Dante's POV
I jumped forward and grabbed Kane's wrist before he could pull the trigger.
"Let go of the gun!" I roared, twisting his arm until I heard bones crack.
Kane yelped and dropped the weapon. Around us, his rogues started changing into wolf form, ready to attack.
"Stand down!" Kane ordered them. "This isn't over yet."
I kicked the gun away and stepped protectively in front of Maya. She was shaking so hard I thought she might fall.
"You're lying," I told Kane. "Maya's father would never steal another man's mate."
Kane rubbed his injured hand and smiled. "Ask him yourself. Alpha Marcus Blackwood should be here any minute."
As if Kane had called him, another car roared up to the border. A tall man with graying hair jumped out and ran toward us.
"Maya!" he shouted. "Where is my daughter?"
Maya spun around, and her face went totally white. "Daddy?"
Alpha Marcus Blackwood stopped dead when he saw her. His eyes filled with tears, and his whole body started shaking.
"Maya," he whispered. "My little girl. I thought you were dead."
He started to run toward her, but Kane stepped between them.
"Not so fast, old friend," Kane said coldly. "We have some unfinished business to discuss."
Marcus's face hardened. "Kane. I should have known you were behind this."
"You killed my father," Kane said. "And you stole his mate."
"Your father was a monster who tried to force bond with an unwilling woman," Marcus shot back. "Sarah came to me for protection."
"She was already promised to him!"
"She was promised by her father when she was five years old! She had no choice in the matter!"
Maya looked back and forth between them. "Is it true? Was my mother supposed to mate with someone else?"
Marcus's face sagged. "Yes. But sweetheart, you have to understand—"
"So she really died because she mated with you?" Maya's voice was barely a whisper.
"The double bond was already killing her when we mated," Marcus said desperately. "I thought our friendship might save her. I was wrong."
Kane laughed coldly. "You were selfish. You wanted her so badly that you didn't care if it killed her."
"I loved her!" Marcus roared.
"And look how that turned out," Kane said. "She died, and her daughter grew up without a mother. All because you couldn't let another man have what was his."
Maya made a sound like a hurt animal. "So it's true. I really am the reason she's dead."
"No," I said strongly, moving to stand beside her. "You're not responsible for decisions adults made before you were born."
But Kane wasn't finished. "There's more, isn't there, Marcus? Tell her about the forecast."
Marcus went pale. "That's enough."
"What prophecy?" Maya asked.
Kane's red eyes glowed brighter. "The prophecy that says the daughter of two Alpha families will either save the werewolf world or destroy it. " My blood turned to ice. A child with two Alpha bloodlines was incredibly rare and incredibly powerful. "Maya's mother Sarah was Alpha Kane's sister," Kane added. "When she mated with Marcus, their daughter became the most powerful wolf alive."
"That's why you really want her," I realized. "Not for revenge. For power."
Kane nodded. "Maya doesn't even know what she's capable of yet. But on her eighteenth birthday, when her full Alpha powers awaken, she'll be unbeatable."
Maya stared at her hands like they might burst. "I don't feel powerful."
"Because your father has been hiding your true nature from you," Kane said. "Haven't you, Marcus?"
Marcus looked like he wanted to disappear. "I gave her suppressants to keep her skills dormant. I wanted her to have a normal life."
"Suppressants?" Maya's voice rose. "You've been drugging me?"
"To protect you!" Marcus said quickly. "If other Alphas knew what you were, they'd never leave you alone. They'd either try to mate with you for power or kill you to avoid the prophecy."
Kane pulled out another gun. "Well, the secret's out now. And it's time for Maya to choose."
He aimed the weapon at the real Aria, who was still trapped among his rogues.
"Join us willingly and help us take over the werewolf territories, or watch this innocent child die."
Maya looked at little Aria, then at her father, then at me. I could see her trying to decide what to do.
"There's a third option," I said suddenly.
Everyone turned to look at me.
"Maya challenges you to single combat," I continued. "If she wins, both girls go free. If you win, you get what you want."
Kane laughed. "She's never even changed into wolf form thanks to those suppressants. I'd kill her in seconds."
"Then you should have no problem accepting," I said.
Maya grabbed my arm. "Dante, no. I can't fight him. I don't even know how to access my dog."
I leaned down and whispered in her ear. "The suppressants wear off on your eighteenth birthday. You'll have your full power tonight."
"But what if I can't control it?"
"Then you'll destroy everything," Kane said, having heard our exchange. "Which is exactly what the prophecy warns about."
He smiled cruelly. "You see, Maya, the forecast has two parts. Either you'll save everyone by joining the packs under one rule, or you'll destroy everyone by losing control of your power."
"And you're willing to risk that?" Marcus asked in horror.
"If I can't have the werewolf world," Kane said, "then no one can."
Suddenly, the real Aria broke free from her kidnappers again.
"Wait!" she shouted. "There's something else! Something about the forecast that you don't know!"
Kane grabbed her roughly. "What are you talking about?"
Aria looked directly at Maya. "The prophesy doesn't say the daughter of two Alphas will save or destroy the world alone. It says she'll do it with her true mate."
Everyone went silent.
Kane's face went white. "That's impossible. The full vision was lost centuries ago."
"Not lost," Aria said. "Hidden. My father has the full version locked away in his vault."
Kane turned to look at me, then at Maya, then back at me. I could see him putting the pieces together.
"The Alpha Storm," he breathed. "Maya's true mate is Alpha Storm."
My wolf howled inside my head as the mate bond flared between Maya and me. She was looking at me with wide, scared eyes.
"Together, they'll either rule over all werewolves," Kane added, "or destroy every pack in existence."
He raised his gun again, but this time he pointed it at me.
"Which means the only way to control Maya is to kill her mate first."
The gunshot echoed through the night.