Chapter 180: Chapter 180

Kai’s POV

My fingers tightened around the scrolls.

The parchment crinkled slightly under my grip as I stared at the harsh words inked across them. Words no daughter should ever receive from a father. And yet… there they were. Cold commands. Threats. A mission. A demand to act.

A betrayal.

I turned to Serena, who stood watching me like a cat that had just dropped a dead bird at my feet—proud and expectant.

“Where did you get these?” I asked again, slower this time.

She shrugged, far too casual. “Does it matter?”

“It does to me.”

She tilted her head. “Fine. I stole them.”

My eyes narrowed.

“I took them from her chamber,” she said smoothly. “After she left. They were there, just waiting. Maybe she forgot them, or maybe someone else brought them there for her. Who knows?”

“You realize that’s a punishable offense.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something clever,” she replied, not the least bit afraid. “But maybe we should focus less on the theft and more on the content, Kai.”

I hated the way she said my name—like she was one breath away from climbing back into my life.

She stepped closer.

“This is the Luna,” she continued, “the woman you trusted with your bond, your clan—your heart. And here she is, with letters from her father telling her to carry out a mission.”

“She didn’t respond,” I said quickly. “There are no replies from her.”

“That you can see,” Serena replied with a sigh. “But Kai, really… think. Isn’t it convenient that she left just as the clan was falling into chaos? That she had a vision from her ‘mother’ telling her to find her people—her kind? That she walked out the gate after dropping a promise to return with answers?”

My mouth felt dry.

“She could’ve been feeding him information for months,” Serena said softly. “Secrets about the clan, about your army, your weaknesses. How to hurt the Lycans. Or worse—how to kill them.”

I shook my head slowly. “No. She wouldn’t.”

Serena raised a brow. “Wouldn’t she? You barely knew who she was when she arrived. She hated you. Blamed you. Said you killed her mother. And now that we find letters proving her father had a plan…”

I stepped away from her, unable to breathe properly.

“She said she loved us,” I whispered.

“She might’ve meant it,” Serena said with mock sympathy. “Or maybe she was playing the long game. Spies do that, you know. Get close. Build trust. Wait for the moment to strike.”

I turned toward the window, letting the night wind cool my face.

“Leave,” I said tightly.

“Kai—”

“Now.”

She didn’t argue. Just turned and swept out of the room like a satisfied fox.

I stood there for a long moment, her words circling me like vultures. I looked down at the letters again, reading through the thick lines of fury and command.

“You were born for this.”

“I made you what you are.”

“Finish what we started or I will.”

My stomach churned.

Mira hadn’t sent a response.

That gave me a sliver of hope.

But then again… she’d left. Alone. Without warning. At a time when we were most vulnerable.

And Serena’s words repeated in my mind like a poison: Who knows what dangerous thing she planted, ready to be triggered?

I ran a hand down my face and sat at the edge of the table.

No. I couldn’t jump to conclusions. Not yet.

But I couldn’t ignore the facts either.

I needed clarity.

And only one person could help with that.

By the time Damien arrived, the scrolls were already spread out on the table again, every word etched into my memory.

He entered the room looking puzzled, but the moment he saw my face, his demeanor shifted. “What happened?”

I slid the letters toward him.

“Read.”

His eyes moved across the page slowly, carefully.

And then they widened.

“Where did you get these?” he asked.

“Serena stole them. From Mira’s chamber. Claims they were left behind. I don’t know if that’s true.”

Damien’s mouth opened, but no sound came out at first.

He ran a hand through his hair and said, “Kai, these… this is—”

“I know.”

He stared at the ink, the jagged handwriting, the venomous tone.

“No replies?”

“None. But Serena says her trip to find her kind could just be a cover. A way to meet her father outside the clan’s eyes.”

He lowered the parchment and exhaled. “Gods…”

I nodded. “Exactly.”

We stood in silence until he said, “We have to check the ink. If it’s from her village… that would at least confirm where it came from.”

“I thought of that,” I said. “That’s why I called you. I didn’t want to hand it to the alchemists. Not until we were sure.”

He nodded and beckoned for me to follow. “Let’s go.”

In Damien’s workshop, the scent of metal and melted resin filled the air. He cleared a space, lit a series of lamps, and pulled out his ink analysis tools—powdered minerals, specter stones, and a small relic that mirrored magical composition.

While he worked, I asked him the one question that had been clawing at my mind since Serena left.

“When Mira first came to Blackwood… what did she say about her mother?”

Damien paused, looking up.

“She… she used to cry. Said we murdered her. That she hated us for it.”

I swallowed hard.

“Do you remember her saying anything else? Anything specific?”

“She said her mother warned her about Lycans,” Damien said slowly. “Said she used to whisper stories about us. That we were monsters. Killers.”

I sat down hard.

That was it.

That was the root of it all.

“She came here to enact vengeance,” I said. “To infiltrate the clan. To bring us down from within.”

Damien didn’t deny it.

But then he added, “Except… she told us recently that her mother revealed the truth. That it wasn’t us. That it was her father who killed her.”

“Exactly,” I said. “So that means one of two things. Either she found out and left to avenge her mother…”

“Or,” Damien finished for me, “she lied. Used that excuse to leave the castle and carry out the next phase of her mission.”

I leaned forward, elbows on knees, eyes shut.

“She said she loved us,” I murmured again. “She broke down in our arms. Promised to return.”

“Even traitors can cry,” Damien said softly.

The analysis device gave a sharp ping.

Damien checked it.

“Well?”

He hesitated.

“There are traces of resin and soot unique to the forest region around Mira’s village. The ink is not common to our lands.”

My stomach sank.

“So they’re real.”

“They’re from her father, yes. I’d bet my life on it.”

I sat back, completely drained.

The room was spinning—though nothing had moved.

“She’s either planning vengeance on her father…” I said slowly.

“Or vengeance on us.”

I looked at Damien. He looked just as conflicted.

“What is she up to, Kai?” he asked, almost in a whisper.

I had no answer.

Only silence.

And the sharp burn of betrayal.