KADE'S POV
The moment the mate bond snaps, I fall to my knees.
It feels like someone ripped my heart out through my chest. Like every bone in my body is breaking simultaneously. Like I'm dying.
"KADE!" Maya catches me before I hit the ground. "Breathe. Just breathe—"
"She's gone." The words come out broken. "He took her. I couldn't stop him."
My wolf is howling inside me—a sound of pure agony. He's clawing at my insides, demanding I chase after our mate, tear apart anyone who stands between us.
But I can't.
An Ancient just walked into my territory, threatened my pack, and stole my mate. And I couldn't do a damn thing to stop him.
"We'll get her back," Maya says fiercely. "We'll hunt that bastard down and—"
"He's an ANCIENT, Maya." I force myself to stand, even though every instinct screams at me to collapse. "Do you understand what that means? He's survived for centuries. Killed Alphas stronger than me. And he has three hundred rogues under his command."
"So what? We just give up?" Maya's eyes blaze gold. "Let him keep Sera?"
"No." My voice comes out as a growl. "We plan. We strategize. We find out where he took her and exactly what he wants with her."
I pull out my phone and dial Finn.
He answers immediately. "Alpha, we saw—"
"I know what you saw. Get every available wolf to the war room. NOW. We have thirty minutes to figure out how to save my mate before I lose my mind completely."
I hang up and turn to Maya. "Call Oracle Luna. If anyone knows about Ancients and the Moon Goddess's children, it's her."
Maya's eyes widen. "You think Sera's father was telling the truth? About being the Moon Goddess's son?"
"I don't know. But we need answers." I head for the door, then pause. "And Maya? Not a word about this to the Council. Not yet."
"Kade, we have to report—"
"The Council will order me to abandon her." My hands clench into fists. "They'll say saving one Lunaris isn't worth risking pack alliances. They'll tell me to let her go."
"And you won't."
"I CAN'T." The words explode out of me. "She's my MATE. My wolf would rather die than abandon her."
Maya's expression softens. "Then we'll get her back. Whatever it takes."
SERA'S POV
I wake up in a bed so soft it feels like sleeping on clouds.
For a moment, I forget where I am. Forget what happened.
Then it all comes crashing back.
My father. The Ancient. Kade's broken expression as I was carried away.
The mate bond snapping.
I sit up, my chest aching where the bond used to be. It's not completely gone—I can still feel a faint thread connecting me to Kade, like a whisper of what we could have been.
But it's so thin now. So fragile.
One more day apart and it'll break completely.
I look around, taking in my surroundings for the first time.
The room is massive. Three times the size of my entire apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows show a forest I don't recognize—tall pines and mountains in the distance.
Everything is elegant. Expensive. A golden cage.
The door opens.
My father walks in—still in human form, wearing dark clothes that probably cost more than I've made in my entire life.
"You're awake," he says, smiling. "Good. I was beginning to worry."
"Where am I?" My voice is hoarse.
"The Court of the Moon. My territory. Built specifically for you." He gestures to the window. "Three thousand acres of protected land. The safest place in North America for someone like you."
"Someone like me." I wrap my arms around myself. "You mean a prisoner."
"A princess." He sits on the edge of the bed, and I immediately scoot away. "Seraphina, I know you're angry. I know you don't understand yet. But everything I've done has been to protect you."
"Protect me? You kidnapped me!"
"I rescued you from that Alpha who would have used your power for his own gain."
"Kade wasn't using me—"
"Wasn't he?" My father's eyes narrow. "He brought you to his territory. Made you pretend to be his mate. Used you as a shield against the rogues I sent."
"Because he was protecting me!"
"Because he wanted access to your power." My father's voice hardens. "The mate bond clouds your judgment, daughter. Makes you think he cares about YOU when really he only cares about what you can do for him."
"That's not true." But doubt creeps in. "The mate bond was real. I felt it—"
"The mate bond is a leash. A way for the Moon Goddess to control her children by tying them to mortal wolves." He leans forward. "But you're not just any child. You're MY daughter. And I will not let some Alpha use you like your ancestors were used."
I don't want to listen. Don't want to believe him.
But a small part of me whispers: What if he's right?
I barely know Kade. We met yesterday. And he immediately claimed me, brought me to his territory, made me dependent on his protection.
No. Stop. That's not what happened.
Kade saved my life. Multiple times.
"I want to go back," I say firmly. "Back to Seattle. Back to—"
"To die?" My father stands. "Because that's what will happen, Seraphina. The Wolf Council has already issued an execution order for any Lunaris. The moment they discover you exist, they'll send hunters. Assassins. They'll kill you and every wolf who protected you."
My blood runs cold. "The Council knows about me?"
"Not yet. But they will soon." He walks to the window. "That viral video has been seen by millions. Including Council spies. They're investigating. Asking questions. It's only a matter of time before they connect the dots."
"Then I'll run. Like I always do."
"You can't run from the Council. They have resources, connections, hunters in every city." He turns back to me. "But here? You're untouchable. This territory is sovereign. Even the Council can't enter without declaring war."
"So I'm supposed to just hide here forever?"
"You're supposed to train. To master your power. To become what you were born to be." His eyes glow white. "And then, when you're ready, we'll make them ALL bow."
The way he says it—with absolute certainty, absolute hunger for power—makes my skin crawl.
"I don't want to make anyone bow. I just want to live my life."
"A wasted life. A small life." My father shakes his head. "You are the granddaughter of the Moon Goddess herself. You could rule kingdoms. Could make even Alphas submit with a word. And you want to serve coffee and hide in dirty apartments?"
"Yes!" The word bursts out of me. "Because that life was MINE. I chose it. I wasn't anyone's weapon or pawn or princess. I was just... me."
For the first time, my father looks genuinely confused.
"You truly believe that slavery is better than power?"
"It's not slavery to choose a simple life."
"It is when you're capable of so much more." He moves toward the door. "You'll understand soon enough. Once you've trained. Once you've felt what it's like to embrace your full power instead of suppressing it."
"What if I refuse?"
He pauses, hand on the doorknob. "Then you'll stay in this room until you change your mind. You're my daughter, Seraphina. My legacy. And I will NOT let you waste your potential."
The door closes. Locks.
I run to it, yanking on the handle. It doesn't budge.
"LET ME OUT!" I scream, pounding on the wood. "You can't keep me here!"
No response.
I press my ear to the door and hear footsteps walking away.
He really locked me in.
I'm a prisoner.
I sink to the floor, tears streaming down my face.
Kade was right. He tried to warn me. Tried to protect me.
And I left him.
I reach for the mate bond—that thin, fragile thread connecting us.
Kade, I think desperately. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then I feel it. A warmth. A response.
I'm coming for you. I swear it.
His voice in my mind is faint, barely there. But it's real.
The mate bond hasn't broken yet.
Which means there's still hope.
I stand up, wiping my tears. My father thinks he can cage me. Train me. Turn me into his weapon.
But he doesn't understand.
I've been running my whole life. I know how to escape.
I just need to find a way out of this room.
I'm examining the windows when I hear it.
Scratching at the door. Quiet. Deliberate.
Someone's out there.
The lock clicks.
The door opens a crack.
A girl slips through—maybe sixteen, with dark hair and eyes that glow faintly silver. Not white like my father's. Silver like mine.
"Are you really his daughter?" she whispers. "The one he's been searching for?"
I nod slowly. "Who are you?"
"Lyra. I'm..." She glances behind her nervously. "I'm your sister. Well, half-sister. Same father, different mother."
I have a SISTER?
"How many of us are there?" I breathe.
Lyra's smile is sad. "You're number seven. He's been collecting us for decades. All daughters. All with Lunaris blood." She leans closer. "And Seraphina? You need to escape. Tonight. Before he begins the Awakening Ritual."
"What's the Awakening Ritual?"
"It's how he unlocks our full power. Forces it to the surface." Her eyes fill with tears. "It's also how he binds us to his will. Makes us unable to disobey him."
Horror crawls up my spine. "You're saying he's going to... to control me?"
"All of us." Lyra pulls a small key from her pocket. "This opens the servant's entrance. Two floors down, east wing. There's a car waiting with supplies. Go to Seattle. Find your Alpha. He's the only one strong enough to protect you from what's coming."
"What's coming?"
Lyra's hand trembles as she presses the key into my palm.
"Father isn't just collecting daughters for power. He's building an army." Her voice drops to a terrified whisper. "He's going to use us to overthrow the Wolf Council, destroy the Alpha hierarchy, and crown himself King of all werewolves."
My blood turns to ice.
"And you, Seraphina? You're the key to his entire plan. Because unlike the rest of us..." She backs toward the door. "You're strong enough to command Ancients. Even him."
She slips out, leaving me alone with the key and a choice.
Stay and become my father's weapon.
Or run back to the mate I barely know and pray he can save me from a monster.
The mate bond pulses faintly.
Come home, Kade's voice whispers in my mind. Please.
I grab the key and run.