ISLA'S POV
The chamber is freezing.
My breath comes out in white clouds as Theron leads me down stone steps that seem to go on forever. Lucian and Damien follow in silence.
Every step makes my heart beat faster. In three hours, I'm going to die.
Not really die. But my omega wolf the part of me that's been weak my whole life will be gone forever.
I should be scared. Instead, I feel excited.
How much farther? I ask. My voice echoes off the walls.
We're here. Theron stops in front of a massive door covered in symbols I don't recognize. He places his hand on it, and the door swings open.
The room beyond takes my breath away.
It's carved entirely from white stone that glows with its own light. Symbols cover every surface the walls, the floor, even the ceiling. In the center is a circle made of silver that shimmers like liquid.
The transformation circle, Lucian says. It's been here for a thousand years. Every Moonborne Queen has stood in that circle.
And now me, I whisper.
And now you. Theron takes my hand. His magic makes my skin tingle. Are you ready?
No. Yes. I don't know.
What happens if it doesn't work? I ask.
Damien's scarred face is gentle. It'll work. Your blood confirmed it. You're Moonborne. The power is already inside you. We just have to wake it up.
And if my omega wolf won't let go? The question I've been afraid to ask.
Then you'll have to make her, Lucian says bluntly. You'll have to choose to let her die.
The words hit hard. Let her die. The weak, scared part of me. The part Kade rejected.
I'm ready, I say.
Theron guides me to stand in the center of the silver circle. The moment my feet touch it, the symbols on the floor start glowing.
Don't move once I start, Theron warns. No matter how much it hurts. If you leave the circle before the transformation is complete, it could kill you.
Okay, I breathe.
The three princes take positions around the circle. Theron raises his hands, and magic fills the air so thick I can taste it.
He starts chanting in a language older than wolves. Older than anything.
The symbols glow brighter. Brighter.
Then the pain starts.
It feels like lightning striking my chest. I gasp, almost stepping back, but I remember Theron's warning. Stay in the circle.
The pain spreads through my whole body. Every nerve, every bone, every piece of me is on fire.
Let it in! Theron shouts over the magic. Don't fight it!
But my omega wolf is fighting. She's terrified, screaming, trying to hold on.
Please, she begs inside my mind. Please don't kill me. I'm all you've ever known.
You're also all they ever used to hurt me, I gasp out loud.
The pain gets worse. I fall to my knees, still inside the circle. It feels like I'm being torn apart from the inside.
Memories flash through my mind.
Kade's disgusted face. You're too weak.
Vivian's cruel smile. You're worthless.
Dad's cold eyes. You're just the thing that took her place.
Every hurt. Every rejection. Every moment I believed I wasn't good enough.
All because I was omega.
I'm done being weak! I scream.
Something inside me breaks open.
Power floods through me like a tidal wave. It's nothing like the omega energy I've known my whole life. This is huge, ancient, overwhelming.
My omega wolf screams one last time.
Then she's gone.
For a second, there's nothing. I'm empty, floating in darkness.
Then SHE wakes up.
My Queen Alpha wolf.
She's massive, made of silver light and fury and power I've never imagined. She opens her eyes inside my mind, and they blaze violet.
Finally, she growls. I've been waiting so long to wake up.
Who are you? I gasp.
I'm who you've always been underneath, she says. The part they couldn't see. The part that survived everything they did to break you. I'm your truth, Isla. And I'm done hiding.
The transformation circle explodes with light.
When it fades, I'm standing. Not kneeling. Standing tall and straight, and for the first time in my life, I don't feel small.
I look at my hands. They're glowing with silver light.
Isla? Theron's voice sounds awed.
I raise my head and meet his eyes. He takes a step back, and I realize why.
My eyes are blazing violet, just like my mother's. Just like every Moonborne Queen before me.
Lucian, Damien, and Theron all drop to one knee.
Your Majesty, they say together.
The words should sound strange. They don't.
They sound right.
How do you feel? Damien asks, standing back up.
I take inventory. The bond wound is still there, but it's different now. Scarred over. Not killing me anymore.
My body feels stronger. Taller. Like I could lift a car or run for hours without getting tired.
But more than that I feel awake. Like I've been sleepwalking my whole life and just opened my eyes.
Powerful, I whisper. Then louder: I feel powerful.
Lucian's cold smile warms just a fraction. Good. Because you're going to need that power. Being Queen isn't just about strength. It's about ruling. And ruling means facing challenges you can't imagine yet.
Like what? I ask.
Like the fact that no one in the Seven Territories knows the Moonborne line still exists, Damien says. When we reveal you, there will be wolves who challenge your right to rule. Who say you're too young, too inexperienced.
Too omega, I finish bitterly.
You're not omega anymore, Theron reminds me gently. You're Queen Alpha. The highest rank. But that doesn't mean wolves will accept you easily.
I think about that. About facing down Alphas who think they know better. About proving myself over and over.
Then I think about Kade seeing me like this. Powerful. Royal. Everything he said I could never be.
I smile. Let them challenge me. I'll show them what a Moonborne Queen can do.
That's the spirit, Lucian says. But first, you need training. Combat. Politics. Magic. You have the power now, but you need to learn how to use it.
When do we start? I ask.
Tomorrow, Damien says. Tonight, you rest. Your body just went through a massive change. You need to let it settle.
He's right. Now that the adrenaline is fading, I feel exhausted. The kind of tired that goes bone-deep.
They lead me back upstairs to a bedroom that's ten times bigger than my old room in Bloodmoon. Everything is white and silver and beautiful.
Sleep, Theron says at the door. You've earned it.
After they leave, I walk to the window. The Royal Court spreads out below me buildings and gardens and wolves moving through the night.
My territory now. My people.
The thought should terrify me. Instead, it makes me stand taller.
I touch the glass, and silver light sparks from my fingertips. My new power, responding to my emotions.
Through the bond, I feel Kade. He's sleeping peacefully, no idea that the omega he rejected just became a Queen.
Sleep well, I whisper to him, even though he can't hear me. Because when you see me again, your whole world is going to fall apart.
I'm about to turn away from the window when I feel it.
A pull. Sharp and urgent.
Coming from the bond.
But not from Kade's side. From somewhere else. Somewhere deeper.
The bond is glowing in my chest, silver instead of gold now. And it's not broken anymore.
It's changing.
My new Queen Alpha wolf growls inside my mind. The bond doesn't want to let go of him. Even after everything.
What does that mean? I ask out loud.
It means the rejection wasn't complete, she says. He said the words, but he didn't finish the ritual. Part of him held on. And now that we're Queen Alpha, the bond is trying to
She cuts off.
Trying to what? I demand.
But she won't answer.
The bond pulses again. Stronger. And through it, I feel something new.
Kade is dreaming. About me. About the rejection.
And in his dream, he's screaming my name.
Not in pleasure. In pain.
The bond is punishing him for the rejection. Now that I'm Queen Alpha, it's making him feel what I felt.
Good, I whisper.
But my Queen Alpha wolf growls a warning. Be careful, Isla. The bond works both ways. If it's punishing him, it might also be pulling you back to him.
That's not possible, I say. I'll never go back to someone who rejected me.
Won't you? she challenges. He's still your fated mate. That doesn't change just because you changed ranks.
I press my hand to my chest, feeling the bond pulse.
She's right. The bond is still there. Scarred and changed, but alive.
And now that I'm powerful, it's waking up in ways I don't understand.
Through the bond, Kade's dream-pain intensifies. He's feeling the rejection wound I survived. Feeling what it's like to be torn apart.
I should feel satisfied. Instead, I feel scared.
Because if the bond can make him feel my pain, what else can it do?
What if becoming Queen Alpha didn't free me from Kade?
What if it just made our connection stronger?