The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans
Chapter 138: A Throne Gone Cold

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: A Throne Gone Cold

Kieran’s POV

The air grew thicker, pressing down on me like the weight of a thousand lifetimes as my heartbeat echoed in the darkness

"Wait," I growled, stepping after him, "what do you mean we destroy each other? What does that even mean? Tell me what happened. Tell me what you mean."

But he didn’t speak. My wolf, my own wolf, just stood right in front of me, in the middle of this abyss, silent and unmoving, his glowing eyes fixed on mine like a judge weighing my soul.

"You can’t just say something like that and walk away," I snapped, my voice cracking with more emotion than I liked. "I deserve answers! If I’m going to believe that being with her will kill us all, I need more than riddles and guilt-tripping."

Still, he said nothing. His expression didn’t shift, not even a flicker of sympathy or anger. Just a very cold calm.

Finally, he exhaled. "The truth will come," he said, voice like stone grinding against stone. "But not from me. Not yet."

I gritted my teeth. "Then why say anything at all?"

"Because," he said, "you still have a choice."

The darkness began to thrum again, like the abyss itself was alive, pulsing with raw, ancient power. My wolf stepped closer, his presence towering, as if he were no longer just a part of me but something far greater, something elemental.

"You have twenty-four hours," he said.

My pulse stilled.

"To make your decision," he continued. "Abandon her, cut the bond, walk away, and I will merge with you fully. You will ascend. You will become what you were meant to be. The true Alpha. The Alpha King in form, strength, and immortality. No one will ever best you. You will wield the fury of generations."

I shook my head. "And if I don’t?"

His voice dropped into something colder, final.

"Then stay with her. Watch as history repeats. Watch your kingdom burn. Watch her slip through your fingers. Watch yourself become the monster you once were in lives long forgotten."

My breath hitched. "This isn’t fair."

"It was never supposed to be fair," he said, almost softly. "Fate doesn’t play favorites. And it never forgets."

The abyss trembled, shadows rising, swallowing everything.

His voice echoed one last time, sharp, searing

"Twenty four hours, Kieran. Decide. Your crown... or your curse."

Lorraine’s POV

I didn’t let go of Kieran’s hand. Not for a second.

He lay still on the couch, motionless, his brows pulled ever so slightly as if he were fighting something in a dream. The others were moving about the safe underground house, tending to their wounds, bandaging the broken, catching their breaths. There was an eerie silence that hummed under every movement, like the world itself had paused to decide if we were still worth saving.

I had my own wounds too. Deep gashes across my side, a cracked rib, injuries from where an elite’s claws struck me, but when my wolf had surged through me to protect Kieran, I felt everything snap back into place. It was terrifying how quickly it happened, like I wasn’t even the same person anymore. I didn’t have time to think about what it meant.

I just held Kieran’s hand tighter.

Footsteps padded across the metal floor, slow and hesitant. I looked up just as Thorin lowered himself beside me, sitting on the floor like a child waiting to be punished. He didn’t meet my gaze at first.

"I’m sorry," he said quietly.

I blinked, watching him carefully. "For what?"

His shoulders slumped, and when he turned to me, his face was drawn. ashen, like all the color had been drained out of him. "For everything," he whispered. "You deserve the truth, even if it makes you hate me."

I didn’t speak. Just listened.

Thorin took a breath, then another. His voice shook. "When Kieran left the academy on seclusion to try to attain the total lycan ascension... Adrian kidnapped me. It wasn’t a normal abduction, Lorraine. He has the power of mind control and it’s.... it’s terrifying. He would look at me and speak, and my body would obey like a puppet, even when my soul screamed against it."

My spine straightened.

"He made me do things," Thorin continued, eyes glistening. "He made me put Elise’s body in Kieran’s bathroom... to frame him. He made me move in shadows, made me take his sister, the ghosthound, to that underground location when she first escaped. All so he could reach her before anyone else."

I clenched my teeth.

"I didn’t want to do it. I swear on my life, I didn’t. Every command he gave, it felt like being skinned alive from the inside. Like dying slowly and not being allowed to scream. I wanted to protect Kieran. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But Adrian... he stripped me of any choice. He made me into his weapon."

His voice broke. "I betrayed the prince I swore to serve."

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. I just stared at him, stunned by the weight of what he carried, by the pain in his voice.

"You’re not useless," I said at last. "You were manipulated. You were enslaved. That doesn’t make you worthless. That makes Adrian a monster."

Thorin looked up at me, guilt etched into every line of his face. "But I still did it. I still hurt the people I swore to protect."

I sighed and looked back at Kieran, still unconscious, his breathing steady.

"So make up for it," I said. "Be loyal now. Help us stop him."

Thorin nodded slowly, like a broken man picking up the first pieces of himself again.

Kieran suddenly jolted awake with a suddenness that made both Thorin and I jump immediately

"Kieran!" I gasped.

"You’re awake!" Thorin exclaimed at the same time.

We didn’t even think, both of us fell on him, hugging him tightly, overwhelmed with relief. I buried my face into his neck, breathing in his scent like it would ground me.

But something was wrong. His muscles were stiff, not from injury, but from tension. His hands didn’t return our embrace. His eyes... they were wide open, staring ahead.

"Where is Magnus Thorn?" he asked, already pushing himself up from the couch.

"Kieran?" I blinked in confusion, standing as he stood.

"Where is he?" he repeated, sharp this time.

Thorin shot me a glance before nodding quickly. "He’s in the weapons and explosives room. I’ll take you."

I followed behind them, trying to make sense of Kieran’s sudden urgency. His voice, his energy, it was different. Darker. More focused.

Thorin led us down the corridor until we reached a reinforced metal door with "Weapons & Explosives" boldly stamped on the front. Thorin keyed in a code, and the door slid open with a heavy hiss.

The room was unlike anything I expected.

Metal walls lined with racks of gleaming weapons, crossbows, silver blades, enchanted staffs, elemental rifles. One wall was entirely dedicated to bombs, explosives, vials of venom and wolfsbane gas. There were things here I didn’t even have names for, ancient, dangerous-looking artifacts and rune sealed crates that pulsed with latent magic.

Magnus Thorn stood at the center table beside Astrid Voss, inspecting a jagged blade that shimmered faintly with blue fire.

The moment Kieran walked in, he headed straight for Magnus, his eyes blazing.

"You shouldn’t have knocked me out."

Magnus looked up sharply. "You would’ve died."

"I would’ve given my last drop," Kieran snapped, "if it meant I got to rip Adrian apart with my own hands. In front of everyone. That was the only thing that mattered."

"You were overpowered," Magnus growled, stepping forward. "There’s strength in knowing when to retreat. You’re not just anyone, you’re a prince. Act like one."

Kieran shook his head, chest heaving. "Every breath Adrian draws is a stain on our name. He murdered my father, he shamed our bloodline and I stood there, powerless, while he breathed. Every second he lives is a disgrace to every Lycan that ever ruled."

The room fell deathly silent.

Astrid blinked. "The Alpha King... is dead?"

"You’re joking," Magnus said. "This must be some kind of mistake."

But even he looked like he knew it wasn’t.

"I’m not joking," Kieran said hollowly.

Just then, Varya entered, her arm in a makeshift sling. She looked pale, worn.

"It’s true," she said softly. "My father, the Royal Physician, called earlier. The Alpha King took his own life due to mind control. It’s been confirmed."

Magnus clenched his fists, his body trembling with rage. He looked like he was about to storm out and go back into the fight.

"I should’ve been there," he hissed. "We should never have left....."

"Stop," Astrid commanded, stepping in his path. "Think. Adrian has the entire Crimson Hunt behind him now. And he has the ghosthound."

My heart sank again at the reminder. Aveline. That monstrous, silver-eyed force who threw us around like ragdolls.

"So what do we do?" I asked quietly. "How do we fight him when he’s that powerful?"

Astrid turned her gaze toward Kieran.

"We’re not without weapons of our own," she said. "Good thing she’s not the only ghosthound we have."

My stomach tightened. "What do you mean?"

Kieran’s jaw tensed. His voice was low. "No."

"We don’t have a choice, Kieran," Astrid snapped. "You know it’s true."

I turned to him, confused. "What’s going on?"

Astrid exhaled and looked around at everyone in the room.

"Kieran’s mother," she said. "The Alpha Queen. She’s a ghosthound too."