SCARLETT POV
I lie in bed staring at the ceiling, my mind spinning.
Silas testified against Maverick. My fake father—the man who drugged me with wolfsbane and hid my real identity—is helping Celestia destroy my mate.
They're all connected, my wolf growls. Silas. Margot. Celestia. They planned this.
"But why?" I whisper into the darkness. "What do they want?"
Juniper snores softly in her room next door, completely unaware that her best friend is having a mental breakdown ten feet away.
I grab my phone. 3:47 AM. I should sleep. Tomorrow—today—is going to be complicated enough without being exhausted.
But I can feel Maverick through the mate bond. He's awake too. Pacing in his study. Worried and angry and trying to figure out how to fight Celestia's challenge.
Go to him, my wolf urges. He needs us.
"Juniper almost caught us last time."
She's asleep. I can hear her heartbeat. She won't wake up.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I'm creeping down the hallway again. This is becoming a dangerous habit. But the mate bond pulls me like gravity. I NEED to see him. Touch him. Make sure he's okay.
I find his study door closed this time. Locked.
I knock softly. "Maverick? It's me."
Silence. Then footsteps. The lock clicks.
Maverick opens the door looking exhausted and angry and so incredibly handsome that my heart skips. His silver hair is messy like he's been running his hands through it. His eyes flash amber when they meet mine.
"You should be sleeping," he says.
"So should you." I slip past him into the study before he can send me away. "I felt your worry through the bond. What's wrong? Besides the obvious."
He closes the door and locks it again. "Silas is testifying against me at the hearing. He claims I attacked him unprovoked last month."
"That's insane! You've never even met Silas!"
"Exactly. Which means Celestia is fabricating evidence." Maverick leans against his desk, looking defeated. "She's building a case that I'm violent and unstable. And now she has your father backing up her lies."
"He's NOT my father." The words come out sharper than I intended. "My real parents are dead. Silas and Margot are just... I don't even know what they are anymore."
Maverick's expression softens. "You heard something. The night you shifted. What did Margot say on the phone?"
I take a breath. "She called me the Thorne heir. Said I was more powerful than they expected. That if anyone found out what I really am..." I trail off, the memory making my chest tight. "What does that mean? Who are the Thornes?"
Maverick goes very still. "The Thorne family was the most powerful werewolf bloodline in North America. They controlled five territories and a billion-dollar empire."
"Was?"
"They were murdered twelve years ago. Car accident. The whole family died—both parents and their only child." He studies me carefully. "Or so everyone believed."
My heart pounds. "You think I'm their child? The one who supposedly died?"
"Silver wolves only come from the rarest bloodlines. And Thorne wolves were always silver." Maverick pushes off the desk, moving closer. "If you're really the Thorne heir, that changes everything."
"How?"
"Because you'd be one of the most powerful wolves alive. An Alpha in your own right." His eyes glow amber. "And Celestia would do anything to prevent you from claiming your birthright."
The room spins. This is too much. Too fast.
"I don't want to be an Alpha," I whisper. "I just want to understand who I am. Why everyone's been lying to me my whole life."
Maverick reaches out and cups my face gently. The mate bond flares at his touch, warm and comforting. "We'll figure it out. Together."
"You promise?"
"I promise." His thumb brushes my cheek. "You're not alone anymore, Scarlett. You have me."
The way he says it—like it's an absolute truth, like nothing could change it—makes my eyes burn with tears.
"I don't deserve you," I say.
"You're my mate. You deserve everything." He leans closer, his forehead touching mine. "I know this is complicated. I know the age gap and Juniper and Celestia make this nearly impossible. But the Moon Goddess chose us for a reason."
"What reason?"
"I don't know yet. But I'm starting to think maybe we're supposed to save each other."
His words break something open inside me. All the fear and confusion and loneliness I've carried for eighteen years suddenly feels lighter. Because he's right—I'm not alone anymore.
I kiss him.
This time it's not desperate or rushed. It's soft and sweet and full of promise. Maverick makes a sound low in his throat and pulls me closer. His hands slide into my hair. My arms wrap around his neck.
The mate bond sings between us, golden and perfect.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathing hard.
"We should stop," Maverick whispers against my lips. But he doesn't let go of me.
"Probably," I agree. But I kiss him again anyway.
This kiss is different—deeper, hungrier. Maverick lifts me onto his desk without breaking contact. My legs wrap around his waist automatically. His hands grip my hips, holding me tight against him.
Yes, my wolf purrs. This. Finally.
Maverick's wolf Storm must agree because I can feel him through the bond—wild and possessive and barely controlled.
"Scarlett," Maverick groans against my mouth. "If we don't stop now, I'm going to claim you. Right here. Right now."
"Maybe I want you to."
His eyes flash full amber. "Don't say things like that unless you mean them."
"I mean them." I pull him closer. "I know it's fast. I know it's crazy. But everything about us is crazy. Why not this too?"
For a moment, I think he'll agree. His control is hanging by a thread. The mate bond is screaming at us to complete the claiming—to mark each other and make it permanent.
Then his phone rings.
We both freeze.
Maverick grabs it with a curse. "What?" he barks into the phone.
I can hear Garrett's panicked voice even from my position on the desk: "Alpha, you need to come outside. NOW. There's someone at the territory border demanding entry."
"Who?"
"She says her name is Elara Chen. She's claiming to be the Beta of the Thorne pack." Garrett's voice drops. "And she's demanding to speak to Scarlett Thorne. Says it's a matter of life and death."
My blood runs cold.
Maverick's eyes meet mine, wide with shock.
"How does she know I'm here?" I whisper.
"I don't know. But if she's really from the Thorne pack..." Maverick sets me down carefully, his Alpha mask sliding into place. "We need to find out what she wants."
"Should I come with you?"
"No. Stay here. Lock the door after I leave." He kisses my forehead quickly. "If this goes bad, run. Hide. Don't let anyone find you."
"Maverick—"
"Promise me."
The fear in his eyes scares me more than anything. "I promise."
He leaves, closing the door behind him. I lock it like he asked, then press my ear against the wood, trying to hear what's happening.
Five minutes pass. Ten. The mate bond thrums with Maverick's tension.
Then I hear footsteps in the hallway. Multiple sets. Coming fast.
Someone pounds on the study door.
"Scarlett Thorne!" a woman's voice calls. Strong. Commanding. "I know you're in there. Open this door. We need to talk about who murdered your parents and why they're coming for you next."
My hand freezes on the doorknob.
"Who's 'they'?" I call back.
"The same wolves who are trying to destroy Alpha Maverick. The same wolves who paid Silas and Margot to hide you." A pause. "Celestia Nightshade killed your family twelve years ago. And she just found out you're alive."