THEA'S POV
"No," Magnus snarls, stepping in front of me. "Absolutely not. Nobody dies."
The Moon Goddess—because apparently she's REAL and we're standing in her throne room—just smiles like he's an adorable puppy who doesn't understand how the world works.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Alpha Ravencroft. The prophecy has three trials. This is the first." She waves her hand and the silver floor beneath us becomes transparent. I can see through it like glass.
Below us is the basement we just left. Vesper stands over my father's unconscious body, holding a knife to his throat.
"No!" I lunge forward, but Magnus catches me.
"It's a vision," he says quietly. "We're not really there anymore."
"Your mate is correct," the Moon Goddess confirms. "You're in the realm between worlds. Time moves differently here. But make no mistake—what happens in this trial is very real." She gestures to the scene below. "Your first trial: One True Mate must willingly sacrifice their life to save the other. Only through death can true love be proven."
My stomach turns to ice. "That's insane."
"That's ancient magic." The Goddess's eyes glow brighter. "The True Mate bond is the most powerful force in werewolf history. But power requires sacrifice. Blood demands blood. Life demands death."
"There has to be another way," Magnus argues.
"There isn't. One of you chooses to die, or I destroy the mate bond for every werewolf alive. Starting with yours." She snaps her fingers.
Pain explodes through my chest—like someone's ripping my heart out. Through our new bond, I feel Magnus experiencing the same agony. We both drop to our knees, gasping.
"Stop!" I scream. "Please stop!"
The pain vanishes instantly.
"That was just a taste," the Goddess says pleasantly. "Imagine every mated pair feeling that simultaneously. Imagine the bond that lets wolves love being severed forever. Imagine a world where werewolves become true monsters—unable to feel affection, loyalty, or compassion. Just violence and hunger." She leans forward. "That's what happens if you fail this trial."
Magnus helps me stand, his jaw clenched so tight I hear his teeth grinding. "And if one of us dies? What then?"
"Then you pass to the second trial." She smiles. "Don't worry. Death isn't always permanent in my realm. But the sacrifice must be real. The choice must be willing. And the pain..." Her smile widens. "The pain will be very, very real."
I look at Magnus. He looks at me.
Through our bond, I feel what he's thinking: I won't let you die. I'll sacrifice myself first.
And he feels my response: Like hell you will.
"You have sixty seconds to decide," the Goddess announces. "Or I choose for you. And trust me—you won't like my choice."
"Thea." Magnus grabs my shoulders. "Listen to me. If one of us has to die, it's me. You're young, you have your whole life—"
"I'm not letting you die for me."
"You don't have a choice. I'm your Alpha—"
"And I'm YOUR mate!" The words burst out. "Equal. Remember? You don't get to make this decision alone."
His silver eyes are desperate. "I've lived thirty-four years. You've barely lived twenty-three. You have so much ahead of you—"
"Without you, I don't WANT what's ahead!" Tears stream down my face. "Magnus, you're all I have left. My father's captured. My mother abandoned me. You're the only person who's chosen me for me, not for my bloodline or my power or what I can do for them. You're MINE. And I'm not giving you up."
"Thirty seconds," the Goddess sings.
Magnus cups my face in both hands. "Thea, please. Let me do this. Let me save you."
"Why? Because of some promise to my father? Because you feel responsible?"
"Because I LOVE YOU!" The confession explodes out of him. "I've loved you since you were eighteen years old and I realized you were my mate. I've spent five years trying to stay away, trying to keep my distance, trying to honor Dorian's wishes. But I can't anymore. You're my mate, my heart, my entire world. And I would rather die a thousand times than watch you suffer."
My heart shatters and reforms at the same time.
"I love you too," I whisper. "Which is exactly why I can't let you die for me."
"Ten seconds," the Goddess announces.
We're out of time. One of us has to choose.
I look into Magnus's eyes and make my decision.
I shove him backward with all my strength—enhanced by my new Alpha power. He stumbles, shocked.
"I choose me," I tell the Goddess. "I sacrifice myself."
"NO!" Magnus lunges for me, but invisible barriers snap up, trapping him ten feet away. "THEA, NO!"
The Goddess stands, looking pleased. "The True Mate has chosen. The sacrifice is accepted."
"Stop this!" Magnus slams against the barrier, but it doesn't budge. "Take me instead! I'm the Alpha, I'm older, I'm—"
"Not the one who chose." The Goddess approaches me. "You understand what this means, child? You'll experience death. Real, genuine death. The pain. The fear. The ending."
I'm shaking so hard my teeth chatter. But I nod. "I understand."
"Thea, please!" Magnus's voice breaks. "Don't do this. We'll find another way. We'll—"
"There is no other way." I press my hand against the barrier, and he presses his against mine from the other side. "Magnus, listen to me. You have a pack that needs you. Hundreds of wolves depending on you. My father needs you to rescue him. The werewolf world needs you." My voice cracks. "But me? I'm just one person. My life for thousands of others? That's not even a question."
"You're not JUST anything," he chokes out. "You're everything."
The Goddess touches my shoulder. "It's time."
Terror floods through me. I don't want to die. I'm only twenty-three. I just found my mate. Just discovered my wolf. Just learned what love feels like.
But if I don't do this, every mated pair loses what Magnus and I just found.
I won't let that happen.
"I'm ready," I lie.
"No, you're not," the Goddess says gently. "No one ever is."
She plunges her hand into my chest.
The pain is beyond anything I've ever imagined. It's like being burned from the inside out, frozen and shattered and ripped apart all at once.
Through the bond, I feel Magnus screaming. Feel his agony matching mine.
"I'm sorry," I gasp. "Magnus, I'm so sorry—"
"Don't you dare apologize!" Tears stream down his face. "Don't you dare! I love you, Thea Corvain. I love you and I will find a way to bring you back. I swear it!"
"I love you too," I whisper.
Then the Goddess rips my heart out.
I watch my own heart beat in her hand—once, twice, three times—before it stops.
My vision goes dark.
I'm falling.
Falling.
Falling into nothing.
The last thing I hear is Magnus's broken howl of grief.
Then... silence.
I wake up gasping.
But I'm not in the throne room anymore.
I'm in a forest. Not the one near the mill—somewhere else entirely. The trees are silver, the sky is purple, and everything glows with ethereal light.
"Where am I?" My voice echoes strangely.
"The realm of the dead," a voice answers.
I spin around.
A woman stands behind me. She looks exactly like me—same copper hair, same green eyes, same face—but older. Maybe forty.
"Who are you?"
She smiles sadly. "I'm your mother, Thea. The real one. Not Vesper—she gave birth to you, but she was never your mother. I am."
My heart—which shouldn't be beating since the Goddess ripped it out—pounds against my ribs.
"But you died when I was born."
"No, sweetling. I died when you were three days old. Vesper killed me." Her expression hardens. "She wanted to use you as a weapon. Your father and I refused. So she murdered me and tried to take you. Your father faked my death, hid you, and has been protecting you ever since."
Everything Vesper said was twisted truth. Lies wrapped in facts.
"Why are you here?" I whisper.
"Because you just passed the first trial. You chose love over self-preservation. Chose sacrifice over survival." She steps closer. "But the second trial is about to begin. And Thea... this one is worse."
"What do I have to do?"
"You have to go back. Back to life. Back to Magnus." She takes my hand. "But here's the catch: You'll be brought back... but Magnus will have no memory of loving you. No memory of the mate bond. No memory of any of this."
My blood turns to ice. "What?"
"The second trial tests whether love can survive without memory. Whether your bond is strong enough to reform even when one of you has forgotten it completely." Her eyes are sad. "You'll remember everything. He'll remember nothing. And you'll have to make him fall in love with you all over again... while Vesper hunts you both."
"That's impossible."
"If it was easy, it wouldn't be a trial." She squeezes my hand. "But I believe in you, daughter. You're stronger than you know. Braver than you think. And love—true love—always finds a way."
"What if I fail? What if I can't make him love me again?"
"Then the mate bond dies for everyone. Forever."
No pressure at all.
"There's one more thing," my mother adds. "Your father. He's dying. The gas in that basement is filling up fast. If you don't get back soon, he'll be dead before you can save him."
Perfect. So I have to make Magnus fall in love with me again while racing to rescue my dying father from my psychotic birth mother.
"How do I get back?"
"Close your eyes. Accept the second trial. And when you wake up..." She kisses my forehead. "Fight like hell, my brave girl. For your mate. For your father. For yourself."
I close my eyes.
When I open them, I'm back in my body—lying on the silver floor of the throne room.
Magnus kneels beside me, checking for a pulse. When he finds it, relief floods his face.
"Thank the gods," he breathes. "I thought I lost you."
But his eyes... his eyes don't have that warm recognition. That love I saw before.
He looks at me like I'm a stranger.
"Who are you?" he asks.
My heart breaks all over again.