Linnea's POV
I wake up screaming.
"Easy! Easy, you're safe!" Caspian's voice cuts through the panic. "Linnea, you're safe. You're in the pack hospital. You're okay."
I stop screaming but can't stop shaking. Images flash through my mind—Jericho. The syringe. The agony of my bones breaking and reforming. The wolf.
"I transformed," I whisper. "I turned into a wolf."
"Yeah." Caspian sits beside my bed, looking exhausted. Dark circles under his eyes. Blood still on his clothes. "Jericho injected you with werewolf venom. Forced your dormant genes to activate."
"The baby—" My hands fly to my stomach.
"Still there. Still alive." He puts his hand over mine. The touch sends warmth through my whole body. "The pack doctor checked. The baby survived the transformation. It's... remarkable, actually. Most humans die when forced to shift. You didn't. You're stronger than anyone expected."
I should feel relieved. Instead I feel terrified. "I'm a werewolf now. Actually a werewolf. This is real."
"This is real." His thumb traces circles on my hand without him seeming to realize he's doing it. "And there's more. The transformation while pregnant... it changed things. The baby now has active werewolf genes too. Not dormant. Active."
My heart stops. "What does that mean?"
"It means your baby will be born a werewolf. Able to shift from birth, though it probably won't for years." He meets my eyes. "It means you both need pack protection now more than ever. Hunters will come for you. For both of you."
"Where's Jericho?" The name tastes like poison.
Caspian's eyes go cold. "Dead. I killed him after he ran. Tracked him through the forest and tore his throat out." No emotion in his voice. Just fact. "The other hunters scattered. We'll hunt them down eventually."
I should be horrified. He just admitted to murder. But all I feel is relief.
"Good," I say quietly. "He tried to kill us. He deserved it."
"Yeah." Caspian pulls his hand away and stands up. "You need to rest. The transformation took a lot out of you. Doctor says you'll be weak for a few days."
"Wait." I grab his wrist. "Don't go. Please. I don't want to be alone."
He looks at where I'm touching him. The mate bond pulses between us, warm and electric and undeniable.
"I shouldn't stay," he says roughly. "Linnea, we need to talk about—"
"I know. The mate bond. The fact that we're about to become stepsiblings." I let go of his wrist. "But can we not talk about it right now? Can we just... exist for a minute without everything being complicated?"
He laughs but it sounds sad. "Everything about us is complicated."
"I know." I close my eyes. "But I'm tired and scared and I almost died today. So can you please just sit with me until I fall asleep? That's all I'm asking."
Silence. Then I feel the bed dip as he sits back down.
"Okay," he says softly. "I'll stay."
I fall asleep to the sound of his breathing. For the first time since arriving at this nightmare mansion, I feel safe.
I wake up two days later to shouting.
"The wedding is CANCELLED!" Mom's voice echoes through the hallway. "Are you insane, Daemon? After everything that happened?"
I slip out of bed carefully. My body still aches but I can walk. I creep to the door and peek out.
Mom and Daemon are in the hallway, faces red with anger.
"The wedding needs to happen," Daemon insists. "Now more than ever. Linnea is fully wolf now. That makes her pack. But the pack won't accept her without the family connection solidified."
"She almost DIED! Hunters attacked us! Your son killed her ex-boyfriend!" Mom is crying now. "I can't do this, Daemon. I can't marry you and pretend everything is fine when my daughter is traumatized and—"
"If you don't marry me, you lose pack protection." Daemon's voice goes cold. "Both of you. Linnea and her wolf baby? You'll be on your own. Hunters will find you within a week."
"Are you threatening us?"
"I'm stating facts." He grabs her hands. "Roslyn, I love you. I want to marry you for real, not just politics. But the pack won't protect a random human woman and her daughter unless there's a blood connection. Marriage is that connection."
Mom pulls her hands away. "I need time to think."
"You have until tomorrow. That's when the ceremony is scheduled." Daemon walks away, leaving Mom crying in the hallway.
I slip back into bed before she sees me.
Tomorrow. The wedding is tomorrow. Which means Caspian becomes my legal stepbrother tomorrow.
And the mate bond? It stays. Throbbing. Pulling. Demanding we complete what the Moon Goddess started.
But we can't. We're family now. It's forbidden.
A knock on my door makes me sit up. "Come in."
Caspian enters carrying a tray of food. "Thought you might be hungry. You haven't eaten in two days."
My stomach growls on cue. He sets the tray on my lap—eggs, toast, orange juice, fruit.
"Thanks," I mumble.
He doesn't leave. Just stands there watching me eat with those intense silver eyes.
"What?" I finally ask.
"We need to talk. About the bond. About what happens after tomorrow." He runs his hand through his hair. "My dad wants me to reject you. Officially. In front of the pack. Says it's the only way to avoid scandal."
The toast turns to ash in my mouth. "And what do you want?"
"I want..." He trails off. Looks away. "It doesn't matter what I want."
"It matters to me."
He finally meets my eyes. "I want you, Linnea. I want to claim you. Mark you. Make you mine in every way possible. I want to protect you and that baby and build a life together." His voice breaks. "But I can't have you. Because tomorrow you become my sister. And wanting you after that makes me a monster."
Tears spill down my cheeks. "I don't want you to reject the bond."
"You don't understand what rejection means—"
"I don't care!" I throw the tray aside. Food scatters everywhere. "Caspian, you're my mate. The one person in this world meant for me. And tomorrow we have to pretend that means nothing? Have to act like siblings when every part of me is screaming that you're MINE?"
He's across the room in one second, pulling me into his arms. "You're mine too. You've always been mine. From the moment I smelled you. From the moment I saw you." His forehead presses against mine. "But this is impossible, baby. You know it's impossible."
"Then we run away. Leave the pack. Start over somewhere else."
"Hunters will find you. Without pack protection, you're dead in a week. Maybe less." He cups my face. "I won't let you die, Linnea. Even if it means losing you."
"There has to be another way—"
"There isn't." He kisses my forehead. Soft. Gentle. Heartbreaking. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry the Moon Goddess did this to us."
He pulls away and heads for the door.
"Caspian, wait—"
"I can't." He doesn't turn around. "If I stay, I'll do something we can't take back. Something that will damn us both. I need to go."
He leaves me alone with my broken heart and impossible choices.
I lie back down and stare at the ceiling. Tomorrow Mom marries Daemon. Tomorrow Caspian becomes my brother. Tomorrow everything changes.
A phone buzzes on my nightstand. Not my phone—Caspian must have left his by accident.
I pick it up. A text message flashes on the screen from someone named Selene.
Selene: Heard about your mate problem. I can help. There's a way to break the bond without rejection. Meet me in the forest tonight. Midnight. Come alone.
My heart pounds. A way to break the bond without rejection? Is that even possible?
I should tell Caspian. Should show him the message.
But what if this is our only chance? What if Selene really can help us?
I look at the clock. 11:30 PM.
I have thirty minutes to decide—trust a stranger with a mysterious solution, or let Caspian reject me tomorrow and live with the pain forever.
The forest calls to me through the window. Dark. Dangerous. Full of secrets.
I grab a jacket and slip out of my room.
Whatever happens tonight, everything changes.
I just hope I survive it.