SERA'S POV
The mate bond is trying to kill me.
Every mile away from Kade feels like someone's pulling my heart out through my chest. The bond the stupid, terrible bond that I severed from my end still connects us. I can't feel his emotions anymore, thank the Goddess. But I can feel the pull. The desperate yanking that wants me to turn around and go back to him.
I dig my nails into my palms. I won't. I won't.
You're in pain, Ryker says from beside me. We're in his vehicle, heading north with his warriors following behind.
I'm fine.
You're a terrible liar. But he doesn't push. Just keeps driving.
I hate that he noticed. Hate that I'm weak enough to still feel anything for the mate who rejected me.
Nova sits in the back seat, watching me with worried eyes. She insisted on coming with me. Someone needs to make sure you don't do anything stupid, she'd said.
Like trusting an Alpha King I just met?
Yeah. That might be stupid.
But what choice do I have? I need an army to take back the Moon Court. Ryker has one. It's that simple.
We drive for hours. Finally, massive gates appear ahead. Ryker's territory.
It's huge. Buildings built into the mountainside. Thousands of wolves. This isn't just a packit's a kingdom.
Wolves stop and stare as we pass. I hear whispers:
The crown
Is that really
The Lunar Heir
Word travels fast in the wolf world.
Ryker doesn't take me to living quarters. Instead, he leads me to a huge stone buildinghis war room. Maps cover the walls. Battle plans. Territory markers.
He's showing me respect. Treating me like a queen, not a guest.
Sit, he says, gesturing to the war table.
I sit. Nova stands behind me, protective.
Ryker spreads out a map of all the pack territories. The Moon Court used to rule here. He points to the center neutral ground between all packs. Three hundred years ago, your family was exiled. The Court became corrupt. Now it's run by the High Council.
Marcus Ashford's Council, I say, remembering what the Moon Goddess showed me.
Yes. They've been stealing from packs, manipulating politics, killing anyone who threatens their power. His silver eyes meet mine. Including your family.
Rage burns in my chest. They murdered my parents.
They murdered every Blackwood they could find. You survived because your grandmother hid you. He leans forward. They're terrified of you, Sera. A true Lunar Heir can command any wolf below royal blood. You can see through lies. Wield lunar magic. You're the biggest threat they've ever faced.
So why help me? I ask bluntly. What do you get out of this?
Ryker smiles, and I realize he likes that I'm direct. Legitimacy. I've been building power for years, but I'm just an Alpha King. You're the rightful queen of all wolves. Together, we could overthrow the corrupt Council and restore proper rule.
Together how?
Rule beside me. Political alliance. You get my army and resources. I get legitimacy for my claim. He pauses. Not a mate bond. Not love. Just strategy.
I study him. He's powerful, dangerous, and clearly ambitious. But he's also being honest. No promises of forever. No pretty lies about fate.
Just business.
No love, I say. No mate bond. Just partnership.
Perfect. Ryker extends his hand. I don't believe in fated mates anyway. They make you weak.
I shake his hand, and power crackles between us. Two Alphas making a deal.
Then the mate bond screams.
I gasp, clutching my chest. Kade. He's close. Really close.
Ryker's eyes narrow. He followed you.
Of course he did.
Ryker stands. Stay here. I'll handle this.
He leaves, and I'm left with Nova and the burning pull of the bond.
You okay? Nova asks softly.
Fine, I lie.
Ten minutes later, I feel Kade's rage through the bond. He's fighting to get to me.
I close my eyes and see him through our connection the one advantage of the bond. He's at Ryker's border, trying to push past guards.
Let me through! Kade roars. Sera! SERA!
Ryker appears, blocking his path. Even from here, I feel the clash of Alpha dominance.
She's MY mate, Kade snarls.
She WAS your mate, Ryker says coldly. Before you rejected her. Married another woman. Let her die thinking she wasn't enough.
I was WRONG!
Then you should have figured that out before she threw herself in front of a silver blade for you.
The bond pulses with Kade's pain. With his desperation.
Part of me the stupid, broken part wants to go to him.
The rest of me remembers his face when he rejected me. Remembers Vivian's triumphant smile. Remembers dying alone in the dirt.
The Queen doesn't wish to see you, Ryker continues. Leave my territory before I make you.
I feel Kade's wolf fighting for control. Feel his need to get to me.
Then I do something I've never done before. I use my new power. I send one word through the bond:
No.
Kade staggers like I hit him. The bond carries my command, and his wolf despite being an Alpha obeys.
Because I outrank him now.
Ryker must see the change because he smiles. The Queen has spoken. Go home to your wife, Thornridge.
I pull back from the connection before I can feel Kade's response.
That night, Nova finds me alone in my guest room.
You still feel something for him, she says gently.
I feel the bond. I touch my chest where it pulls. That's not the same as wanting him.
Sera
He chose Vivian! My voice breaks. He looked at me and decided I wasn't good enough. Then he married her two months after burying me. TWO MONTHS, Nova.
He was grieving
He was FREE. I laugh bitterly. Free from the weak mate he never wanted.
Nova hugs me, and I let myself be held for a moment.
After she leaves, I stand at the window. The bond still pulls. Kade is still at the border, refusing to leave. I can feel his determination.
I remember his horrified face when I died. His broken voice saying my name.
But I also remember three months of hell. Watching him with Vivian. Being invisible. Being nothing.
He doesn't deserve my forgiveness, I whisper.
My crown appears above my head, glowing softly. Reminding me what I am now.
Not a rejected mate.
A queen.
A knock at my door. Come in.
Ryker enters, and his eyes go to the crown. Beautiful and terrifying. Like you.
What do you want?
To warn you. The High Council knows you're alive. Marcus Ashford has called an emergency meeting. He hands me a paper. He's declaring you an imposter. Challenging your claim to the throne.
My hands shake with rage. Let him try.
He will. With blood combat. Ancient law says succession disputes must be settled with a fight to the death.
I meet Ryker's eyes. Then I'll kill him.
He smiles. That's my queen. But there's a problem. His expression turns serious. He's not fighting you himself. He's sending a champion. Your cousin, Theron Blackwood.
The room spins. My cousin? I have a cousin?
Branch family. They betrayed the main Blackwood line during the exile to save themselves. Ryker's jaw tightens. Marcus has been training him for years. Enhanced him with dark magic. He's expecting you to fight in two weeks.
Two weeks to prepare for a fight to the death against family I didn't know existed.
There's more, Ryker says quietly. Theron isn't just enhanced. He's been taking forbidden substances. Wolf-bane mixed with vampire blood. It makes him faster, stronger, and nearly unstoppable.
Then how do I beat him?
I don't know if you can.
The words hang in the air.
Before I can respond, my window shatters.
A massive silver wolf crashes through, shifting mid-air into a man. He's beautiful and deadly, with silver hair and eyes that glow gold.
He drops to one knee in front of me.
My Queen, he says. I am Caspian Silverfang. And I've been searching for you my entire life.