Seraphina's POV
I kicked down Luna's front door with more force than necessary, sending wood splinters flying everywhere.
"Did you miss me?" I called out sweetly, stepping into the dusty kitchen where five very shocked supernatural beings stared at me like I was their worst fear.
Which I totally was.
"Seraphina," Damon growled, moving protectively in front of Luna. "What have you done?"
I laughed, twirling a piece of my now-silver hair around my finger. Three years of eating other people's magic had changed me in wonderful ways. I was stronger, faster, and so much better than before.
"What have I done?" I repeated mockingly. "I've been the best pack boss Sterling territory has ever had. I've expanded our borders, eliminated our enemies, and made sure no one could challenge my power."
"By killing innocent people," Marcus said with disgust.
"By removing obstacles," I corrected happily. "Do you know how many wolves in this pack had 'special feelings' about their precious missing Alpha? How many kept hoping you'd come back to save them from big bad Seraphina?"
I pointed to the dozen mind-controlled wolves standing behind me. Their eyes were blank and glowing with stolen power.
"Now they're much more useful. And so much quieter."
Luna stepped out from behind Damon, and I had to admit she looked different than I remembered. Powerful. Confident. Like she actually thought she could challenge me.
"Let them go," she said firmly. "Your fight is with us, not innocent pack members."
"Oh, sweetie," I said with fake pity. "You still don't understand, do you? There is no 'us.' There's me, and there are people who haven't figured out they belong to me yet."
I snapped my fingers, and my mind-controlled troops moved to surround them.
"Besides, I have such great news to share. Would you like to know what I learned while you were playing games in the Soul Realm for three years?"
"We weren't playing games," Gabriel said furiously. "We were trapped in a time loop."
"I know exactly what you were doing," I said with a grin that made several of them step backward. "Because I'm the one who created the loop."
The silence in the room was wonderful.
"That's impossible," Raphael said softly.
"Is it?" I walked closer, power spreading from me in waves. "Did you really think it was chance that heaven's army found you right when Luna's powers awakened? Did you think it was luck that the Soul Realm appeared at just the right moment?"
Luna's face went pale. "You orchestrated everything?"
"Every single bit," I confirmed proudly. "I spent two years learning dark magic specifically meant to trap Nexus souls. I called heaven myself and told them where to find Luna. I even helped make the prophecy about sacrifice and choosing between love and power."
"Why?" Damon ordered, his Alpha power flaring dangerously.
"Because I needed you all distracted while I consolidated my real power," I explained calmly. "While you were busy playing heroes and having touching family moments, I was building something much more interesting."
I motioned to the walls around us, and they began to glow with dark symbols that hadn't been there moments before.
"This entire house has been a magical trap for three years. Every feeling you felt here, every moment of love or fear or hope - I've been collecting it all."
"Collecting emotions?" Marcus asked, looking sick.
"Collecting power," I corrected. "Emotional energy is the strongest magic there is. Especially when it comes from magical beings as powerful as you five."
The truth hit Luna like a physical blow. "Our Guardian Bond. You've been living off it."
"For three whole years," I said happily. "Do you have any idea how much energy five soul-bonded beings generate? How much raw power flows through links that deep?"
I held up my hand, and dark magic swirled around my fingers like live smoke.
"I'm not just some eager Alpha-born anymore. Thanks to your beautiful family love, I've become something totally new. Something that can change reality itself."
"You're insane," Gabriel said desperately.
"I'm evolved," I answered. "And now it's time for the final step."
I snapped my fingers again, and Luna suddenly doubled over in pain.
"Stop!" Damon lunged toward me, but unseen chains made of dark magic wrapped around him, holding him in place.
The same chains caught Marcus, Gabriel, and Raphael, leaving them helpless to watch as Luna writhed on the floor.
"The Guardian Bond you're all so proud of?" I said conversationally. "It has one small weakness. If the Nexus feels enough pain, the bond becomes a weapon that can kill all five of you at once."
"Let her go!" Marcus shouted, fighting against his magical restraints.
"Oh, I'm not going to kill her," I said with mock hurt. "That would be foolish. I'm going to break her mind totally and turn her into my personal magical battery. Imagine having a tame Nexus producing infinite power just for me."
Luna's screams got louder, and I could see the Guardian Bond starting to crack under the pressure of her pain.
"The best part is," I continued happily, "once Luna's mind breaks, she'll forget all of you. The trauma will shatter your precious family tie, and I'll be able to control each of you separately."
"Seraphina, please," Damon begged, and hearing the mighty Alpha plead was almost as pleasurable as Luna's pain. "Take me instead. Leave her alone."
"Still trying to sacrifice yourself for love?" I laughed. "Haven't you learned that love makes you weak?"
That's when something unexpected happened.
Luna stopped crying.
She stood up slowly, power radiating from her in waves that made the air itself shimmer. But this wasn't the golden Guardian Bond energy I'd seen before.
This was something deeper. Hungrier. More dangerous.
"You want to know what I learned in the time loop?" Luna asked quietly, and her voice echoed with power that made my bones ache.
"Every time we repeated that situation, I got a little bit stronger. Every reset, every failure, every moment of panic - it all became part of me. And now..."
She smiled, and it was the most terrifying look I'd ever seen.
"Now I remember what I really am."
The magical chains holding her family dissolved like smoke. The mind-controlled wolves behind me suddenly blinked and looked around in surprise, their blank expressions replaced by awareness.
"I'm not just a Nexus," Luna said, power building around her like a storm. "I'm the Nexus. The first one. The one who was meant to die a thousand years ago but didn't."
My blood turned to ice. "That's impossible. The first Nexus was destroyed."
"The first Nexus was hidden," Luna amended. "Reincarnated over and over, her memories locked away until she was strong enough to reclaim her true power."
She took a step toward me, and reality bent around her like she was the center of the universe.
"Did you really think locking me in a time loop would weaken me? Did you think making me experience the same tragedy forty-seven times would break my spirit?"
Another step, and I could feel my stolen power starting to drain away.
"All you did was give me forty-seven chances to practice being strong. Forty-seven chances to remember who I used to be before I forgot."
"Stop," I hissed, backing toward the door.
"I don't think so," Luna said gently. "Because Seraphina, there's something you don't know about the original Nexus."
"What?"
Luna's smile got wider, and her eyes started to glow with silver fire.
"She wasn't just strong. She was angry. And she's been waiting a very long time to punish the people who tried to destroy her. " That's when I felt it - ancient magic stirring to life, older and stronger than anything I'd ever met.
Magic that recognized me as an enemy.
Magic that wanted me to pay for three years of cruelty. "Hello, Seraphina," Luna said in a voice that held the weight of ages. "Let me show you what real power looks like."