SERA'S POV - FIVE YEARS AGO
The knife catches the morning light.
I should run. Should fight. Should do something.
But I can't move. The triple rejection has destroyed me from the inside out. My wolf Lunara is dying in my mind, her howls getting weaker with every second. The mate bond scars burn like acid over my heart.
I'm already dead. Viktor's knife will just make it official.
"Any last words?" Viktor asks, stepping closer.
I look up at the uncle who's supposed to protect me. The uncle who convinced me to go to the Moonrise Ball. The uncle who stood by while I was humiliated and exiled.
"Why?" I whisper.
"Why?" He laughs. "Because your father made me look weak my entire life. The great Aldric Ashwood, so noble, so powerful. Everyone loved him while I was treated like dirt. Then he was executed for treason, and I finally got what should've been mine—Ashwood lands, Ashwood title, Ashwood respect."
He grabs my hair, forcing my head back.
"But as long as you're alive, people remember him. They pity you. They whisper about the great Ashwood bloodline. Well, I'm done with that. You die here, and the Ashwood name dies with you. Finally."
The knife moves toward my throat.
I close my eyes.
I'm sorry, Father. I failed you. I failed everyone.
Inside my mind, Lunara makes one last desperate sound—not a howl, but a whisper: "Don't give up. Please. Don't let them win."
But I'm so tired. So broken. What's the point?
The knife touches my skin—
A wolf howls in the distance.
Viktor freezes. "What the—"
More howls. Closer. Coming from deeper in the Outlands.
"Rogues," Viktor breathes, his face going pale. "A whole pack of them."
He drops me and backs toward the carriage. "You'll die out here anyway. Rogues will tear you apart, or the Outlands will. Either way, you're dead."
He climbs into the carriage and whips the horses into a run, leaving me bleeding in the dirt.
I lie there, staring up at the sky, listening to the howls get closer.
Rogues. Wild wolves who've lost their humanity. They'll kill me and eat me, probably.
At least it'll be faster than dying slowly from rejection wounds.
The howls surround me. I hear paws hitting the ground. Growls.
I close my eyes again.
Just make it quick. Please.
A wet nose touches my face.
I force my eyes open.
A massive silver wolf stands over me. Female. Her eyes are intelligent—not wild like a rogue. Behind her, a dozen more wolves form a protective circle.
Not rogues.
Something else.
The silver wolf shifts into human form. A woman in her thirties with scars covering her arms and a kind face.
"Easy, little one," she says softly. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Then kill me quickly," I whisper. "Please."
"Kill you?" The woman looks shocked. "Child, we're here to save you."
She lifts me carefully. I'm too weak to fight.
"I'm Lyra Moonshadow," she says. "And you, little omega, are coming with us."
"Why?"
"Because I felt your rejection from five miles away. Triple bond rejection." Lyra's voice fills with fury. "What kind of monsters would do that to an omega?"
"I deserved it. I'm weak. I'm nothing."
"You're not nothing." Lyra carries me toward the other wolves. "You survived what would kill most omegas. That makes you strong, not weak."
"Where are you taking me?"
"The Bloodmoon Temple. There's someone there who needs to meet you. Someone who's been waiting for you your whole life."
I want to ask more, but darkness pulls at me. The rejection wounds are too much. I'm dying.
"Stay with me," Lyra orders. "Don't you dare die. You hear me? Don't. You. Dare."
But I'm slipping away.
The last thing I hear before darkness takes me is Lyra's voice: "Ride faster! Get her to the Priestess before we lose her!"
Then nothing.
FLASHBACK ENDS
PRESNT DAY - SERA'S POV
I snap back to the present, gasping for air.
I'm in my chambers at the Summit. The memories still cling to me like poison—the rejection, the pain, Uncle Viktor's cruelty.
My hands shake as I touch my chest where the three mate bond scars hide under my armor. They're faded now, damaged but not completely dead.
Just like me.
A knock on my door makes me jump.
I grab my dagger by instinct. "Who is it?"
Silence.
Then a quiet voice: "It's Asher. I know you said stay away, but I need you to know something. Please."
My wolf Lunara perks up immediately. "MATE. Let him in."
"No," I whisper to her.
"He came alone. He's vulnerable. Just listen."
Against every instinct screaming at me not to, I cross to the door.
"You have thirty seconds," I say through the wood. "Then I'm calling my guards."
"I've thought about that night every day for five years," Asher says, his voice raw and broken. "The Moonrise Ball. Your face when I rejected you. The way you collapsed. How you cried and no one helped you."
Each word is a knife.
"I was wrong," he continues. "I was a coward. My father told me your bloodline was cursed, that associating with you would destroy our house. I believed him because it was easier than standing up to him. I chose duty over my heart, and it's the worst mistake I've ever made."
His voice cracks.
"I'll spend the rest of my life proving I'm worthy of a second chance. Even if you never forgive me. Even if you hate me forever. Just please—let me fight for you. Let me protect you. Let me be what I should've been five years ago."
I stand frozen, my hand on the door handle.
Before I can respond, a familiar drawl comes from inside my room.
"Breaking and entering through balcony doors, Asher? I taught you better than that."
I spin around.
Damon Nightshade lounges in the chair by my fireplace like he owns the place, somehow having entered my supposedly secure chambers without anyone noticing.
He smirks at my shock. "Your window locks are terrible, by the way."
My power flares. "How did you—"
The main door swings open.
Kael walks through like he has every right to be here. In the hallway behind him, three of my guards lie unconscious but breathing.
He closes the door. Locks it. His eyes lock with mine.
"We need to talk."
I'm trapped in my own chambers with all three of my former mates. The air crackles with mate bond tension so thick I can barely breathe. Every instinct screams danger, but my wolf is howling with joy.
"Get. Out." I pour every ounce of Alpha Prime command into the words.
All three princes strain against it, their alpha wolves fighting my power. They're strong enough to resist for several seconds—stronger than they should be.
Kael speaks through gritted teeth. "Not until you listen."
"Fine." My power presses harder. "Five minutes. Then I call my Legion."
Kael's expression turns deadly serious. "Morgana put a bounty on your head. One million gold for whoever kills you before the Bloodmoon Trial."
The room goes cold.
"And Viktor isn't planning to fight you fairly tomorrow," Damon adds. "We have spies who heard him bragging. He's going to use poison blades and illegal magic. He wants you dead."
"Why do you care?" I ask coldly.
"Because you're still our mate," Asher says desperately. "The bonds are damaged but not dead. We feel them. We—"
"You rejected me. You don't get to claim those bonds anymore."
"We know," Kael says. "But let us protect you anyway. Not because you need it—because we need to prove we're not the cowards we were five years ago."
I'm about to refuse when Damon pulls out a folded paper.
"There's more. Information about your father. About why he was really executed." Damon's face is serious for once. "Morgana framed him, Sera. He wasn't a traitor. And Viktor helped her do it."
My blood runs cold. "You're lying."
"I wish I was." He holds out the paper. "Read it yourself."
My hand shakes as I take it. Unfold it.
It's a contract. Signed by Viktor Ashwood and High Queen Morgana.
"In exchange for testimony against Aldric Ashwood and assistance in eliminating any Alpha Prime bloodline, Viktor Ashwood is granted full Ashwood territories and protection from prosecution."
The words blur.
My father. Not a traitor. Murdered.
And Viktor—my own blood—helped kill him.
"How did you get this?" I whisper.
"I have spies everywhere," Damon says quietly. "When I heard about the Queen of Wolves, something felt familiar. I investigated. Then I saw you tonight and I knew."
I stare at the three men who destroyed me. The three men who are now giving me the truth I've needed for five years.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because you deserve to know before you face Viktor," Asher says. "Because your father was a hero. Because we owe you truth, even if we can never repay what we took."
I open my mouth to respond—
An explosion rocks the building.
My window shatters. Three assassins in black masks crash through, weapons drawn.
"There's the bounty!" one shouts.
Before I can react, Kael, Damon, and Asher move as one.
Putting themselves between me and the assassins.
Protecting me.
Just like they should have five years ago.