Sera's POV
The pill stuck in my throat like a lie I couldn't swallow.
"Take your medicine, sweetheart." Marcus handed me a glass of water, his smile warm and concerned. "You know how anxious you get at big events."
I stared at the white pill in my palm—the same pill I'd taken every morning for three years. The pill Marcus said kept my panic attacks away. The pill that was supposed to help me feel safe.
So why did my hands shake every time I took it?
"Sera?" Marcus touched my shoulder. "We need to leave soon. The summit starts in an hour."
I forced the pill down, ignoring the way my stomach churned. "I'm ready."
But I wasn't. Something felt wrong today. Wronger than usual.
The ache in my chest—the one that never quite went away—throbbed like a heartbeat that wasn't mine. And the dreams had been worse last night. Golden eyes staring at me from the darkness. A voice calling my name like a prayer. Hands covered in blood reaching for me.
Come back to me.
I shook my head, trying to clear it. Just anxiety. Just trauma from the rogue attack three years ago that killed my family. Marcus had saved me. Given me a home. A purpose as the pack healer. A future as his wife.
I should be grateful.
So why did wearing his engagement ring feel like wearing chains?
The Northern Alliance summit was already packed when we arrived. Alphas from every major pack stood in clusters, talking and laughing. This was supposed to be a celebration—three years of peace between the territories. Three years without war.
Three years since I woke up with no memories and a life I didn't recognize.
"Smile," Marcus whispered in my ear as we walked through the crowd. His hand tightened on my waist. "You're the future Luna of Crescent Moon Pack. Act like it."
I plastered on a smile that felt like glass cutting my face.
Marcus introduced me to Alpha after Alpha. I nodded. Said the right things. Played the perfect fiancée. But the whole time, that ache in my chest grew worse. Sharper. Like something was trying to claw its way out from the inside.
"Are you alright?" an older woman asked me. Alpha Christine from the River Valley Pack. "You look pale."
"I'm fine," I lied. "Just a little tired."
But I wasn't fine. My skin felt too tight. My wolf—the wolf I'd been told died in the attack—stirred for the first time in three years. Impossible. The doctors said my wolf was gone forever.
So why did I suddenly feel her pushing against my ribs, trying to break free?
I excused myself from Marcus and headed toward the balcony, needing air. Needing space. Needing something I couldn't name.
The cool night air hit my face, and I gasped. The ache in my chest exploded into full-blown pain. I grabbed the railing, my vision blurring.
What was happening to me?
"Sera!" Marcus appeared beside me, his face tight with worry. Or was it anger? "You can't just wander off. It's dangerous."
"I needed air," I managed. "I'm sorry—"
A war horn blasted through the night.
Then another. And another.
Screams erupted from inside the summit hall. Marcus's entire body went rigid. "No. Not tonight."
"What's happening?" Panic clawed up my throat.
Marcus grabbed my arm, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. "Rogues. They're attacking the summit."
My blood went cold. Rogues. The monsters who killed my family. The savage wolves who lived in the lawless Shadowlands and answered to no one but their brutal king.
"We need to get you somewhere safe," Marcus said, already pulling me back inside.
But I couldn't move. Because through the chaos and screaming, I heard a voice. Deep. Commanding. Furious.
"Someone here stole my mate. Give her back, or I burn this place to the ground."
The Rogue King.
And something deep inside me answered his call.
The summit descended into chaos. Alphas shouted orders. Warriors shifted into their wolf forms. Women and children were rushed to the inner chambers.
But I stood frozen in the middle of it all, staring at the gates where hundreds of rogue wolves surrounded the building. And at their head, barely visible through the crowd, stood a man who made my heart stop.
Black hair. Tall and powerful. And eyes that glowed gold even from a distance.
The ache in my chest turned into a roar.
"Sera, MOVE!" Marcus yanked me toward the safe rooms.
But my legs wouldn't work. Because I couldn't stop staring at the Rogue King. Couldn't stop feeling like I was supposed to go to him instead of run away.
"That's Kael Thorne," Marcus snarled, his voice filled with hate. "The monster who killed your family. The beast who destroys everything he touches."
The Rogue King's voice carried across the battlefield again. "I know she's here. I can feel her. Give me back what's mine!"
And the bond in my chest—the ache I'd carried for three years—pulled toward him like a rope tied around my ribs.
No. That was impossible. I didn't know him. I'd never seen him before.
So why did my wolf howl in recognition?
"Get her inside!" Marcus shouted at his guards. "Now!"
Three warriors surrounded me, trying to push me toward safety. But I twisted away, my eyes still locked on the gates. On him.
The Rogue King's head turned. Slowly. Like he'd heard something only he could hear.
His golden eyes scanned the crowd.
And then they found me.
The world exploded.
The mate bond—because that's what it was, I realized with horror—slammed into me like a physical blow. Three years of pain and longing and desperate searching crashed over me in a wave so powerful I couldn't breathe.
Recognition without memory. Connection without understanding.
And in my chest, where that ache had lived for so long, something finally clicked into place.
The Rogue King's expression shattered. Pain. Rage. Desperate hope. All of it flashing across his face in a heartbeat.
Then he smiled. And it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen.
"Found you," he whispered.
But somehow, across the distance and chaos, I heard him perfectly.
And my traitorous heart whispered back: Finally.