Chapter 33

Chapter 33


The news arrived with the dawn, riding on an exhausted horse stained with dried blood. The young rider, still clad in the colors of the North, collapsed to his knees upon crossing the boundary of our camp, as if the weight of what he came to say crushed him from within.

—The Kingdom of the North… was attacked… —he gasped—. The Grays… failed, but… chaos reigns…

My people surrounded him in silence. No orders were needed. When I approached, they knew what was coming wasn’t just an instruction. It was the beginning of something greater.

—How bad was it? —I asked, without raising my voice.

—Wounded, confusion… —the young man trembled—. The castle has sealed its inner sectors… they say the king’s moon faced several enemies alone… that she transformed… —he swallowed hard—. That she’s more wolf than human.

“More wolf than human…”

Those words took up residence in my mind like an old wound that starts aching again. I had heard rumors about King Kilian’s moon, but I’d never cared. Until now. That phrase echoed in a way I couldn’t ignore.

I stepped away from the young man and walked to my main tent. There, the map of the North awaited me like a prophecy about to be fulfilled.

Until that moment, my plan had been slow and calculated: cut off supplies, infiltrate spies, weaken faith in the throne. But this… this changed everything.

Chaos had done half the work for me.

I spread the map across the table. Red marks indicated the most fragile villages. Black, the watchpoints. Blue, the trade routes that kept Kilian’s kingdom alive. I sat before it like a man preparing for a sacrifice.

I summoned my three commanders.

—You have three days —I said plainly—. I want all the villages east of the Helian River occupied. Not as enemies. As protectors. Use northern uniforms if you must. Don’t spill blood. Just confuse them.

Iván frowned.

—And the castle?

—Not yet. First we take away their sense of safety. Then, their faith. Once they’re isolated, they’ll fall on their own. —My fingers traced a semicircle of weak points—. We are not like the Grays. They attacked with teeth. We’ll do it with intelligence.

Myrka, ever pragmatic, gave me a questioning look.

—And the king’s moon? They say she’s powerful… that she changed in front of everyone.

I paused.

An image struck me, sharp and vivid. The portrait I’d had painted in secret, a copy crafted from descriptions and rumors. Her silhouette. Her presence. There was something about that woman that unsettled me.

—She’s not our priority —I lied.

But deep inside, I knew she was. Not because of power. Because of something else.

Two days later, the Cold Bloods began their advance. No longer wandering beasts or broken wolves. Under my command, they were strategy. They wore light armor, northern bracelets for infiltration, and a network of spies reported every movement within the castle. Kilian had contained the Grays, yes, but at the cost of stability.

And I was a man who knew when to bite.

The directive was clear: occupy without declaring war. Confuse without confronting. Separate the king from his people before he even noticed the crack.

It was that night, at the edge of the Elaris Forest, that I saw her.

I expected nothing. I was only patrolling the borders with two of my best men, analyzing the routes we could take south of the kingdom. But then I knew it wasn’t an ordinary night.

I felt her aura before I saw her.

We halted our horses, hidden in the shadows. Three riders moved along the forest’s edge with precise, military movements. At first, I paid them little attention… until she dismounted.

And all the air left my lungs.

No, it couldn’t be.

Blonde. Pale skin. Eyes as light as the moon itself. Her expression was icy. Her stride, calculated. And yet… something about her was unbearably familiar.

She wasn’t Luciana. Luciana had porcelain skin, but wild fire in her eyes. Her hair was black as the abyss, and her tongue… as sharp as her daggers. She had been mine, even if only briefly. And I had betrayed her. Out of cowardice. Out of selfishness. For choosing the crown over her.

But this woman…

—It can’t be… —I murmured, though my soldiers didn’t understand what I meant.

She moved like her. Looked like her. Even the way she tilted her head, that subtle gesture with her lips… it was her.

I wasn’t crazy.

If I had ended up in this world for no apparent reason… why not her?

The impact wasn’t just emotional. It was physical. My hands trembled, and I forced myself to breathe deeply. It wasn’t the time to weaken. I couldn’t let a shadow of the past interfere with what I had built.

And then it happened.

The woman stopped. Her gaze scanned the forest as if sensing something. She crouched, touched the ground… and her body began to change.

Before my eyes, her human form dissolved into a dark and majestic creature. A massive wolf, fur black as night. Her aura hit us like an invisible gust. My soldiers instinctively stepped back.

—What… is that? —one of them whispered.

I knew exactly what it was.

An alpha she-wolf.

It didn’t surprise me. Not after Luciana. But it did alarm me. Because if it was her… if it truly was her… then this game wasn’t just a war for power.

It was a war to survive her.

She wasn’t like the others. She never was.

And if she really had returned…

Hell was only just beginning.

When she vanished among the trees, her silhouette still burned into my pupils. I didn’t move. I gave no orders. I said nothing for several minutes.

Because for the first time in years… I was doubting.

And in my world, doubt… was the same as death.