POV: Serephina
The explosion of violet and silver flames consumed everything.
The Council enforcer screamed as our combined power hit him like a battering ram. His silver chains disintegrated. His protective shields shattered like glass. He flew backward, crashing through three trees before finally stopping.
The five enforcer wolves tried to rush us. Big mistake.
Corvus, despite his broken ribs, was a whirlwind of dark silver fury. His massive jaws closed around one wolf's throat. Another tried to flank him—I sent violet flames that made it yelp and retreat, fur smoking.
The mate bond between us sang with perfect coordination. I didn't need to tell him where to move. He didn't need to ask where I'd strike next. We moved as one entity, our powers weaving together into something terrifying and beautiful.
"ENOUGH!" The enforcer staggered to his feet, blood running from his nose. His silver robes were scorched and torn. "You're making this worse for yourselves! Surrender now and the Council might show mercy—"
"Mercy?" I laughed, the sound sharp as broken glass. "Like the mercy you showed my parents when you helped slaughter them? Like the mercy you showed every Thornecrown heir you hunted down and murdered?"
His face went pale. "How did you—"
"My mother's spirit told me everything." I stepped forward, violet flames dancing higher along my arms. "She told me about the Council's lies. How they feared royal bloodlines because we couldn't be controlled. How they orchestrated the massacre and called it justice."
Kael's voice cut through the tension: "Serephina, stop! You're proving them right! They said Thornecrowns were dangerous, violent—"
"They made us dangerous!" I whirled on him, and he actually flinched. "Your grandmother murdered my family! Used a fake mate bond to chain me! Stole seven years of my life! And you helped her!" My voice broke. "You let her take our son and use him as bait. You watched me suffer and did NOTHING."
"I didn't know!" Kael's ice-blue eyes were desperate. "I swear, I didn't know about the fake bond until you broke it. I thought—I genuinely believed we were mates. That you were just... weak."
"Weak." The word tasted like poison. "You thought I was weak, so you treated me like garbage. That's supposed to make it better?"
"No." His voice dropped. "Nothing makes it better. I was cruel to you. Cold. I chose other women over my own mate—my wife—because I thought you weren't good enough. Wasn't strong enough. Wasn't... worth loving."
Something in his tone made me pause. This wasn't the arrogant alpha I'd known for seven years. This was someone who sounded genuinely broken.
"And now?" I asked carefully. "Now that you know I'm royal blood? Now that I'm powerful? Suddenly I'm worth something?"
"No." Kael's answer surprised me. "Now I realize how blind I was. How much I destroyed. My grandmother used me as a weapon against you, and I let her because it was easier than admitting I'd married someone I didn't understand." He looked at Thaddeus's tracking mark, still glowing faintly where Finnian had carried him away. "She took our son and I didn't even question it. What kind of father does that make me?"
"A terrible one," Corvus growled, limping to stand beside me. Our mate bond pulsed with his pain and his fury.
"I know." Kael's voice was hollow. "I know what I am. What I've done. And I know you'll never forgive me." He looked directly at me. "But those enforcers? They're just the first wave. The Council is sending an entire army. Fifty wolves, all trained to kill royal bloodlines. They'll be here within the hour."
The enforcer laughed from where he'd fallen. "You should have surrendered when you had the chance, false queen. Now you'll die tired and alone."
"She's not alone," Corvus snarled.
"And she's not tired," Morvana's ancient voice added. The spirit wolf materialized beside us, having returned from guiding Finnian. "The cub is safe in the stronghold. Which means the queen can fight without holding back."
I felt it then—the truth of her words. I'd been unconsciously restraining myself, worried about Thaddeus, about controlling my new power, about not becoming the monster the Council claimed I was.
But my son was safe now.
And I was done apologizing for being strong.
"Corvus." I looked at my mate, at his injuries, at the pain he was hiding. "Can you run?"
"Always." His obsidian eyes gleamed. "What are you planning?"
"Something my mother would approve of." I smiled, and it felt dangerous. "You said fifty wolves are coming to kill me?"
"At least fifty," the enforcer confirmed smugly. "The Council's finest warriors. You don't stand a chance."
"Good." I cracked my knuckles, violet flames spiraling higher. "I was worried this would be too easy."
Kael's eyes widened. "You can't fight fifty trained enforcers! That's suicide!"
"For them, maybe." I looked at the Varnoth pack members who'd come with Kael—thirty wolves who'd watched me suffer for years. Who'd laughed when I was weak. Who'd ignored me when I needed help. "You all have a choice. Leave now and live. Or stay and learn why the Council fears the Thornecrown bloodline."
Most of them ran. Smart wolves.
But six stayed. Including Garrett, Kael's beta, who'd always been kind to me even when Kael wasn't.
"Luna—I mean, Queen Serephina," Garrett said carefully. "If you're really going to fight the Council, you'll need allies. Wolves who know their tactics. Their weaknesses."
"You'd betray the Council for me?" I asked, surprised. "Why?"
"Because they're wrong." His voice was firm. "I've watched the Council execute 'dangerous' wolves for years. Seen them kill omegas who spoke up, alphas who questioned orders, anyone who threatened their power. If you're really planning to change the system..." He knelt. "Then I want to help."
The other five wolves knelt too. Former Varnoth pack members, offering loyalty to the queen their pack had tried to destroy.
It was a start.
"What about you?" I asked Kael. "Where do you stand?"
He looked at me for a long moment. "I stand with my son. Which means I stand with you. Even if you hate me. Even if I don't deserve your trust." His jaw tightened. "I failed as a mate. But I won't fail as a father. Not again."
The enforcer struggled to his feet, preparing another spell. "This is treason! All of you! The Council will—"
Morvana's massive paw slammed down on him, pinning him to the ground. "The Council will what? Send more wolves to die?" Her ancient eyes glowed. "Tell your masters that the Thornecrown Dynasty has returned. And this time, we're not asking for permission."
I felt them before I heard them—fifty wolves moving through the forest in perfect formation. The Council's army, come to end me.
"They're here," Corvus said quietly, his wolf's ears flat.
"I know." I rolled my shoulders, feeling power crackling through every cell. "Garrett, take your wolves and guard the path to the stronghold. Make sure no one gets through to Thaddeus."
"Yes, my queen."
"Kael, you fight with them. Prove you meant what you said about protecting our son."
He nodded once and shifted to his black wolf.
"Morvana, Corvus—with me." I looked at my mate, at the ancient spirit who'd served my family for generations. "Let's show the Council what happens when they back a Thornecrown into a corner."
The enemy army burst into the clearing—fifty massive wolves, all wearing Council collars, all trained killers.
Their leader, a scarred gray wolf, shifted to human form. "Serephina Thornecrown. Final warning. Surrender or die."
I shifted to my silver wolf, violet flames crowning my fur like my mother's spirit had predicted. Through the mate bond, I felt Corvus shift beside me. Through my bloodline magic, I felt Morvana's ancient power joining with mine.
"I have a counter-offer," I said, my wolf's voice carrying alpha command that made trees shake. "Leave now, tell the Council their age of tyranny is ending, and maybe I'll let you live."
The enemy leader laughed. "You're outnumbered. Outmatched. What makes you think—"
The ground beneath us began to glow.
Violet flames erupted in a perfect circle around the clearing—ancient Thornecrown magic, responding to my presence. This wasn't random forest. This was old territory. Land my family had ruled for centuries before the massacre.
Land that remembered its true queen.
The enemy wolves backed away nervously as the flames grew higher.
"This is Thornecrown land," I said softly, dangerously. "And on Thornecrown land, the royal bloodline is absolute. You're not fighting one wolf. You're fighting the earth itself. Every tree, every stone, every blade of grass answers to me here."
The enemy leader's face went pale. "That's impossible. Territorial magic was lost—"
"Nothing is lost." My mother's spirit materialized beside me, glowing with starlight. "It only sleeps. Waiting for the rightful heir to wake it."
Fifty Council wolves faced three fighters and ancient magic they couldn't comprehend.
"Last chance," I offered. "Run."
They attacked.
And the forest came alive with violet fire and vengeance.
The battle was chaos—teeth and claws and magic swirling together. Corvus fought like a demon, his dark silver wolf tearing through enemies despite his injuries. Morvana was a whirlwind of ancient power, her spirit form immune to their physical attacks.
And me? I was everywhere and nowhere, flames dancing wherever I willed, the land itself obeying my commands. Roots erupted to tangle enemy paws. Branches bent to strike enemy heads. The earth rose and fell like waves.
We were winning.
Then I heard the scream.
Garrett's voice, desperate and terrified: "They got through! Some went around us! They're heading for the stronghold! FOR THADDEUS!"
My heart stopped.
I looked at the remaining enemy wolves—maybe twenty left. Looked at the path to the stronghold where my son slept, unaware of danger.
I couldn't be in both places.
Through the mate bond, Corvus's thought hit me: "Go. Protect our son. I'll finish here."
"You're injured—"
"GO!"
I ran.
Faster than I'd ever run, violet flames trailing behind me like a comet. The stronghold was miles away. The enemy wolves had a head start.
Please, Moon Goddess. Please let me be fast enough.
I burst into the stronghold clearing and my blood turned to ice.
Ten Council wolves surrounded the ancient building. And standing in the doorway, holding Thaddeus like a shield, was someone I recognized.
Lyssandra.
My ex-husband's mistress. The woman who'd stolen my son's love. The woman who'd called me "nobody important."
She smiled at me, and it was poisonous.
"Hello, Serephina. Looking for something?"