MOON OATH: THE CHOSEN MATE

Arielle stared at the words.

THE FOURTH DIES.

Blood. Fresh enough that it was still wet. Dark enough to be real.

Her hand hovered over the letters. She should touch it. Confirm it was blood. Figure out whose blood. But her fingers refused to move closer.

"Don't."

She spun. Lycian stood at the end of the corridor, fully dressed now in dark pants and a shirt that did nothing to hide the violence in his body. He moved toward her with predatory grace, eyes locked on the message.

"It's a warning," he said.

"I can read."

"Not for you. For me." He crouched beside the words, fingers hovering over the blood without touching. "This is pack blood. Someone cut themselves to write this. That means someone in my pack wants you dead badly enough to spill their own blood as a promise."

Arielle's stomach turned. "Who?"

"I don't know yet." He stood, and fury radiated from him like heat. "But I'll find out. And when I do, they'll regret making threats against what's mine."

"I'm not yours."

"Tell that to the bond." His eyes flashed silver. "Tell that to the mark that's spreading across your skin every hour. Tell that to the fact that you can feel me right now, in your chest, under your ribs, wrapped around your heart like a second pulse."

She couldn't. Because he was right. She could feel him. Constant. Inescapable. Like he'd carved out space inside her and taken up residence without permission.

"I want to leave."

"No, you don't."

"Don't tell me what I want."

"Then stop lying to both of us." He moved closer. Close enough that she could smell him. Pine and mountain air and something underneath that made her mouth water despite her anger. "You're terrified. I can feel it through the bond. But you're not scared of me. You're scared of what you're becoming. Scared that in three days, the woman you were will be gone completely and something else will be wearing your face."

"Stop."

"Why? Because it's true?" His hand caught her chin, forced her to meet his eyes. "I won't lie to you, Arielle. Won't tell you everything will be fine. You are changing. Every second we're near each other, every time we touch, every breath you take in this kingdom accelerates the transformation. In three days, you'll complete the ceremony whether you want to or not. Your body has already decided."

She jerked away from his touch. "Then what's the point? Why pretend I have a choice if the bond is just going to force me anyway?"

"Because how you face it matters." His voice softened. "You can fight it and suffer. Or you can accept it and survive. The first three fought. All three died screaming. I felt every second of their pain through the bond. Felt them burning from the inside out while I could do nothing but watch. I won't feel that again. So if you're going to die, at least die quickly. Don't drag it out for days while we both suffer."

The words hit like a slap. "You're asking me to give up."

"I'm asking you to be realistic about what's coming." He turned away, started walking down the corridor. "The ceremony preparation begins at dawn. Sera will come for you. Try to sleep. You'll need your strength."

"Wait." Arielle's voice stopped him. "What happens during the preparation?"

"Tests. To see if your body can handle the transformation. To see if your mind is strong enough to survive what comes after." He didn't turn around. "Most humans fail the preparation phase. They break before the ceremony even begins. But you're Clara Wren's granddaughter. You're stronger than you think."

"My grandmother refused her bond."

"Your grandmother survived two weeks of transformation before refusing. That's two weeks longer than most humans last. You have her genetics. Her strength. Her stubbornness." Now he looked back. "Use it. Survive this. Because if you die, I'm taking half the pack with me into madness, and I'd rather not have their blood on my hands too."

He left before she could respond.

Arielle stood alone in the corridor, staring at the blood on her threshold. THE FOURTH DIES. Someone wanted her dead. Someone in this kingdom had already decided she wasn't worth saving.

She stepped over the words and closed her door.

Sleep was impossible. She lay in bed watching the ceiling and feeling the mark spread. It had reached her shoulders now. Crept down her arms in silver lines that glowed faintly in the darkness. When she pressed her hand to her chest, she could feel something moving underneath. Reshaping. Preparing.

Her phone buzzed.

Another message. Same unknown number.

They killed the second one. Made it look like the transformation failed. But I saw. I know what they did.

The text deleted itself before she could screenshot it.

Arielle sat up, heart hammering. Someone was feeding her information. Someone who knew what happened to the previous mates. Someone who was risking their life to warn her.

Or trap her.

She typed fast: Who is this?

No response. The number was already disconnected.

A knock on her door. Soft. Almost hesitant.

"It's Sera," the healer's voice called. "I brought food. You need to eat."

Arielle opened the door. Sera stood there with a tray laden with meat and bread and something that looked like stew. The smell made Arielle's stomach growl despite her fear.

"I'm not hungry."

"Your body disagrees." Sera pushed past her into the room, set the tray on a small table. "Sit. Eat. The transformation requires massive amounts of energy. If you don't fuel it properly, your body will start consuming itself."

"Comforting."

"I'm a healer, not a comforter." But Sera's smile was gentle. "Eat. I'll examine you while you do."

Arielle sat and picked at the meat. It tasted better than it should have. Rich. Almost too rich. Like her taste buds had been dialed up to eleven.

"Everything tastes different," she said.

"Enhanced senses. One of the first changes. Your body is preparing to process the world the way wolves do." Sera pulled out a small device that looked like a cross between a stethoscope and something from a science fiction movie. She pressed it to Arielle's chest. "Interesting."

"What?"

"Your heart rate is elevated. Should be around sixty beats per minute for a resting human. Yours is ninety. But it's steady. Strong. The bond is already reinforcing your cardiovascular system."

"Is that good?"

"It means you might survive." Sera moved the device to different points on Arielle's chest, frowning. "The mark is spreading faster than any case I've seen. At this rate, you'll be fully marked by tomorrow night. That gives us less than two days before the ceremony must happen."

"I thought we had three days."

"We did. Twelve hours ago. But the bond is accelerating. Probably because of the blood message. Probably because someone in this pack is actively working against you, and the bond is trying to complete itself faster to protect you." Sera's violet eyes met hers. "Someone wants you dead, Arielle. And they're powerful enough to threaten you inside pack territory without fear of consequences."

"Who?"

"I have suspicions. But no proof." She put the device away. "There's a faction within the pack that believes Alpha Kings should only mate with pure-blood wolves. They see human mates as weakness. Contamination. They wanted Lycian to refuse the moon's choice and let madness take him. When he didn't, when he chose to pursue the bond anyway, they started eliminating the marked humans before the ceremonies could complete."

Arielle's blood went cold. "You're saying someone murdered the previous mates."

"I'm saying three healthy young women died under suspicious circumstances. The first had a heart attack during her ceremony. The second collapsed from organ failure the night before hers. The third survived the transformation but threw herself off a bridge three days later." Sera's voice was careful. "All three deaths were ruled as transformation failures. Natural consequences of human bodies trying to contain wolf power. But I examined all three bodies. And I found things that didn't match natural death."

"What things?"

"Poison. Carefully administered. Slow-acting enough that it looked like organ failure. Fast-acting enough that it killed them before the bond could heal the damage." She leaned closer. "You're in danger. Real danger. Not just from the transformation. Someone in this pack is going to try to kill you before you can complete the ceremony. And they're going to make it look like your body simply couldn't handle the change."

"Then I'll leave. I'll go back to—"

"You can't." Sera's hand caught her wrist. "The bond won't let you. You're too far in. If you try to leave pack territory now, the separation will kill you faster than any poison. You're trapped here until the ceremony completes or you die. Those are your only options."

Arielle pulled her hand free. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I failed to save Lyra. Failed to see the signs until it was too late. Failed to protect her from people who wanted our bond to fail." Sera's voice cracked. "I won't fail again. So I'm telling you the truth, even though it terrifies you, because you deserve to know what you're up against. You deserve the chance to fight back."

"How do I fight back against people who can poison me and make it look natural?"

"You don't eat or drink anything I haven't prepared personally. You don't go anywhere alone. And you complete the ceremony as fast as possible. Once the bond is sealed, once you're fully mated to Lycian, killing you becomes much harder. The bond will make you nearly immortal. Able to heal from almost anything. They have a narrow window to eliminate you. After the ceremony, that window closes."

"So I just survive two more days surrounded by people who want me dead."

"Yes." Sera stood. "I'll be outside your door tonight. Keeping watch. No one will get to you while I'm here."

"Why are you doing this?"

The healer paused at the door. "Because you remind me of her. Lyra. Same fire in your eyes. Same refusal to go down without a fight. She would have liked you."

She left. The lock clicked.

Arielle sat alone with half-eaten food and knowledge that made her skin crawl. Someone had murdered three women. Made it look like natural death. And now they were coming for her.

Her phone buzzed again.

Tomorrow night. Midnight. The old bridge on the eastern side. Come alone. I'll tell you everything.

The text stayed this time. Didn't delete.

A trap. Had to be a trap. No one offered to meet in secret unless they were planning something.

But what if it wasn't? What if someone really did know the truth about the previous mates? What if they had proof?

Arielle looked at the blood message outside her door. THE FOURTH DIES.

She typed back: How do I know you're not the one trying to kill me?

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

You don't. But I'm the only one offering you a way out. Midnight. Old bridge. Don't tell anyone. Especially not Lycian. He has spies everywhere.

The message sent, then the number disconnected again.

Arielle threw her phone across the room. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor, screen cracking.

She was trapped in a kingdom of wolves who wanted her dead. Bonded to a man who'd already lost three mates to murder. And someone was offering her information that might save her life or might be bait to isolate her so they could finish the job.

Some choice.

She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The mark pulsed steadily, spreading with every heartbeat. In two days, maybe less, she'd either be Luna or dead.

The odds weren't great.

Outside her door, she heard Sera settle in. The soft sound of someone sitting against the wall. Preparing for a long night.

Arielle closed her eyes and tried not to think about midnight. About old bridges. About mysterious messages from unknown numbers.

She failed.

When she finally slept, she dreamed of the second mate. A woman with dark hair and terrified eyes, collapsing during her ceremony while everyone watched. While Lycian screamed. While someone in the crowd smiled.

She woke at quarter to midnight with her decision made.

She was going to that bridge.

Even if it killed her, she needed to know the truth.

Arielle dressed quietly. Dark clothes. Soft shoes. She checked the corridor through a crack in the door. Sera was asleep, slumped against the wall, breathing deep and steady.

Too steady.

Arielle stared at the healer's chest, watching it rise and fall in perfect rhythm. Like drugged sleep. Like someone had made sure Sera wouldn't wake.

Her blood ran cold.

Someone had planned this. Someone wanted her to go to that bridge. Wanted her isolated. Vulnerable.

She should stay in her room. Lock the door. Wait for dawn.

But her feet carried her into the corridor anyway. Stepped over Sera's sleeping form. Followed the pull she felt toward the eastern side of the kingdom.

The bond hummed approval. Like it wanted her to go. Like it knew something she didn't.

The old bridge was exactly where the message said. A narrow stone span connecting two cliff faces, ancient and crumbling, suspended over darkness that seemed to have no bottom.

A figure stood at the center. Hooded. Waiting.

Arielle stopped at the bridge's entrance. "Who are you?"

The figure turned. Pulled back its hood.

Arielle's breath caught.

It was a woman. Young. Maybe twenty-five. With silver marks covering half her face and eyes that glowed with the same light as Lycian's.

"My name is Maya," she said. "And I'm the third mate. The one who was supposed to be dead."