Kael's POV
Kael stared at the papers on his desk and saw nothing.
The pack reports were piling up. Territory disputes. Supply chains. Pack member complaints. All the mundane things that kept an empire running. All the things that didn't matter anymore because his entire world had shifted on its axis six hours ago.
Footsteps thundered down the hallway.
Dante burst into his office without knocking. His hair was wet like he'd just come from a shower. His eyes were glowing that soft amber that meant his wolf was close to the surface.
"We need to claim her," Dante said. No greeting. No preamble. Just the thing that had been tearing them both apart since they'd brought Serena back.
"No." Kael didn't look up from his desk.
"Yes." Dante slammed his hands down on the surface, scattering papers everywhere. "Every second we don't complete the bond is torture. You feel it. I feel it. She feels it. We're suffering for no reason."
"We're suffering because pack law exists for a reason."
"Pack law is bullshit."
Kael finally looked up. His twin was vibrating with frustration and need and something close to desperation. It mirrored exactly what Kael was feeling, which made this harder.
"Do you remember what happened three hundred years ago?" Kael asked quietly.
"I don't care."
"Two twin Alphas shared a mate. They both claimed her. The bond was so strong it fractured the pack hierarchy. Warriors didn't know who to follow. The pack went to war with itself. Hundreds died before the surviving Alphas passed the law forbidding shared mates."
Dante turned away, running his hands through his hair like he wanted to tear it out. "That was three hundred years ago. We're different. We're stronger together than apart. The bond won't divide us, it will unite us."
"You don't know that."
"And you don't know it won't." Dante spun back around, his eyes blazing. "Kael, I can feel her heartbeat through the bond. I can feel her fear. She's terrified and alone and we're leaving her upstairs to suffer while we pretend this is just going to go away."
Kael pushed away from his desk and stood. The pain hit him like it always did now. A constant ache under his skin, like someone was slowly squeezing his heart. Every breath felt wrong. Every second without completing the mate bond felt like it was killing him.
"If we claim her, Elder Moira will demand our removal," Kael said flatly. "The Council will vote to strip our titles. Rival packs will see weakness and attack. We'll lose everything Dad built."
"Maybe some things deserve to be lost."
The words hung in the air between them like a slap.
Kael felt something crack inside his chest. "Dad died protecting that law. He died fighting to keep this pack unified. Are you really asking me to throw away his legacy?"
Dante's expression softened but his determination didn't waver. "I'm asking you to choose what you want for once in your life instead of what you think you should want. We've spent five years making decisions based on tradition and duty and what the Council expects. When do we get to choose something just because we want it?"
Kael wanted to argue. Wanted to list all the reasons why Dante was wrong. But the truth was he didn't know if he was right anymore. The bond thrummed through him like a second heartbeat and all he could think about was Serena sleeping down the hall. All he could feel was the pull of her, the safety of her, the rightness of her.
The door opened.
Their mother Vivian stood in the doorway, her expression grave. She was still wearing the clothes of a Luna even though she'd stepped down from the position after Dad's death. Silver streaked her black hair but her eyes were sharp as always.
"We need to talk," she said.
Kael and Dante exchanged a look. Their mother didn't interrupt their arguments unless something was serious.
Vivian closed the door behind her and sat in the chair across from Kael's desk. She folded her hands carefully like she was preparing to deliver bad news.
"I had Serena's blood tested," Vivian said without preamble.
Both Kael and Dante tensed. Blood testing was not normal procedure unless they suspected something specific.
"What did you find?" Kael asked carefully.
"She's not fully human," Vivian said. "Her bloodline carries dormant Luna genetics. Ancient ones. She's from the Silvermoon pack."
The room went silent.
"The Silvermoon pack was slaughtered twenty years ago," Dante said slowly. "That's not possible. No one survived."
"Someone did," Vivian said. "Serena's parents hid her in the human world before they died. They left her in foster care with no knowledge of what she is. She's the last of the bloodline."
Kael felt the weight of that settle over him like a stone. A Luna bloodline was rare. Incredibly rare. A girl who carried the dormant power of an entire destroyed pack, that was something else entirely. That was leverage. That was a weapon. That was something every rival Alpha would kill for.
"Does anyone else know?" he asked.
His mother's eyes darkened. "That's where it gets dangerous. Corvus Blackthorn has spies everywhere. If he learns that a Luna bloodline survived and is now bonded to you both, he won't hesitate to kill all three of you to claim her himself."
The name hit Kael like ice water. Corvus Blackthorn. Alpha of the Blackthorn pack. Second largest in the region. A predator who'd been looking for weakness in the Nightshade territory for years.
"Why would he want her that badly?" Dante asked but his voice had already changed. He understood. Kael understood too.
"A Luna with bloodline that strong combined with a bond to two powerful Alphas?" Vivian shook her head. "That's not just power, that's dominance. Corvus could use her to take over half the territories in North America if he claimed her. And more than that, if a shared mate bond with her doesn't destroy you like the law says it should, then everything the Council believes in becomes a lie."
Kael looked at his mother. Really looked at her. He'd been a child when his father died. Had barely understood the politics, had only known that his father was gone and he was supposed to keep the pack safe.
"What do you think we should do?" he asked quietly.
Vivian stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think you should choose love over law. I think your father would have wanted the same thing. But I also think you need to understand that if Corvus finds out about Serena before you complete the bond, none of us are getting out of this alive."
She turned to leave, then paused at the door. "The girl downstairs is not just your mate. She's the future of the pack. She's the reason the Silvermoon pack matters again. And she's in incredible danger."
The door closed behind her.
Kael sank back into his chair. The pressure in his chest had tripled. It wasn't just duty versus desire anymore. It wasn't just pack law versus personal need. Now there was an external threat. A predator who would come for them if he found out about Serena.
"We have to protect her," Dante said. It wasn't a question.
"I know."
"And we can't do that if we're not fully bonded to her. The stronger the mate bond, the more of our power she gets access to. The better she can defend herself."
Kael knew his brother was right. Knew it in the part of himself that thought like a warrior, like a protector. You didn't leave your mate vulnerable when enemies were circling.
"One week," Kael said. "We give the pack one week to adjust to her presence. Then we claim her properly. All three of us. And if the Council comes for our titles, they'll have to go through war to get them."
Dante's expression transformed. Relief. Joy. Fierce determination.
"Thank you," Dante said.
But Kael wasn't feeling relief. He was feeling the weight of a decision that was going to tear their world apart. One way or another, the next week was going to change everything.
Somewhere in the pack house, Serena slept.
And Corvus Blackthorn was probably already moving.