Sera's POV
Stealing another Alpha's mate.
The words echo in my head like a death sentence. I stare at Kael, trying to process. But he rejected me. Everyone saw it. It's on video millions of people watched
You never formally accepted the rejection. Legally, technically, you're still his mate. Kael's jaw clenches, and I see the weight of what this means settling on his shoulders. The Council meets tomorrow. They'll judge whether you came willingly or if I stole you.
And if they rule against you?
War. The single word carries the weight of hundreds of lives. War between Shadowfang and every pack that sides with the Council. Which will be most of them.
Guilt crashes over me like a wave. This is my fault. I should have accepted the rejection. I should have
Kael grabs my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. I knew the risks. I'd do it again. His eyes burn with intensity. When I saw you broken in my forest, covered in blood and tears, my wolf recognized you. As mine.
The impossible bond. The silver light. It's real. I feel it too this pull toward him that defies logic and pack law and everything I thought I knew.
But I'm bond broken, I whisper. We can't be mates. It's not possible
Maybe we're not fated mates. Kael's thumb brushes my cheek, gentle despite the calluses. Maybe we're something else. Something stronger. Something we choose.
Before I can respond, before I can make sense of any of this, someone pounds on the door hard enough to rattle the frame. Raven, Kael's second in command, storms in without waiting for permission.
The video is everywhere. She shoves her phone at us, anger and worry warring on her face. You need to see this.
It's me. Telling Jason I'm staying for revenge. The video is edited, cut to make me look unstable, manipulated. Millions of views already. The comments are brutal, vicious.
She's lost her mind. The enemy is controlling her. Someone saves this poor girl. Shadowfang must have done something to her. She needs to be rescued before it's too late.
Dominic's PR team is working overtime, Raven says bluntly. They're spinning it like we're brainwashing you. That you're too traumatized from the rejection to think straight.
Rage floods through me, hot and cleansing. I made my own choice!
They don't believe that, Raven says. They see a rejected, broken wolf being taken advantage of by her pack's enemy. The narrative is set. It makes Kael look like a monster who preys on the vulnerable.
Kael's expression hardens into something cold and dangerous. Let them think what they want.
You'll lose at the Council, Raven argues, frustration bleeding into her voice. They'll force you to return her. And if you refuse
War. Kael's voice is flat, resigned. I know.
I can't let this happen. Can't let Kael's pack suffer because of me, because I was too weak to accept a rejection, because I ran into the wrong forest at the wrong time. There has to be another way.
Raven looks at me for the first time with something other than hostility. Assessment. Maybe even grudging respect. There is one option. But you won't like it.
Tell me.
Prove you're not being manipulated. Show the Council you came here willingly and you're staying willingly. She pauses, letting the weight of her next words sink in. And prove Dominic's rejection was justified.
My blood runs cold. Justified? How could destroying me ever be justified?
By showing them you're not the weak wolf he claimed. Raven's eyes gleam with something fierce. By showing them your power. By proving you're Moon Blessed.
Kael tenses. We don't know if she can control it yet. The power nearly killed her earlier
Then we have one day to teach her. Raven looks at me, challenging. Can you do it? Can you unlock your Moon Blessed abilities by tomorrow? Can you stand in front of the Council and show them you're not some helpless victim?
I think of the silver light. The energy that exploded when Kael touched me. The power sleeping inside me, waiting.
I can try.
Trying isn't enough, Raven says brutally. If you fail, if you can't prove your power, the Council rules against Kael. We lose everything. Our territory. Our Alpha. Our pack. If you fail, we all pay the price.
The weight of it settles on my shoulders. Hundreds of lives depending on me. On the girl who couldn't even keep her own mate.
I won't fail. The words come out stronger than I feel, but I force conviction into them.
Raven studies me for a long moment, then nods sharply. Training starts now. Follow me.
She leaves. Kael catches my arm before I can follow. You don't have to do this. I can fight the Council's decision. I can
And lose everything? I shake my head. You took me in when I had nothing. Protected me when my own family wouldn't. Believed in me when everyone else saw weakness. I'm not letting you go to war because of me.
Something shifts in his expression. Softens. You're stronger than you know, Sera.
I hope you're right. Because if I'm not, everyone here dies.
I start to leave, but Kael pulls me back. For a moment, we're close enough that I can feel his breath on my face, can see the silver flecks in his eyes. The bond hums between us, alive and insistent.
When this is over, he says quietly, we need to talk about what's happening between us. About this bond.
My heart races. I know.
He releases me reluctantly. I follow Raven out to the training grounds, my stomach churning with fear and determination.
The sun is just rising, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold that feel too beautiful for what's coming. Other Shadowfang wolves are already gathered, watching with suspicious, wary eyes.
They don't trust you, Raven says, noticing my expression. You're Silverpine. The enemy. And now you're putting their Alpha at risk. Putting all of us at risk.
I'm trying to fix that.
Then prove it. Raven shifts into her wolf forma massive brown wolf with fierce amber eyes and scars that speak of battles won. Shift. Let's see what you can do.
I close my eyes and reach for my wolf. She's been quiet since the rejection, hurt and withdrawn, hiding. But when I call to her now, something's different.
She answers.
Power floods through me like lightning in my veins. My bones crack and reshape. Fur sprouts. But instead of the usual gray, it's silver. Bright, shining, impossible silver.
The gathered wolves gasp. Raven's eyes widen in shock.
I look down at my paws. They're glowing. Actually glowing with silver light that pulses like a heartbeat.
Impossible, someone whispers.
Raven shifts back to human, staring at me. You weren't lying. You really are Moon Blessed.
Pride swells in my chest. For the first time since the rejection, I don't feel weak. I feel powerful. Dangerous.
Then the pain hits.
It starts in my chest, spreading like wildfire through every nerve. The silver light flares brighter, out of control, burning. I try to shift back, but I can't. The power is too much. It's consuming me, burning me from the inside out.
I hear shouting. Feel hands on me Kael's hands, I know his touch but the pain won't stop. The light keeps growing, brighter and brighter until I can't see anything else, until the world is nothing but silver fire.
Then I hear a voice. Not out loud. Inside my head.
Sera.
A woman's voice. Familiar somehow, like a half-remembered dream. Warm and sad at the same time.
Your power is waking too fast. You need to learn control, or it will destroy you. Find Elena Grey. She's in the northern mountains. She'll teach you. The voice becomes urgent. But be warned there are others searching for you. The Shadow Council knows you exist. They've known since you were born. And they're coming.
Who are you? I try to ask, but my wolf form can't speak.
I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better. I tried to hide you, to keep you safe, but I failed. The voice is fading, getting weaker. But you're stronger than I ever was. Trust the Shadowfang Alpha. Trust the bond. And remember you are not weak. You never were. They made you believe it, suppressed your power, but you were always meant for greatness.
Grandmother? The word comes out as a whimper.
But she's gone. The light explodes outward in a wave of pure energy, throwing everyone back like they weigh nothing.
Then darkness takes me, swift and merciful.
The last thing I hear is Kael screaming my name, raw with terror.