POV: Alpha Magnus
The pack house windows burst outward in a shower of glass.
I dove behind my desk as magical energy tore through the building like a storm. Books flew off shelves, paintings crashed to the floor, and the old stone walls cracked from the supernatural pressure.
"What in the Moon Goddess's name is happening?" Beta Ravencrest yelled over the chaos.
I already knew. The power signature was obvious - my sons had found their mate. But the energy was wrong, twisted into something that shouldn't exist. Instead of three separate bonds, I felt one massive connection that pulsed with impossible power.
Through the broken windows, silver light erupted from the trees like a beacon. The light was so bright it turned night into day, and it brought a scent that made my wolf pace with unease.
An omega. My kids' mate was an omega.
"Assemble the warriors," I ordered, my Alpha voice cutting through the magical storm. "Something's attacking our territory."
But even as I gave the order, I knew the truth. The attack wasn't coming from outside forces. It was coming from my own boys and whatever omega had ensnared them.
Twenty years of careful planning. Twenty years of preparing Vivienne to become Luna, of strengthening our pack through strategic partnerships. All of it destroyed by some servant girl who'd managed to seduce my children.
"Alpha!" A young warrior burst through the door, his face pale with fear. "The forest is on fire! Silver fire that won't burn out!"
"And there are strangers in our territory," another warrior added. "Soldiers wearing Bloodfang colors, but they're fighting alongside something else. Something with power we've never seen before."
My heart clenched with fear. Not for myself, but for my kids. They were out there in the middle of a supernatural fight, probably trying to protect some omega who'd gotten them into this mess.
"Mobilize everyone," I ordered. "Full battle stations. If Bloodfang wants a war, we'll give them one."
But as I put on my armor, another wave of magical energy hit the pack house. This one was different - darker, older, filled with the kind of power that belonged in dreams.
Through the mate bonds I shared with my boys' wolves, I felt their terror and determination. They were fighting for their lives against something that wanted to destroy them all.
"Sir," Beta Ravencrest said quickly. "Should I send word to the other packs? Ask for reinforcements?"
"No," I growled. "This is pack business. We handle it ourselves."
But deep down, I knew we might not be strong enough. The energy coming from the forest felt like nothing I'd ever encountered. Ancient magic that predated our pack, our region, maybe even our species.
My sons were in over their heads, and it was my fault for not controlling this problem sooner.
I led fifty warriors toward the forest, following the path of silver light and magical destruction. Trees had been blasted apart, the ground was cracked and smoking, and the air itself seemed to buzz with leftover power.
When we reached the clearing, I stopped dead in my tracks.
My three boys stood in a circle around a girl with red hair, their hands joined as rainbow light poured from their bodies. The sight should have filled me with pride - my heirs working together, protecting someone they cared about.
Instead, it filled me with rage.
The girl was Scarlett Nightshade, the omega worker I'd barely noticed in eighteen years. She was shining with power that made my eyes water, but I could see the truth beneath the magic. She was still just a lowborn omega who'd somehow tricked my sons into thinking she was their mate.
Around them lay the bodies of Bloodfang soldiers, and standing at the edge of the clearing was a woman with silver hair who radiated strength like a nuclear reactor.
"Boys!" I roared, my Alpha order cutting through the magical chaos. "Step away from that omega immediately!"
My boys turned toward me, their faces showing shock and defiance. The mate bonds I could see connecting them to the girl pulsed brighter, as if answering to my challenge.
"Father," Dante said, his voice carefully controlled. "You don't understand what's happening here."
"I understand perfectly," I snapped. "You've been bewitched by a servant girl who wants to steal our power and place. The Moon Goddess would never mate my children to a worthless omega."
"She's not worthless," Ryder growled, his warrior instincts flaring. "And the Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes."
"The Moon Goddess gave you Vivienne!" I snapped. "A proper Luna from a proper family! Not some girl who scrubs floors for a living!"
But even as I said the words, I could see the truth of the mate ties glowing in the air between them. They were real. Undeniable. And all three led to the same impossible girl.
The silver-haired woman picked that moment to laugh, a sound like breaking glass.
"How delicious," she said, her voice carrying across the opening. "A family gathering in the middle of my hunt. Tell me, Alpha Magnus, do you know what your precious daughter-in-law really is?"
"She's an omega who's about to be banished from my territory," I said coldly.
"She's the heir to the Moon Wolf throne," the woman corrected. "The most powerful supernatural bloodline that ever lived. And she's about to become mine."
The world turned sideways. Moon Wolf royalty had been extinct for ages. They were tales, myths told to young pups at bedtime.
But as I looked at Scarlett, I saw the truth in her sparkling silver eyes. The power coming from her wasn't omega magic. It was something far older and infinitely more dangerous.
"You're lying," I said, but my voice lacked force.
"Am I?" the woman smiled. "Watch what happens when I try to take her from your sons."
She raised her hands, and dark power erupted toward my boys and their mate. But instead of protecting themselves separately, they moved as one unit. Their combined power produced a shield of light that turned the dark magic to smoke.
They weren't just mated. They were bonded on a level I'd never seen before, their thoughts and magic working in perfect harmony.
"The Trinity Bond," I whispered, recognizing it from old pack histories. "It's real."
"Very real," the woman agreed. "And very valuable. I've been hunting Moon Wolf royalty for ages, collecting their power. Your sons' little mate will make me unstoppable."
Rage burst through me, but it wasn't directed at Scarlett anymore. This woman was threatening my family, my boys, my pack. Whatever Scarlett was or wasn't, she belonged to my boys now. That made her pack.
That made her mine to protect.
"Warriors!" I roared. "Defensive places around the Trinity Bond! Nothing gets through!"
My men moved without question, making a protective circle around my sons and their mate. But I could see the fear in their eyes. This enemy was beyond anything we'd trained for.
"How touching," the woman said. "But you're too late. I've already won."
She snapped her fingers, and the bodies of the Bloodfang fighters began to rise. But they weren't living - they were something else now, their eyes glowing with the same dark magic as their mistress.
"Necromancy," I breathed in horror. "You're raising the dead."
"I'm expanding my army," she corrected. "And your pack will be next."
The zombie troops shambled toward us, weapons ready, and I realized we were about to fight a battle that would determine the fate of the entire supernatural world.
But just as I raised my sword to protect my family, a new voice echoed across the clearing. A voice that made even the sorcerer freeze with terror.
"ENOUGH."
The temperature dropped twenty degrees in an instant, and ice started forming on the ground around us. Through the woods came a figure in a black cloak, moving with grace that hurt to watch.
"Sister," the witch whispered, and for the first time, I heard fear in her voice.
The cloaked figure lowered her hood, showing a face of terrible beauty and eyes like winter storms.
"Hello, Morgana," she said quietly. "You've been a very naughty girl."