Kade's POV
What are you really, Sera?
The question hangs in the air between us.
She stares at me with wide, terrified eyes. The silver markings on her arms pulse with light, ancient symbols I've only seen in one place a history book about the Moonblood Dynasty. The royal family that was massacred twenty years ago.
The royal family that supposedly had no survivors.
I don't know, she whispers. The markings are fading now, sinking back into her skin. I don't know what I am.
My wolf is going insane. It recognized those symbols before my brain did. Recognized what they mean.
Royal blood.
Which is impossible. The Moonbloods are dead. Everyone knows that.
Unless they're not.
Come with me. I grab her wrist gently, not like when I marked her. Now. We need to talk somewhere private.
She doesn't resist. I pull her out of the pantry, through the kitchen where shocked servants scatter, and down a hallway to my private study.
The moment we're inside, I lock the door and activate the silence spell. No one can hear us now.
Sit. I point to a chair.
She sits, hands trembling in her lap. Through the bond, I feel her fear. And underneath it, confusion.
She really doesn't know.
I pull out an old leather book from my shelf. It's a historical record of the five territories, passed down through Alpha families. I flip to the section about the Moonblood Dynasty and set it in front of her.
Look at this.
She leans forward. The page shows a detailed drawing of the royal family's power manifestation silver light, glowing marks, ancient symbols.
The exact same symbols that just appeared on her skin.
Her face goes pale. No. That's... that's impossible.
Is it? I lean against my desk. You have power no omega should have. Markings that match the old royal bloodline. And you said yourself you don't remember anything before age four.
Because I was abandoned as a baby. The woman who raised me found me
When? I interrupt. When did she find you?
Sera's mouth opens. Closes. I don't know. She never told me exactly.
The royal massacre happened twenty years ago. I flip to another page showing the timeline. The only survivor was supposedly a four-year-old daughter. But her body was never found. They assumed she died in the fire.
I see the moment understanding hits her. The color drains completely from her face.
You think I'm... She can't even say it.
I think you might be the lost Moonblood heir. I say it plainly. No point dancing around it.
She laughs. It's a broken, desperate sound. That's insane. I'm nobody. I'm an omega who scrubs floors and gets arrested for crimes I didn't commit. I'm not royalty.
Royalty in hiding might look exactly like that. I cross my arms. Think about it, Sera. If you were the heir, if you survived the massacre, whoever killed your family would still want you dead. What better way to hide than as a powerless omega?
She's shaking now. This is ridiculous. If I had royal blood, I would know. I would feel it.
Would you? Or would someone have made sure you didn't? I tap the book. The Moonbloods had access to powerful magic. Blood seals. Memory blocks. They could have hidden your power until you were ready.
Or until something triggered it. Like a forced mate bond.
Her eyes snap to mine. You think marking me broke the seal?
I think it's possible. Mate bonds are powerful magic. They can override almost anything. I pause. When did the power start showing?
The night you marked me. She touches her neck where my bite scarred. I cried, and my tears glowed silver.
I feel something twist in my chest. Guilt. I forced this bond, and in doing so, I might have exposed her to whoever wants her dead.
The frame-up, I say quietly. The arrest. What if it wasn't random? What if someone on the Council recognized you and wanted you executed before your power woke up?
Sera stands abruptly. This is too much. You're making connections that aren't there. I'm not special. I'm not royal. I'm just
Her hands start glowing again. Brighter than before. The silver light fills my entire study.
Just what? I ask softly. Just a normal omega? Because normal omegas don't do this.
She looks at her glowing hands with something like horror. Make it stop. I don't want this.
You can't make it stop. It's part of you. I move closer, and my wolf pushes forward, drawn to her power. To her. You need to accept what you are.
I don't know what I am!
Then we'll figure it out. Together.
The word slips out before I can stop it. Together. Like she's not just a forced bond. Like she's actually my mate.
Sera stares at me. Why do you even care? You've spent a week avoiding me. Calling me a weakness. A criminal.
Because I was wrong. The admission costs me. About some of it, at least. You're not a weakness. You're something else entirely.
What?
Dangerous. I meet her eyes. To yourself. To whoever's hunting you. And possibly to me.
She flinches. So you still don't want me.
I didn't say that.
The words hang between us. Through the bond, something shifts. Warms.
Her power flares brighter, and suddenly I can feel it really feel it. Not just see the light, but sense the depth of it. The ocean of power sleeping inside her.
And it recognizes me. Calls to me. My wolf answers with a possessive growl.
Sera gasps. Did you feel that?
Yes.
What was it?
The mate bond. I step closer. Really connecting for the first time. Because you're finally letting your walls down.
I'm not She stops. Because she is. The fear and confusion have cracked her defences.
I can feel her now. Not just surface emotions, but deeper. Her loneliness. Her desperate need to belong somewhere. Her fear that she's broken.
You're not broken, I say quietly.
How do you know?
Because I can feel what you feel. And you're stronger than you think.
She looks up at me, and something in her expression shifts. Softens.
Before I can say anything else, a sharp knock pounds on my door.
Kade! Ash's voice is urgent. You need to see this. Now.
I growl in frustration but move to unlock the door. What?
Ash stands there holding a sealed envelope. His face is grim. This just arrived by Council courier. It's addressed to you. Marked urgent.
I take the envelope. The Council seal is stamped in red wax. My gut tells me this is bad news.
I break the seal and read.
My blood turns to ice.
What is it? Sera asks.
I look at her, then at the letter. Councilman Marcus Grey is coming here. Tomorrow. For a formal inspection.
Ash curses under his breath. That's not standard procedure.
No. I crush the letter in my fist. It's not. He's coming here for a reason.
Sera goes very pale. What reason?
I look at her glowing hands, at the royal markings that are starting to show again through her skin.
You. He's coming for you.
Through the bond, I feel her terror spike.
And I realize with sudden, absolute certainty: Marcus Grey was involved in the royal massacre. He knows what Sera is.
And he's coming to finish what he started twenty years ago.