SERA POV
Pain exploded through my entire body as consciousness returned.
The suppression collar around my neck felt like it was choking me, blocking my wolf, making everything hurt. I was in complete darkness, the air smelling like dirt and mold.
A cave. They'd thrown me in a cave.
I tried to move and realized my hands were chained to the wall behind me. Silver chains that burned against my skin.
*Riley,* I thought desperately. *Kaden. Are they alive?*
The broken mate bond gave me nothing—just empty, aching silence where Kaden's presence should be. Either he was too far away to feel, or...
No. I wouldn't think about that.
Footsteps echoed outside my prison. I tensed as the cave entrance opened, torchlight flooding in and making me squint.
Darius walked in, looking completely calm. Like kidnapping people was just another Tuesday for him.
"Comfortable?" he asked with that cold smile.
"Go to hell."
"Such language from a proper Omega." He crouched in front of me, studying my face. "Do you know what you are, Sera? What you're truly worth?"
"I'm not worth anything to you," I spat. "Let me go."
"But you are. Silver Omegas are extinct—or they were, until you." His eyes gleamed with greed. "Your power can heal entire packs, create bonds between wolves, even control other shifters if trained properly. Nations would go to war for you."
My stomach turned. "I'm a person, not a weapon."
"You're both." Darius stood, brushing dirt from his pants. "And you're going to help me become the most powerful Alpha in the country. Willingly or not."
"I'll never help you."
"We'll see." He turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and don't bother hoping for rescue. Your rejected mate is dead by now. Bond sickness killed him hours ago. Such a tragic waste."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
Dead. Kaden was dead.
*No,* my wolf whimpered. *No, no, no—*
"You're lying," I whispered.
"Am I?" Darius smiled. "Bond rejection kills both wolves within forty-eight hours unless completed. You rejected him yesterday. He was already dying when we left. The math is simple."
He walked out, leaving me alone in the darkness with the horrible truth.
Kaden was dead.
Because of me.
I'd rejected him, left him dying, and now he was gone forever.
The broken bond in my chest felt like a gaping wound, and I couldn't tell if it was breaking further because he was dead, or if it was just my heart shattering.
*We killed our mate,* my wolf sobbed. *We killed him.*
*He deserved it,* I tried to tell her. *He was cruel. He hurt us.*
But the words felt hollow now. Because in the forest, when Darius had attacked, Kaden had protected me. Even dying, he'd tried to save me.
And I'd looked at him with pity instead of gratitude.
Tears streamed down my face. I couldn't stop them.
I'd wanted him to hurt like I hurt. Mission accomplished. He'd hurt so badly it killed him.
Why didn't victory feel better?
Time passed—I had no idea how much. Hours? Days? The collar made everything foggy.
Then I heard it. Voices outside the cave, getting closer.
"—found their trail. The Omega's here somewhere."
Hope exploded in my chest. Rescue!
"Be careful," another voice warned. "Bloodmoon has sentries everywhere. We need to—"
The voices cut off suddenly. Then fighting sounds—snarls, screams, the thud of bodies hitting ground.
Then silence.
My heart pounded. "Hello?" I called out weakly. "Is someone there?"
Footsteps approached slowly. A figure appeared in the entrance, backlit by moonlight so I couldn't see their face.
"Sera?" Riley's voice, shaking with relief. "Oh thank god, you're alive!"
"Riley!" Fresh tears came. "You're okay! Your ankle—"
"Healed enough." She rushed in, kneeling beside me and examining the chains. "We have to get you out of here. Can you walk?"
"I don't know. The collar—it's blocking everything. I feel so weak."
"We'll figure it out." Riley pulled out a small lockpick and started working on the chains. "Your parents are going crazy back home. Well, crazy about losing their valuable Omega, not about you specifically."
Even now, that hurt. "Of course."
"Alpha Dominic sent fifty warriors to find you. He's furious Bloodmoon stole you." Riley's hands shook as she worked. "He says you belong to Silvercrest, that you're their property now."
"Property," I repeated bitterly. "Not a person. Just something to own."
"Exactly." The chains clicked open. Riley grabbed my arm, helping me stand. My legs wobbled but held. "We need to move fast. The sentries I knocked out won't stay down long."
We stumbled toward the cave entrance. Freedom was so close—
Alpha Dominic stepped into view, blocking our path.
"Going somewhere?" he asked coldly.
Riley moved in front of me protectively. "Let her go. She doesn't belong to you."
"She belongs to my pack. Her parents signed the rights over this morning." Dominic's smile was cruel. "In exchange for gold and territory, they've agreed Sera will mate with whichever Alpha I choose. I'm currently negotiating with three different packs. The highest bidder wins."
My parents had sold me.
Actually sold me like livestock.
"You can't do that!" Riley shouted. "That's illegal! The council—"
"The council wants the silver Omega under control too." Dominic stepped closer. "Face it, girl. Sera has two choices: return to Silvercrest as my property, or stay here as Bloodmoon's prisoner. Either way, she'll never be free."
"There's a third choice," I said quietly.
Something was happening inside me. The suppression collar was supposed to block my wolf completely, but I could feel her stirring. Angry. Furious.
Getting stronger.
"And what's that?" Dominic asked mockingly.
"I stop letting men decide what I am."
The collar exploded off my neck in a burst of silver light.
Dominic's eyes went wide. "Impossible—"
My Omega power flooded out, so strong it knocked everyone backward. I felt it connecting to every wolf nearby—Dominic, Riley, the unconscious sentries, warriors hidden in the forest.
I could feel their wolves. Their bonds. Their very souls.
And I realized with shocking clarity: I could control them.
"Sera," Riley whispered, staring at me with awe and fear. "Your eyes—they're glowing pure silver."
I looked at Dominic, who'd actually stumbled backward. "You wanted to know what I'm worth? What I can do?"
I reached out with my power and grabbed hold of his Alpha authority. It was like holding a rope made of fire.
And I yanked.
Dominic collapsed to his knees with a scream, his wolf forced into submission by mine.
"I can break Alpha bonds," I said, my voice echoing with power I didn't understand. "I can create them. Control them. Destroy them completely. That's what a true silver Omega can do."
Horror crossed Dominic's face. "You're—you're a—"
"A weapon?" I smiled without humor. "A person? You still can't decide, can you?"
I should kill him. He'd let Kaden die. He'd tried to sell me. He deserved it.
But my wolf hesitated. *That's not who we are. We heal. We don't destroy.*
*Sometimes destruction is healing,* I argued.
A new voice cut through the darkness: "Sera, stop."
I spun around.
Kaden stood at the edge of the forest, looking like death itself. Pale, shaking, covered in blood. But alive.
Impossibly, miraculously alive.
"You're dead," I whispered. "Darius said—"
"I'm dying," he corrected, stumbling forward. "Bond sickness. Have maybe an hour left." His amber eyes met mine. "But I couldn't die without making sure you were safe first."
Something in my chest cracked. He should hate me for rejecting him. For leaving him dying. But he'd come to save me anyway.
"You're an idiot," I said, and my voice broke.
"I know." He smiled weakly. "Been trying to tell you that for days."
Then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
I caught him before he hit the ground, my Omega power automatically flooding into him, trying to heal. But I could feel it—the broken bond was killing him too fast. My power couldn't fix it.
Only one thing could save him now.
Accepting the mate bond.
"No," I whispered. "No, I can't—"
"Then he dies," Dominic said coldly, climbing to his feet. "Your choice, Omega. Save your mate by binding yourself to him forever. Or let him die and stay free."
I looked down at Kaden's face. At the boy who'd tormented me for years. Who'd protected me when it mattered. Who'd come to save me even while dying.
Who'd said he'd been fighting our bond since we were children because he was too scared to deserve me.
*What do we do?* I asked my wolf desperately.
*We save him,* she said simply. *Because that's who we are.*
"I—" I started.
Then twenty Bloodmoon warriors burst from the forest, Darius leading them.
"Touching scene," he snarled. "But the Omega belongs to Bloodmoon. Kill anyone who stops us from taking her."
The warriors charged.
And I realized with horrible clarity: no matter what I chose—Kaden would die, I'd be captured, and Riley would be killed for helping me.
Unless I did something drastic.
My Omega power exploded outward, bigger than before, connecting to every single wolf present.
And I spoke with a voice that made the earth shake:
"EVERYONE STOP."
They all froze mid-attack, unable to move. My power held them like puppets on strings.
"This is my choice," I said, my voice breaking. "And I choose freedom."
I looked at Kaden one last time, tears streaming down my face.
Then I accepted the mate bond, felt it snap into place with devastating finality.
And used my new power to do the impossible:
I teleported.
All three of us—me, Kaden, and Riley—vanished from the forest in a burst of silver light.
When we reappeared, we were somewhere completely different. Somewhere I'd only seen once in my childhood memories.
The forbidden ruins where ancient Omegas used to live.
Before they all mysteriously disappeared.
And as Kaden's unconscious body settled in my arms, I heard a voice echo through the ruins:
"Welcome home, daughter. We've been waiting for you."