Sera's POV
I wake up gasping for air.
Everything hurts. My chest aches from the broken bond, each breath a reminder of what I lost. My head throbs like someone took a hammer to my skull. I'm in a huge bed draped in dark fabrics, surrounded by stone walls that look ancient. Candles flicker, casting dancing shadows that make the room feel alive.
The Shadowfang compound. Enemy territory.
Panic hits me like a physical blow. I try to sit up, but pain shoots through my body, forcing me back down.
Easy. A deep voice comes from the shadows, and I realize with horror that I'm not alone.
Kael steps into the candlelight, moving with predatory grace. His silver eyes watch me carefully, assessing.
Where am I?
My room. You've been out for three hours. He sets down a tray with water and food, the gesture almost gentle. Almost.
I'm wearing a soft shirt that drowns me, smelling like pine and something darker. Him. You changed my clothes?
One of my pack females helped you. He sits on the bed's edge, too close. You were covered in blood. Your nose wouldn't stop bleeding.
Why didn't you kill me? The question comes out barely above a whisper.
Because you're valuable. His eyes gleam with something dangerous. You're Moon Blessed, Sera. And you don't even know it.
He pulls out an old book, pages yellowed with age, showing illustrations of silver wolves with glowing eyes. Wolves that look almost mythical. Moon Blessed wolves can heal impossible wounds, shift without the moon's power, see visions of the future. They're incredibly powerful, incredibly rare. Your grandmother was one.
That's a myth, I whisper, but my voice lacks conviction. Stories to scare children.
You've felt tired your whole life, haven't you? Had dreams that felt more real than waking? Healed faster than others but never fast enough to be suspicious? His voice is firm, certain. Those are signs. Someone suppressed your power to protect you. To hide what you are.
My breath catches. He's right. He's absolutely right about all of it. How does he know?
Bond breaking weakens the suppression spell, Kael continues, watching my face. Your power is waking up. I felt it when I touched you in the forest. That's why I've been searching for you.
I shake my head, trying to process. This is too much. Too fast. Even if you're right, why would I help you? You're my enemy. You've killed Silverpine wolves
Who attacked my territory first, Kael interrupts? But that's not what matters right now. He pulls out his phone. Because I can give you what you want most.
He shows me the screen. It's a video. My rejection. Filmed from multiple angles, edited together like some sick movie. Posted on every social media platform. The comments make me sick.
Pathetic. She deserved it. Too weak for an Alpha. Dominic upgraded big time. Thank God he saw sense before it was too late.
Thousands of comments. Millions of views. The entire shifter world watched me get destroyed, and they're celebrating it.
My hands shake as Kael swipes to another screen. Your family's social media. Your parents posted this an hour ago.
It's a statement. Official. Cold. Formal. The Silverpine family respects Alpha Dominic's decision. We support his choice of Luna Lydia and wish them happiness.
Not a single word defending me. Not one mention of my name. Like I never existed. Like I was never their daughter.
Something inside me cracks. Not the bond this time something harder to name. My loyalty. My hope that someone would come for me. My belief that family meant something.
They threw you away, Kael says quietly, and there's something almost like sympathy in his voice. Like you meant nothing. Like five years of devotion, of waiting, of being the perfect daughter and perfect mate to be meant absolutely nothing. But I'm offering you a choice.
I look up at him through tears I refuse to let fall. What choice?
Stay here for three months. Let me train you. Help me unlock your power. His eyes gleam with dark promise. And when you're strong enough, we'll destroy everyone who hurt you. You want revenge on Dominic? On your family? On everyone who watched you suffer and did nothing? I'll give it to you.
Revenge. The word tastes like poison and honey mixed together. Sweet and deadly.
And if I say no?
Kael's expression doesn't change. Then you're free to go. I won't force you to stay. I'll even have one of my wolves escort you to neutral territory.
I don't believe him. Can't believe him. You'd just let me walk away? After searching for me for three years?
Yes. He moves closer, and I feel the power radiating from him like heat. Because forcing you would break you. And I don't want you broken, Sera. I want you dangerous. I want you powerful. I want you to choose this.
My heart pounds. Part of me screams to run, to get away from this dangerous Alpha who wants to use me for revenge. But another part the part that's tired of being weak, tired of being rejected, tired of being nothing wants to stay. Wants to become everything they said I wasn't.
Three months? I ask.
Three months, Kael confirms. Then you decide what happens next. Stay or go. Your choice. Always your choice.
I think of Dominic's disgusted look. Of Lydia's smug smile as she took my place. Of my parents abandoning me without a second thought. Of Jason not fighting hard enough to save me, his own sister.
I stand up on shaking legs. Kael watches me carefully, like he's waiting for me to bolt. Like he's ready to chase me if I do. Instead, I hold out my hand.
Three months, I say, my voice stronger than I feel. Then I decide.
Kael's smile is slow and terrifying and victorious. He takes my hand.
The moment our skin touches, something explodes between us.
Light. Silver and bright, bursting from where our hands connect like lightning given form. It spreads up my arm, warm and powerful and completely foreign. I gasp. Kael's eyes widen in shock actual shock, like whatever this is surprised even him.
The light grows brighter, filling the room until I can't see anything else. I feel something awakening inside me. Something huge and ancient and terrifying. Power floods through my veins, burning away the pain from the broken bond, replacing it with something new.
Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stops.
We stand there, hands still connected, both breathing hard. The candles in the room have blown out. The only light comes from the moon through the window, pale and ethereal.
What was that? I whisper.
Kael stares at our joined hands like they're something alien. For the first time since I met him, he looks uncertain. Shaken. I don't know.
But you said
I know what I said. He pulls his hand away slowly, like it takes actual effort. Moon Blessed wolves have power. But that He looks at where we touched, at the faint silver marks fading from our skin. That shouldn't be possible.
Why not?
Kael's silver eyes lock onto mine, and I see something in them that makes my stomach drop.
Fear.
Because that felt like a mate bond forming.
My heart stops. That's impossible. I'm bond broken. The rejection I can't form new bonds
I know. His voice is rough, strained. But I felt it, Sera. And so did you.
Before I can respond, before I can process what he's saying or what it means, a howl cuts through the night. Long and angry and unmistakably territorial. A warning.
Kael's whole-body tenses. He moves to the window in one fluid motion, every muscle coiled and ready.
What is it? I ask, my voice small.
His jaw clenches, and when he speaks, his voice has changed. Deeper. More Alpha. Silverpine wolves. At our border.
He turns to me, and his eyes are glowing gold now. His Alpha is rising to the surface, ready for war.
They're here for you.