POV: Seraphina
Kael is dying.
I feel it through the mate bond his life force draining, his heart stuttering, darkness pulling him under.
NO! I scream, running toward his collapsed form.
Ezra steps between us. Your mate is finished, niece. Now you're mine.
Rage floods through me. Not the careful, controlled anger I've learned to manage. This is primal. Absolute.
White light explodes from my body brighter than ever before. The power my mother locked away. The strength of the prophesied Luna.
All of it unleashed at once.
Ezra's smile falters. Impossible. You can't
I reach into his stolen power with my Moonborn senses. I can feel the bonds he's forced onto the rogues. The blood magic from my mother that he consumed.
And I rip it all away.
Ezra screams. Every controlled rogue collapses as their forced bonds shatter. The stolen power tears out of him like I'm pulling his soul through his skin.
You're killing me! he gasps.
Good. My voice doesn't sound like mine. It echoes with power. You killed my mother. You're killing my mate. Now you die.
I pull harder. Ezra's body convulses. His violet eyes dim.
Then Isaac's hand grabs my shoulder. Stop! If you take all his power, it'll corrupt you like it did him!
I don't care!
Kael does! Isaac spins me around. Through the bond feel him. He's begging you to stop.
I reach through our connection. Kael is barely conscious, but I feel his terror. Not for himself for me.
Don't become a monster to save me, his thoughts whisper. Please.
I release Ezra. He drops to the ground, powerless but alive.
Finn! I shout. Lock him up. Maximum security.
Warriors drag Ezra away. I don't care about him anymore. I only care about one thing.
I drop beside Kael. He's shifted back to human, blood pooling beneath him. His chest barely moves.
No, no, no. I press my hands to his wounds. White light flows from my palms healing power.
But nothing happens. The wounds don't close.
Why isn't it working? I sob.
Isaac kneels beside me. Ezra's attack was infused with corrupted power. It's blocking your healing.
Then fix it! You're Moonborn help him!
I can't. His voice breaks. Only you can. Through the mate bond. But it'll cost you.
I don't care what it costs!
Your power. Isaac looks at me seriously. To heal this kind of corruption, you'll have to channel all your Moonborn abilities through the bond. It'll save him, but you'll be powerless afterward. Maybe forever.
The prophesied Luna. The most powerful Moonborn in a thousand years. Give it all up to save one wolf.
I don't hesitate.
Tell me what to do.
Isaac guides me. I open the mate bond fully no walls, no protection. I pour everything into Kael. Every ounce of power my mother gave me. Every gift of the Moonborn bloodline.
The white light around me grows brighter, then starts fading. Dimming. Dying.
But Kael's wounds close. His breathing steadies. Color returns to his face.
When the light finally goes out, I collapse across his chest. Exhausted. Empty.
But alive. Both of us alive.
Kael's eyes flutter open. Seraphina?
I'm here. I touch his face. You're okay.
He sits up slowly, looking at the battlefield. The defeated rogues. The allied packs standing together. Ezra captured.
Then he looks at me. Really looks. His expression changes.
Your eyes, he whispers. They're not glowing anymore.
I reach for my Moonborn senses. The ones that let me feel pack bonds, sense lies, wield impossible power.
Nothing. Just empty silence where my abilities used to be.
I gave it up, I tell him. To save you.
Kael's face goes pale. No. Seraphina, no. You were the prophesied Luna
And now I'm just your mate. I smile through my tears. That's all I want to be.
He pulls me into his arms. Through the bond still there, still strong I feel his love. His grief for what I lost. His determination to make it worth it.
The allied Alphas approach. The scarred one speaks first. The Moonborn Luna saved us all. Without her power
I'm not Moonborn anymore, I interrupt. I'm just Seraphina. Luna of Silvercrest.
Then the alliance? another Alpha asks. Without your power to bind us
We bind ourselves, Kael says, standing. Through choice. Through trust. The way it should be.
The Alphas look at each other. Then, one by one, they nod.
We agree, the scarred Alpha says. You saved us without using your power to control us. That's worth more than any forced bond.
Relief floods through me. Maybe I didn't need to be the prophesied Luna after all. Maybe being myself was enough.
Finn runs up, breathing hard. We need you both at the compound. Now.
What's wrong?
It's Damien. He woke up. Finn's face is grim. And he's asking to make a deal.
We rush back to find Damien awake in the holding cell, looking surprisingly calm for someone facing execution.
What deal? Kael demands.
Information for my life. Damien's eyes gleam. I'll tell you everything about the conspiracy. Who really killed Marcus. Why they wanted the Moonborn.
You already told us you killed Marcus, I say.
I poisoned him, yes. But on someone else's orders. Damien leans forward. Ezra wasn't the mastermind. He was working for someone too.
Ice runs down my spine. Who?
Someone who's been planning this for thirty years. Someone who knew your mother. Who helped arrange your meeting with Marcus. Damien's smile is cruel. Someone you trust completely.
Tell us, Kael growls.
First, I want guarantees. Exile instead of execution. Protection from
The cell door explodes inward.
A figure steps through the smoke. Someone I know. Someone I've trusted.
Uncle Isaac stands there, but his eyes are different. Cold. Calculating.
I'm sorry, Seraphina, he says calmly. But I can't let him talk.
He raises his hand. White light Moonborn power shoots toward Damien.
And I realize with horror: Isaac was the mastermind all along.