The pressure outside the estate intensified.
Windows trembled violently.
The chandeliers overhead swayed as if the mansion itself recognized the arrival of something dangerous. Every servant beyond the eastern hall fell silent, while the northern wolves immediately straightened with sharpened expressions.
Selene pressed a hand against the edge of the table, steadying herself as the burning sensation beneath her ribs slowly subsided. The silver pendant still rested in her palm, strangely warm against her skin.
"The Moon Wolf has recognized you."
Freya's words echoed inside her head.
Selene lifted her gaze slowly. "Explain it to me."
Freya remained silent for a moment, clearly choosing her next words carefully.
"There are legends older than the empire itself," the northern commander said quietly. "Legends about the first wolves blessed by the moon."
The duke's expression darkened immediately. "Freya."
But the northern woman ignored him. "One bloodline carried the Moon Wolf's blessing directly. Not power alone. Authority and instinctive dominance over wolves tied to the old covenant."
Selene narrowed her eyes faintly.
Authority. Now that sounded useful.
Freya continued, "That bloodline disappeared generations ago. Most believed it no longer existed."
"And now you think it survived through the Valemonts," Selene said.
"Yes."
Selene glanced down at the pendant in her hand.
So Seraphina had unknowingly carried one of the oldest bloodlines in the empire while wasting her life chasing Lucien Everhart.
How tragic.
How stupid.
But more importantly --
How valuable.
A sharp knock suddenly echoed through the eastern hall doors. No servant entered, and no announcement followed. The northern wolves immediately tensed.
Then the doors opened on their own. Kael Draven stepped inside. The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Dark pressure flooded the room so violently that several candles extinguished themselves. The northern wolves stared at the Crown Prince carefully, and for the first time since arriving, Freya's expression lost some of its calm.
Kael's golden eyes swept across the room once. Then landed directly on Selene. The pressure sharpened. It was not random, but focused and targeted. Selene felt it immediately. The strange pulse beneath her ribs stirred again in response.
Kael walked forward slowly, his black military coat trailing behind him like a living shadow. His gaze flicked briefly toward the pendant in Selene's hand.
Then his eyes darkened. "So it's true."
The duke stiffened. "Your Highness--"
"You hid this from the imperial family." His voice was calm.
Which made it worse.
The duke's jaw tightened. "The awakening was uncertain."
"And now?"
No one answered.
Because the answer stood directly in front of him.
Kael's gaze returned to Selene. There was something dangerous in his expression now. Not anger exactly, but recognition. The kind predators gave when noticing another predator entering their territory.
Freya stepped slightly closer to Selene. It was subtle and protective.
Kael noticed immediately.
The room temperature seemed to drop.
"You are bold," Kael said quietly.
Freya met his gaze without lowering her own. "The north protects its own."
A long silence followed. The tension between them became suffocating. The duke looked ready for war to erupt directly inside his estate.
Selene sighed softly.
Honestly, the men in this world were truly exhausting.
She stepped forward before the situation escalated further. "I assume Your Highness did not destroy half my estate barriers merely to glare at people."
Kael's eyes flicked toward her instantly. For one brief moment, the oppressive pressure in the room eased slightly.
"I felt the awakening," he said.
Freya's expression sharpened faintly.
Impossible. Only wolves tied directly to ancient bloodlines should have sensed it from that distance.
Kael ignored her completely. His gaze remained fixed on Selene. "Are you hurt?"
The question startled everyone. Even Selene paused slightly. Not because of the concern itself. But because Kael asked it so naturally, as though her condition mattered more than the political disaster unfolding around them.
Freya noticed it too. And that realization clearly disturbed her.
Selene lifted the pendant slightly. "Apparently, I inherited something troublesome."
Kael stepped closer. Close enough now that the northern wolves visibly stiffened. The Crown Prince looked down at the silver pendant with unreadable eyes. Then he said quietly, "The Moon Wolf."
Freya's icy gaze sharpened immediately. "You know of it."
Kael finally looked at her. "There are a few things the imperial family does not know."
Freya's expression remained cold. "Then you understand the significance of this awakening."
"I understand enough." Dangerous answer.
Selene could practically feel the power struggle unfolding beneath every sentence now. The north wanted her protected. The Crown Prince wanted control. And somewhere in the middle of all this, she had become extremely important overnight.
Kael suddenly reached toward her. The northern wolves moved instantly. Four lethal killing instincts flooded the room at once.
The duke barked sharply, "Stand down!"
But Kael never even glanced at them. His fingers brushed lightly against Selene's wrist. The moment skin touched skin, pain exploded through her body again.
Selene gasped sharply. A violent pulse burst outward from her chest, shattering one of the nearby wine glasses instantly. The pendant glowed silver. And Kael's golden eyes flashed unnaturally bright.
Freya stared in shock.
"No," she whispered.
Selene pulled her hand back immediately, breathing unevenly.
What the hell was that?
Kael looked equally unsettled for the first time since she met him. The pulse inside her chest reacted violently to him. Ancient instinct curled beneath her skin like a wolf slowly opening its eyes.
Freya stepped forward sharply. "Your Highness. Step away from her."
Kael's gaze darkened. "You are giving orders to the Crown Prince?"
"I am preventing disaster."
Selene noticed it immediately. Freya was genuinely alarmed. Which meant whatever just happened was not normal.
"Explain everything to us," Selene said coldly.
Freya hesitated, and that hesitation irritated Selene instantly.
"I dislike repeated questions."
The northern commander exhaled slowly. "The Moon Wolf bond reacts strongly to dominant Alpha bloodlines."
Selene folded her arms. "And?"
Freya looked directly at Kael before answering. "In rare cases, the awakening identifies compatible wolves."
Silence.
The duke closed his eyes briefly like a man developing a headache.
Kael remained perfectly still. Only his gaze sharpened slightly.
Selene, meanwhile, immediately understood the implication.
Ah. Absolutely not...
She had spent one life avoiding emotionally complicated men. She refused to die and transmigrate into another world only to get dragged into supernatural mating nonsense.
"Let me clarify something," Selene said calmly. "I am not interested in becoming anyone's mystical destiny."
Freya almost smiled faintly.
Kael, however, looked amused.
Dangerously amused.
"That sounds difficult," he said quietly, "considering the Moon Wolf seems to disagree."
Selene stared at him flatly.
He actually had the audacity to look entertained right now.
The nerve.
Before she could answer, another servant suddenly burst into the eastern hall, pale with panic. "My lord! Your Highness!"
Everyone turned sharply.
The servant struggled to catch his breath. "There's been an incident at Lunaris Academy."
The duke frowned. "What happened?"
The servant swallowed hard. "The academy's sacred archives were attacked last night."
The tension in the room rose sharply.
"The attacker left behind a message," the servant whispered fearfully.
Kael's expression sharpened. "What message?"
The servant looked directly toward Selene and repeated the words slowly. "The Moon Wolf has awakened. The empire will fall."
Everyone went pale.
Then, for the very first time since arriving in this world, Selene felt genuine danger crawl down her spine.