Elowen's POV
The moment Cassian's teeth sank into my neck, my entire world caught fire.
Pain exploded through me—sharp, burning, overwhelming. But underneath the pain was something else. Something that felt like coming home after being lost my whole life.
I could feel him. His emotions pouring into me like a flood. His fear that I'd hate him. His desperation to protect me. His wolf's fierce joy at finally claiming its mate.
And underneath it all, something that made my heart stop: love. He loved me. Had loved me from the moment we met, even though he'd tried to fight it.
The bond snapped into place like a puzzle piece clicking home.
Then I bit him back, and his emotions became mine, mine became his, until I couldn't tell where I ended and he began.
When I pulled away, gasping, everything looked different. Sharper. Clearer. I could hear heartbeats throughout the house. Could smell emotions—fear, anger, triumph.
And I could feel Cassian's presence in my mind like a warm glow.
Are you okay? His voice echoed in my head.
I stared at him. Did you just... think at me?
That's the mate bond. We can communicate telepathically now. His hand touched my face gently. I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have had to do this. Not like this.
But I didn't feel sorry. The bond felt... right. Like it had always been there, just waiting to be activated.
The lights flickered back on.
Outside, the Crimson Fang Alpha's voice roared: "You think one mate bond will stop us? We'll tear through your pack and take her anyway!"
My father—no, Alpha Thaddeus; I had to stop thinking of him as my father—stepped to the window. "You're welcome to try. But attacking a mated female is a death sentence under pack law. Every pack in North America will hunt you down."
Silence from outside.
Then the Crimson Fang Alpha laughed. "Fine. We'll wait. But the girl will slip up eventually. And when she does, we'll be there."
The howls retreated into the distance.
Everyone in the room relaxed, but only slightly.
Seraphina—my birth mother, I still couldn't process that—approached me with tears in her white eyes. "I'm sorry, daughter. I never wanted this for you. Forced into a mate bond to survive..."
"I chose this," I said firmly. Even though my neck throbbed where Cassian had bitten me. "No one forced me."
"You were backed into a corner. That's not a real choice."
Maybe she was right. But looking at Cassian, feeling his worry and guilt through our bond, I didn't regret it.
"We need to discuss security," Thaddeus said, all business. "The Crimson Fang won't give up. They'll wait for an opening."
"Then we don't give them one," Cassian said. His arm slipped around my waist, and I felt his wolf's satisfaction at being able to touch me freely now. "Elowen stays in the main house under constant guard."
"Actually," Merrick spoke up hesitantly, "there's a bigger problem. Tomorrow night is still the full moon. Elowen's first shift. If the Crimson Fang attacks while she's mid-transformation..."
"She'll be vulnerable," Thaddeus finished. "Which means we need to move her somewhere secure. Somewhere they won't expect."
"Or," Seraphina said, "she comes with me. I can take her to the Nightshade safe house. Teach her to control her shift properly."
"Absolutely not," Cassian growled. "She's my mate. She stays with me."
"Your mate who you've known for three days," Seraphina shot back. "I'm her mother."
"Who abandoned her for twenty-two years!"
"To keep her alive!"
"ENOUGH!" I shouted, and power rolled off me in waves, making everyone in the room take a step back.
I was shocked at my own strength. So was everyone else.
Thaddeus studied me with new interest. "The bond amplified her Alpha power. Fascinating."
Elowen, Cassian's voice was gentle in my mind. You need to calm down. Your emotions are feeding your power.
I don't know how, I thought back, panicking. There's too much. I can feel everything—your fear, Sable's confusion, your father's calculating interest. It's overwhelming.
Focus on me. Just me. Block out everything else.
I tried. Gradually, the other emotions faded until only Cassian's steady presence remained.
"Better?" he asked aloud.
I nodded, exhausted.
"She needs rest," Sable said, appearing at my side. She glared at everyone. "You can all argue about security and safe houses tomorrow. Right now, my best friend just got her entire life turned upside down and needs sleep."
For once, no one argued with her.
Cassian started to follow me and Sable out, but Thaddeus stopped him. "We need to talk. Now."
I'll be fine, I told him through the bond. Go.
His reluctance flooded through me, but he stayed.
Sable took me to a new room—one without broken windows and blood stains. She helped me into bed, her face a mixture of emotions I couldn't read.
"Are you mad at me?" I asked quietly.
"What? No!" She sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm mad at myself. I should have told you the truth from the beginning. About us being werewolves. About my brother probably being your mate. I knew something was happening between you two."
"You couldn't have known this would happen."
"Maybe not. But I could have prepared you better." She took my hand. "Are you okay? Really okay? You just got bonded to my idiot brother."
Despite everything, I smiled. "He's not so bad."
"Ugh, the bond is making you soft already." But she was smiling too. "For what it's worth, I'm glad it's you. If Cassian had to have a mate, I'm glad it's someone I actually like."
"Even though everything's a mess?"
"Especially because everything's a mess. We Vanes do nothing halfway."
She stayed with me until I fell asleep, exhaustion finally winning.
But my dreams were anything but peaceful.
I dreamed of running through a forest on four legs, seeing the world through wolf eyes. I dreamed of a pack of silver wolves surrounding me, their white eyes glowing in the darkness.
And I dreamed of a woman with a crown of bones and blood on her hands, whispering: "The Nightshade heir will unite or destroy us all. Choose wisely, little princess."
I woke up gasping.
Moonlight streamed through the window. The full moon was rising.
And my body was on fire.
Cassian, I screamed through the bond. Something's wrong. I can't—my bones—
I'm coming! His panic flooded through me. Hold on, Elowen, I'm—
The bond cut off.
My bones started breaking, reshaping. The first shift was starting, and I was completely alone.
I tried to scream, but it came out as a howl.
My bedroom door burst open, but it wasn't Cassian.
A woman I'd never seen before stood there—beautiful, with ice-blue eyes and a cruel smile.
"Hello, little Nightshade," she purred. "I'm Isolde Crowe. Cassian's fiancée. Well, his real fiancée, before you came along and ruined everything."
She held up a syringe filled with silver liquid.
"This is wolfsbane extract. It won't kill you during a shift, but it will make you lose control completely. You'll attack everyone you love." Her smile widened. "Starting with Cassian, who should be here any second."
My bones cracked again. I couldn't speak, couldn't move.
"The Crimson Fang is paying me very well to deliver you to them," Isolde continued. "But first, I'm going to make sure you destroy the Vane Pack from the inside. Consider it payback for stealing my future."
She lunged at me with the needle.
And somewhere in the house, Cassian was screaming my name.