SERA'S POV
The shadow creatures are everywhere.
I shift into my massive wolf form and leap from my window, landing in the courtyard. Ryker's warriors are fighting desperately, but these things aren't normal. They're made of darkness and magic, reforming every time they're destroyed.
And in the center of the chaos stands Vivian, controlling them with dark magic.
You! I snarl, charging toward her.
She smiles and raises her hand. Shadows slam into me, throwing me backward. I crash into a wall, pain exploding through my ribs.
Did you really think you could just come back from the dead and take everything? Vivian's eyes glow red not wolf red, dark magic red. I'm Kade's mate now. I'm Luna. You're nothing but a corpse that forgot to stay buried.
Rage floods through me. My power erupts, silver light blasting the shadows away. I shift to human and stand.
You were never his mate, I say, my voice echoing with royal command. You were a replacement. And now you're a traitor working with the Council.
Vivian laughs. Marcus Ashford promised me real power if I helped eliminate you. More power than being some rejected mate's second choice.
She attacks with another wave of shadows. But this time I'm ready. I call on my lunar magic the power the Moon Goddess gave me. Silver light forms a shield, blocking her attack.
Caspian! I shout.
He appears beside me instantly. My Queen.
Get the warriors to safety. I'll handle her.
But
NOW!
The oath compels him to obey. He hesitates, then starts evacuating the wounded.
Vivian and I circle each other.
Marcus was right about you, she says. You're too soft. Too weak. You'll never be a real queen.
And you'll never be anything but a pawn. I strike, silver magic lashing out like a whip.
The fight is brutal and fast. Vivian's dark magic against my lunar power. But I'm stronger I can feel it. The Goddess's training is paying off.
Finally, I get through her defences. My power wraps around her throat, lifting her off the ground.
Tell Marcus, I growl, that I'm coming for him. And when I do, he'll wish he'd stayed hidden.
I throw Vivian toward the gates. She crashes, coughs blood, and her shadow creatures dissolve.
This isn't over, she gasps, then disappears in a swirl of darkness.
The courtyard falls silent except for groans from injured warriors.
Ryker runs up, covered in blood. Are you hurt?
No. You?
I'm fine. His eyes scan the damage. Marcus is getting desperate. First assassins, now this.
Good. I turn to face him. Desperate people make mistakes.
The next morning, a messenger arrives with an official summons.
The Grand Council demands your presence, the messenger announces. Marcus Ashford challenges your claim to the Lunar Throne. Ancient law requires blood combat to settle the dispute.
When? I ask coldly.
Two weeks. At the neutral grounds.
After he leaves, Ryker slams his fist on the table. It's a trap. Theron's been enhanced with dark magic for years. You've had three months of training.
Then I'll train harder.
Sera
This is my fight! I snap. My throne. My birth right. I won't hide behind others.
Caspian steps forward. Let me fight in your place. I'm sworn to protect you.
No.
But
I said NO. My royal command rings out, and both males flinch. I died once already. I won't let fear make me weak again.
The training becomes brutal after that. Ryker pushes me until I collapse. Then pushes me more.
On the fifth day, alarms sound at the border.
Kade has returned.
This time he challenged Ryker's border guard's formally an Alpha challenge they can't refuse. He fought through six of them before Ryker agreed to let him see me.
I find him in the training yard, bloodied but standing. His eyes lock on mine, and the mate bond flares painfully.
Sera, he breathes.
You shouldn't be here.
I have information. About Theron. He pulls out papers. I've been investigating him. His weaknesses, his enhancements, everything.
Why? I demand. Why do you care?
Kade's composure finally cracks. Because you DIED! You threw yourself in front of a blade meant for me, and you died in my arms. Do you know what that did to me?
You married Vivian two months later! I shout back. Seems like you got over it pretty fast!
I was drowning in guilt! His voice breaks. Every night I dreamed of your face. Your last words. 'I'm sorry I wasn't enough.' Those words destroyed me, Sera. Because you WERE enough. You were always enough. I was the one who wasn't.
Silence falls between us.
I was a coward, Kade continues, quieter now. I convinced myself you were weak because your strength terrified me. You loved me when I gave you nothing. That kind of pure loveit's terrifying. I didn't deserve it, so I rejected it.
What strength? I ask bitterly. I did everything for you.
Exactly. You sacrificed everything for someone who didn't appreciate it. That's not weakness, Sera. That's a kind of strength I'll never have. He takes a step closer. I was wrong. About everything.
For the first time since coming back, I feel my anger waver. This honesty this is what I needed before.
I can't forgive you, I say, my voice shaking. You broke me, Kade. You made me believe I was worthless.
I know. He drops to his knees. But I'm going to spend the rest of my life earning your forgiveness anyway. Even if you never give it.
The mate bond pulses between us, begging me to close the distance.
Enough. Ryker appears, pulling Kade up roughly. You're upsetting her. Leave.
Sera Kade starts.
Go, I whisper.
After he's gone, I collapse onto a bench. My chest hurts. The bond hurts. Everything hurts.
Caspian appears silently, offering tea. He's been watching from the shadows, protecting.
He hurt you, Caspian says quietly. You don't owe him anything.
I know. I take the tea with shaking hands. So why does it still hurt?
Because you loved him. And that was real, even if he didn't deserve it.
I sip the tea, trying to calm down.
Then Nova bursts in, her face pale.
Sera the Council just made an announcement. They're broadcasting it everywhere.
She hands me her phone. Marcus Ashford's face fills the screen.
The false queen Sera Blackwood claims to be the Lunar Heir, he says. But we have proof she's an imposter using dark magic to deceive the packs. The REAL Lunar Heir is Theron Blackwood, and he will prove it in blood combat.
The video cuts to another man. He looks like me same silver hair, same features. But his eyes are cold and cruel.
Theron. My cousin.
I challenge Sera Blackwood, he says directly to the camera. In two weeks, I'll kill the pretender and claim my rightful throne.
The video ends.
Nova's hands are shaking. Sera... the packs are starting to believe them. They're saying you faked your death. That you're using dark magic.
My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number:
I'm going to enjoy killing you, cousin. Just like I killed your parents. - T
The world stops.
What? I whisper.
Another text: Didn't Marcus tell you? I'm his personal assassin. Your mother screamed your name when I slit her throat. Your father begged for mercy. Neither got it.
Rage explodes through me. Silver light shatters every window in the room.
He killed them, I say, my voice barely human. Theron murdered my parents.
Ryker and Caspian exchange dark looks.
Then you kill him, Ryker says simply.
Oh, I will. My eyes glow pure silver. I'm going to destroy him.
My phone buzzes one more time. A video file.
Against my better judgment, I open it.
It's footage old and grainy. Security camera footage from twenty-four years ago.
I watch a younger Theron break into a house. Watch him attack two people.
My parents.
I watch my mother scream. Watch my father fight. Watch them both die.
And in the corner of the room, crying in a crib baby.
Me.
The video cuts to Theron looking directly at the camera, smiling. One day, little cousin. One day I'll finish what I started.
The phone drops from my hands.
Sera? Nova's voice sounds far away.
I can't breathe. Can't think. The rage is too big, too consuming.
My power erupts uncontrolled. The entire building shakes.
Sera, you need to calm down! Ryker shouts.
But I can't. I won't.
Not until Theron Blackwood is dead.