Ronan's POV
I wake up to an empty bed.
The bond screams at me instantly—Elara's gone. Not just out of the room. Off the property. Moving fast and getting farther away every second.
Terror floods through me.
I'm out of bed and dressed in seconds, following her scent down the stairs. Luna and Ash are in the garage, loading weapons into an SUV.
"Where is she?" I snarl.
Luna doesn't even flinch at my Alpha voice. "Saving her friend. The Guild has Mira. They're using her as bait."
"And you let Elara go?"
"I'm going WITH her, you idiot." Luna slams the trunk. "We leave in two minutes. You coming or staying here to panic?"
Every instinct screams at me to lock Elara in the estate where she's safe. To forbid her from risking herself. To use the Alpha command that could force her to obey.
But she's not just my mate. She's my Luna. My equal.
And she'd never forgive me for caging her.
"I'm coming," I growl. "But we do this smart. Ash, how many can you get ready in ninety seconds?"
"Five, maybe six." He's already texting. "The others are still recovering from last night."
"Make it eight. Full tactical gear. Silver bullets and tranquilizers." I turn to Luna. "Did you tell Elara the plan?"
"There is no plan. We're making this up as we go."
"Perfect," I mutter.
Two minutes later, we're speeding through the mountain roads with eight wolves in two SUVs. I'm driving, my hands tight on the wheel, the bond pulling me toward Elara like a compass pointing north.
Through the connection, I feel her fear. Her determination. Her guilt for leaving without telling me.
"She thinks she's protecting us," Luna says quietly from the passenger seat. "Going into danger alone so the pack stays safe. Very heroic. Very stupid."
"She's learning from the best," Ash mutters from behind us.
I ignore the jab. "The warehouse on Fifth Street—that's in neutral territory. No pack protection. If the Guild chose it, they've got snipers on the surrounding roofs. Possibly explosives. Definitely a trap."
"So we spring the trap before they do," Luna suggests. "Ash and half the team go in from the roof. We take the ground entrance. Box them in."
"And Elara?"
"She's already there." Luna's phone buzzes with a text. "She just sent me her location. Inside the warehouse. Alone. With at least fifteen Guild members."
My wolf roars inside me. Fifteen trained hunters against my Luna who just became a werewolf last night.
"Drive faster," I snap at myself.
We reach the warehouse district in ten minutes. I park two blocks away, and we approach on foot. The warehouse looms ahead—old brick and broken windows, abandoned for years.
Except it's not abandoned now.
I can smell humans. Gun oil. Blood—Mira's blood, which makes my wolf snarl. And underneath it all, Elara's scent. Silver and fire and home.
"Snipers on the north and east roofs," Ash reports, his wolf vision sharper than mine. "Four. Maybe five. All armed with silver bullets."
"Take them out quietly," I order. "Luna, you're with me. We go through the front."
"That's exactly what they expect."
"I know. But they're expecting me to be smart and cautious. Instead, I'm going to be stupid and direct." I meet her eyes. "They want a fight? Let's give them one they'll never forget."
Luna grins. "Now you're talking."
We move fast. Ash and his team scale the buildings like ghosts. Luna and I walk straight toward the warehouse's main entrance like we own the place.
The door is unlocked. Inside, the space is massive—open floor plan, high ceilings, shadows everywhere. And in the center, under a single hanging light, sits Mira tied to a chair.
Elara stands twenty feet away from her, hands raised, surrounded by fifteen men in tactical gear. All pointing guns at her.
"Ronan, no!" Elara shouts when she sees me. "I told you to stay away!"
"When have I ever listened to you?" I step into the light, Luna beside me. "Let them go. Both of them. Whatever you want, negotiate with me."
A man steps forward—older, scarred, with cold eyes that have seen too much death. Commander of this Guild unit, I'd guess.
"Alpha Blackmoor. We meet at last." His smile is sharp. "I'm Captain Hayes. And I'm afraid we can't let anyone go. See, we have very specific orders. Capture the Moon Blessed Luna alive. Kill anyone who tries to stop us."
"Good luck with that," Luna mutters.
Hayes ignores her. "You broke the curse. Impressive. But that just makes her more valuable. Moon Blessed blood that can actually bond with werewolves? Do you know what we can create with that? Weapons. Serums. Ways to control your entire species."
"Over my dead body," I snarl.
"That can be arranged."
He snaps his fingers.
The gunfire starts.
But we're faster. Luna and I shift mid-leap, our clothes tearing away. We're wolves before the bullets reach us, moving with supernatural speed. I take down three men before they can even react.
Luna is a silver blur, her claws tearing through tactical gear like paper.
Elara doesn't wait to be rescued. She shifts too—her white wolf form glowing even in the dim warehouse. She breaks Mira's restraints with one swipe of her claws, then positions herself between the humans and her friend.
"Stay behind me," she orders Mira, her voice layered with Luna power.
Mira, bless her, doesn't argue. She just nods, terrified but trusting.
The fight is brutal but fast. We're outnumbered but stronger, faster, deadlier. The Guild members are well-trained, but they're used to hunting alone wolves or small packs. They're not ready for a coordinated attack from an Alpha, his sister, and a Luna who can apparently freeze bullets mid-air with her power.
Within minutes, most of the Guild members are down. Not dead—we're not monsters—but unconscious or too injured to fight.
Captain Hayes is the last one standing. He's backed into a corner, gun raised but shaking.
"This isn't over," he gasps. "You think you won? The Guild has hundreds of members. Thousands. We'll never stop hunting her."
"Then we'll never stop fighting," Elara says, shifting back to human. She stands there naked and unbothered, power radiating from her. "Tell your Guild this: I'm not prey. I'm a Luna. And anyone who comes for me or my pack will regret it."
Hayes's laugh is bitter. "You think you're strong? You're one girl. The Guild has been killing werewolves for three hundred years. What makes you think—"
"Because she's not alone."
I shift back to human and stand beside Elara, my hand finding hers. Luna joins us on her other side. Through the windows, I see Ash and the others positioned on the roofs, ready to strike.
"She has a pack," I tell Hayes. "A family. And we protect our own."
Hayes looks at us—three naked werewolves standing defiant—and something in his expression changes. Not fear. Understanding.
"You really love her," he says to me. "You'd die for her."
"Without hesitation."
"Then you're fools. Love makes you weak." He raises his gun one last time, aiming not at me but at Elara. "And weakness kills."
He fires.
I throw myself in front of Elara, but I'm too slow. The bullet hits—
—nothing.
Elara's hand is raised, silver fire glowing around her fingers. The bullet hangs in the air, frozen.
"I told you," she says softly. "I'm not prey."
She closes her fist, and the bullet crumbles to dust.
Hayes's face goes white. "Impossible. No Luna has that kind of power. No one can—"
"I can." Elara steps forward. "And here's what you're going to do. You're going to tell the Guild that the Northern Pack is off-limits. Tell them that if they come for me, for my mate, for any of my wolves, I'll tear down every Guild stronghold in North America." Her eyes glow white-gold. "Tell them the Moon Blessed Luna is not their weapon. She's their worst nightmare."
Hayes runs.
We let him go.
"That was badass," Luna says admiringly.
I pull Elara into my arms, not caring that we're both naked, that Mira is watching with wide eyes, that my heart is still racing from terror.
"Don't ever do that again," I growl into her hair. "Don't leave without telling me. Don't walk into traps alone. Don't—"
"I had to save her," Elara interrupts. "Mira is my family too."
I pull back to look at her. "Then we save her together. Always together. No more running off to be a hero."
"Deal."
We kiss, and even covered in blood and battle, it feels perfect.
"Uh, guys?" Mira's voice is small. "Not to interrupt, but what the hell is happening? Elara, you're a WEREWOLF? And NAKED? And there are BODIES everywhere? And—"
Elara laughs—the first genuine laugh I've heard from her. "It's a long story. Come on. Let's get you somewhere safe, and I'll explain everything."
We're helping Mira to her feet when my phone buzzes.
A text from Helena:
"Impressive show at the warehouse. But you just declared war on the Guild. Every hunter in the country will be coming for you now. The Summit starts in six hours. Hope you have a good explanation for the Council. They don't appreciate Lunas who start wars before proving themselves. See you tonight. -H"
I show the text to Elara. Her face goes pale.
"I just made everything worse, didn't I?"