SERA'S POV
"DAUGHTER OF THE MOON. COME HOME."
The words echo through my skull, spoken in a language I shouldn't understand but do. The old wolf tongue. The language of Ancients.
My blood responds before my brain can catch up.
Silver runes blaze across my skin—not because I called them, but because HE called them. My father. Whoever he is. Whatever he is.
"No," I gasp, trying to push the power back down. "No, no, no—"
"Sera!" Kade grabs my shoulders as my legs give out. "What's happening?"
"He's calling me." The words tumble out between gasps. "My father. His blood is calling to mine. I can feel him pulling—"
Another howl splits the night.
This time, my body moves without permission.
I take a step toward the shattered windows. Then another.
Walking toward the voice. Toward HIM.
"Sera, STOP!" Kade yanks me back, wrapping his arms around me from behind. "Fight it!"
"I'm trying!" Tears stream down my face. "But he's stronger. He's so much stronger than me—"
The runes on my skin pulse brighter. My feet move again, dragging Kade with me.
"Maya!" Kade roars. "GET IN HERE!"
His sister bursts through the door, takes one look at me, and her eyes go wide.
"What the hell—"
"Blood compulsion," Kade snaps. "Her father is using Lunaris magic to force her to him. Help me hold her!"
Maya doesn't hesitate. She grabs my arm, and together they pull me away from the windows.
But it's not enough.
My power explodes outward.
Not a command this time. Just raw, uncontrolled magic that sends both Kade and Maya flying backward.
I stumble toward the window, my body no longer my own.
"I'm sorry," I sob. "I can't stop it. I can't—"
A third howl. Closer. So close I can feel it vibrating in my bones.
"SERAPHINA. DAUGHTER. COME."
My foot touches the windowsill.
Then Kade is there, moving faster than should be possible. He grabs me around the waist and throws us both backward just as something massive lands on the balcony outside.
Not a wolf.
Something bigger. Something that makes the penthouse shake just from its weight.
Through the broken windows, I see him.
A wolf the size of a small car. Fur so black it seems to absorb light. Eyes that glow not gold or red, but pure white—the mark of an Ancient who's lived for centuries.
And when those eyes lock onto mine, I feel it.
Recognition. Connection. Blood calling to blood.
This is my father.
"Daughter," he says, and his voice is both wolf and human, layered with power that makes Kade's Alpha command sound like a whisper. "You've grown strong. Just as I knew you would."
"Stay back," Kade snarls, shifting into his massive black wolf form and placing himself between me and the Ancient.
My father laughs. The sound makes the windows rattle.
"Brave pup. You think you can stop me from claiming what's mine?"
"She's not yours," Kade growls. "She's my MATE."
The Ancient's eyes flash dangerously. "Interesting. The Moon Goddess gave my daughter to a mere Alpha? How... disappointing."
"Screw you," Maya snaps, also shifting. She and Kade stand side by side, bristling with aggression.
But I can see the truth. They're terrified.
An Ancient is a wolf who's survived for hundreds of years—through wars, hunts, challenges. You don't live that long without being absolutely lethal.
Kade and Maya are strong.
But against this monster? They'll die in seconds.
"Stop," I choke out. "Please. Don't hurt them."
My father's white eyes soften slightly. "Then come with me, daughter. Willingly. And I'll let your little mate live."
"Don't listen to him," Kade growls. "He'll kill us anyway—"
"I give you my word as an Ancient," my father says. "She comes willingly, I leave peacefully. She refuses..." His smile shows too many teeth. "Well. The Blackthorn Pack ceases to exist."
"How do I know you won't hurt me?" I ask, my voice shaking.
"Hurt you? Child, you are my greatest creation. My legacy. Why would I harm what I spent decades searching for?"
"You abandoned me! You left Mom to raise me alone!"
Pain flashes across the Ancient's face. "Your mother took you from me. Elena stole you the night you were born and ran. I've been searching for you for twenty-four years."
Wait. What?
"That's a lie," I say, but my voice wavers. "Mom said you were dangerous. That you couldn't be part of our lives—"
"Did she tell you WHY I was dangerous?" My father's voice drops. "Did she tell you what I am? What WE are?"
"We're Lunaris. Descended from the Moon Goddess—"
"Only half true." The Ancient shifts to human form—and I gasp.
Because he looks just like me.
Same silver-white hair. Same violet eyes. Same features that Mom always said came from "her side of the family."
He's tall, maybe in his forties physically though he's clearly ancient. And when he smiles, it's my smile.
"I'm not descended from the Moon Goddess, daughter. I AM her son. Her firstborn. The original Lunaris." His eyes glow. "And you are not just my daughter. You're her granddaughter. A demi-goddess with the power to command not just wolves—but all creatures blessed by the moon."
The world tilts.
Kade shifts back to human. "That's impossible. The Moon Goddess's children are myths—"
"Are we?" My father laughs. "Then explain your mate, Alpha. Explain how a 'mere' Lunaris descendant can command Ancients. Can make even ME feel the pull of her power."
He takes a step forward.
Kade immediately blocks him, but my father doesn't even acknowledge him.
"Your mother was human, Seraphina. I loved her. Thought she could handle what you were destined to become." His voice hardens. "But she was weak. Afraid. She ran instead of embracing your greatness."
"She was protecting me!" I shout.
"From WHAT? Your birthright? Your power?" He shakes his head. "She filled your head with lies. Made you afraid of what you are. But I'm here now. And I will teach you to embrace your true nature."
"I don't want—"
"Three hundred rogues surround this territory," my father interrupts. "All of them under MY command. All of them waiting for my signal."
Kade's fists clench. "You sent them."
"Of course. I needed to force Seraphina into a position where she'd have no choice but to reveal herself." He smiles. "The viral video was a gift. Made finding her so much easier."
Rage burns through my veins. "You orchestrated all of this? The rogues attacking, the threats—"
"I did what was necessary to bring you home. Where you belong. With YOUR people."
"These are my people!" I gesture at Kade and Maya. "This pack offered me protection when I had nothing—"
"They offered you a CAGE." My father's voice booms. "You are meant to RULE, Seraphina. Not hide. Not cower. Not play house with mortal wolves."
"She's not going anywhere with you," Kade snarls.
My father's eyes flash dangerously. "Then she'll watch you die."
He raises one hand.
Outside, three hundred wolves howl in unison.
The sound is deafening. Terrifying.
And I realize he's not bluffing.
He'll really do it. He'll order those rogues to slaughter every wolf in this building.
"Wait!" I step forward, placing myself between Kade and my father. "I'll come with you. Just... please. Don't hurt them."
"NO!" Kade grabs my arm. "Sera, don't—"
"I don't have a choice." Tears stream down my face. "If I stay, everyone dies. At least this way, you survive."
"I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself—"
"It's not your decision." I turn to face him, memorizing every detail. Silver eyes. Strong jaw. The mate mark that's starting to form on his wrist—barely visible, but there.
Our bond isn't complete. But it's started.
And now it never will be.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "For bringing this disaster into your life. For making you care about someone like me."
"Someone like you?" Kade's voice breaks. "You're my MATE. My everything. And I am NOT letting you go."
"You have to." I pull away from him, ignoring how much it hurts. "Take care of your pack, Kade. That's what Alphas do."
I turn back to my father. "I'll come with you. But you swear—SWEAR on the Moon Goddess herself—that you'll leave the Blackthorn Pack alone. Forever."
My father smiles. "I swear it. On my mother's name, I will not harm a single member of this pack."
It's a binding oath. Spoken by an Ancient. Unbreakable.
"Then I'm ready."
I start walking toward my father.
Kade tries to follow, but my father raises his hand. Invisible power slams into Kade and Maya, pinning them against the wall.
"SERA!" Kade roars. "FIGHT HIM!"
"I can't." My voice is hollow. "He's too strong."
My father wraps one arm around my shoulders. "Good girl. Now, let's go home."
He pulls me toward the window.
I take one last look at Kade—at the man who was supposed to be my mate, my future, my everything.
His silver eyes are blazing with rage and pain.
"I will find you," he swears. "I don't care if I have to tear the world apart. I WILL find you."
"I know," I whisper.
Then my father leaps from the window, carrying me into the night.
As we fall, his body shifts back to his massive Ancient wolf form. I land on his back, gripping his fur as he runs.
Three hundred rogues fall into formation around us.
We're leaving Seattle. Leaving Kade. Leaving everything.
I look back one last time and see Kade standing at the broken window, Maya beside him.
Even from this distance, I can see the golden thread connecting us.
The incomplete mate bond.
It's stretching now. Growing thinner as we get farther apart.
But not breaking.
Not yet.
"Where are we going?" I ask my father.
His laugh rumbles beneath me.
"Home, daughter. To the place where your mother stole you from. To the kingdom I built for you." He glances back with glowing white eyes. "Welcome to the Court of the Moon. Where you'll learn what it truly means to be a goddess."
The mate bond thread snaps.
And I feel the exact moment Kade's heart breaks.