Chapter 9 · The Blood Moon Cracks

The red light didn't fade. It pulsed through the shattered window like a heartbeat, painting everything in the medical room the color of fresh blood. I could hear screaming outside. Pack members. Kids.

And Morgana's voice kept echoing in my head even after she stopped talking.

"What's in the vault?" Kade asked again. His hand gripped the edge of the exam table so hard the metal bent. "Lyra. What did she open?"

I couldn't look at him. The mate bond was pulling at me, trying to drag the truth out through my chest. I felt his determination. His fear. His absolute conviction that whatever I'd done, whatever I was, he'd stand with me anyway.

That made it worse.

"There's a weapon," I said. My voice came out flat. Dead. "My father built it before the massacre. Before I—"

The ground shook. Not an earthquake. Something underneath the castle, waking up.

Silas grabbed my arm and yanked me around. His eyes were wild. "Before you what?"

"Let her go." Kade's alpha command cracked through the room like a whip. Silas's hand fell away, but the rage didn't leave his face. "Lyra. Keep talking."

I swallowed.