Isha POV
I couldn't sleep.
I had spent four years in New York convincing myself that Crescent Moon Pack belonged to another lifetime.
Yet now, after only two days back, everything I had buried was beginning to surface again.
My father.
The pack.
The memories.
And Kabir.
Especially Kabir.
I stood on the balcony outside my room, staring at the moon.
Something felt different.
Ever since I had returned, I had noticed something strange.
Whenever Kabir came near me, my body reacted.
My senses sharpened.
My heartbeat became stronger.
And there was an unfamiliar warmth spreading through me, almost like energy flowing beneath my skin.
I had felt it at dinner.
I had felt it when he stood beside my chair.
And now, even thinking about him made Pia restless.
There is something about him.
"I know."
You become stronger when he is near.
I frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
He is our mate.
I looked away.
Four years ago, I would have accepted those words without hesitation.
Now they only hurt.
"He may be our mate," I whispered. "But that doesn't mean I belong to him."
Pia became silent.
Then I sensed someone behind me.
I turned.
Kabir.
He stood in the doorway.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
The moment his eyes met mine, that strange sensation returned.
My entire body warmed.
My hearing became sharper.
I could hear the leaves moving outside.
I could smell the flowers in the garden below.
I could even hear the distant footsteps of a warrior on the other side of the building.
I stared at my hands.
"Kabir..."
He noticed.
His expression immediately changed.
"What?"
"Whenever you're near me..."
I hesitated.
"I feel strange."
His face became unreadable.
"What kind of strange?"
"Powerful."
That single word seemed to frighten him.
He stepped backward.
"Go inside."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because it's late."
"That's not an answer."
He looked at me.
For a moment, I saw something behind his cold expression.
Fear.
Not fear of me.
Fear for me.
"You don't understand what you're feeling."
"Then explain it."
"I can't."
"Why?"
His jaw tightened.
"Because you don't know the truth."
My heart began racing.
"What truth?"
He looked away.
"Nothing."
"You just said there was a truth."
"Isha..."
He stopped.
His voice softened.
"Please."
I had never heard Kabir say please to me.
I stared at him.
"What are you hiding?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he turned to leave.
"Kabir."
He stopped.
I took a step toward him.
The moment I moved closer, the power inside me intensified.
Kabir's eyes flashed amber.
He immediately stepped away.
"Don't come closer."
"Why?"
His voice was almost a whisper.
"Because I don't trust what will happen."
I froze.
He walked away without another word.
I stood there, confused.
For the first time, I wasn't wondering whether Kabir still loved me.
I was wondering what he knew about me.
Kabir POV
I shut the door behind me and leaned against the wall.
My breathing was uneven.
She was awakening.
After four years, the power inside her was finally beginning to surface.
And I was terrified.
Not of Isha.
Never of her.
Of what would happen when everyone else discovered what she was.
I remembered the first night of our marriage.
The night I discovered the truth.
Isha had entered the bedroom wearing her wedding clothes, nervous and shy.
I had been angry with myself for feeling so strongly toward her.
She was supposed to be nothing more than the girl our families had promised to each other when we were children.
That was what I had told myself.
But the moment she stood in front of me, I couldn't stop looking at her.
Then something caught my attention.
A faint golden glow.
Isha didn't notice it.
But I did.
A half-moon mark had appeared on her skin, just below her collarbone and between her breasts.
It was glowing.
Not silver.
Not white.
Gold.
My entire body went cold.
I had heard the ancient stories.
The Moon Heir.
A supernatural being born within the bloodline whose power could shift the balance between wolves and vampires.
A person marked by a special symbol that revealed itself beneath the moon.
At the time, I didn't know whether the legends were true.
But when I saw that golden mark...
I knew.
Isha wasn't a weak Omega.
She had never been weak.
Her wolf, Pia, was powerful.
Far more powerful than she understood.
And there was another problem.
The vampires had already begun circling our territory.
The timing was too perfect to be coincidence.
They were searching for the Moon Heir.
And if they discovered Isha was the one they were looking for, Crescent Moon Pack would become a battlefield.
So I made a decision.
I would hide the truth.
From my father.
From the elders.
From the council.
From the vampires.
And most importantly...
From Isha.
But hiding her power wasn't enough.
I had to make everyone believe she meant nothing to me.
That was when Patricia became part of my plan.
Every smile.
Every conversation.
Every time I allowed Isha to see me with Patricia.
It was deliberate.
Cruel.
And necessary.
I had watched Isha's heart break.
I had heard her cry.
And every time, I had wanted to tell her the truth.
But I couldn't.
If she believed I didn't love her, she would eventually leave me.
And if she left the pack, perhaps the vampires would lose interest in her.
That was what I had hoped.
Instead, she disappeared into the human world.
For four years, I had no idea whether she was safe.
And now she was back.
But something had changed.
She was stronger.
More confident.
And her power was awakening.
I couldn't hide it much longer.
Isha POV
The following morning, I woke with an unfamiliar sense of strength.
I felt different.
Stronger.
I went downstairs and entered the garden.
The moment I stepped outside, I heard something.
A bird.
Then another.
Then footsteps far beyond the garden.
I closed my eyes.
I could hear everything.
Too clearly.
I opened them again.
"What is happening to me?"
Pia answered softly.
You are changing.
Before I could ask what she meant, I sensed him.
Kabir.
I turned.
He was walking toward me.
Immediately, that same power surged through my body.
My fingers tingled.
My heart raced.
The world around me seemed sharper.
Brighter.
Stronger.
Kabir stopped.
He looked at me.
Then at my hands.
His expression became tense.
"You felt it again."
It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
"What did you feel?"
"Power."
He looked away.
"How much?"
I stared at him.
"Why do you care?"
His eyes returned to mine.
"Because I do."
The answer shocked both of us.
Silence fell.
Kabir took a slow breath.
"Isha..."
"What?"
"There are things about your wolf that you don't understand."
My heart skipped.
"What things?"
He stepped closer.
And the power inside me surged so strongly that I almost lost my balance.
Kabir caught my arm.
The instant his skin touched mine, a pulse of golden energy travelled through my body.
We both froze.
For a brief moment, the world seemed to disappear.
Kabir stared at me.
I stared at him.
And somewhere beneath my skin, something glowed.
His eyes widened.
He had seen it.
"What was that?"
I looked at my hand.
A faint golden shimmer disappeared beneath my skin.
"Kabir..."
He released me immediately.
"You didn't see anything."
"I did."
"No."
His voice became firm.
"You didn't."
"Why are you lying?"
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then his expression softened.
"Because I am trying to protect you."
My heart tightened.
"From what?"
He couldn't answer.
He simply walked away.
I watched him disappear into the palace.
For four years, I had believed Kabir had destroyed my life because he never cared about me.
But now I was beginning to wonder.
What if everything I believed was wrong?
What if the man who had made me hate him had been hiding something far more dangerous?
And why did I feel more powerful whenever he was near?
I looked toward the moon.
Somewhere inside me, Pia whispered the answer.
Because he isn't only your mate, Isha.
I swallowed.
Then what is he?
Pia didn't answer.
But for the first time, I was determined to find out.
And Kabir knew that his secret was no longer safe.