POV: Dante
The Trinity Bond snapped like a broken guitar string.
I stumbled mid-battle, clutching my chest as pain tore through my heart. The magical bond that had linked me to Scarlett suddenly went silent, leaving a terrible emptiness where her presence used to be.
"Something's wrong!" I shouted to my brothers over the sound of clashing guns. "I can't feel her anymore!"
Ryder spun around from where he was fighting three undead soldiers, his face pale with fear. "What do you mean you can't feel her?"
"The bond," Phoenix gasped, his magical senses going wild. "Someone severed our connection to Scarlett!"
Around us, Morgana's zombie army continued their attack, but none of us cared about the fight anymore. Our mate was in trouble, and we couldn't even sense where she was.
"We have to get to her," Ryder growled, his protective instincts taking over totally.
"We can't just abandon the fight," I argued, even though every part of my being wanted to run to Scarlett. "Father and the pack need our help."
"The pack can wait," Ryder snapped. "Our mate comes first."
"Since when?" I asked. "We have tasks, responsibilities. We can't just forget everything because some omega--" Ryder's fist connected with my jaw before I could finish the statement. I flew backward, stars dancing in front of my eyes as I hit the ground hard.
"Don't you dare call her 'some omega,'" he snarled, standing over me with anger blazing in his eyes. "She's our mate. She's our everything."
"She's a complication," I shot back, wiping blood from my split lip. "A beautiful, amazing complication that could destroy everything we've worked for."
"Listen to yourself," Phoenix said, his voice shaking with sadness. "You sound just like Father."
The charge hit me like a physical blow. Father, who cared more about pack politics than his kids' happiness. Father, who would rather see us unhappy with the "right" mate than joyful with the "wrong" one.
Was that really who I was becoming?
"I'm trying to be practical," I said weakly. "The pack will never accept her. The other packs will see our shared tie as weakness. We'll spend the rest of our lives fighting obstacles and dealing with rebellion."
"So what?" Ryder demanded. "Let them test us. We'll beat them all."
"It's not that simple," I argued. "Politics, alliances, trade agreements - everything depends on the other packs respecting our power. If they think we're weak or insecure..."
"They'll learn differently," Phoenix said quietly, but his voice held absolute certainty. "The Trinity Bond doesn't make us weak. It makes us stronger than any magical being who ever lived."
Before I could react, a wave of dark magic washed over the battlefield. The undead soldiers suddenly stopped fighting and turned toward the pack house, their glowing eyes focused on something in the distance.
"No," Morgana whispered, her face going pale with fear. "She wasn't meant to get involved. Not yet."
"Who?" Father ordered, appearing at our side with his sword dripping zombie blood.
"My sister," Morgana said, backing away from the pack house like it was on fire. "Seraphina is here."
The temperature dropped twenty degrees in seconds. Ice began forming on the ground beneath our feet, and the air itself seemed to freeze in our chests.
"Why is that bad?" I asked, though the increasing dread in my chest already knew the answer.
"Because Seraphina doesn't just steal power," Morgana replied, her voice shaking. "She steals lives. And she's after your mate."
Every protective sense I'd ever had exploded to life. The practical part of my mind that worried about pack politics and proper protocol went totally silent. All that mattered was getting to Scarlett before this Seraphina thing could hurt her.
"Where is she?" I asked.
"The pack house," Phoenix said, his magical senses pointing toward our home. "Third floor, servant rooms. But there's something else - I can feel Vivienne there too."
"Vivienne's helping her," I realized with growing fear. "That's why the link was severed. She poisoned Scarlett somehow."
Rage unlike anything I'd ever felt flooded through my blood. Vivienne, who I'd known since childhood, who I'd trusted and admired, had betrayed us in the worst possible way.
"She's going to pay for this," Ryder growled, already changing into his wolf form.
"We all are," Phoenix added sadly. "If Seraphina takes Scarlett's soul, the Trinity Bond will kill us too. We'll die along with our mate."
The truth hit me like lightning. Our connection to Scarlett wasn't just emotional - it was physically keeping us alive. Without her, we'd cease to exist.
But even as I faced the chance of death, I realized something important. I didn't care about death. I cared about Scarlett suffering alone, scared and betrayed by someone she'd trusted.
"We go together," I said, my smart mind finally working in harmony with my heart. "No one fights Seraphina alone."
"What about the battle?" Father asked, gesturing toward the remaining undead troops.
"Handle it," I commanded, using my full Alpha power. "Our mate needs us."
For the first time in my life, I put love before job. And it felt absolutely right.
We ran toward the pack house as one unit, our minds focused on a single goal - saving Scarlett before it was too late. Behind us, I heard Morgana screaming something about rites and soul-stealing, but I didn't care about the details.
All that mattered was reaching our mate in time.
But as we got closer to the pack house, Phoenix suddenly stumbled, his face going white with fear.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I can see what's happening," he whispered, his magical sight showing him things the rest of us couldn't sense. "Seraphina isn't just trying to steal Scarlett's soul."
"What else?" Ryder asked.
"She's trying to put Vivienne's soul into Scarlett's body," Phoenix said, his voice breaking with fear. "If she succeeds, Vivienne will have all of Scarlett's power, all of her abilities, and..."
"And the Trinity Bond will connect us to Vivienne instead," I finished, getting the full scope of the nightmare.
We'd lose our real mate forever, and be magically forced to love the woman who'd wronged her.
"Can we stop it?" I asked desperately.
"I don't know," Phoenix revealed. "Soul magic is the darkest kind of evil. Once it starts..."
He didn't need to finish. We all understood. Once a soul-stealing ritual started, interrupting it could destroy everyone involved.
We reached the pack house and raced up the stairs, following the path of magical energy to Scarlett's room. But when we burst through the door, the sight that met us stopped us cold.
Scarlett and Vivienne hung suspended in the air, surrounded by whirling black magic. Dark tendrils joined their heads, and I could see something bright and silver - Scarlett's soul - being pulled from her body toward Vivienne's.
Seraphina stood beneath them, her hands glowing with power as she controlled the process.
"Too late," she said with a wicked smile. "The move is already half complete. In thirty seconds, your precious mate will be nothing but an empty shell, and Vivienne will be the most powerful Luna who ever lived."
Through the weakening Trinity Bond, I felt Scarlett's fear and pain. She was still conscious, still fighting, but losing the battle for her own life.
"Scarlett!" I screamed, reaching toward her.
But Seraphina's magic slammed into me like a wall, throwing all three of us backward against the door.
"Don't interfere," she ordered. "You'll only make it more painful for her."
As I fought to get back to my feet, I watched in horror as more of Scarlett's soul flowed toward Vivienne. Soon there would be nothing left of the girl we loved.
That's when I heard it - a voice that made even Seraphina freeze with surprise.
"STOP."
The word rang with power that shook the entire pack house. Through the broken window came a figure I'd never seen before - a woman with golden hair and eyes like the sun, radiating power that made every supernatural being in the room bow their heads involuntarily.
"Hello, Seraphina," the woman said calmly. "Step away from my daughter."