It was a bright morning in the medical research wing as the wing was filled with scents of all types of species, drugs and sterilizing alcohol. Mingi Hart moved quietly through the halls, clipboard in one hand, a pen tucked behind his ear, and a furrow in his brow. He'd barely slept, haunted by the image of Selene in his head and the boundary that had been placed between.
But here—within the pristine white walls of Hart Biogenetics—he could breathe, if only slightly.
"Doctor Mingi!" a small voice chimed.
He turned just in time to catch a blur of lavender and pigtails barreling toward him. Eunbi, the twenty-year-old daughter of one of the hospital's directors, had become his favorite part of the day. She was the only one who didn't look at him like he was cursed—or powerful. To her, he was the guy she had secretly been in love with since she was fifteen.
Mingi looked at her, smiling. "No school today? kiddo."
"I brought you this!" She held up a folded piece of paper. "It's my acceptance letter into college." She said excitedly. She had been trying to write the entrance exam for two years now.
His heart clenched. Gently, he took the paper from her hand, smoothing the edges with his thumb. "Thanks, Eunbi. You made me proud." Mingi saw Eunbi like the little sister he never had. Eunbi wanted to become a medical doctor and researcher just like Mingi.
"I know I did." She gave him a stern look and skipped off toward the admin desk, her ponytails bouncing.
Mingi watched her leave, his smile fading. He made his way into Lab 3, where samples waited under cold blue light. As he worked through tissue analyses and gene sequencing from recent patient trials, he kept replaying last night.
Selene.
The bond.
The wall.
And the haunting realization that no matter how much she fought it, their connection was now written into the marrow of his bones.
"Still brooding over her?" Elias Hart's voice cut through the quiet like a knife.
Elias didn't know the mysterious girl who made his brother so obsessed. But he knew she had him gone.
Mingi looked up to find his older brother leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyes sharp. Elias always looked out of place here in the lab, with his military-cut hair, broad frame, and the faint scent of ash and steel that followed him everywhere.
"Morning to you too," Mingi replied, focusing on the vial in his hand.
Elias stepped in, closing the door. "Mom's worried. Dad's pissed. They think you're slipping."
"Tell them I'm fine."
"They don't care if you're fine. They care if you're... loyal." Elias's tone was pointed. "You've been different ever since you started hanging out with that Cassian again ."
Mingi stiffened.
Cassian Velo had trained him outside the Hart estate for years, shaped his mind, sharpened his instincts, taught him how to balance science and strategy. But he wasn't blood. And the Hart family never forgave Cassian for stealing their younger son away under the pretense of discipline.
"I came back," Mingi said flatly. "Isn't that enough?"
Elias shook his head. "Not when you refuse the engagement. Not when you spend more time talking about werewolf packs than about your future in the company. Or the prophecy."
Mingi slammed the vial down. "Don't start."
"Why not?" Elias snapped. "You think just because you were born under the Blood Moon, you get to rewrite fate? You were meant to lead our bloodline into power—not chase after wolves and witches."
"I didn't choose the bond," Mingi growled.
"No," Elias said quietly. "But maybe she did."
That stung deeper than he wanted to admit.
There was a knock at the lab door. Their father,entered. Tall, immaculately dressed, his presence sucked the warmth from the room. Their mother,followed—quiet and cold as winter.
"Mingi," his father said, voice devoid of affection. "We have a visitor."
"Who?"
"Cassian."
Mingi's jaw tightened. Elias scoffed and muttered under his breath.
His father gestured. "Come. He claims he has something important to say. You know how... dramatic he can be."
Reluctantly, Mingi followed his parents and brother through the estate's lower corridor to the glass conservatory. Cassian stood in the middle, robes slightly disheveled, but his eyes sharp as ever.
"Mingi," he greeted softly. "You look tired."
"What are you doing here?"
Cassian glanced at Mingi's parents with a flicker of disdain. "May I speak to him alone?"
"Absolutely not," they replied.
Cassian ignored him and turned to Mingi. "Something's changed in the bond. The veil that was created between you and Selene—it's not just to keep you apart. It's to suppress your awakening."
"My what?" Mingi frowned.
"You think you were just born under the Blood Moon by chance? No. Your connection to her is part of something older—something even the Elders didn't predict."
Elias scoffed again. "You're always chasing myths."
Cassian ignored him. "That spell Sorenna used—there's a reason it burns only you when you try to cross it. She's not afraid of Selene. She's afraid of what you two together would become."
Mingi stared, a cold dread crawling over him. "Why?"
"Because together," Cassian said quietly, "you're the end of an era. And the beginning of one no witch, no Alpha, no bloodline can control."
"You've said enough," Mingi's father replied. "Leave."
But before Cassian turned to go, he whispered to Mingi: "Go to the old library. Look for the sealed book behind the spine labeled Lunaris Vitae. Trust what you find."
Then he left as suddenly as he came.
Later that night, long after the estate had gone quiet and the halls dimmed to silver, Mingi crept toward the old Hart library. The door creaked on ancient hinges. Dust danced in the moonlight. He searched the shelves until he found the book Cassian mentioned.
Lunaris Vitae.
It looked like any other old tome, but when he pulled it, the shelf shifted, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside: a book bound in wolfskin leather, its cover marked with a blood moon.
He opened it.
The pages were filled with forgotten lore. Prophecies. Symbols. And then—
A sketch.
Selene.
And him.
Side by side, standing over a battlefield. A hybrid army behind them. The words beneath read:
"Moonborn and She-Wolf: the Bound Flame. Two hearts that forge the storm, and in their union, kingdoms fall."
A voice cut through the quiet.
"You found it."
Mingi turned sharply.
It was his grandfather. His grandfather knew quite a lot about Mingi's bloodline from werewolves.
He stepped out of the shadows, lips curled in a sardonic smile. "You always did like secrets."
Mingi narrowed his eyes
. "Grandpa?"
"I had been looking for you all over the mansion." Mingi took a step closer, the air crackling. "We need to talk