POV: Ryder
The silver blast hit me like a truck.
I flew backward through the air, my body crashing into a tree so hard that bark rained down on my head. Stars danced in front of my eyes as I fought to breathe. Around the clearing, Grimstone's troops were screaming as silver fire burned their weapons to ash.
But I wasn't looking at them. I was looking at her.
Scarlett stood in the middle of the chaos like a goddess of war. Silver light poured from her skin in waves, and her eyes blazed with power that made my wolf bow his head in respect. She was magnificent and frightening and absolutely perfect.
And she was ours. All three of ours.
The mate links connecting us glowed like stars in the darkness. I could see Dante's silver thread and Phoenix's purple one wrapped around my own golden tie, all three leading to her heart. It should have been impossible, but there it was, bright as sunshine.
"Get up!" Dante shouted, pulling me to my feet. "We need to protect her!"
But Scarlett didn't need protection. She was destroying Grimstone's army all by herself.
Silver fire exploded from her hands, turning armed soldiers into running, screaming cowards. The ancient stones around the clearing were spinning now, forming a magical barrier that nothing could cross. Power radiated from her in waves so strong they made my teeth ache.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" she screamed at Grimstone, who was backing toward the trees with terror on his face. "The power in my blood? Come and take it!"
More silver fire shot from her eyes, missing Grimstone by inches and setting a whole tree on fire. He scrambled behind his remaining troops, using them as shields.
"She's lost control!" Phoenix yelled over the magical storm. "Her power is too strong! She'll burn herself out!"
He was right. I could feel Scarlett's exhaustion through our link. She was putting everything she had into this attack, and it was killing her. Her legs were shaking, and blood was dripping from her nose.
But she wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. The power was ruling her now instead of the other way around.
"Scarlett!" I called out, trying to reach her through the silver fire. "You have to calm down!"
She turned toward me, and I saw the fear in her bright eyes. She was stuck inside her own magic, watching it destroy everything around her. She wanted it to stop, but she didn't know how.
That's when I felt it. Through our mate bond, her fear and desperation flooded into me. She was asking for help without words, reaching out for someone to save her from herself.
I didn't think. I just moved.
I ran straight through the silver fire, ignoring the way it burned my skin. The magical flames tried to push me back, but my mate bond acted like a shield, saving me from the worst of it. Behind me, I heard Dante and Phoenix following, their own ties keeping them safe.
When I reached Scarlett, she fell into my arms.
"I can't stop it," she sobbed against my chest. "It won't listen to me." "Then don't fight it," I said, putting my arms around her. "Let us help."
Dante reached us first, his hand touching Scarlett's shoulder. The moment he made touch, his silver bond flared brighter, and some of the wild magic calmed down. Phoenix arrived seconds later, adding his purple light to ours.
Together, we made a circle around Scarlett. Our three links wrapped around her like a cocoon, containing her power and giving her something to hold onto. The silver fire slowly died down until it was just a warm glow around us.
"How did you do that?" she whispered, looking up at us with wonder.
"We're connected," Phoenix explained gently. "Your power knows ours. We can help you control it."
But our moment of peace didn't last long.
"How touching," Grimstone's words cut through the quiet like a knife. "The little family reunion is over."
I spun around to find him standing at the edge of the clearing with twenty more soldiers. These weren't regular fighters - they wore special armor covered in silver symbols that glowed with dark magic.
"Null magic," Phoenix breathed in horror. "Those symbols cancel out supernatural powers."
My heart sank. Scarlett's amazing powers wouldn't work against enemies wearing null magic armor. We'd have to fight them the old-fashioned way, and we were outnumbered four to one.
"You boys can walk away," Grimstone said with a cold smile. "This doesn't have to involve you. Just give us the girl, and no one else gets hurt."
"Never," Dante growled, moving protectively in front of Scarlett.
"Yeah, not happening," I added, cracking my fingers. My wolf was asking to be let loose on these bastards.
Grimstone shrugged like he'd expected that answer. "Then you'll die with her. It makes no difference to me."
He raised his hand, and his men lifted strange weapons I'd never seen before. They looked like crossbows, but instead of normal bolts, they were loaded with silver spears that hummed with null magic.
"Those will kill any supernatural being on contact," Grimstone explained cheerfully. "Wolf, vampire, witch - doesn't matter. One shot, and you're dead."
Fear shot through me. Not for myself, but for Scarlett. She was just learning about her skills. She didn't know how to fight magical attackers with deadly weapons.
"There's something you should know," Grimstone continued, his smile getting wider. "About why we want her so badly."
"We don't care about your reasons," Dante snapped.
"Oh, but you should," Grimstone laughed. "You see, boys, your little mate isn't who you think she is. She's not even human."
Ice filled my blood. "What are you talking about?"
"Her mother was one of us," Grimstone said, his eyes glowing with victory. "A pure-blood moon wolf from the old bloodlines. The most powerful magical beings who ever lived."
I felt Scarlett go rigid in my arms. "That's impossible," she whispered. "My mother was just a servant."
"Your mother was a princess," Grimstone amended. "The last heir to the Moon Wolf throne. And when she died, that power passed to you."
The world turned sideways. Scarlett wasn't just our mate. She was magical royalty. The heir to a throne that had been empty for ages.
"The power in her blood can grant immortality," Grimstone continued. "Can heal any wound, cure any sickness, even bring back the dead. Do you understand what that's worth?"
Everything suddenly made sense. The assassins, the predictions, the incredible magic she couldn't control. Scarlett wasn't just special - she was the most important person in the supernatural world.
"That's why you killed her mother," Phoenix said, his voice shaking with rage. "You wanted to steal her power."
"We tried," Grimstone admits. "But the stubborn woman refused to give it up. So we took the next best thing - we waited for her daughter to grow up."
He signaled to his soldiers, and they raised their weapons. "And now, after eighteen years of patience, it's time to collect what's ours."
The null magic spears were directed straight at our hearts. In seconds, we'd all be dead, and Scarlett would be dragged away to have her blood drained for power.
But as I looked down at my mate's scared face, I saw something that gave me hope. Her eyes weren't just shining silver anymore. They were changing colors - silver, gold, and purple, cycling through the same shades as our mate ties.
"Ryder," she whispered, her voice booming with power. "I can feel you. All of you. Inside my head."
Through our bond, I suddenly felt everything she felt. But more than that, I could feel Dante and Phoenix too. Our minds were connecting, sharing thoughts and feelings like we were one person in four bodies.
"The ancient magic," Phoenix gasped. "It's creating a mental link between us."
That's when I understood. We weren't just mated to Scarlett. We were becoming something new. Something that had never existed before.
Grimstone's smile faded as he saw the light growing around us. "Fire!" he screamed. "Kill them now!"
The null magic spears flew toward us like silver lightning.
But they never reached us.
A dome of pure white light exploded around our group, and the spears dissolved into nothing when they touched it. The light wasn't coming from Scarlett alone - it was coming from all four of us together.
"Impossible," Grimstone breathed.
Through our mental link, I heard Scarlett's voice in my head, clear as a bell: "He's right. We are impossible. And that's exactly what's going to save us."
The white light around us began to pulse, and I felt our combined power growing to something that would change everything.
But just as we were about to release it, a new voice cut through the chaos like ice.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
I spun around to see a woman stepping out of the darkness. She was beautiful in a cold, frightening way, with silver hair and eyes like black holes. Power radiated from her that made Grimstone look like a puppy.
"Hello, granddaughter," she said to Scarlett with a smile that promised death. "I've been looking for you for a very long time."