SERA'S POV
Maya's hand tightens around my throat.
Not enough to choke me, but enough to make breathing difficult. Her golden eyes bore into mine with pure fury.
"Give me one good reason," she snarls, "why I shouldn't drag you outside and hand you to those rogues right now."
Power rises beneath my skin instantly—hot and dangerous and begging to be released.
I could command her to let go. Could make her bow. Could force her to submit like I did the rogues.
But she's Kade's sister. His Beta. His family.
If I hurt her, he'll never forgive me.
"Maya." Kade's voice is deadly calm. Too calm. "Let. Her. Go."
"Not until she answers me." Maya doesn't even look at her brother. "Three hundred rogues, Kade. THREE HUNDRED. All of them wanting her blood. Our pack has barely a hundred fighters. We're outnumbered three to one."
"I'm aware."
"Then you know we can't win this fight!" Maya's voice cracks with desperation. "They'll slaughter us. Every single wolf in this pack will die because you're protecting some girl you just met—"
"She's not just some girl." Kade's hand closes around Maya's wrist—gentle but firm. "She's my mate."
Maya's eyes go wide. Her hand drops from my throat immediately.
"What?" she breathes.
"My fated mate. The bond snapped into place the moment I saw her." Kade moves between us, putting himself as a shield. "So when you threaten her, you threaten your Alpha's mate. You threaten your Luna."
Maya stares at me like I just grew a second head. "But she's... she's not even a wolf."
"The Moon Goddess doesn't care about species." Kade's voice softens slightly. "You know that. Dad's grandfather was mated to a human."
"A human, yes. Not a..." Maya's jaw clenches. "Not a Lunaris."
The word hangs in the air like a death sentence.
"You know what I am," I whisper.
"Everyone in Seattle knows what you are now." Maya's laugh is bitter. "You commanded twenty rogues simultaneously. Made them flee in terror. That kind of power doesn't exist anymore. Hasn't existed for three hundred years."
"Since your bloodline was hunted to extinction," Kade finishes quietly, his eyes finding mine. "Except you survived."
I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly feeling exposed. Vulnerable.
"My mother survived," I correct. "And she spent her whole life running, hiding, making sure no one ever found out what we were. Then they caught up to us when I was seventeen." My voice breaks. "She died so I could escape."
Something shifts in Maya's expression. The fury fades into something that might be sympathy.
"I'm sorry," she says, and she actually sounds like she means it. "Losing a parent is... I know what that's like."
Kade's jaw tightens. There's a story there—pain that runs deep.
"But that doesn't change our situation," Maya continues. "Those rogues outside aren't going to just give up. They want you. And they'll burn our entire pack to the ground to get you."
"I know." I force myself to meet her eyes. "That's why I'll leave. Tonight. Right now. You can tell them I ran—"
"No." Kade's voice is absolute. "You're not leaving."
"Kade, be reasonable—"
"I am being reasonable." He turns to face me, his silver eyes blazing. "If you run, they'll hunt you down and kill you. At least here, you have a pack protecting you."
"A pack that's going to die because of me!"
"A pack that chose to stand with their Alpha." Maya's voice is firm now. "Kade called an emergency meeting while you were in the elevator. Gave every wolf the choice to leave or fight. Want to know what happened?"
I'm afraid to ask.
"Not a single wolf left." Maya's smile is fierce, proud. "Every single member of the Blackthorn Pack chose to fight. For you. For their Luna."
Tears burn in my eyes. "They don't even know me."
"They know you're their Alpha's mate. That's enough." Maya steps closer, and this time there's no threat in her movements. "The mate bond is sacred. More important than territory. More important than safety. If Kade says you're worth dying for, then we believe him."
"I'm not worth it," I whisper.
"That's not your choice to make." Kade pulls me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me protectively. "And you need to understand something, Sera. My wolf chose you. My soul chose you. And I don't abandon what's mine."
The possessiveness should bother me.
Instead, it makes me feel safe for the first time in seven years.
"So what do we do?" I ask quietly. "How do we fight three hundred rogues?"
"We don't." Kade's smile is predatory. "We negotiate."
Maya's eyes widen. "You're not seriously considering—"
"I'm considering all options." Kade pulls out his phone. "Finn, you still outside?"
"Yes, Alpha," comes the reply on speaker.
"The rogues sent a messenger, correct?"
"Yeah. Big bastard. Gray fur, red eyes. He's waiting at the territory line."
"Tell him the Alpha will meet with their leader. Neutral ground. One hour." Kade's eyes never leave mine. "And tell him I'm bringing my mate."
"WHAT?" Maya and I say simultaneously.
"Are you insane?" Maya snaps. "They'll kill her the second they see her!"
"No, they won't." Kade's voice is calm, controlled. "They want her alive. 'Capture her alive'—that's what they said at the apartment, right?"
I nod slowly.
"Which means someone sent them. Someone who wants Lunaris blood for something." Kade's jaw tightens. "I want to know who. And why."
"This is a terrible idea," Maya mutters.
"Probably." Kade grins. "But it's better than letting them attack our territory with pups and elderly inside."
He has a point.
"I'll go," I say, my voice stronger than I feel. "If it saves your pack, I'll meet with them."
"We'll meet with them," Kade corrects. "Together. You're not facing them alone."
"I should go too," Maya says immediately. "As Beta, it's my—"
"No." Kade's voice carries Alpha command. "If this goes wrong, the pack needs their Beta alive. You'll stay here and prepare defenses."
Maya looks like she wants to argue but finally nods. "Fine. But if you get yourself killed, I'm bringing you back to life just so I can kill you again."
Despite everything, I almost smile.
"I'll meet you at the car in thirty minutes," Kade tells her. "I need to brief Sera first."
Maya nods and leaves, but not before shooting me one last look—assessing, measuring.
The moment she's gone, Kade pulls me toward the massive windows overlooking Seattle.
"See that?" He points to the city lights below. "This is pack territory. Five hundred wolves live under my protection. Families. Children. Elders who've served the pack for decades."
"I understand—"
"Do you?" His hands frame my face, forcing me to look at him. "Because I need you to understand that I'm not protecting you at their expense. I'm protecting ALL of you. My mate and my pack. That's what an Alpha does."
"Even if it costs you your life?"
"Especially then." His thumb brushes my cheekbone. "But I don't plan on dying tonight. I plan on finding out who sent those rogues, eliminating the threat, and bringing you home safely."
"You make it sound easy."
"It won't be." His smile is grim. "But I've been Alpha since I was nineteen. I've survived worse."
Before I can respond, his phone buzzes.
Kade reads the message, and his entire body goes rigid.
"What?" I ask. "What is it?"
"The rogue messenger delivered another note." His voice is tight with barely controlled rage. "It's addressed to you."
He shows me the phone.
The message makes my blood run cold:
"Seraphina Lunaris, last daughter of the Moon's Blood. We know what you are. We know what you can do. Come willingly, and the wolves live. Resist, and we'll paint Seattle red with pack blood. You have until sunrise to decide. —Your loving father"
The phone slips from my nerveless fingers.
"My father?" I whisper. "That's impossible. My father is dead. He died before I was born. My mother said—"
"What exactly did your mother say?" Kade's eyes are sharp, focused.
I try to remember. Mom never talked about my father. Whenever I asked, she'd change the subject or tell me it didn't matter.
"She said he was gone," I say slowly. "That he couldn't be part of our lives. That he was... dangerous."
"Dangerous how?"
"I don't know. She never explained." Fear crawls up my spine. "Kade, if my father is alive... if he's the one who sent those rogues..."
"Then he's the one who wants your blood." Kade's voice is deadly calm. "The question is: why now? Why after all these years?"
A horrible thought occurs to me.
"The video," I breathe. "It went viral. If he was looking for me, he'd see it. He'd know exactly where I am."
"And he'd know you're powerful enough to be worth capturing." Kade pulls me close. "We're not going to that meeting."
"We have to! If we don't—"
"If we do, we're walking into a trap." His silver eyes blaze. "Your father—whoever he is—doesn't want to negotiate. He wants to take you. And I will NOT hand you over."
"Then what do we do?"
Before Kade can answer, every window in the penthouse shatters simultaneously.
Not from rogues.
From the sheer force of the HOWL that echoes across the entire city.
It's not a wolf howl.
It's something older. Something that makes every instinct I have scream DANGER.
Kade's face goes pale.
"No," he whispers. "That's not possible."
"What? What is that?"
He grabs my shoulders, his eyes wide with something I've never seen before.
Fear.
"That's an Ancient," he says. "A wolf who's lived for centuries. I've only heard that call once before, when I was a child." His voice drops. "Sera, your father isn't just dangerous. He's a legend. A monster from the old wars."
The howl comes again, closer this time.
And beneath it, I hear words in the old wolf language—words my blood understands even if my brain doesn't:
"DAUGHTER OF THE MOON. COME HOME."