Cassian's POV
I moved faster than thought, shifting mid-leap and placing myself between Elowen and the silver-haired woman.
Who are you? I snarled through the mind-link.
The woman's white eyes fixed on me with amusement. "Stand down, young Alpha. I'm not here to harm my daughter."
"Daughter?" Elowen's voice was barely a whisper behind me. "I don't have a mother. She's dead."
"Your adoptive mother, yes. I'm sorry for your loss." The woman stepped through the window gracefully, glass crunching under her bare feet. She didn't seem to feel it. "But I am your birth mother, Elowen. My name is Seraphina Nightshade. And you are the lost princess of the Nightshade Pack."
Nightshade. The name hit me like a sledgehammer.
I shifted back to human form, my mind racing. "That's impossible. The Nightshade Pack was wiped out twenty years ago. Everyone knows that."
"Not wiped out." Seraphina's smile was sad and dangerous. "Scattered. Hunted. Forced into hiding. But not destroyed." Her eyes softened as she looked at Elowen. "I hid you with humans to keep you safe. The pack that attacked us was searching for you specifically—the Alpha heir. If they'd found you, they would have killed you."
"Why?" Elowen asked, her voice stronger now. "Why would anyone want to kill a baby?"
"Because of what you are. What you represent." Seraphina moved closer, and I fought every instinct to block her path. "The Nightshade bloodline carries a gift—the ability to control multiple wolf forms. We can shift into different wolves, each with unique abilities. It makes us incredibly powerful. And incredibly threatening to other packs."
Multiple forms. I'd heard legends, but I'd thought they were just stories.
"You're lying," Elowen said. "This is some kind of trick."
"I can prove it." Seraphina held out her hand. On her palm was a birthmark—three crescents forming a triangle. "You have the same mark. Left shoulder blade."
Elowen's hand flew to her shoulder. I'd seen that mark when I carried her to bed. I'd thought it was just an unusual birthmark.
"How did you find me?" Elowen demanded.
"Your power awakening sent out a signal. Every Nightshade wolf within a hundred miles felt it." Seraphina's expression turned grave. "But we're not the only ones who felt it. The Crimson Fang Pack—the ones who destroyed our home—they're hunting you too. That's who sent the rogues."
My blood ran cold. The Crimson Fang Pack was the most brutal pack in North America. They believed in "pure" bloodlines and eliminated any pack they considered a threat.
"We need to leave," Seraphina said urgently. "Now. Before they send more—"
"She's not going anywhere." My father's voice cut through the room like a blade.
He stood in the doorway with a dozen pack warriors, all of them armed with silver weapons. Behind him, I saw Merrick's apologetic face—he'd had no choice but to report this.
"Seraphina Nightshade," my father said coldly. "I should have known. When my son started acting strange around this girl, I suspected she wasn't fully human. But Nightshade royalty?" He laughed harshly. "This complicates things."
"Alpha Thaddeus." Seraphina's voice was respectful but firm. "I mean no disrespect to your pack. I'm only here to collect my daughter and leave."
"I'm afraid that's not possible." My father's eyes were calculating. "Your daughter is fated mates with my son. That makes her pack business now."
The room went silent.
Elowen stared at me, betrayal written across her face. "What?"
"I didn't tell her," I said quickly. "I wasn't sure—"
"Oh, you're sure," my father said. "I can smell the mate bond from here. It's why you've been acting like a lovesick fool. It's why her power awakened early—proximity to her fated mate triggered it."
Elowen looked between us, her hands shaking. "Is that true? Are we... mates?"
I wanted to lie. To protect her from this truth. But I couldn't.
"Yes," I said quietly. "From the moment I saw you, my wolf knew."
"And you didn't think to TELL me?!" Her eyes flashed amber with fury. "You let me think I was going crazy, that something was wrong with me—"
"I was trying to protect you!" I stepped toward her. "If my father knew what you were, he'd—"
"He'd what?" She backed away. "Use me? Kill me? Which one, Cassian?"
"Neither." My father's voice was smooth as silk. "I'd offer you a choice, Elowen Nightshade. Marry my son. Unite our packs. In exchange, the Vane Pack will protect you from the Crimson Fang. We'll shelter your mother and any surviving Nightshade wolves. You'll have power, safety, everything you need."
"And if I refuse?" Elowen asked.
"Then you leave my territory tonight, and you're on your own against the pack that wants you dead." His smile was cruel. "Choose wisely."
Seraphina's power flared. "You dare threaten my daughter—"
"I'm offering her survival," my father cut her off. "The Crimson Fang has been hunting Nightshade survivors for two decades. How many are left? Ten? Twenty? Without a strong alliance, they'll pick you off one by one." He turned back to Elowen. "But with the Vane Pack's protection, you'll be untouchable."
"This is blackmail," I growled.
"This is politics," my father corrected. "Something you'll need to understand when you become Alpha."
Elowen's face was white. She looked at me, and I saw the question in her eyes: Did you know about this? Were you part of this plan?
"I swear I didn't know," I said desperately. "Elowen, please believe me—"
"I don't know what to believe anymore." Her voice broke. "Everyone's been lying to me. My whole life is a lie."
"Your life is what you make it," Seraphina said gently. "And you don't have to decide anything tonight. Come with me. Meet your real family. Learn about your heritage. Then choose."
"She stays here," my father commanded. "Until the mate bond is completed, she's vulnerable to the Crimson Fang. Only the bond will fully protect her."
"The bond can't be completed without her consent," I snapped. "And I won't force her into anything."
My father's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Your wolf will force you eventually. The full moon is tomorrow night. When she shifts for the first time, your instincts will take over. You'll claim her whether you want to or not."
Horror crashed through me because he was right. Tomorrow night, with the full moon and her first shift, our wolves would be in control. And wolves didn't care about human concepts like consent or choice. They only knew: MATE. CLAIM. BOND.
"No," I said firmly. "I'll lock myself in the silver cage if I have to. I won't—"
A howl pierced the night—long, eerie, filled with bloodlust.
Then another. And another. Dozens of howls surrounding the estate.
Merrick burst into the room, his face pale. "We're surrounded. At least forty wolves, maybe more. They're not rogues—they're organized. Military formation."
My father cursed. "The Crimson Fang. They found her faster than I expected."
"Because of me," Seraphina said grimly. "They've been tracking me for years. I led them right to her."
The howls grew closer. Louder.
Then every light in the house went out.
In the darkness, I heard a voice—ancient, cruel, amplified by Alpha power to reach every ear:
"ELOWEN NIGHTSHADE. We have your estate surrounded. We have fifty wolves to your twenty. Surrender yourself, and we'll let the Vane Pack live. Refuse, and we'll slaughter everyone inside. You have five minutes to decide."
Elowen's hand found mine in the darkness.
"I won't let innocent people die for me," she whispered.
"Don't you dare—"
"Four minutes," the voice called.
Seraphina's white eyes glowed in the darkness. "There's another option. One you won't like."
"What option?" I demanded.
"Complete the mate bond. Tonight. Now." She looked at me seriously. "A completed mate bond will make Elowen part of the Vane Pack officially. The Crimson Fang won't risk war with an established pack over one girl. It's the only way to make her untouchable."
"She's not ready," I protested. "The bond is permanent. Sacred. She doesn't even know if she wants—"
"Three minutes."
Elowen's grip on my hand tightened. "What does completing the bond mean? Exactly?"
I couldn't look at her. "It means I bite you. Mark you as mine. And you mark me back. It ties our souls together. Forever. You'd feel everything I feel. Share my thoughts. My pack would become yours. There's no undoing it."
"Would it protect everyone here? Your sister? The pack members?"
"Yes. But Elowen—"
"Then we do it."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"Two minutes!"
"I won't let people die because of me," she said fiercely. "If this saves them, we do it. Now."
"You don't understand what you're agreeing to—"
She grabbed my face, forcing me to meet her eyes. "I understand perfectly. Now stop arguing and save your pack, Alpha."
The way she said "Alpha" made my wolf roar to the surface.
"One minute!"
My father's voice cut through the darkness: "Do it, Cassian. Complete the bond. Now. That's an order."
Time slowed down.
Elowen tilted her head, exposing her throat. Trusting me. Choosing me. Even though she barely knew me. Even though I'd lied to her.
My wolf surged forward, fangs extending.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
Then I bit down.
The world exploded in sensation—her pain, her fear, her courage, her power flowing into me. The mate bond snapped into place like a rubber band pulled tight, connecting us at the deepest level.
Through our new connection, I felt her thoughts: Don't be sorry. Just don't let me regret this.
I pulled back, and she bit me in return—human teeth, but it was enough. The bond completed with a flash of light that lit up the entire room.
When the light faded, everything had changed.
My father smiled in triumph.
Seraphina looked devastated.
And outside, the Crimson Fang Alpha's voice was filled with rage:
"You've just declared war, Vane. And war is what you'll get."