Marcus's POV
Pain ripped through my chest like someone had shoved a hot knife between my ribs.
I dropped the healing herbs I was collecting and doubled over, gasping. The pain wasn't physical - it was something deeper, something linked to the weird tingling that had been bothering me all day.
"What the hell?" I muttered, pressing my hand against my chest.
Ever since this morning, I'd felt restless. Like something important was about to happen. Like someone was calling my name from far away, but I couldn't hear them clearly.
Being a healer meant I was used to sensing things other wolves couldn't. Sickness, injury, mental pain. But this feeling was different. It felt like... like someone was waking up inside my soul.
The heat in my chest got worse, and suddenly I knew exactly where it was coming from.
Luna Ashford.
I'd heard the rumors after tonight's pack meeting. How Alpha Damon had stopped mid-speech and stared at some kitchen omega like she'd cast a spell on him. How the girl had looked different - prettier, more strong.
But I hadn't paid attention because pack chatter was usually stupid. Now I was wondering if maybe I should have listened.
The pull in my chest tugged harder, and my feet started moving without permission. Before I knew it, I was running through the woods toward the omega rooms, following an invisible rope that seemed tied to my heart.
This was crazy. I was a healer, not some lovesick teenager who chased after girls in the middle of the night. But my wolf was roaring inside my head, and the pain in my chest was getting so bad I couldn't think straight.
When I got close to Luna's house, I smelled something that made my blood freeze.
Damon's smell. Fresh and strong, like he was inside the house right now.
Jealousy hit me like a truck. Fierce, burning anger that made no sense because I barely knew Luna Ashford. She was just some quiet girl who worked in the kitchens. I'd maybe said ten words to her in my whole life.
So why did the thought of my cousin touching her make me want to break things?
I crept closer to the house and heard voices inside. Damon's deep roar and Luna's soft whisper. They were talking quietly, closely, like they were sharing secrets.
The jealousy got worse. It mixed with the strange pulling feeling until I felt like I might explode from the inside.
That's when I smelled something else that changed everything.
Luna's smell.
Vanilla and daisies and something sweet that hit me like a lightning bolt. The moment I breathed it in, my world turned sideways.
MATE.
The word slammed into my brain so hard I stumbled backward. My wolf went totally crazy, clawing at my insides and demanding I claim what was mine.
But Luna was meant to be Damon's mate. The whole pack was talking about it.
Unless...
A memory hit me like a slap. Something I'd tried to forget for twenty years.
When Damon and I were seven years old, the pack leaders had performed a ritual on us. A soul-binding procedure to make the Alpha bloodline stronger. They'd mixed our blood with ancient magic and murmured words in the old language.
"Your souls are now connected," Elder Marcus had told us afterward. "What strengthens one will strengthen the other. What threatens one will threaten both."
I'd always thought it was just symbolic. Old pack custom that didn't mean anything real.
But what if it wasn't? What if Damon and I really were soul-bound? What if that meant...
"We share the same mate," I whispered to the empty woods.
The realization hit me like a wave. If the soul-binding ritual had really worked, then Damon's mate would naturally be my mate too. Luna wasn't just calling to him - she was calling to both of us.
That's why I'd been going crazy all day. That's why I felt like someone was waking up inside my soul.
Luna was my mate too.
I had to see her. I had to know if she felt the bond with me the way she obviously felt it with Damon. The pull in my chest was getting so strong it felt like it might tear me apart.
I walked up to Luna's front door and knocked.
When the door opened, everything changed.
Luna stood there looking confused and worried, her lips slightly swollen like someone had been kissing them. Her smell hit me full force, and I felt the mate bond snap into place like a physical thing.
But something was wrong.
Luna's eyes went wide when she saw me, and she stepped backward like I was dangerous. "Marcus? What are you doing here?"
Behind her, Damon appeared, his face twisted with anger and something that looked like fear.
"Marcus," he said coldly. "You need to leave. Now."
"I can't," I said honestly. "She's my mate too."
Luna's face went pale. "What do you mean?"
"The soul-binding ritual," I said, looking at Damon. "Tell her about the soul-binding ritual."
Damon's face got dangerous. "That's ancient history."
"Is it?" I stepped closer, and Luna gasped.
I could feel her emotional reaction through some invisible link - confusion, fear, and underneath it all, a recognition that scared her.
"Luna," I said softly, "do you feel it? The pull between us?"
She pressed her hand against her chest, right over her heart. "I don't understand what's happening."
"Two soul-bound cousins," Elder Moonwhisper said, appearing behind me like she'd been waiting for this moment. "One chosen mate. The three-soul promise is finally beginning."
"Prophecy?" Luna looked between all of us desperately. "What prophecy?"
The Elder's eyes got sad. "The one that says when the three souls unite, either the greatest love story in supernatural history will begin... or the world will end in magical fire."
"That's ridiculous," Damon snapped.
"Is it?" The Elder pointed at Luna. "Look at her, Alpha. Really look."
I looked at Luna and felt my heart stop.
She was glowing. Soft silver light was coming from her skin, getting brighter every second. Her eyes had changed from brown to gold, and power was flowing from her like heat from a fire.
"What's happening to me?" Luna whispered, staring at her glowing hands.
"Your true nature is awakening," the Elder said grimly. "You're not just an omega, child. You're something much rarer. Something that only appears once every thousand years."
"What am I?" Luna asked, and her voice echoed oddly.
Before the Elder could answer, the air around us started to shimmer. Reality bent and twisted, and suddenly we weren't in Luna's kitchen anymore.
We were standing in a place that looked like heaven and hell had gotten mixed together. White marble columns stretched up into a starry sky, but the ground beneath our feet was covered in black roses that moved like they were alive.
"Welcome to the Soul Realm," a new voice said.
I spun around and saw the most beautiful man I'd ever seen walking toward us. He had white-gold hair and eyes like green fire, and wings that gleamed like metal in the strange light.
"Hello, my beloved," he said to Luna, and his voice was full of love so deep it made my chest ache. "I've been waiting for you to remember."
Luna stared at him like she'd seen a ghost. "I know you. From my dreams."
"And I know you," he replied gently. "From every lifetime we've shared. Every century I've spent looking for your soul."
Damon growled dangerously. "Who are you?"
The flying man smiled sadly. "I'm Gabriel. And a very long time ago, I was Luna's husband."
The words hit me like a physical blow. Luna had been married before? To an angel?
"That's impossible," I said softly. "Luna's eighteen. She's never been married."
Gabriel's face got painful. "Not in this lifetime. But hearts remember, even when minds forget. Luna and I have loved each other across a dozen different lives. We've been torn apart by war, death, duty, and fate. But we always find each other again."
Luna was looking at Gabriel with tears in her eyes. "I don't remember."
"You will," he said softly. "When your skills fully awaken, all your past lives will come flooding back. You'll remember being a Celtic queen who loved an angel. You'll remember being a Victorian lady who died for forbidden love. You'll remember every time we found each other and every time we lost each other."
"This is insane," Damon said desperately.
Gabriel turned to look at us, and his eyes were full of sadness. "Damon. Marcus. I'm sorry. The mate bonds you feel are real, but they're not sexual love. You two were picked as Luna's guardians in this lifetime. Your job was to keep her safe until I could find her again."
"Guardian bonds?" I felt sick.
"Soul-deep magic designed to make you both willing to die for her," Gabriel explained. "Because what's coming next is going to require all of us working together."
"What's coming next?" Luna asked, but I was pretty sure I didn't want to know.
Gabriel's beautiful face filled with terror. "Heaven's army. They're coming to drag me back to paradise and kill everyone I love to ensure I never fall again."
The sky above us suddenly exploded with blinding white light, and war cries echoed from somewhere beyond the stars.
"They found us," Gabriel whispered. "They're here."