ARIA'S POV
"No."
The word comes out of my mouth before I can stop it. I take a step back from all three of them, shaking my head. "No. This is insane. I'm not—I can't—"
"Aria." Thane's voice is gentle but firm. "I know this is overwhelming—"
"Overwhelming?" I laugh, and it sounds wild even to my own ears. "I was rejected, almost died, got kidnapped by ancient wolves, and now you're telling me I have to mate-bond with all three of you in the next few hours or I'll explode?"
"You won't explode," Caspian says quickly. "More like... implode. Your power will collapse inward and—"
"NOT HELPING!" Ryker snaps at him.
I press my hands against my head. Everything is spinning. Four hours ago I was the weakest wolf in my pack. Now I'm supposedly the True Luna with deadly power I can't control.
"There has to be another way," I whisper.
Thane moves closer, but he doesn't touch me. "There isn't. The seals placed on you are breaking. We can feel your power growing every minute. If we don't complete the mate bonds to help you channel that power safely—"
"I'll die anyway," I finish bitterly. "So either way, I'm dead."
"No." Thane's voice turns fierce. "We just found you. We're not losing you."
The conviction in his voice makes something in my chest ache. These males don't even know me. How can they care this much?
"Why me?" I ask, hating how small my voice sounds. "I'm nobody. I'm the pack's biggest disappointment. Why would the Moon Goddess choose me for this?"
Ryker moves to stand beside Thane, his black eyes intense. "Because you survived. Twenty-two years of abuse, neglect, poison—and you're still standing. Still fighting. That's not weakness, little Luna. That's strength most wolves will never have."
His words hit me harder than I expect. Tears burn my eyes but I blink them back.
"I don't feel strong," I admit.
"You will," Caspian promises. He's watching me with those glowing eyes that see too much. "I've Seen your future. You're going to be magnificent."
"If I survive the night," I point out.
"You will," all three say together, with such certainty I almost believe them.
A howl echoes in the distance. Closer than before.
The High Alpha. Still hunting.
"We need to start the unsealing ritual," Thane says, his body going tense. "Now. Before they find us."
"Wait." I hold up a hand. "You said I was sealed. What does that mean exactly?"
The three males exchange glances.
"Someone sealed your wolf at birth," Caspian explains. "They buried your power so deep you couldn't access it. That's why you never shifted. Why you seemed weak."
Ice floods my veins. "Who would seal a baby's wolf?"
Ryker's voice turns dark and dangerous. "Someone who knew what you were. Someone who wanted to steal your power for themselves."
Images flash through my mind. Celeste's secret smiles when I failed at training. The "special tea" she forced me to drink every morning since I was five. The way her eyes would glow sometimes when she thought I wasn't looking.
The way my father never questioned why his daughter couldn't shift.
"Celeste," I breathe. "My stepmother. She's been poisoning me my whole life."
"Yes," Caspian confirms, his eyes going distant. "I See it now. She placed anchors in your body—magical seals that kept your wolf dormant. She's been slowly draining your power, trying to transfer it to her daughter."
Rage explodes through me so fierce that the cave walls shake. Literally shake. Dust falls from the ceiling and the altar glows brighter.
"Easy!" Thane grabs my shoulders, grounding me. "Your power is responding to your emotions. You have to stay calm."
"Calm?" I snarl. "That woman has been torturing me since I was a child! She tried to kill me! And you want me to stay CALM?"
"I want you to stay ALIVE," Thane says firmly, his silver eyes boring into mine. "Save the rage for later. Right now, we need to break those seals before your power breaks you."
He's right. I hate it, but he's right.
I take a shaky breath. "Okay. How do we break the seals?"
"There's a ritual," Caspian says. "Ancient magic that will locate each anchor and destroy it. But..."
"But what?" I demand when he trails off.
Ryker's jaw clenches. "It's going to hurt. A lot."
"I don't care about pain," I say, and I mean it. After twenty-two years of abuse, what's a little more? "Do it."
"Aria—" Thane starts.
"DO IT," I command, and power rolls through my voice. All three males flinch.
Then, slowly, they bow their heads in submission.
"As you wish, Luna," Thane says quietly.
The way he submits to me—this massive, ancient predator bowing to my will—does something strange to my insides. These males are more powerful than anything I've ever seen, but they listen to me.
They respect me.
It's intoxicating.
"What do I need to do?" I ask.
Caspian gestures to the altar. "Lie down. We'll surround you and channel our power to support the ritual. Whatever you do, don't let go of the connection between us."
I walk to the altar. Up close, the symbols carved into it pulse with that blue-silver light. They feel alive somehow.
I climb up and lie down on the cold stone. It should feel wrong, but instead it feels... right. Like coming home.
Thane, Ryker, and Caspian position themselves around the altar, each placing a hand on my body. Thane on my heart. Ryker on my stomach. Caspian on my forehead.
The moment they touch me, the golden threads connecting us flare to life.
"Ready?" Thane asks.
No. Not even a little bit. But I nod anyway.
Caspian begins chanting in a language I don't recognize. The words are ancient, powerful, making the air itself vibrate.
The first anchor breaks.
Pain explodes through my left shoulder—like a knife being ripped out of my flesh. I scream.
"Hold on!" Ryker urges. "We've got you!"
The second anchor breaks. This one in my spine. Agony races down my back and I arch off the altar.
"There are more," Caspian gasps. "So many more. She buried dozens of them in her body!"
The third anchor breaks. Fourth. Fifth.
I'm screaming now, can't stop screaming. It feels like I'm being torn apart from the inside.
"Stay with us!" Thane's voice cuts through the pain. "Look at me, Aria!"
I force my eyes open. His silver eyes are glowing, fierce and desperate.
"You're stronger than this," he says. "Stronger than the pain. Stronger than everyone who tried to break you. PROVE IT."
His words ignite something in me. A fury that burns hotter than the pain.
I survived twenty-two years of abuse. I survived rejection. I survived being poisoned and sealed and treated like garbage.
I'm not dying now.
The anchors keep breaking. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty.
With each one, power floods into me. My power. The strength that was always mine, finally coming home.
The cave fills with silver light. My light.
"Last one!" Caspian shouts.
The final anchor breaks—
And everything goes wrong.
Power erupts from me in a wave that throws all three males backward. They slam into the cave walls.
The altar shatters beneath me.
And I'm floating in the air, surrounded by pure silver energy that's growing stronger, wilder, completely out of control.
"ARIA!" Thane roars. "You have to control it!"
"I DON'T KNOW HOW!" I scream back.
The energy is too much. It's going to tear me apart. Tear the whole cave apart.
The cave entrance explodes.
Wolves pour through—the High Alpha's pack, finally finding us.
But they freeze when they see me floating in the air, power radiating from me in waves.
The High Alpha himself steps forward, and his eyes go wide with greed.
"Magnificent," he breathes. "Even more powerful than the legends said."
He looks at Thane, Ryker, and Caspian, who are struggling to their feet.
"Step aside, Ancients. The True Luna belongs to all packs now."
"NEVER," Thane snarls.
The High Alpha smiles coldly. "Then you'll die with her when that power destroys everything."
He's right. I can feel it. The power is still growing. In minutes, it's going to explode.
And it will kill everyone here.
Just as I think that, the cave entrance darkens again.
Dante bursts through, carrying ancient scrolls, his face pale and desperate.
"My lords!" he shouts over the chaos. "I found the unsealing ritual instructions in the archives!"
Hope flares in Thane's eyes. "How do we stabilize her?"
Dante's face goes grim as he reads. "There's... there's a problem."
"WHAT PROBLEM?" Ryker roars.
Dante looks up at me, still floating in the air, power crackling around me.
His voice is barely a whisper, but in the sudden silence, everyone hears it.
"The final step of the ritual requires a sacrifice. One of her mates has to willingly give their life to anchor her power."
The world stops.
I stare at Thane, Ryker, and Caspian.
One of them has to die.
Or I'll kill everyone.