Chapter 85 CHAPTER 85
The celebration glowed warm and golden beneath the lantern lights, and Liam found himself standing slightly removed from the crowd, watching Lisa without quite realizing it. She stood near the fountain with Isabel and Celine, her face bright with laughter, her eyes shining in a way he had not seen since she first arrived at Mooncrest. For the first time, she looked like a girl her age - someone experiencing a simple joy, untouched by the weight of past pain or the danger creeping across the supernatural world.
Liam felt a steady warmth settle in his chest. It wasn’t loud or overwhelming; it was quiet and sure, like something that had been sleeping inside him for years and was just now stirring. He had previously seen Lisa as someone he needed to protect, someone delicate and hurt, that the sight of her happiness nearly unravelled him. It made the night softer. It made the air lighter. And it made him feel strangely unsteady, as though something intangible had shifted between them.
Kane stirred in the back of his mind, with a thoughtful presence that made Liam straighten a little. He knew Kane could feel exactly how he was feeling – they were after all sharing a body.
“I don’t understand this feeling,” Liam said with a wave of unease.
“Me neither,” Kane responded calmly, “But I know one thing. The goddess has never shown us a mate. Not once. Not a whisper. We have waited for years, and nothing. Maybe we were meant to follow your heart instead of waiting for a fated mate.”
Liam tensed, gripping the edge of his belt. “We made a promise,” he murmured silently. “We agreed we would not complicate our path until the goddess guided us.”
“And she never has,” Kane reminded him gently. “Perhaps that is her answer.”
Liam didn’t respond. He didn’t know how. He only inhaled slowly, willing the conflict inside him to settle. He had never wanted to defy the goddess. He had never wanted to stand between a wolf and his destined mate. Yet here he was, caught between the woman laughing under the lanterns and the oath he had carried for years.
He exhaled slowly, pushing it all down, and tried to steady himself.
A moment later, Ethan walked up beside him. Liam didn’t hear him approach, which spoke to how distracted he had been.
“She looks happy,” Ethan said quietly, following Liam’s gaze.
Liam nodded. “She does.”
Ethan folded his arms, a soft smile touching his lips. “I haven’t seen her smile like this since she was a toddler. When I think about what Silverpine did to her, how they treated her… I didn’t know if she would ever look this free again.” His voice grew softer. “Sometimes I still can’t believe she’s here. That she survived long enough for us to find her.”
Liam didn’t trust his voice at first. Something about the way Ethan spoke - raw and honest - made the weight of responsibility in Liam’s chest feel heavier.
“You protected her,” Ethan continued, turning slightly toward him. “You guided her today. You’re helping her find her confidence again. Thank you, Liam. I mean it.”
Liam shook his head. “She did the hard part. She faced her past. She took the test. She’s the one who kept herself alive all these years.”
“That may be true,” Ethan said, “but she trusts you. I can see it.”
Liam glanced away at that, unsure of how to respond. He sensed Ethan studying him more carefully now, and he felt that familiar warmth rise to his face, the one he wasn’t ready to name. He only hoped Ethan couldn’t read him as easily as he read everyone else.
Ethan didn’t press the matter. He simply sighed and looked back toward his sister, his expression filled with a mixture of pride and something far deeper - fear of losing her again.
Liam was about to reassure him when suddenly a sharp ripple cut through his mind.
A mind link.
Urgent.
“Commander,” the warrior’s strained voice echoed inside him, and Liam stiffened. “She’s back. She came out of the tree. She’s heading toward Silverpine. I’m following her now.”
Liam’s heart thudded hard once, and Ethan immediately picked up on the shift in his energy.
“What is it?” Ethan asked.
Liam stepped away from the crowd and gestured for Ethan to follow him. They moved toward the far edge of the courtyard, hidden partially behind a pillar. The sound of laughter and music drifted around them, but here the air felt heavier.
“It’s the soldier I sent after Sarah,” Liam said quietly. “He followed her to the mountains. He saw her use her blood to open the tree - an entrance to the witch village.”
Ethan’s face darkened. “Blood magic.”
“After she entered, the tree closed,” Liam continued. “The soldier waited for hours. She eventually came out again, unharmed, stronger, and headed back toward Silverpine. He’s trailing her now.”
Ethan didn’t speak at first. His jaw tightened slightly, and he looked toward the horizon as if trying to see the mountains through the castle walls.
Liam went on, “Only a witch from that bloodline can enter. My man says that the entrance responded to her blood alone. He tried using his own but nothing happened,”
Ethan let out a slow breath, and Liam saw a strange flicker in the king’s expression, understanding.
“That makes her the key,” Ethan murmured. “The one and only key.”
Liam’s stomach sank. He hated the truth, but he knew it too. If they killed Sarah, captured her, or even frightened her enough to make her run, the entrance to the witch village would be lost forever. The abducted boys would never be found. The witches would continue to operate unseen.
“We need her alive,” Ethan said quietly. “As much as it disgusts me to admit it, we can’t lose her now.”
Liam clenched his jaw. “Keeping her alive might put Lisa at risk.”
“I know,” Ethan said, the words almost painful. “But if we lose Sarah, we lose any chance of getting into that village. Every stolen boy stays lost. Every wolf they weaken remains powerless. We can’t close our only doorway.”
Liam didn’t argue. He hated every part of it, but he understood. This battle was bigger than his feelings or even Lisa’s immediate safety. It involved the entire supernatural realm, both wolf and human.
“We need the council,” Liam said. “All of them. The full Elder Council. We’ve kept this quiet too long.”
Ethan hesitated. “They will panic.”
“They are wise,” Liam countered. “And this is too large for us to keep within a handful of people. We need their strategy, their reach, their resources. And we need the fae to strengthen the academy. The age group targeted by the disappearances is exactly the age group returning to school.”
Ethan rubbed his forehead, feeling the weight of decision settling heavily on him. “You’re right,” he finally said. “I’ll call them in the morning. And I’ll alert Nolan that Lunaris needs a protection spell before the students return.”
Liam nodded. “Good. I’ll inspect the grounds myself tomorrow. If anything feels off, we secure it immediately.”
They both fell silent for a moment, standing beside the pillar while the celebration carried on behind them. Laughter rose and fell like waves.
Liam looked across the courtyard at Lisa again. She was smiling at something Isabel said, her face lit by lantern glow, her hair catching the warm breeze. For a moment, she looked untouched by the danger forming around her.
He felt something inside him tighten - a fierce, quiet vow. No matter what war the witches were planning, no matter what darkness was spreading through the mountains, he would not let it reach her. He had failed enough people in his life. He would not fail her too.
Ethan stood beside him, looking at his sister with the soft intensity only a brother could feel. He remembered the broken girl who arrived from Silverpine, trembling and hollow-eyed. He remembered the day he thought he had lost her forever. And now he saw her strong, smiling, alive.
He knew the witches were coming. He knew an ancient storm was rolling toward them again. But he would not let history repeat itself. His mother was taken. His kingdom burned. His sister suffered for years.
Never again.
Tonight she laughed under lanterns, unaware of the shadows rising beyond the mountains.