Chapter 16: The Truth Beneath the Blood Moon

Isla's POV

By the time I reached the old Blood Moon territory, the sky had already turned black.

The ruins looked exactly as I remembered them.

Broken trees.

Cracked ward stones.

And the faint scent of dried blood still lingering beneath the earth.

Five years ago, I had walked into this place terrified that I was going to lose Damien.

Tonight, I walked in knowing I might never forgive him.

But I had to find him.

A strange pulse of energy suddenly passed through the ground.

I stopped.

Someone had activated the ancient wards.

Then I heard a roar.

Damien.

I ran toward the sound.

I found him standing in the center of the ruined clearing, surrounded by broken crystal fragments.

His shirt was torn, and blood ran down one side of his face.

"Damien!"

He turned sharply.

His eyes widened.

"Isla?"

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then his expression hardened.

"What are you doing here?"

"Saving you from making another stupid decision."

His jaw tightened.

"You shouldn't have come."

"And you shouldn't have come here alone."

He looked away.

"This is my problem."

"It became my problem five years ago."

His eyes flickered.

Something in his expression changed.

"You remember?"

"I remember everything."

A low growl escaped him.

"So do I."

I froze.

"What did you say?"

Damien pressed a hand against his temple.

"Not everything. Just pieces."

He looked toward the ruined altar.

"I remember you."

My heart clenched.

"I remember you kneeling beside me."

His voice cracked.

"I remember your hands covered in my blood."

I couldn't breathe.

"I remember you screaming for help."

He closed his eyes.

"Then everything went dark."

I stepped closer.

"And Seraphina?"

His eyes opened.

Pain filled them.

"She wasn't there when I was attacked."

Silence.

"She arrived after you saved me."

My hands curled into fists.

So he remembered.

He finally remembered.

"Then why?" I whispered.

"Why did you believe her?"

Damien looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.

Shame.

"Because someone altered my memories."

I swallowed hard.

"And you never questioned it?"

"I did."

His voice was barely audible.

"But every time I tried to remember that night, I saw Seraphina."

He looked down.

"I thought she was the one who saved me."

"You had my bond."

"I know."

"You could feel what I felt."

"I know."

"Then how could you do it?"

His eyes filled with regret.

"I don't have an excuse."

For once, I didn't argue.

Because he was right.

There was no excuse.

Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed through the clearing.

Damien grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him.

A figure stepped out from the darkness.

The Head Councilor.

My blood ran cold.

"You should never have come here," he said.

Damien stepped forward.

"You."

The Councilor smiled.

"You were always too curious, Damien."

"You altered my memories."

"I protected this pack."

"You destroyed my life."

"No," the Councilor replied calmly. "I gave you a future."

I stepped forward.

"By separating me from him?"

"You were an obstacle."

His eyes moved toward me.

"The alliance between your family and Damien's was becoming too powerful. If you became Luna, the balance of power would shift."

My stomach turned.

"So you used Seraphina."

"She was willing."

Damien's claws extended.

"You used her too."

"Everyone involved knew the risks."

The Councilor raised his hand.

Dark energy surged through the clearing.

I immediately recognized the spell.

Memory magic.

"Damien, don't look at him!"

Too late.

Damien staggered.

His eyes became unfocused.

"No..."

I grabbed his face between my hands.

"Damien, look at me!"

His breathing became ragged.

"Isla..."

"Stay with me."

The Councilor laughed.

"You can't break the spell."

I pulled out my healer's crystal.

"Maybe not alone."

I pressed it against Damien's forehead.

Ancient energy exploded through the clearing.

Images flashed through my mind.

The Blood Moon.

The rogue attack.

Seraphina standing beside the disabled ward.

The Councilor handing her a vial.

Damien lying unconscious.

And me arriving moments later.

I saw myself kneeling beside Damien.

I saw myself pouring every ounce of my healing energy into him.

Then I saw something else.

The Councilor standing over Damien afterward.

His hand glowing with dark magic.

"Forget her," he whispered.

"She was never the one who saved you."

The memory shattered.

Damien screamed.

The spell broke.

He collapsed into my arms.

The Councilor stepped backward.

But before he could escape, another group of wolves emerged from the trees.

Adrian stood at the front.

"It's over."

The Councilor's face changed.

He tried to attack.

The guards overwhelmed him within seconds.

As they dragged him away, he looked at me.

"You think you've won?"

I stared back coldly.

"No."

I looked down at Damien.

"I already won the moment I chose myself."

The Councilor was taken away.

The clearing became silent.

Damien slowly opened his eyes.

"Isla."

I stepped back.

"Don't."

He struggled to sit up.

"I remember everything now."

"I know."

"You saved me."

"Yes."

"And I spent five years believing someone else did."

I looked away.

"You did."

His voice broke.

"I destroyed the woman who loved me most."

I didn't answer.

Damien reached for my hand but stopped before touching me.

"I don't expect you to forgive me."

For the first time, I believed him.

"Good."

He lowered his head.

"But I need to tell you one last thing."

I looked at him.

"What?"

His eyes were full of tears.

"Seraphina wasn't pregnant with my child."

I already knew.

But hearing him say it made the last piece of the puzzle fall into place.

"Then whose child is it?"

Damien looked toward the distant mountains.

"Her uncle's."

I went completely still.

Seraphina hadn't just manipulated Damien.

She had been part of a much larger conspiracy.

And now, with the Councilor arrested and the truth exposed, the entire pack was about to learn everything.

Damien looked at me one final time.

"Isla, I know I have no right to ask for anything."

I waited.

"But if there is even the smallest chance..."

He swallowed.

"I want to earn your trust again."

I looked at the man who had once been my entire world.

Then I looked toward the rising moon.

"Trust isn't something you earn by asking for it."

"I know."

"It's earned through actions."

"Then I'll prove it."

I turned away.

"We'll see."

For the first time in years, the Blood Moon territory felt peaceful.

But somewhere in the darkness, another truth was waiting.

And this time, I was ready for it.