Chapter 3 The Heart That Forgot How To Forgive

The first time Mira saw Kaelen again, she almost collapsed. It wasn't the strength of his body, the sharp line of his jaw, or the way the world seemed to tilt around him.

It was his scent.

It hit her like a fist, strong and familiar, dragging memories she thought she had buried.

A hundred moments flashed behind her eyes.

Kaelen's arms wrapped around her. His voice promised forever. His eyes, filled with something she once called love.

Mira clutched the nearest tree to stay upright, her heart hammering against her ribs.

He was laughing.

Laughing with Lyanna.

The woman who wore her face. The woman who wore her place.

Rage burned through Mira's veins like wildfire.

She looked at the man she had sworn to destroy, and all she could feel was the aching hole where their bond used to live.

He didn't even know.

He didn't even see her.

Kaelen stiffened suddenly.

His wolf growled, restless and confused.

Something brushed the edges of his mind, something painfully sweet and devastatingly wrong.

He turned, scanning the trees, but saw nothing.

Only shadows. Only memories.

Beside him, Lyanna touched his arm. "You're tense," she said, her voice laced with concern. Kaelen forced a smile, pretending to relax. But deep inside, a storm had begun. A storm he didn't know how to name.

Mira stumbled back into the woods, her lungs gasping for air.

It wasn't supposed to hurt this much.

She was supposed to hate him.

Supposed to destroy him.

Supposed to forget he ever mattered.

But one look and the walls she built crumbled like ash.

She ripped at the necklace on her throat the last piece of the past she carried and hurled it into the dark.

It didn't matter.

Nothing could sever the thread that still tied her heart to his. Nothing except revenge.

Thorne found her hours later, sitting on a cold rock, staring at nothing. "You saw him," he said softly.

Mira said nothing.

"You felt it," he pushed, crouching in front of her. "The bond."

A broken, strangled noise escaped her lips.

Thorne smiled. "Good," he said. "That means the pain is real. That means when you destroy him, it will mean something."

Mira closed her eyes.

She didn't want meaning.

She didn't want pain.

She wanted to be free.

"Teach me," she whispered.

And Thorne did.

Inside the Alpha House, Lyanna fumed. Kaelen had been distant all night.He barely touched her. Barely spoke to her. His wolf growled at her more often than it purred. She could feel the thread unraveling. If he ever suspected if he ever looked too close it would all end.

Lyanna stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the Luna crown.

She would not lose.

Not after everything she sacrificed.

Not after everything she stole.

Her reflection smiled back at her, sharp and deadly. "I am Seraphina," she whispered to the mirror. "I am Luna. I am his mate."

And the lie wrapped tighter around her soul.

Kaelen tossed and turned that night, dreams battering him like a violent sea.

He saw Seraphina's face, pale and bloodless under the moon.

He saw Lyanna smiling, drenched in blood.

He heard a soft, broken whisper, calling his name.

He woke up gasping, drenched in sweat.

Something was wrong.

Something was wrong.

His wolf whimpered in his chest, desperate, confused, and grieving.

Kaelen pressed a hand to his heart.

It was as if a piece of him was missing.

A piece he had been too blind to notice until now.

Mira trained until her muscles screamed.

She didn't sleep. She didn't eat.

Only fought.

Only bled.

Only planned.

Each strike was Kaelen's face.

Each block was Lyanna's laugh.

Each broken breath was another promise carved into her bones.

She would bring them both down.

She would rip the world apart if she had to.

The next morning, Mira stood at the edge of the pack's territory.

Watching.

Waiting.

Lyanna emerged first, a golden queen in a stolen crown.

Kaelen followed, his steps heavy, his eyes shadowed.

Mira's heart twisted painfully.

Even broken, he was beautiful.

Even lost, he was hers.

Or he had been. Once.

Before betrayal. Before death. Before lies wrapped around their love like chains.

Thorne moved beside her, silent as death.

"Now," he whispered. "Strike now."

Mira's fingers tightened around the dagger hidden in her sleeve.

One throw. One heartbeat. That's all it would take.

End it.

End him.

End this story once and for all.

Her muscles tensed.

Her arm was raised.

But then Kaelen did something Mira didn't expect.

He turned toward the woods.

Toward her.

And whispered, so low the wind almost stole it away

"Seraphina?"

Mira's hand froze mid-air.

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

He recognized her.

He still felt her.

The dagger slipped from her fingers, sinking into the dirt.nMira stumbled back, every breath a wound.

Thorne grabbed her arm. "Do it!" he hissed. "Now! Before it's too late!"

Mira ripped free from him, panic flooding her veins.

This wasn't right.

This wasn't how I was supposed to feel at all.

Kaelen wasn't the monster she thought he was. He was kind. The bond still lived between them.

Twisted. Broken. But alive.

Tears blurred her vision.

She ran.

Away from Thorne.

Away from Kaelen.

Away from the truth she couldn't bear to face.

Kaelen stood frozen, staring into the woods.

Lyanna tugged at his hand.

"Come," she said, her smile tight. "There's nothing there."

But Kaelen knew better.

His wolf knew better.

Something precious had brushed against his soul.

Something he had lost.

Something he needed.

Something he would tear the world apart to find again.

His heart hammered.

For the first time in months, he felt alive again.

In the safety of the forest, Mira collapsed against a tree, crying.What was she supposed to believe now?

Had Kaelen betrayed her?

Had he replaced her?

Or had everything been a lie crafted by Lyanna and Thorne?

Pain split her chest open.

Her world tilted, crumbling under the weight of too many lies.

She had come back to destroy him.

But what if she had been wrong?

What if the real enemy was closer than she ever guessed?

What if it was never Kaelen who betrayed her but the sister she had trusted all her life?

Far behind, Thorne cursed. Mira was slipping through his fingers.The bond she shared with Kaelen was stronger than he feared.He needed to move faster. He needed to rip Kaelen apart before Mira remembered what love felt like.Before the truth burned through every lie he built. Thorne's smile turned cold. If Mira wouldn't kill Kaelen... He would do it himself.

And this time, there would be no rebirth.

The sky above darkened, clouds rolling in like a warning.

A storm was coming.

One built on betrayal.

Fueled by pain.

And when it broke, it would wash away every lie, every secret, every broken promise.

Mira stood up, wiping her tears.

Her hands clenched into fists.

She wasn't done yet.

Not by a long shot.

She would find the truth.

Even if it destroyed her.