The rain came hard that night.
Not just outside — but within Aurelia's chest.
She couldn't sleep.Couldn't sit still.Couldn't stop replaying his voice in her mind.
"We'll meet again, little wolf."
Her fingers twitched under the sheets.
Why did that voice sound like it belonged to her?
In the Duke's Private Chambers…
Lucien—no, Ren now—stood behind his father, eyes heavy.
"She's changing," the Duke said, staring into the fire. "Just like she did."
Ren's brow furrowed. "She who?"
The Duke's jaw locked.
"Her mother," he said. "The first wolf to ever love a devil."
Back in Aurelia's Room…
She sat at her mirror, brushing her hair.
Alone.
Quiet.
Until—A whisper.A flicker.A flash.
Blood.
A moonlit ballroom.
A man in black… red eyes… her tiny hands reaching for him.
"Rea…" he whispered back then.
Her brush clattered to the floor.
"No," she gasped, holding her head. "That's not real. That's not—"
FLASHBACK – Years Ago
A child, no older than six.A dress too big for her tiny frame.A masked boy, older, with wild raven hair and sad golden eyes.
He was holding her hand.
He was crying.
"They'll take you from me," he whispered.
"They already did."
She was sobbing. "But I don't want to forget you."
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"Then don't."
A ring. A small black wolf etched into it. He slipped it onto her finger.
"They can erase your memories, Rea. But they can't erase your soul."
Present
She sat up straight in her bed, gasping, drenched in sweat.
She looked down at her hand—
Her bare hand.
No ring.
But her heart pounded like it still knew the shape of it.
"Tessa!" she shouted, scrambling out of bed.
The maid rushed in, dagger already half-drawn. "What is it?"
Aurelia's lip trembled.
"I remember… him."
Down in the Duke's Study
The door slammed open.
Aurelia stood there, barefoot and furious.
"You erased my memories."
The Duke didn't answer.
"You took him from me."
Still, he said nothing.
"I deserve the truth."
He turned slowly… and for once, he didn't look like the cold, terrifying man she feared.
He looked… haunted.
"You were never meant to remember," he said softly. "Because if you do… he'll come back for you."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"He already has."
Meanwhile…
In the depths of a forbidden forest, under a blood-red moon…
The devil's son stood before a rusted, enchanted gate.Carved into it: Nightbloom.
A wicked smile curled across his lips.
"You remember me now, don't you, Rea?"
He stepped forward.
The gate opened.
"Then it's time we finish what they started."
End of Chapter 13.