Sage's POV
The black mark burns like acid on my wrist.
I scream as Marcus's forced bond tries to latch onto my soul, digging hooks into places nothing should touch. Through the pain, I hear Kael roaring, Damon snarling, Ryder howling my three Alphas fighting desperately to reach me.
But Marcus's wolves hold them back.
Stop fighting, Marcus whispers, his grip on my wrist crushing. Accept the bond and the pain ends.
Never, I gasp.
His eyes flash red. Then suffer.
The pain intensifies. I feel his presence trying to invade my mind, my soul, my very essence. It's wrong twisted and dark and nothing like the warm pull I feel toward Kael, Damon, and Ryder.
My Omega power erupts instinctively, trying to reject the foreign bond.
Silver light explodes from my body.
Marcus flies backward, released. I collapse, clutching my wrist where his black mark still burns.
Impossible, Marcus snarls, climbing to his feet. You shouldn't have enough power to resist
She's not alone!
Nova appears in a flash of green light, her hands glowing with ancient magic. She throws a barrier between Marcus and me, then kneels beside me.
The forced bond hasn't set yet, she says urgently. But it will if we don't break it now. This is going to hurt worse than the marking. Are you ready?
Just do it!
Nova places her glowing hands over the black mark on my wrist. She chants in that ancient language from my dreams, and pain rips through me worse than shifting, worse than anything.
I feel the forced bond tearing free, hooks ripping from my soul one by one.
I'm screaming. Can't stop. Can't breathe.
Then three other presences flood through me ice, shadow, and flame. My partial bonds with Kael, Damon, and Ryder flare to life, pushing against Marcus's darkness.
That's it, Nova urges. Use your true bonds. Let them help you.
I reach for that warmth. For the connection that feels right instead of wrong.
The black mark shatters.
Marcus howls with rage as his forced bond breaks. You'll pay for that, witch!
But Nova is already pulling me to my feet. Run! I'll hold them off!
I'm not leaving you
GO! Nova's magic explodes outward, sending wolves flying.
Kael appears at my side, shifted back to human, bleeding from a dozen wounds. Can you run?
Yes.
Then move! Damon grabs my other arm. There's too many. We have to retreat.
Ryder shifts into his massive wolf form, creating a shield with his body as we run. Behind us, I hear Marcus screaming orders to his army.
We race through the damaged fortress, taking turns I don't recognize. My wrist throbs where Marcus's mark shattered, but the twisted darkness is gone. I can breathe again.
Where are we going? I gasp.
Safe room, Kael says grimly. It's warded against magical tracking. Marcus won't be able to find us there.
We burst through a hidden door and tumble into a small stone chamber. Kael slams it shut and traces symbols that glow blue. Wards activating.
Silence falls. We're safe. For now.
I sink against the wall, shaking. What was that? What did he do to me?
Forced bonding, Damon says, pressing cloth against a bleeding wound on his shoulder. It's forbidden. Illegal. But Marcus doesn't care about laws.
If Nova hadn't broken it... Ryder shifts back to human, his golden eyes haunted. If he'd completed that bond, you'd be his slave. Unable to disobey. Unable to resist.
Horror floods through me. He could have controlled me completely?
Yes, Kael says flatly. That's why forced bonding was outlawed centuries ago. It's not a true mate bond it's slavery wearing a bond's face.
I look down at my wrist. The skin is unmarked now, but I can still feel the phantom burn. Why didn't it work? Nova said I shouldn't have had enough power to resist.
The three Alphas exchange significant looks.
Because you're not unbonded anymore, Damon says quietly. We felt it during the fight. You pulled on our partial bonds to help break Marcus's hold. That means the bonds between us are stronger than we realized.
How strong? I whisper.
Kael kneels in front of me. Strong enough that attempting to force another bond causes you physical pain. Strong enough that the three of us could feel your terror through the connection and it drove us half feral. Strong enough that we're becoming a unit whether we planned it or not.
I stare at each of them. But we barely know each other.
The heart doesn't care about timelines, Ryder says softly. The bond knows what it wants.
Before I can respond, Kael's head snaps up. Someone's coming.
We all go silent, listening.
Footsteps approach the hidden door. Slow. Deliberate.
Then a voice I recognize: Kael? It's me. Let me in.
Kael's entire body relaxes. Theron. My Beta.
He opens the door, and a tall man with gray streaked hair enters. He's bleeding from a gash across his face, his clothes torn.
The fortress is lost, Theron says grimly. Marcus has taken control. Nova's holding him at the main entrance, but she can't last much longer. We need to evacuate now.
Where can we go? Damon demands. If the Convergence Point isn't safe
My territory, Theron interrupts. I have a safehouse Marcus doesn't know about. But we need to leave immediately.
Something feels wrong. I don't know Theron, don't know if I should trust him.
But Kael trusts him completely. I can feel that through our bond absolute certainty that his Beta would never betray him.
Lead the way, Kael orders.
We follow Theron through secret passages deeper into the fortress. The sounds of battle fade behind us. We're almost to the exit when my Omega senses scream a warning.
I grab Kael's arm. Wait. Something's
Theron turns. And smiles.
It's the wrong smile. Cold. Cruel. Nothing like the loyal Beta who entered moments ago.
Clever Omega, he says. Most don't notice until it's too late.
His form ripples. Shifts. And suddenly it's not Theron standing before us.
It's a woman with silver hair and cruel eyes.
Hello, boys, she purrs. Miss me?
Kael goes absolutely rigid. Lydia.
Who's Lydia? I whisper.
My former second-in-command, Kael says, his voice arctic with rage. The one I exiled five years ago for trying to murder an innocent pack member.
Lydia laughs. You exiled me for loving you and hating that you never looked at me the way you look at her. She points at me. But Marcus offered me redemption. All I had to do was let his army through the wards and lead you into a trap.
The walls around us shiver.
Then explode.
Wolves pour in from every direction. Dozens of them. We're surrounded.
And standing at the center, Marcus grins like a man who's already won.
Did you really think I'd let you escape? He gestures at Lydia. I've had someone on the inside for months. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Lydia shifts into a massive silver wolf, blocking our only exit.
We're trapped. Outnumbered. Exhausted.
Marcus steps forward, his red eyes locked on me. This time, daughter, there's no Nova to save you. No convenient power surge. Just you, me, and the bond I'm going to force on you whether you want it or not.
He raises his hand, dark magic crackling around his fingers.
And when I'm done, you'll help me destroy everyone you've started to care about.