Kael's wolf and Cain's massive black beast collided with the force of an earthquake.
The impact sent shockwaves across the battlefield, wolves from all armies stumbling backward from the sheer pressure of their combined auras.
Seraphine's fingers dug into the balcony railing, her knuckles white as she watched.
Kael was already injured. Blood matted his fur. His movements, while still precise, had lost a fraction of their usual fluidity.
And Cain knew it.
The rival Alpha King fought with calculated brutality, targeting Kael's wounded shoulder again and again, trying to cripple him further.
Kael evaded most strikes, but not all.
Cain's fangs grazed his ribs. His claws raked across Kael's back.
More blood.
More wounds.
"He can't keep this up," Darius muttered beside Seraphine, his hands clenched into fists. "He's losing too much blood."
"He has to," Seraphine whispered. "He has to win."
Below, Kael managed to get under Cain's guard, his jaws clamping down on the rival Alpha's foreleg.
Bone cracked.
Cain howled in rage and pain, but didn't retreat. Instead, he used his superior weight to slam Kael into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The sickening thuds made Seraphine's stomach twist.
Kael's grip loosened.
Cain wrenched free, blood pouring from his mangled leg but his eyes blazing with triumph.
He circled Kael slowly, deliberately, like a predator savoring the kill.
"Look at the great Kael Dreadmore," Cain's voice carried across the battlefield he'd shifted his throat partially to speak while remaining in wolf form. "The Ruthless King. Brought low by defending an omega."
He lunged again.
Kael tried to dodge, but his injured body was a fraction too slow.
Cain's jaws closed around his throat.
Not crushing.
Not yet.
But positioned to kill with one bite.
"Yield," Cain growled. "Yield, and I'll let your pack live."
The battlefield went deathly silent.
Kael's silver eyes found Seraphine on the balcony.
Even from this distance, she could read everything in that gaze.
Love. Regret. Determination.
And something else.
A message.
Run.
"No," Seraphine breathed.
Kael's eyes closed, resignation settling over his features.
He was going to yield.
He was going to sacrifice himself for the pack.
For her.
"NO!"
The scream tore from Seraphine's throat.
And something inside her shattered.
Power exploded from her core not the gentle awakening from before, but a tsunami of raw, ancient energy.
The air itself seemed to crack.
Every wolf on the battlefield all three armies, every Alpha, every warrior froze mid-motion.
Their bodies locked in place as if invisible chains had wrapped around them.
Cain's jaws, poised to crush Kael's throat, couldn't close the final inch.
His eyes went wide with shock and terror.
Seraphine didn't know what she was doing. Didn't understand the power coursing through her veins like liquid moonlight.
She only knew one thing.
Not him. Not Kael. Never.
She vaulted over the balcony railing.
Darius shouted her name, reaching for her—but he was frozen too, unable to move.
Seraphine should have broken every bone in her body from the thirty-foot drop.
Instead, she landed lightly, power cushioning her fall.
She walked forward through the frozen battlefield, her eyes glowing brilliant silver-white.
Wolves on all sides could only watch, paralyzed, as she approached.
When she reached Kael and Cain, she raised her hand.
Cain's wolf form was torn away from Kael's throat by an invisible force, thrown backward twenty feet.
The rival Alpha King crashed into the ground, gasping.
Kael's eyes were wide with shock as he shifted back to human form.
"Seraphine—what—how?"
She knelt beside him, her hands hovering over his wounds.
The power flowing through her seemed to have a mind of its own, pouring into his injuries.
Flesh knitted together. Blood stopped flowing. Broken bones realigned.
In seconds, Kael's wounds were completely healed.
The entire battlefield watched in stunned silence.
Seraphine stood slowly, turning to face the three armies surrounding them.
Her power still held them all frozen over a thousand wolves, completely immobilized by her will alone.
"No more," she said quietly.
Her voice carried across the battlefield with supernatural clarity, reaching every ear.
"No more fighting. No more dying. Not for me."
She looked at each of the three Alpha Kings in turn.
Cain, still on the ground where she'd thrown him.
Ronan, frozen mid-shift at the western border.
Thaddeus, his calculating expression replaced with genuine fear.
"You want me?" Seraphine's voice was steady despite the tears streaming down her face. "Fine. I'll come willingly."
"No!" Kael lunged for her, but she raised her hand and his body froze too.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to him, her voice breaking. "But I won't watch you die for me."
She turned back to the Alpha Kings.
"I'll go with whichever of you promises to leave Moonwalk Pack alone. No retribution. No revenge. Just... leave them in peace."
"Seraphine, don't" Kael strained against her power, his voice desperate.
"You taught me to be strong," she said softly, meeting his eyes. "To stand. To fight."
A sad smile crossed her face.
"This is me fighting. My way."
She looked at Cain. "Do you agree? I come with you, you leave Moonwalk alone?"
Cain struggled to his feet, his expression a mix of awe and greed.
"Yes," he said quickly. "Yes, I agree."
"Liar," Thaddeus called out, his voice strained from fighting her power. "He'll take you and come back for the territory anyway."
"Then you promise," Seraphine said, turning to him. "Promise, and I'll come with you instead."
"This is insane," Ronan growled. "We should just"
"You should listen," Seraphine interrupted, her power pulsing warningly.
The three Alpha Kings all felt it the reminder that she could destroy them all with a thought.
"I'll go with one of you," she said. "Peacefully. But only if you swear a blood oath to leave Moonwalk Pack alone. Forever."
The three Alphas exchanged glances.
Blood oaths were sacred. Unbreakable. To violate one meant death not just for the oath-breaker, but for their entire bloodline.
"I'll do it," Thaddeus said first. "I'll swear the oath."
"Only because you think you can control her," Cain snarled. "I'll swear it too. My word is better than his."
"Both of you are scheming bastards," Ronan spat. "I'll take the oath. At least I'm honest about what I want."
The three began arguing among themselves, their alliance fracturing before everyone's eyes.
Exactly as Kael had predicted.
But none of it mattered to Seraphine anymore.
She was so tired. The power was draining her, eating away at her strength with every second she maintained control over a thousand wolves.
Her legs trembled.
Her vision blurred at the edges.
"Seraphine." Kael's voice was gentle now, no longer fighting her hold. "Look at me."
She did.
His silver eyes were full of love and pride and desperation.
"You don't have to do this," he said softly. "We can find another way."
"There is no other way." Her voice cracked. "If I let go, they'll kill you. All three of them together. And I can't I won't "
Her power flickered.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
Kael broke free of her hold.
He crossed to her in two strides, his hands framing her face.
"Listen to me," he said urgently. "You are not a bargaining chip. You are not a prize to be traded."
His thumbs brushed away her tears.
"You are my mate. My queen. My equal."
"Kael"
"And I would rather die fighting beside you than live knowing I let you sacrifice yourself for me."
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"So here's what's going to happen. You're going to release everyone. And then we're going to stand together and face whatever comes."
"They'll kill you"
"Maybe. Or maybe your power and my strength combined will be enough."
He pulled back slightly, his eyes blazing.
"Trust me. Trust us."
Seraphine's chest ached with love and fear and exhaustion.
"Together?" she whispered.
"Together," he confirmed.
''She closed her eyes, took a deep breath..... and let go...''