Sera's POV
I jumped through the shattered window before anyone could stop me.
Glass rained around me as I shifted mid-air, my wolf taking over. I hit the ground running on all fours, my eyes locked on Vivian. On Kai.
"Sera, wait!" Darius shouted behind me, but I was already gone.
A rogue lunged at me from the left. I dodged, snapping my jaws at his throat. He yelped and backed away. Another came from the right. I was faster. Stronger. Three years of training, of pushing myself to the limit, paid off now.
Nothing was going to stop me from reaching my son.
"Mama!" Kai's voice cut through the chaos. He was reaching for me, crying, fighting against Vivian's grip.
"Not so fast, little Luna." Vivian's claws extended, pressing against Kai's neck. "One more step and I'll—"
A massive grey wolf crashed into her from the side.
Darius.
Vivian stumbled, loosening her grip. Kai fell, and I lunged forward, catching him before he hit the ground. I shifted back to human form, cradling him against my chest.
"I've got you, baby. Mama's got you." Tears streamed down my face as I held him tight. He was warm. Alive. Safe.
"Mama!" He clung to my neck. "Scared! Bad lady!"
"I know, sweetheart. I know. But you're safe now."
Around us, the battle raged. Darius fought Vivian in wolf form, both of them snarling and snapping. Adrian appeared beside me, human again, blood on his face.
"Get him out of here!" he ordered. "I'll cover you!"
But before I could move, a sound made everyone freeze.
A howl. Long and haunting and full of power that made every wolf—rogue and pack member alike—drop to their knees.
Even Adrian looked shaken. "That's impossible."
From the smoke and flames, a figure emerged. An old woman with wild white hair and eyes that glowed silver. She raised her hand, and the fighting simply stopped. Wolves couldn't move. It was like she'd frozen time itself.
"Enough!" Her voice boomed. "The Moon Goddess has seen enough bloodshed tonight!"
Luna Margaret stumbled out of the pack house, her face full of wonder and fear. "High Priestess Moira? But you were supposed to be in the North Territories!"
"The Goddess sent me here. She has a message." The High Priestess pointed at me, at Darius, at Vivian who was still in wolf form. "You three have twisted fate itself with your lies and schemes. The balance must be restored."
"What does that mean?" I asked, holding Kai tighter.
"It means you have a choice to make, Sera Kane." Moira walked toward me slowly. "You can reject the mate bond as Vivian demands. Your son will lose his powers, but Darius will die within hours. Or..." She paused. "You can accept the bond fully, claim your place as Luna, and face what comes together."
"No!" Vivian shifted back to human form, naked and furious. "That's not how this works! The prophecy says—"
"The prophecy says a child born of a broken bond will have great power," Moira interrupted. "But the bond was already broken when you were born, wasn't it, child?" She looked at Kai with ancient eyes. "Born while his parents were separated. Born while his father denied the mate bond. The prophecy has already come true."
My mind reeled. "Then why does Vivian want me to reject Darius?"
"Because she's a fool who doesn't understand magic." Moira's laugh was bitter. "Breaking the bond now won't transfer power. It will only kill your mate and leave your son vulnerable to dark forces." She turned to Vivian. "You were used, girl. Someone fed you false information about the prophecy. Someone wanted you to fail."
Vivian's face went pale. "No. My sister said—"
"Your sister is dead," Moira said flatly. "She was killed three days ago, right after helping you escape prison. Someone didn't want loose ends."
The words hung in the air like poison.
"Who?" Vivian whispered. "Who killed Veronica?"
Before Moira could answer, Adrian cursed. "The granddaughter. Elena. She's not here. She was supposed to be with the other pack members, but—"
An explosion rocked the eastern wall.
Through the gap came more rogues. And leading them, wearing a smile that made my blood run cold, was Luna Margaret's granddaughter Elena.
But she looked different. Wrong. Her eyes glowed red instead of normal wolf gold.
"Hello, everyone!" she called cheerfully. "Did you miss me?"
Margaret stumbled forward. "Elena? Sweetheart, what have you done?"
"What I should have done years ago, Grandmother." Elena's voice was sweet and terrible. "I'm taking what's rightfully mine. This pack. Its power. Everything."
She raised her hands, and dark magic swirled around her fingers. Magic that no wolf should have.
"She's made a deal with a dark witch," Moira breathed. "Foolish child. That magic will consume her."
"Not before I consume all of you!" Elena shrieked. The red in her eyes blazed brighter. "Starting with that brat!"
She pointed at Kai.
A bolt of dark energy shot toward us.
Darius leaped in front of me, taking the hit square in the chest. He flew backward and didn't get up.
"No!" I screamed. "Darius!"
Elena laughed. "One down! Who's next?"
Adrian moved to attack, but more dark magic knocked him aside. Moira began chanting, trying to counter the dark spells, but Elena was too fast. Too strong.
Kai started crying. In my arms, I felt him trembling.
And then something strange happened.
Kai's eyes began to glow. Not red like Elena's. Not gold like normal wolves.
Silver. Like the Moon Goddess herself.
"Mama," he said in a voice that wasn't quite his own. "Bad lady hurt Papa. Make her stop."
Power exploded out of my son.
Pure, bright, overwhelming power that sent Elena flying backward. That made every wolf present fall to their knees. That made the High Priestess gasp in shock.
When the light faded, Kai slumped in my arms, unconscious but breathing.
And Elena was gone.
Just... gone.
In her place was a scorch mark on the ground and the smell of burning magic.
"What..." I couldn't find words. "What just happened?"
Moira stared at Kai with something like fear. "The prophecy. We were all wrong about what it meant." She looked at me, at Darius's unconscious form, at the destruction around us. "Your son isn't just powerful because he was born of a broken bond. He's powerful because he was born to heal it. He's a bridge between life and death, light and dark, broken and whole."
"I don't understand."
"You will." Moira touched Kai's forehead gently. "But first, you must make a choice. Your mate is dying. The dark magic is spreading through him. Only a fully accepted mate bond can save him now." She met my eyes. "Will you accept Darius as your true mate? Knowing everything he's done? Knowing you may never fully forgive him?"
I looked at Darius's still form. At the man who'd hurt me so badly I thought I'd never recover. The man who'd given me Kai. The man who'd just taken dark magic meant for our son without hesitation.
"If I accept the bond," I said slowly, "I have conditions."
"Sera, he's dying—" Beta Thomas started.
"Then he can hear my terms while he dies," I cut him off coldly. I knelt beside Darius and put my hand on his chest. His heartbeat was faint. "Wake up. We need to talk."
His eyes fluttered open. "Sera?"
"Three months," I said. "You acknowledge Kai publicly as your heir. You stay completely out of my personal life. I stay in guest quarters, not Luna chambers. Adrian visits whenever he wants. And most importantly..." I leaned closer. "You earn back my trust. Every single day. No shortcuts. No expecting forgiveness just because we're mates."
"And if I agree?" he whispered.
"Then I'll accept the bond. I'll save your life. And we'll figure out the rest as we go."
Darius smiled weakly. "Deal."
I took a deep breath and called to my wolf. Felt the mate bond that had always been there, buried and denied and ignored. I reached for it.
And accepted it fully.
The bond snapped into place like a rubber band, sending shockwaves through both of us. Darius gasped as the dark magic began to burn away, replaced by the healing power of our connection.
Around us, the pack howled in celebration. The Luna had returned.
But as I held Kai in one arm and watched Darius's color return, I felt another presence in my mind.
A voice. Cold and ancient and furious.
"You may have won today, little Luna," Elena's voice echoed in my head. "But I'm not gone. And when I return, I'm taking everything from you. Your son. Your mate. Your pack. Everything."
The connection severed, leaving me gasping.
I looked at Moira. "She's alive. Elena's still alive."
The High Priestess nodded grimly. "Dark magic protects its own. She'll be back. Stronger. Angrier." She touched my shoulder. "Your real war hasn't begun yet, child. What happens next will test everything you are."
And somewhere in the darkness beyond the pack lands, I heard laughter.
Elena was watching.
Waiting.
Planning her revenge.