SERA'S POV
The black mark burns.
I press my hand against my chest as the pack bus bounces down the road toward Summit Grounds. The mark appeared two weeks ago and hasn't left. It's hidden under my shirt, pulsing like a second heartbeat that nobody else can hear.
And that voice. Luna's voice, except it's not Luna anymore. It's something darker, older, wrong.
Soon, it whispers in my mind. Very soon.
I don't know what that means. I'm too afraid to ask.
Around me, pack members laugh and talk, excited for the Summit. Nobody sits near me. I'm invisible again, which is fine. Better than the pity stares.
Up front, Kade has his arm around Vivian. She's talking loudly about how she can't wait to meet the other Alphas. How proud she is to represent Rain Valley Pack.
My stomach twists. This is going to be torture.
Summit Grounds is huge. Hundreds of wolves from dozens of packs fill the massive territory. Tents everywhere. Flags showing different pack symbols. The air buzzes with power so many Alphas in one place makes my skin prickle.
I stick close to Nova, trying to stay small.
You okay? she whispers.
I nod, lying. The mark on my chest burns hotter. That dark voice keeps whispering words I can't quite understand.
The welcome feast is that night. I have to go it's pack law. But I sit at the lowest table, far from Kade and Vivian who sit at the head table with the important Alphas.
I keep my head down and push food around my plate. Around me, wolves whisper.
That's Thornridge's rejected mate.
Poor thing. Look at her.
I heard she was too weak to be Luna.
Each word is a tiny knife. I make myself smaller.
Then I feel it. Eyes on me. Heavy and intense.
I glance up and freeze.
A man is staring at me from three tables over. He's huge bigger than Kade with dark hair and eyes that seem to glow silver in the firelight. Power rolls off him in waves. An Alpha. A really, really powerful Alpha.
He doesn't look away when I meet his eyes. Just keeps staring, like he's trying to figure out a puzzle.
It makes me uncomfortable. But also... seen. For the first time in months, someone is actually seeing me.
Nova nudges me. That's Ryker Nightshade. Alpha King of the Northern Territories. Why is he looking at you?
I shake my head and drop my gaze. Important wolves don't look at broken girls like me.
But I can still feel his eyes on me for the rest of the feast.
Three days pass. Three days of watching Kade and Vivian smile and laugh with other Alphas. Three days of being invisible.
The mark on my chest keeps spreading. It's bigger now, creeping across my ribs. And that voice gets louder every night.
They will see, it growls. They will all see what you really are.
I don't know what that means. I'm scared to find out.
On the third night, I'm walking back to my tent when the alarms sound.
Loud, piercing howls that mean danger.
Then the screaming starts.
I run toward the main grounds and my blood turns to ice. Rogues. At least twenty of them, crashing through the barrier. But these aren't normal rogues they're carrying silver weapons. Silver claws. Silver blades.
This is an organized attack.
Chaos explodes. Wolves shift and fight. Blood sprays. Someone crashes into me and I fall, hitting the ground hard.
Get up, I tell myself. Help them.
I try to shift, calling for Luna. My wolf barely responds. She's so weak now. But she comes small, pathetic, silver-white.
A rogue charges at a group of younger wolves. I throw myself at him, but I'm too small. He swats me away like I'm nothing. I hit a tree and pain explodes through my ribs.
Through blurry vision, I see Kade. He's in his massive black wolf form, fighting three rogues at once. He's incredible. Powerful. The Alpha I always knew he was.
Then I see the fourth rogue.
Behind Kade. Silver blade raised. Aimed right at Kade's back.
Kade doesn't see him. He's too focused on the three in front.
The world slows down.
I should stay down. He rejected me. He chose someone else. He doesn't deserve my help.
But my body moves before my brain catches up.
I shift to human faster that way and run. My legs burn. My broken ribs scream. But I run faster than I've ever run.
The rogue's blade starts to fall.
I jump.
Silver claws tear through my stomach. Through my chest. Through everything.
The pain is unimaginable. Worse than the bond breaking. Worse than anything.
I hear Kade roar. Feel him catch me as I fall. The rogue is dead Kade killed him in seconds.
But it's too late for me.
Silver poison floods my veins. My vision goes dark at the edges. I shift back to human, and bloods much blood pours from the wounds.
Sera! Kade's voice breaks. No no what did you do?
I look up at him. His face is twisted in horror. In grief.
Maybe this is how he should have looked at me all along.
I love you, I whisper. Blood fills my mouth, making the words gurgle. But I need him to hear it. I'm sorry I wasn't enough.
You were you are Sera, stay with me!
But I can't. The darkness is pulling me down. The poison is burning through everything.
At least I saved him. At least this death means something.
My eyes close.
Then the mark on my chest explodes with heat.
That dark voice roars through my mind: NOT YET!
Power erupts from me. Silver light so bright it's blinding. Kade jerks back with a shout.
The wounds on my body start to glow. The silver poison burns away, turning to ash.
And I feel something wake up inside me. Something that's been sleeping for a very, very long time.
You cannot die, the voice says, and it sounds like a thousand wolves speaking at once. You are needed. You are chosen. You are
Everything goes black.
But before the darkness takes me completely, I hear Kade's broken whisper:
What are you?