidden agendas.
Was any of it true? Or was it all just one final manipulation?
I found my friends in the common room.
"How did it go?" Nova asked.
"He claims he was protecting me. That everything he did was to keep me safe."
"Do you believe him?" Aria asked.
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
"He's a liar," Lyric said firmly. "Everything he says is designed to manipulate you."
"I know. But what if some of it's true? What if there really is a bigger threat?"
"Then we'll find it ourselves," Sienna said. "Without his help."
I wanted to agree. Wanted to dismiss everything Cole had said.
But one thing bothered me.
"He said Liam's family binds wolves into service. Uses them. Is that true?"
My friends exchanged glances.
"We should ask Liam," Nova finally said.
"Ask me what?"
Liam appeared in the doorway.
Through the mate bond, I felt his concern. His confusion.
"Cole said something," I told him. "About your family. About how they recruit wolves."
"What did he say?"
"That they're not protectors. They're collectors. That they bind powerful wolves into service."
Liam's expression darkened. "He's not entirely wrong."
My heart sank.
"Explain," Aria demanded.
"My family does recruit powerful wolves. And yes, there's an expectation of service. But it's not slavery. It's more like... an alliance. You join the network, you get protection and resources. In exchange, you help when needed."
"That sounds like binding," Nova said.
"It's voluntary. Everyone who joins chooses to. And they can leave if they want."
"Can they?" I asked. "Really leave? Or are they bound by magic?"
"There are contracts. Magical agreements. But they're not permanent." He looked at me. "Luna, I would never bind you to anything. I came here to recruit you, yes. But I fell in love with you. The mate bond is real. I swear."
Through the bond, I felt his sincerity.
But I'd felt Cole's sincerity too.
"How do I know the mate bond is real?" I asked quietly. "Cole said it can be faked. Manipulated."
Hurt flashed across Liam's face. "You think I'm manipulating you?"
"I don't know what to think anymore!"
"Then trust your instincts. Your wolf. Does she think I'm lying?"
I checked. My wolf was calm. Content around Liam.
But she'd been calm around Cole too. Until she wasn't.
"I need time," I said. "To think. To figure this out."
"Luna—"
"Please. Just give me space."
I left before anyone could stop me.
I needed to be alone. To sort through the chaos in my head.
I ended up on the roof. My usual thinking spot.
The stars were out. The moon nearly full again.
I sat and tried to quiet my racing thoughts.
Cole had planted doubt. That's what he did. What he'd always done.
But what if the doubt was justified?
I pulled out my phone and did something I'd been avoiding.
I searched for information on Liam's family. The network he'd mentioned.
What I found made my stomach drop.
Articles about wolves who'd joined the network and disappeared. Reports of magical bindings that couldn't be broken. Families searching for children who'd been recruited and never came home.
It could all be propaganda. Lies spread by the network's enemies.
Or it could be truth.
I heard footsteps behind me.
Liam.
"I figured you'd be here," he said.
"I asked for space."
"I know. But I needed to say something." He sat beside me, careful to keep distance. "I understand why you're doubting me. After everything with Cole, trust is hard."
"It is."
"So I won't ask you to trust blindly. Instead, I'll prove myself. Every day. Until you believe me."
"And if I never do?"
"Then at least I tried." He looked at me. "But Luna, the mate bond is real. I didn't fake it. Couldn't fake it even if I wanted to."
"How do I know that?"
"Test it. Push on the bond. See if it holds up to scrutiny."
I did. I focused on the mate bond and examined it closely.
It felt solid. Real. Different from the pack bonds but equally strong.
But then I noticed something.
Faint magical residue around the edges. Like someone had been tampering with it.
"Liam," I said slowly. "Have you done anything to the mate bond? Any spells? Any enhancements?"
"No. Why?"
"Because there's magical residue. Signs of manipulation."
His face went pale. "That's not possible. I haven't—" He stopped. "Unless someone else has."
"Who?"
"My family. They have access to bond magic. If they suspected we were mates, they might have tried to strengthen it. Make it harder to break."
"Without telling you?"
"They don't always ask permission."
That was terrifying.
"So the bond might be manipulated. Even if you didn't do it."
"Let me check." He focused inward, examining the bond from his side. "There is something. A reinforcement spell. But it's not changing the bond. Just making it more durable."
"That's still manipulation!"
"I know. And I'm sorry. I didn't know they'd done that."
"How can I believe anything when everyone keeps lying to me?"
"You can't. And I don't blame you for doubting." He stood. "But I meant what I said. I'll prove myself. Starting now."
He pulled out a knife.
"What are you doing?" I asked, alarmed.
"Breaking the reinforcement spell." He cut his palm, blood welling. "If my family tampered with our bond, I'm undoing it. Right now."
He began chanting. Words I didn't recognize.
The mate bond flickered. The magical residue dissolved.
When he finished, the bond felt different. Cleaner. More natural.
"There," he said. "No more tampering. Just the raw mate bond. Nothing else."
I examined it again. He was right. The manipulation was gone.
"Your family's going to be angry," I said.
"I don't care. You're more important than their politics."
Through the bond, I felt his absolute sincerity.
This wasn't manipulation. This was truth.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
"Anytime."
We sat in silence, the bond humming between us.
Stronger now. More real.
I was about to say something when I noticed it.
Liam's hand. The one he'd cut.
There was a mark on it. Faint. Almost invisible.
A sigil.
The same sigil I'd seen on the dark figure. The same one that had been tied to Cole.
My blood ran cold.
"Liam," I said carefully. "What's that mark on your hand?"
He looked down. Confusion crossed his face. "I don't know. It wasn't there before."
"It looks like the sigil from the ritual. The one the dark figure left."
"That's impossible. I wasn't anywhere near—" He stopped, realization dawning. "The knife. I used a ritual knife from my family's collection."
"Why would they have a knife with that sigil?"
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
He stood, face grim.
"This changes things," he said. "If my family's connected to the dark figure, to the It-Girls' mastermind—"
"Then you're in danger. We both are."
"No. Then I'm the insider. The way to find out who's really behind this."
"Liam, that's too dangerous."
"So is waiting for them to make the next move." He looked at me. "Trust me. One more time. Let me investigate my family. Find the truth."
I wanted to say no. Wanted to keep him safe.
But he was right. We needed information.
"Okay," I said. "But you don't go alone. We do this together."
"Together."
He kissed me. Brief but intense.
When he pulled away, the sigil on his hand was glowing.
Pulsing like it had a heartbeat.
Like it was calling to something.
Or someone.
And in the distance, I heard a howl.
Not a wolf. Something else.
Something ancient. Angry. Coming closer.
Cole's betrayal wasn't the end.
It was just the beginning.