Kieran
I was in the middle of discussing security arrangements when everything went to hell.
We were finalizing who would attend the Elders' meeting with us, formalities more than necessity, and assigning guards for the females while we were away. Cade and I were in complete agreement on one thing: Samantha would be protected at all times.
Enoch had volunteered to act as her personal guard. Now that he was mated, Cade no longer objected. Not that I doubted Enoch's loyalty, or Samantha's, but my wolf didn't like the idea of an unmated male near our unmated female.
I was mid-thought when the study doors slammed open.
"What is the meaning of—" I started, already growling.
The staff member looked like she'd run for her life. "Roxy," she gasped. "Queen Luna…she's in the dining room."
The room tilted.
Callen frowned. "Roxy? And Queen Luna?"
'SAMANTHA,' Cade roared. 'YOU IDIOT!'
I didn't think. I moved.
The corridor blurred. My heart thundered. I didn't know what I expected to find in the dining room, but it sure as hell wasn't this.
Mayla was on her knees. Cameran too. My mother—my mother—braced against the floor, teeth clenched as she fought for breath.
And Samantha—
She stood at the center of it all.
Still. Silent. As in a trance.
Completely focused on one person.
Roxy.
Roxy lay crumpled at her feet, bones twisted wrong, blood streaking the marble. Broken. Crushed.
The air was wrong.
Not heavy—dominant.
It pressed into my lungs, into my spine, into my wolf. It wasn't pain. It was Alpha command.
Stronger than mine.
The realization should have enraged me.
Instead—it terrified me.
Where is it coming from?
Only one person was screaming.
Roxy.
Everyone else was simply enduring the pressure of an Alpha.
A female Alpha.
No.
My mate.
How is this possible?
She's not Alpha born.
Was she?
"What is happening?" I demanded, but my voice sounded distant—even to me.
Cade prowled smugly, tail high, teeth bared in satisfaction. 'LOOK AT HER.
Her power didn't strike me—it recognized me. Slid over my skin like a lover's touch, curling around my own aura, humming in resonance.
Enoch and Callen skidded in behind me and collapsed with groans. I barely registered it.
Samantha didn't look at me.
Her eyes burned.
Silver flames—alive, dancing, hungry.
My blood went cold.
How.
It shouldn't be possible.
Is she a…
My mother's voice rasped through the pressure. "Help her."
Absentmindedly, I took a step toward Roxy—
"No," my mother snapped. "Help your mate. She's losing control."
The truth slammed into me. Standing this close, my wolf felt it—the brutal restraint, the power she was forcing down with sheer will. She wasn't losing control, she was containing it. She was caging something that should never have been caged.
Cade went still inside me, not in fear—but in reverence. If she ever chose to release it fully, the world wouldn't burn… it would kneel.
I turned back to Samantha and approached slowly, carefully, like stepping toward a wild god that hadn't decided whether to destroy me yet.
"Little wolf," I said, soft as I could manage. "Let her go. I'm here."
She snarled.
The sound was raw. Feral. Her body shook with it. "She wants you."
The words ripped through me.
Me?
Was this…jealousy? Rage? Claim?
'YOUR PAST IS FILTHY,' Cade snarled. 'SHE CAME FOR YOU. SHE PROVOKED OUR MATE. I WARNED YOU.'
What had Roxy done? What had she said to provoke this?
The room groaned under Samantha's aura. Sweat poured down their faces. Wolves strained, shaking.
I cupped her face, grounding myself in the feel of her skin. "Samantha. Look at me. Our people can't hold much longer."
In the short time I've known her, I've learned one thing: she would never put the people she cares for in danger.
Her gaze snapped to mine.
The flames flared.
Silver fire answered something ancient inside her.
I kissed her.
Gently.
Grounding her.
Her breath stuttered. Her power shuddered.
"That's it," I growled against her mouth. "Come back to me."
The pressure cracked like ice.
Power receded in violent waves. The flames dimmed. Her shoulders sagged into my hands.
Around us, wolves collapsed, gasping, some crying out as air finally returned.
"Callen," I ordered hoarsely, "take Roxy to a room. Get a healer."
Samantha tore herself out of my arms like my touch burned her.
Her glare was sharp enough to cut bone.
Your Majesty," Callen said hesitantly, "perhaps we should… escort her off the grounds. A car ride home would be generous. If not—"
"No," I snapped. "She stays. She gets treated."
Guards lifted Roxy.
Samantha's disgust hit me harder than her power ever could.
I reached for her. "Sam—"
"She needs you," she spat. "Your Majesty."
The words flayed.
She wrapped her arms around herself and walked out.
I didn't follow.
I couldn't move.
Silence rang in my ears.
"Was anyone going to mention," Enoch rasped, "that Samantha is an Alpha?"
My mother straightened slowly, eyes dark with awe and something like fear.
"Oh," she said quietly. "She is far more than that."