Chapter Ten

POV: Sage

All I saw was fire, it surrounded me, it devoured everything in its path. The sky was blood-red, the air thick with the scent of burning flesh. A scream pierced through the chaos, it was desperate. Bella.

I spun towards the sound, but she was already fading, swallowed by the inferno. My legs refused to move. I reached for her, my fingers stretched through the heat, but she vanished like smoke.

"No!"

I jolted awake, my breath came in gasps. Sweat clung to my skin, my hands trembled as I pushed myself upright. The nightmare lingered, it was vivid. I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn’t just a dream.

I needed air.

I stepped outside but something felt off. My instincts sharpened. Then, I saw her.

A woman in white stands at the edge of the woods, her silver hair shimmered under the moonlight. 

She watched me with stillness, a small white pup was at her feet. The wolf’s eyes were milky, blind, yet it tilted its head as if seeing straight through me.

"You felt it," she said. 

Her voice was soft but it felt like the wind whispering secrets through the trees.

"Who are you?" I asked with a hoarse voice, it was still rough from sleep and the nightmare’s grip.

"Maelis. Seer of the Moon Temple." She stepped forward, her bare feet silent on the grass. "And you, Sage, are out of time."

My pulse spiked. "What does that mean?"

She lifted a hand towards the sky. "The Blood Moon rises in six nights. If your bond remains incomplete, you both die. And the darkness in Bella’s blood will awaken."

My breath hitched. "Darkness?"

Maelis studied me for a moment before nodding to the pup. "Erebus sees truths hidden from mortal eyes. And he has seen what lies dormant within Bella."

The wolf stepped closer, sniffing at my boots before huffing. Maelis crouched beside him, her fingers running through his fur.

"Bella is the last Sentinel," she says. "Born of the Moonlight Pack’s royal bloodline. Her wolf was locked away to keep her from being used by dark forces. But the seal is breaking."

"She doesn’t even know, does she?"

Maelis shakes her head. "She will soon. And if she faces it alone, it will consume her."

The air thickened around us, the moon cast long shadows. I swallowed hard. "What do I do?"

She reached into the folds of her robe and pulled out a pendant. It shone in her palm. 

"It glows with truth, dims with lies," she said, pressing it into my hand. "If you lie to her, you break her. Choose your words wisely."

The pendant hummed against my skin, as if it was alive. I clenched my fist around it and nodded. 

Maelis gives me a long, unreadable look. "Do not fail her."

And then, like mist in the dawn, she is gone.

The next morning, I found Bella in the kitchen, her back turned to me. The mark on her wrist glowed faintly under the morning light. She tried to hide it, but it was too late—I'd already seen it.

"Bella."

She stiffened. "Don’t."

I stepped closer. "That mark—"

"You don’t get to ask questions," she snapped, spinning to face me. Her eyes burn, her hands curled into fists. "Not when you threw me away like I was nothing."

The words hit me harder than I expected. Guilt tightened in my chest, but I forced myself to meet her gaze. "I made mistakes. But that doesn’t change what’s happening now. You’re in danger."

"Oh, now you care?" She shook her head, shoving past me. "Unbelievable."

"Bella, listen to me. There’s something you need to know. About you. About your bloodline."

She hesitates, just for a second. I took in a deep breath, "You're the last Sentinel. Your wolf was sealed away to keep you safe. But now that the Blood Moon is near—"

"Stop." Her voice wavers. "Just stop. I don’t want to hear this."

"You don’t have a choice."

She whirled around, her eyes flashing. "You think you get to tell me that? After everything?" She gestures wildly. "I spent months trying to understand why you rejected me, why you tore me apart like I didn’t matter. And now you stand here, acting like you suddenly care? You don’t get to do that."

I swallowed hard. "I was wrong. I thought I was protecting you—"

"By breaking me?" Her voice cracked, her anger laced with something. "You don’t get to decide what’s best for me. You lost that right."

Silence stretched between us. I unclench my fist, revealing the pendant. It glowed softly in the space between us. "I’m not asking for forgiveness, Bella. But I need you to know the truth."

She stared at it, then at me. Something in her expression shifted. Minutes passed before she exhaled sharply. "I’m not ready to forgive you."

She turned away, her fingers brushed over the mark on her wrist. "But I’m listening."

The pendant in my palm glowed a little brighter.

I hesitated in the dim light, Six nights. Six nights to make things right, or lose everything. Bella’s back was turned to me, but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way she held herself like she was bracing for a storm.

“You should know something,” he said carefully. “I met a Seer tonight. She—”

Bella whipped around. “A Seer?”

I nodded, holding up the pendant. “She gave me this. Said it glows with truth, dims with lies.”

Bella eyed it warily. “What else did she say?”

I exhaled slowly. “That you’re the last Sentinel. That your wolf was locked away.”

Bella’s expression flickered—shock, anger, then something else. Something vulnerable. She took a step closer, the mark on her wrist pulsing faintly. “She told you that?”

I nodded. “Is it true?”

She looked away, jaw tightening. “I don’t know. No one ever told me.”

I studied her, the way her hands clenched, the way her breath turned shallow. “Bella—”

“Don’t.” Her voice was tight. “I can’t do this right now.”

I wanted to push, to demand answers, but the pendant was still glowing. She wasn’t lying. And for now, that had to be enough.

Bella turned toward the hallway. “Goodnight, Sage.”

I watched her go, the pendant remained in my palm, its glow fading slightly. Six nights. And already, time was slipping through my fingers.