Sera's POV
Silver light explodes from my hands.
Marcus and his warriors fly backwards, slamming into trees. The power rips out of me like a scream, wild and uncontrolled, but it's enough.
RUN! Dr. Winters grabs my arm and we sprint into the forest.
Behind us, Marcus is already shouting orders. After them! Don't let the girl escape!
My lungs are burning. My power is already flickering out. I used too much too fast, and now I'm completely empty.
We burst through the trees and nearly crash into Kael and Darius running toward us.
Sera! Kael's eyes are blazing. We felt your fear through the bond
Marcus! I gasp. Twenty warriors! Right behind us!
Both Alphas immediately shift into fighting stances, but Dr. Winters shakes her head frantically.
Too many! We need to retreat to camp and regroup!
We run together, the five of us racing through the darkness. Behind us, Marcus's warriors are getting closer. I can hear their snarls, their heavy footsteps.
We're not going to make it.
Then Thorne appears from the shadows, Lyssa right behind him. This way! I found a cave system!
We follow them into a narrow opening between rocks. The cave is dark and cold, but it's defensible. Thorne and Darius block the entrance with their bodies.
They'll find us eventually, Kael says, his wolf eyes still glowing in the darkness.
Then we'll be ready, Darius growls.
But I can see the truth in their faces. We're outnumbered, outmatched, and out of time.
Marcus's voice echoes from outside. Come out, little brother! Face me like an Alpha, not a coward hiding in a hole!
Kael's jaw clenches, but he doesn't move.
Sera! Marcus calls now. Your choice is simple. Surrender yourself, and I'll let the others live. Keep hiding, and I'll kill everyone you care about. Starting with the weak human doctor.
Dr. Winters pales but doesn't say anything.
I step toward the cave entrance, but Kael grabs my arm. Don't.
He'll kill you all
So let him try. Kael's grip is firm but gentle. You're not sacrificing yourself for us.
Why not? You're both suffering because of me. The whole pack is falling apart because of me. Maybe Marcus is right. Maybe everyone would be better off if I just
Don't finish that sentence, Darius interrupts, his voice deadly quiet. Don't you dare.
I look between them these two powerful Alphas who should hate each other but are standing side by side, ready to die protecting me.
And I realize something.
I'm tired of running. Tired of being weak. Tired of being a victim.
My parents didn't die so I could give up the first time things got hard.
Dr. Winters, I say quietly. How do I unlock my full power?
She meets my eyes in the darkness. You know how.
The mate bonds. I have to complete them.
I turn to Kael. If I do this if I complete the bonds does it give us a fighting chance?
Yes, he says without hesitation.
Will it make me strong enough to beat Marcus?
Strong enough to beat anyone, Darius adds.
I take a deep breath. This is it. The moment I've been running from since the Blood Moon Festival.
Okay, I whisper. Let's do this.
Marcus and his warriors eventually give up searching and leave to set up camp nearby. They'll wait us out, knowing we can't hide forever.
But we're not hiding anymore.
We wait until past midnight, when Marcus's scouts have reported back and the warriors are settling in for the night. Then we sneak out of the cave, one by one.
Kael leads me away from the others, to a small clearing under the stars.
My heart is pounding so hard I can barely breathe.
You don't have to do this, Kael says quietly. Not for me. Not for anyone.
I'm not doing it for you. I look up at him, this Alpha who killed my parents but is also the man willing to die to protect me. I'm doing it for me. Because I'm tired of being powerless.
Sera
I can't forgive you yet, I interrupt. Maybe I never will. What you did what Marcus made you do destroyed my life. I lost everything because of that execution order.
Kael flinches but nods. I know.
But I understand now that you were manipulated. Used. Marcus played you like a puppet, and my parents paid the price. I step closer. You can't undo what happened. But you can help me make sure it never happens to anyone else.
How?
By helping me become strong enough to destroy the Council. To change the laws that let True Lunas be hunted. To make sure no one else loses their parents to lies and fear.
Something lights up in Kael's eyes. Hope, maybe. Or respect.
If I complete this bond with you, I continue, it doesn't mean I'm yours. It doesn't mean I forgive you. It means I'm choosing to survive. To fight. To claim the power my parents died protecting.
That's enough for me, Kael says, and I can feel through the incomplete bond that he means it.
He takes my hand gently, like I'm something precious that might break.
Are you sure?
I think about my parents. About eight years as a slave. About the Council hunting me. About Marcus wanting me dead.
Yes. I'm sure.
The mating bond completion is like nothing I've ever felt before.
When Kael kisses me, energy explodes between us. The incomplete bond that's been aching in my chest suddenly snaps fully into place, and I can feel everything he feels his guilt, his protectiveness, his awe at my strength.
It's overwhelming and terrifying and somehow right.
Power floods through me, stronger than anything I've felt before. This is what Dr. Winters meant. The bond doesn't make me weak it makes me unstoppable.
When we finally pull apart, I'm glowing with silver light. Not wild and uncontrolled like before, but steady and strong.
Wow, Kael breathes.
I can feel him through the bond now, his emotions and thoughts brushing against mine. The guilt is still there, but so is something else. Determination. Pride. Faith in me.
But there's a problem.
The moment Kael's bond completed, Darius's bond started screaming. It's pulling at me with twice the force now, demanding completion. The pain is already building in my chest.
He's going to feel this, Kael says, also sensing Darius through their strange connection to me.
As if on cue, Darius appears at the edge of the clearing. His amber eyes are wild, almost feral.
Sera. My name comes out like a growl. I can feel the bond
He stumbles, clearly in agony. The incomplete bond is tearing him apart now that Kael's is finished.
I look at Kael. I have to
I know. He squeezes my hand once, then lets go. Go.
I walk toward Darius, and he watches me approach like a starving wolf watching prey.
You completed his bond, he says roughly.
Yes.
But not mine.
Not yet.
He laughs, but there's no humor in it. Do you know what that feels like? Watching you bond with my enemy while I
He's not your enemy anymore, I interrupt. And neither am I. We're all in this together now.
Darius stares at me, something shifting in his expression.
Then his eyes widen. Sera, behind you
I spin around just as Marcus lunges from the shadows, a silver blade aimed at my heart.
I don't have time to scream.
But Darius is faster.
He throws himself between us, and Marcus's blade sinks deep into his chest.
NO! The scream rips from my throat.
Darius collapses, blood pouring from the wound.
And through the incomplete bond, I feel him dying.