Amalthea has just revealed an incredible secret to me…San and Yeosang are full twin brothers. But she's gone all too soon when Jongho cuts her connection, stepping into the crypt with a bloodthirsty smile.
"I think it's time we finish this, don't you?"
With that, Jongho rips his stone from his wrist…brings it to his unhinged jaws…and swallows it.
"No. That is the stone made from the life of the first ever child of True Mates. If he eats that—"
"(Y/N)!" San screams.
"Get down!" Yeosang yells.
San and Yeosang both run for me, slamming me to the ground just in time. A deadly surge of dark power thrums through the cavern, strong enough to rip skin from flesh. Jongho roars. His body contorts, every bone snapping. His skin boils like magma. Something between a howl and a cry rings from his sharp-fanged mouth.
"Jongho…"
"God, he's…"
Where Jongho once stood, a huge, hulking beast now haunts the crypt, every once of him lethal and crazed.
"Yeosang, San, we have to fight."
"Yes."
"You take the left. I'll take the right." Yeosang tells San.
We all sprint at Jongho from different directions. But with the speed of lightning, he flattens us all.
Shit. He's fast, too.
Jongho raises his lethal, razor-sharp claws at me. But something huge grabs hold of his arm, stopping him.
"Yeosang!"
With no effort at all, Jongho flings Yeosang off. He sails through the air, slamming into a stone wall nearby.
"No!"
"(Y/N). Get behind me."
"You can't do anything, San! That collar keeps you from all of your power. And even if you had it—"
"I DON'T CARE!"
Shoving me behind him, San's silver eyes blaze. He runs at Jongho with fierce determination. As though scaling a wall, he runs up Jongho's body, grabbing hold of his jaws as he swings onto the monster's back. But Jongho's jaws snap down on San's fingers. He screams and falls to the floor, blood pouring from his mangled hands.
"SAN!!"
Jongho stalks toward me, lapping up San's blood like a meal. I feel the remaining jewel in my hand. The one made with Amalthea's life. Closing my eyes, I call my own power forward, pouring it into the jewel.
Please, Amalthea. Help me end this reign of terror.
My power pours into the crack on the jewel, repairing that which was broken in Amalthea's heart, until the gem is whole. Jongho lunges, his broken-looking jaw opening unnaturally wide with the promise of ripping me to shreds. I duck low, avoiding his lethal teeth, and shove the jewel up into his heart. The gem collides with Jongho's body, and I feel it meet the gem he swallowed. The one made with the life of the first True Mate's child. They battle one another, mine supported by my hope and power, Jongho's fueled with hate. But my arm starts to shake. Amalthea's stone starts to crack.
"No…"
Then, the stone in my hand shatters.
"NO!"
With a horrifying, rumbling laugh, Jongho picks me up, and hurdles me into the ceiling.
"(Y/N)!!!"
My back feels as though it snaps in half when I hit the stone. I slam into the ground, devoid of air or hope. Then, the room starts to rumble. The force of my impact causes the roof to cave in. Yeosang and San scream for me. But there is no time. The deafening explosion sends rock and debris down on me. Darkness. That is all that envelopes me.
"Am I…dead?"
"No, (Y/N). Not dead."
Amalthea's voice rises within me, like it has so many times before.
"Amalthea? But how? Your stone…it shattered…"
I cough, and blood bursts from my mouth.
"I was never tied to that stone. I am tied to you, as the inheritor of the power. The power you must protect."
"H-how?"
"(Y/N)! No!!!"
Above me, I hear San bellow your name. I feel him scrape his flesh away trying to unbury me. Then, I hear Jongho roar.
"He's going…to get killed…tell me what to do."
But Amalthea, and the darkness, are ripped away as another bomb-like blast of power blows the rocks clean off of me. I careen into the opposite wall, more blood escaping your mouth.
"Sonyeo!!!"
Yeosang is the first person I see. He crawls to me, his back turned to San, who is held aloft, inches from Jongho's jaw.
"…(Y/N)…"
With a shaking, bloody arm, I point at San. But Yeosang shakes his head.
"It's you I'm worried about. San will be okay."
My body grows weak, something sapping it. Like Amalthea's broken heart is fused with my own. Then, it all makes sense.
The power. The power lies in the two of them. Yeosang and San are the grandchildren of True Mates. They are twins, barred from knowing each other. Barred from loving each other. And now…the thing that divides them…is me.
Yeosang continues to limp toward me. San's entire arm is now inside Jongho's mouth. Jongho's jaw unhinges wider and wider, monstrously. I know what he planes. To bite San clean in half.
"Yeosang…San… You have to stop. Stop letting me divide you."
"What?"
"You…aren't…!"
"Yes, I am. First it was the Queen. Then it was your desire for power. Now, it's me."
I clutch my chest, forcing myself to stand.
"You are BROTHERS. And you are twice as powerful, twice as capable, working together. That's what your mother wanted. It's the key to everything. So PLEASE."
My words tear from my throat on a cry, desperate tears streaming down my face.
"PLEASE HELP EACH OTHER!"
My words knock the air clean from Yeosang and San's lungs. They look at each other. In the moment that they stare, time seems to stand still. All that exists is San, in Jongho's grasp, gazing down at Yeosang.
"Together, brother?" San asks.
"Together. Brother."
Then, Yeosang's crimson eyes flare. He sprints for San, screaming his name. Instead of fighting Jongho off, San reaches down for Yeosang, allowing Jongho to close his jaws over his shoulder.
"YEOSANG!"
"SAN!"
When the two collide, that same blinding white light erupts, throwing me back. Pain explodes through my body.
They'll worry about me again if I show that I'm injured. I need to overcome the pain. I'm stronger than this.
Taking a deep, cleansing breath, I push the pain out of my mind, fully rejecting it. As the white light dissipates, my eyes adjust. What I see shocks me to numbness. San and Yeosang rip their iron collars away like they are made of air. Yeosang vaults onto Jongho's body, tearing San free of him, and as the two brothers make eye contact, they inhale deeply.
"DOWN!!!!"
Their joined Alpha Command rips through the tomb with a strength and power that rivals anything I've ever felt. It forces Jongho's beastial form to slam into the ground
"San…Yeosang…you did it."
The brothers exchange a look, their renewed power wafting off of them, as though it has finally been unchained. They smile, winded.
"Yes. Together." Yeosang grins.
"Together."
I'm so relieved, I want to hug them both.
Maimed and exhausted, I open my arms, folding them over both brothers.
"Whoa. Easy now."
"Yeah, you okay?" Yeosang asks.
I pull them tighter to me, laughing through tears.
"Yeah. I've never been better."
But my relief is washed away as quickly as it came…when both San and Yeosang are pulled away from me.
What?
Jongho's eyes flare red, and he uses a snake like, red whip of his own blood to snare the brother's ankles, pulling them to him.
"No!"
"GET OFF!"
They fight like mad, but the blood whip, much like my own power is far too potent to contend with. It snakes around each of their throats, choking them to death.
I…have to…help them…
I fight to my feet, my body broken and depleted. But I know I have to give the last of myself to this fight.
I am the child of True Mates. This is my war.
A rush of warm wind rises from the floor beneath me, seemingly from nowhere. Out of it, I hear voices.
"…(Y/N)…"
"…We're with you…"
The voices of the past True Mate children – the past victims of this cruel battle for power – flood my soul, giving me renewed strength.
Everyone…I will avenge you.
With my words, something new arises: a calling, very much like the one I heard when I first felt my elemental powers. But this one is different. It sings a different song, far stronger than before. And my eyes are drawn to its source…the moon. I stare up at the full moon, her silver light beaming from the opened hole in the ceiling. She beckons me to use her. And I remember the old woman from the village. The thing she said.
'We could channel the power of the very moon herself. The very source of all shifter power.'
Taking a deep breath, I feel the incredible might of the moon enter me, lifting me off the ground. My eyes blaze silver.
"Jongho. You laid low like a snake in the grass your whole life. Only for a taste of this power. But look what it's made of you."
I only have to twitch a finger and a blinding beam of moonlight severs the blood whips holding Yeosang and San.
"You are a monster. There's nothing left of you to even enjoy the spoils of your war. You've been consumed. Because you're weak."
"(Y/N)…"
"You're…"
I look down at my finger I used to unbind San and Yeosang. It is broken.
Is this power too much for my body?
Then, I feel two warm hands on my back, and my strength triples.
What?
"(Y/N). We're here." My Mother says.
"We've got you. We won't let you go." My father smiles.
My parents words, their support, their love and their power, it all seeps into me, roping around every fiber of my body.
"This all ends. NOW."
Together, Morgan, Bang Chan, and I all push forward, allowing a massive burst of moonlight to travel through my outstretched arm. It rockets through the air, a searing torch of white-hot power, and it burns a hole right through Jongho's chest. With a deafening roar, Jongho drops to the ground, red light cracking around him like he is a shattering jewel himself. My one final push rockets moonlight into those cracks upon his body, and he bursts into a sea of starlight. Exhausted, I fall back into my parents arms.
"I've got her."
San sprints to me and lifts me gently in his arms. Yeosang gets down on one knee, holding out his hands. With Yeosang's help, San springs out of the hole in the ceiling, bringing me to rest on the soft grass in the shadow of the castle.
"San. Is it over?"
"Yes. Yes, it's over, (Y/N)."
He brings me close to his chest, and I think I hear a hushed sob come from him.
"Hey. It's okay. I'm okay."
I reach up and wrap my hand around his neck, pulling him down to me.
"How many times. How many times is this world going to try to take you from me?"
"I don't care. I'll fight every time."
San laughs and shakes his head, his eyes still bright with tears.
"I know you would."
"(Y/N)!"
Yeosang vaults out of the hole, followed by my mother and father.
"Is she alright? Bang Chan, get help."
"On it."
"No, I'm okay."
I struggle, but with San's help, I sit upright.
"I'm okay knowing that you are all okay."
Everyone smiles down at me. But a sharp pain in my chest makes my vision blur.
"NO!"
Before anyone can react, though, a wisp of silver moonlight trails down from the very moon herself.
What?
It lifts me out of San's arms, and I rise softly into the night sky.
"(Y/N). You did it."
Amalthea's image forms before me, a vision only I can see and hear.
"I did it. With my parents' help."
"Maybe so. But without you, none of this would have come to be."
The moonlight trails over my body, healing every cut, bruise, and broken bone.
"You found the power within you to sever the divides. You helped everyone, even me, come together again. So that we could help you protect the power of True Mate children."
"The power to harness the moon?"
"Yes. But there is one more power you have. A power no other child of True Mates lived long enough to use."
"What is that?"
"The power to choose your own True Mate."
"What? That's an impossible decision."
"It may feel impossible. But in your heart, you know what you want to do. Just listen to it."
As gently as I rose into the air, Amalthea guides me back down. She whispers in my ear.
"Make the decision I could not make."
Then, with the softest kiss to my cheek, she disappears. I float down, and land in San and Yeosang's arms.
"You're healed. Thank God."
"What just happened?"
"Your mother. She…she told me I need to choose."
I look from San to Yeosang. They understand, without words, what I mean.
"(Y/N), you came into our lives in a way no one would have wished on their worst enemy." San says.
"We regret every second of that. I regret every hateful thing I said and did to you. You deserve your freedom over anything else." Yeosang smiles.
"Yes. So, whatever decision you make…we'll accept."
Whatever decision I make.
Their words fall over me like the blanket of stars above. We look from one to the other. My stubborn, quick-tempered Alpha King and my stern, duty-bound bastard Alpha prince.
"I choose….San."
San looks up slowly, as though he can't believe his ears.
"What? Me?"
"Yes, San. You. You've been a light in the darkness from the very beginning. You helped me survive the worst days of my life. And on the days that weren't hard, you were still there. Anchoring me. Making me smile."
I cup his face in my hand, drawing him close.
"There's no one else for me, San. It's you."
"(Y/N). My God."
He says my name with more care, more reverence, than ever before. Tangling his hand in my hair, he pulls me to him. When our lips touch, everything around us electrifies. It's as though I share a single heartbeat with San. All of his memories become mine, and all of my memories become his.
We're True Mates now.
Pulling him tighter, exploring his mouth with mine, I open myself up to him, and show him my most treasured memory. It is the day he met me. The minute he fell close to me on the bed, and told me who I really am.
"That's—?"
"Yes. It's a moment I think back on often, San. I think…I think it's the minute I fell for you."
"It's the minute I fell for you, too."
Applause breaks the intense, magical connection, pulling San and I back to reality. My parents, Yeosang, the whole of the castle spilling out onto the grounds, they all clap and cheer for us.
"I have an announcement."
Yeosang raises his voice as Alpha King, and a hush falls over the crowd.
"It has recently come to my attention that my brother is the legitimate son and heir to my father's throne. And by my hand, as Alpha King…"
Yeosang saunters up to San, a genuine smile stretched across his face. San blinks up at him in awe.
"…I relinquish my crown to him."
Stunned to silence, San rises to meet his brother, face-to-face. The shifters surrounding them, hundreds deep, bow.
"San, thats too generous."
"No. It's the least I can do. For you both."
Yeosang bends the knee to San and I.
"My Alpha Queen."
I look around at the wolves before me, each bent low in recognition. In thanks. San takes my hand.
"What do you say? Are you ready for a new adventure?"
"Yes, San. More than ready."
A short week has passed since the fateful night I chose San as my True Mate, and accepted my role as Alpha Queen. Drums beat for my entrance into my wedding, thousands of onlookers forming a circle around the ancient stones.
"Are you nervous, my love?"
You turn to my mother, shining in her dress, more radiant than I've ever seen her.
"I'm nervous for the walk."
"You've fought international and supernatural wars and you're worried about tripping? You really are my daughter."
My mother smooths down my wedding gown. The gown she wore to her own wedding.
"Just focus on walking to San. You'll feel like you're floating."
I nod and she kisses me on the cheek. The drums grow louder, and a chorus of beautiful, Korean lilts are sung over the vast open land.
"That's my cue."
"Yes, it is."
My father slides up next to me. Both of my parents take me, arm in arm.
"I dreamed about this day. I never thought it would come."
"It's here, Daddy. And we'll share many more days after this. You have my word."
Untold emotion swirls in his gold-flecked eyes. He nods his thanks, and we all make our way down the aisle. And waiting for me, at the very end of it is San. His sharp, silver eyes glint, reflecting sunlight as I walk to him.
"Welcome, all. We gather here to unite our new Alpha King to his True Mate and Queen, (Y/N)."
Yeosang opens his arms wide, welcoming San to speak. San takes my hands.
"(Y/N)…before I met you, I was scorned. A stain on this land and on my family. I held no value for myself. But that all changed when I met you. A smart-mouthed girl from New York City, who wouldn't let duty or chains bind her."
He smiles, for a moment losing himself in memory. My heart swells.
"You taught me to be myself, no matter the cost. To fight for the life I want. And the life I want is one with you. Always"
"San, that was so sweet."
"It's my truth."
San leans in and kisses me then. A kiss so deep and tender that it makes me feel like I'm floating. Then, his mouth floats down to my ear. He kisses the shell of it and whispers.
"It is time for your crown, my Queen."
He ushers forth two glittering crowns, as silver as the moon herself.
"I don't understand. Why two? Is it…a test?"
"No. It's a choice I want to offer you. You're free, and you're a ruler. It's only right that you have one of these."
He traces the spires of the first gorgeous, halo-like tiara.
"This one I had forged fresh in the shape of the moon…to symbolize a new era that you're ushering in. One of wisdom and freedom."
His hand moves to the second, an antique crown encrusted in moonstone.
"And this crown was gifted to us in the will of the old woman. Apparently, it is the oldest shifter crown in existence."
"Which would you like to wear as our Alpha Queen?" Yeosang asks.
"I choose the crown hand made. To me, this symbolizes a fresh start with all the previous troubles left far behind."
"I couldn't agree more."
San turns to the spectators and shouts.
"Our Queen has chosen the new crown to symbolize a new beginning for all shifters."
He holds his hand out to me. When I rise, freshly crowned, the crowd erupts in applause.
"A new crown. A new era."
He whispers, only loud enough for me to hear.
"I love you."
"I love you, too." I smile
San claims my mouth, bending me back in a kiss that could stop time itself. Then, a sudden darkness falls over the land. Everyone gasps. I look up to where the sun once shone, to find a brilliant full moon overlooking my wedding.
But the full moon was last week…
"…(Y/N)…"
A chorus of ancient voices ring out all around me. Only I can hear them.
"Our…ancestors…"
Stepping into the center of the stones, I lift my eyes to the night sky.
"Ancestors, I hear you calling. What is it that you wish of me?"
Suddenly, a brilliant beam of moonlight shoots down from the sky, much like it did the night of my battle. The crowd gasps as the moonlight curls itself around me, lifting me high in the air.
"Child of True Mates…you have brought peace to this once fraught land…"
"I didn't do it alone. You helped to guide me."
"In the times before…magic flowed freely though the shifters…as it flows through you…"
My eyes shine silver. I remember the old woman's tale. Of the First Shifters.
The ancestors speaking to me now. When they were alive, they all had magic. With it came equality. And peace.
"Our magic was stripped away by those that feared it…those who you have now defeated… We ask you…would you like to return magic…and peace…to your people…?"
"You would return the magic that San and I share…to everyone?"
"…Yes…"
My heart pounds. I look down at the crowd before me. At my mother and father, at I.N, at Yeosang…and at San, the boy who was tortured for being different. Who carried a great power within him, and only used it for good.
"Ancestors, I want to bring magic back to all shifters. Usher in an era of peace."
On my word, a burst of moonlight cascades out over the crowd. Everyone gasps as the magic enters their chest, spreading to shine bright in their silver eyes.
"My people. The ancestors have granted us a gift."
I speak from high above, shining like the moon herself, with strength and authority.
"This is a gift of freedom. To prosper as one, in the ways of the ancient traditions. If we refrain from abusing this gift, great peace and prosperity will be ours. Will you join me in this?"
The crowd cheers. San looks around at everyone, his mouth parted in awe. I float back down into his arms.
"(Y/N)…everyone is…"
"Just like you now. Yes."
Tears rise in his silver eyes. And he kisses me once more as sunlight returns to the land.
"To our Alpha King and Queen!"
Yeosang bellows, and cheers follow, as everyone celebrates the new dawn of our reign. A few days later, I stand hand-in-hand with San, gazing out at something I never thought I'd see. My homeland.
"So this is where our pack resides. The Far West pack."
"Yes."
My mother joins me, looking over the lush canyon beyond.
"This is where you're from. Where you were born."
"It's beautiful."
"Just like the girl who came from here." San smiles before pressing a kiss to my temple.
"Why don't you two get a closer look, hm?"
I look at my mother. She gives me a wry wink as San takes my hand.
"What are you two plotting?"
"Just a little honeymoon surprise."
San kisses my cheek, then, he shifts into his majestic, blue-grey wolf form.
"You want me to follow you? Okay."
With all the ease of breathing, I shift into my wolf as well. My mother smiles, taking in the sight of me.
"See you soon, my love."
San nips my ear playfully and leaps from the canyon, into the tree line. I follow him. I twist and turn, flying through the trees with well-honed speed and agility. I taste the freshness of the air, and my heart sings. Dusk falls over the forest when San comes to a stop, shifting back and running his hand up a mysterious wooden ladder.
"What's that?"
"Climb it and find out."
"Race you to the top."
I grab the ladder before San can, climbing as fast as I can high into the tree line. What I find at the top leaves me stunned. A beautiful treehouse gleams under the stars, warm and inviting. San walks up behind me.
"Is this…?"
"All for us? Yes. Your father and I worked on it. It's where we can stay every time we come to visit."
I turn to face San, tears rising in my eyes.
"You mean we'll come back? Often?"
"As often as you like."
With all the care in the world, San takes my hand. He leads me inside the treehouse, and up into its bedroom.
The canopy bed glows as though it is lit with starlight. Fresh flowers bring an aroma like I've never experienced to my hidden oasis.
"This is…more than I ever hoped for…"
"What a coincidence."
San wraps his arms around me, leading me to the window.
"You're more than I ever hoped for."
I turn to face my husband. My Alpha. And he slips my clothes down my body.
"Trust me?"
"With my life."
San pulls his clothes off, his incredible body like chiseled marble against the night sky. He opens the bay window overlooking a still, peaceful lake. And…takes my hand…he guides me to jump down into it.
Oh my God!
I plunge into the cool lake, surfacing to toss my hair back in a beautiful arc.
"Sometimes I'm not sure you're real. I'm afraid I dreamed you up and I'm going to wake any second."
I swim to San, smoothly drifting right up in front of him.
"I assure you, Alpha King. I'm very real."
Gripping his shoulders, I hoist myself up to his full height and kiss him. When I pull away, I gently bite down on his lip and suck it, tugging before I release it.
"Mmm. That's all the proof I need."
His hands find my ribs and skate lower. Past my waist, past my hips, down to my ass. He squeezes, and I gasp, wrapping my legs around him.
"You're as real as they come."
He squeezes again and I lean back, dipping my hair beneath the surface of the lake. San takes my nipples between his teeth. He sucks and rolls it, flicking until I grind against him.
"God. Now, I'm not sure you're real."
He takes my other nipple in his mouth, rolling it back and forth over and over. A soft cry escapes me as I revel in the sweet torture.
"I'm real. And I'm yours."
In the depths of the lake, San's cock slides up against me, and a fire ignites between my thighs. My breathing grows ragged.
"You want me, don't you? I can tell. Just by the change in your heartbeat."
"You can't feel my heartbeat."
"Yes, I can. Right here."
San squeezes my ass again, harder than ever. I moan with the exquisite heat that spreads beneath his grasp. He carries me to shore and lays me gently in the wildflowers. He straightens, his naked body hard and shining in the dark.
"If you want me, spread your legs."
I slowly spread my legs, revealing myself to San.
"Wider." He whispers into my ear.
I bite my lip and let my knees fall completely open.
"That's my girl."
San lowers himself between my legs, and slips his hands beneath my ass. With a playful pinch, he yanks my hips up to meet him. Before I have time to breathe, San sinks his cock hard into my slick, swollen center.
"Oh, God. San!"
He thrusts, taking me as deep as my body will allow. I throw my hands above my head, gripping the grass.
He owns my body when he's like this. And he owns my heart.
I surrender both to him as he powers into me, rising up to take the full measure of his plunging thrusts. In the quiet forest, the only thing that exists is San inside me. He drives home with deep thrusts that leave me gasping.
"I love you, (Y/N). So much."
"And I you."
My breathless response makes him swell to even greater girth inside of me, each hard thrust bringing me closer to the razor's edge. On a roar, San's whole body tenses, and he holds himself impossibly deep. I shutter in ecstasy, clawing at his back. After a long, blissful minute, San slides out of me, stroking damp hair away from my cheek.
"You're so beautiful. I never want to let you go."
"Good. I don't want you to let me go either."
On the eve of our fifth wedding anniversary, we hike up to our favorite spot, overlooking my parents' territory. By my side, holding my finger with her tiny fist, is our daughter. Amalthea.
"This is high up, Mommy!"
Amalthea's Korean lilt warms my heart. I look down at her silver-streaked eyes, so similar to her fathers.
"Yes. We're high up so you can see the whole world around you."
"There's my little princess!"
My mother scoops Amalthea up, spinning her around as she giggles.
"I think you mean my little princess!"
My father jumps down from the rock above. Morgan tosses Amalthea to him and he catches her effortlessly.
"Grandpa!"
"Guess who's coming to visit tomorrow?"
"Who?"
"Uncle Yeosang."
"Uncle Yeosang!!!"
"Really?"
"Really."
San answers for Bang Chan, dropping down from the same cliff overhead.
"He and I.N are finished training up the jeolm-eun-i in the East and he wants to spend time with his very favorite niece."
Amalthea squeals with excitement in Bang Chan's arms. I pull her into my arms, nuzzling her close.
"I'm glad he's coming. So he can hear the good news."
"What news is that?"
"That Amalthea is going to be a big sister." I smile.
"What? I am?!"
Everyone, including San, freezes, shocked by the words that just came out of my mouth.
"Really, love?!"
"Really. And do you know something else?"
I slide up next to San. My Alpha King buries his face in my hair, holding me and our child close.
"What, nae simjang?"
"I think it might be twins."
END