Elara's POV
Power bursts from me like a bomb.
White-gold light explodes from my wolf form, spreading out in waves that knock Marcus and his controlled wolves backward. The magic doesn't just push them—it shatters the control bands around the wolves' necks, freeing them instantly.
The controlled dogs shake their heads, confused, then turn on Marcus with snarls of rage.
"What—" Marcus scrambles backward. "That's impossible! Those collars cost a lot. They can't be broken by—"
"By a Luna?" I finish, my voice loaded with power I don't fully understand yet. "Guess you didn't do your research, uncle."
I shift back to human form without thinking about it. One second I'm a cat. The next, I'm standing on two legs, completely naked and unbothered. My body moves like it's done this a thousand times instead of once.
The mark on my chest glows steady now. Not painful. Just... present. A sign of what I've become.
Marcus's eyes widen as he takes in the full bond mark. "A true mate link. You actually formed a true mate bond." His face twists with fury. "Do you know how rare that is? How valuable? You could have been sold to the highest bidder, used to make the strongest pack bloodline in history, but no—you waste it on my weak, cursed nephew!"
"He's not weak," I snap. "And he's not cursed anymore."
Ronan shifts to human form beside me, his hand finding mine. Our fingers lace together, and I feel our power sync up perfectly. Ice and fire. Frost and metal. Balance.
"The Northern Pack is mine, Marcus," Ronan says bitterly. "It was never yours. Father banished you for betraying our family. For selling our secrets to shooters and getting innocent wolves killed."
"Your father was a fool!" Marcus spits. "He wasted pack resources defending humans. Hiding our true nature. Pretending we're equal to them when we're definitely superior." His eyes burn with old rage. "I would have made us strong. Feared. Powerful enough that people would bow to us."
"You would have made us monsters," Luna says quietly, changing to human form. The freed wolves gather behind her, making a protective circle around Ronan and me. "Everything Dad stood for, everything this pack believes in—you would destroy it all for power."
"Power is all that matters!" Marcus pulls out another gun. This one glows red instead of silver. "If I can't have the pack, I'll make sure you can't either."
He aims at the floor and fires.
The bullet hits the ground and explodes into red fire. Not normal fire—magic fire that spreads incredibly fast, eating through wood and stone like they're paper.
"Hellfire," Morgana says quickly. "Everyone out! NOW!"
We run.
Ronan grabs my hand and pulls me toward the back exit. Luna and Ash herd the freed wolves ahead of us. The hellfire spreads behind us, consuming Mom's shop in seconds. Everything—the flowers, the memories, the last piece of my old life—burns away.
We burst out into the alley just as the entire building falls.
I watch Mom's shop die for real this time. Not just foreclosed or ruined. Gone. Completely ruined.
Something breaks inside me.
"I'm sorry," Ronan says softly, his arm around my shoulders. "I know what that place meant to you."
"It was already lost." My voice sounds dead. "Marcus and Victoria took it from me hours ago. This just... makes it final." I look up at him. "Everything I was before tonight is gone. My fiancé. My family. My place. My humanity. All of it."
"Not everything." He turns me to face him. "You still have yourself. Your strength. Your bravery. Your mother's love—that's in you, not in a house." His silver eyes are fierce. "And you have me. My pack. A new family who will never harm you."
"Promise?" The word comes out smaller than I meant it to.
"Promise."
He kisses me, and even though we're standing in an alley covered in soot and blood, even though hunts and rogues could attack any second, I feel safe.
"Hate to interrupt," Ash calls. "But we've got company. A lot of people."
Cars are pulling up around the block. Black SUVs with tinted windows. At least ten of them.
"Who now?" Luna groans. "Seriously, how many enemies do we have?"
The car doors open. Men and women in black suits step out—all of them moving with predator ease. All of them monsters.
An older woman exits from the lead car. She's tiny—maybe five feet tall—but power comes from her in waves. Her hair is pure white, her eyes gold, and when she looks at Ronan, her smile is sharp.
"Hello, nephew," she says. "I heard you finally broke your curse. How nice. Your mother would be proud."
Ronan goes hard. "Aunt Helena."
"You know her?" I whisper.
"My father's sister. Head of the Western Pack. The most powerful Alpha in North America." His voice is tight. "And someone I haven't seen in thirty years."
Helena's gold eyes shift to me, and I feel like I'm being X-rayed. "So this is the little Moon Blessed who did what dozens of witches couldn't. Interesting." She steps closer. "You broke a curse that's killed three women before you. You formed a true mate bond. You freed controlled dogs with just your Luna power." Her smile spreads. "Tell me, child. How does it feel to be the most valuable monster alive?"
"I'm not valuable," I say automatically. "I'm just—"
"Just the key to stopping every curse in the werewolf world? Just the proof that Moon Blessed and wolves can bond successfully? Just the only Luna in three centuries who can break control magic?" Helena laughs. "Oh, darling. You're precious. Every pack in the world will want you. Want to study you. Breed you. Use you."
My blood runs cold. "I'm not a thing to be used."
"No?" Helena tilts her head. "Then prove it. The Council of Alphas has been called. Every important pack leader in North America will gather tomorrow night at the Winter Summit. They'll want to see you. Test you. Decide what to do with you." Her eyes gleam. "Some will want to protect you. Others will want to control you. A few will want you dead because you're too dangerous to live."
"The Council can't claim her," Ronan snarls, pulling me close. "She's my mate. My Luna. They have no authority—"
"Your pack is weak, Ronan. You know this." Helena's voice goes cold. "Cassius has been sabotaging you for years. Your numbers are low. Your area shrinks every year. The Northern Pack is dying, and everyone knows it." She looks at me. "The Council will say that such a valuable Luna should belong to a stronger pack. One that can actually protect her."
"Over my dead body," Luna growls.
"That can be arranged," Helena says pleasantly. "But I'm not here as an enemy. I'm here with a warning." She looks at the burning ruins of the flower shop. "Marcus isn't working alone. He has friends. Powerful ones. And they're coming for your Luna whether you're ready or not."
"Who?" Ronan wants. "Who's helping him?"
Helena's face turns serious. "The Hunter's Guild. The same organization that's been killing werewolves for ages. Marcus made a deal with them—he gets the Northern Pack area, they get Elara's blood."
My blood freezes. "Why would hunters want my blood?"
"Because Moon Blessed blood can do more than break curses." Helena's voice drops. "In the right hands, it can make weapons. Weapons that can kill any supernatural creature, no matter how strong. Weapons that could take out every werewolf in existence."
Silence.
"They've already started building them," Helena continues. "That's why Marcus was so desperate to catch you alive. One pint of your blood, and they can make enough weapons to wage war on every pack in the world."
Ronan's arm tightens around me. "Then we run. We hide. We—"
"You can't run from the Guild. And you can't hide from the Council." Helena turns to leave. "You have one chance. Come to the Winter Summit tomorrow night. Face the Council. Prove that the Northern Pack can protect their Luna. Or..." She stops. "Or I'll be forced to take her myself. For her own safety, of course."
"You wouldn't dare," Luna snarls.
Helena smiles over her shoulder. "I'm the Western Alpha, dear. I dare everything." She gets into her car. "Tomorrow night. The Summit. Don't be late."
The SUVs drive away, leaving us in the wreckage.