Chapter 9

For the next few days, Kane was gone.

He claimed there was urgent tribe business, so he lived in the council hall.

I kept my replies short, not asking a single question.

The night before the bonding ceremony, we young people gathered for a game.

Truth or Dare.

When they both lost a round, I asked them the same exact question.

"Are there any secrets between you two that I don't know about?"

Lyra's smile froze.

"Of course not! We're an open book. You know everything about me."

Kane couldn't look me in the eye.

"Nothing from me. You're my future Luna. My partner for life. Trust is everything."

On the morning of the ceremony, he was nowhere to be found.

He missed the sacred rites for our ancestors, leaving all our guests waiting.

His message finally came through the link: "My love, there's an emergency at the border."

My parents told him the tribe came first, then looked at me, words caught in their throats.

"Mom, Dad, there's something I need to say…"

Just before she deleted her private group, Lyra sent one last message.

"Let's spend one last full moon together, just us."

The days flew by.

I never went back to the council.

Instead, I booked a caravan pass to the neutral city, leaving that very day.

Kane handed me the official invitations.

He just assumed I was on leave for ceremony prep.

Never once asking why I'd vanished from my duties.

Right before the ceremony, I handed a spare gown to Lyra.

"Lyra, I have a little surprise planned. I need your help."

At the ceremony site.

Lyra ran up to Kane, flustered, dressed in that stunning gown.

She held up a communication crystal.

"The Alpha and Auntie have both cut me off! I can't reach them on the link. Where are they?"

The color drained from Kane's face.

"That's the gown I picked for Elara! What are you doing wearing it?"

Before he could say another word, the enchanted screen behind the altar flickered to life.

It was meant to show our tribe's history.

But instead, it showed Kane and Lyra's secret life together.

A collective gasp went through the crowd.

Every werewolf in attendance stared in disbelief.

But the final image was the real bombshell.

An encrypted medical report from our tribe's own healer, taken by the Shadow-Walker.