Seraphina's POV
"Execution?" The word rips from my throat. "They want me executed?"
The scarred male—Theron called him Axel—nods grimly. "The petition claims you're a danger to pack stability. That your power is unnatural and needs to be... eliminated."
My legs threaten to give out. Twenty-four hours ago, I was trying to prove I wasn't defective. Now my former pack wants me dead.
"Let them try." Theron's voice drops to something deadly. "I'd love an excuse to wipe Silver Creek off the map."
"We can't start a war over one petition," Axel argues. "The Council—"
"The Council can burn." Silver eyes flash with rage. "She's under my protection now. Anyone who touches her dies screaming."
The possessiveness in his tone makes my wolf purr. Makes my traitorous heart skip.
No. I won't be grateful that the man who killed my parents is now threatening war to protect me.
"There has to be another way," I manage. "Something that doesn't involve mass murder."
Both males turn to stare at me like I've grown a second head.
"You want to negotiate with wolves trying to kill you?" Axel asks incredulously.
"I want to not be responsible for hundreds of deaths!" My voice cracks. "I've had enough blood on my conscience."
Theron's expression softens slightly. He dismisses Axel with a wave, then turns his full attention on me.
"You have no blood on your conscience, little wolf. Not yet." He steps closer, and I force myself not to back away. "But you need to understand something about power. Those who have it must be willing to use it. Otherwise, they become victims."
"I don't want power. I just want—" I stop, because what do I want? To go back to Silver Creek? Impossible. To be normal? Too late. "I just want to survive."
"Then let me teach you how." He offers his hand. "Come. It's time you learned what you're really capable of."
"Now? Silver Creek just asked for my execution and you want to give me a training session?"
"I want to make sure that when they inevitably send assassins, you can defend yourself." His jaw tightens. "I won't always be there to protect you, Seraphina. You need to be able to protect yourself."
The thought terrifies me. But he's right.
I take his hand.
The mate bond flares hot at the contact, racing up my arm and straight to my chest. Theron's eyes flash silver, and I know he feels it too.
"This way," he says, his voice rougher than before.
He leads me through the Citadel's halls until we reach a massive training room. Weapons line the walls—swords, spears, things I don't have names for. The floor is padded, and windows high above let in natural light.
"Shift," Theron commands.
"What?"
"Your wolf form. Shift now."
"I've only done it twice! I don't even know—"
"You know." He crosses his arms, waiting. "Your wolf is powerful, Seraphina. She's been dormant for twenty-three years, suppressed by dark magic. But she's awake now. And she wants out."
He's right. I can feel Luna pacing inside me, eager to stretch, to run, to fight.
I close my eyes and reach for her.
The shift comes easier this time. My bones crack and reform, but it's less painful. More natural. Within seconds, I stand on four paws, my silver-white fur gleaming in the sunlight.
"Beautiful," Theron breathes.
I snap my jaws at him. Beautiful won't save me from assassins.
He laughs—actually laughs—and the sound is gorgeous and infuriating.
"Now," he says, beginning to circle me. "Show me your strength. Attack me."
I hesitate. Attack the Lycan King? That's suicide.
"I won't hurt you," he promises. "But I need to see what you can do."
Still, I don't move.
"Seraphina." His voice hardens. "In three days, maybe less, wolves will come to kill you. They'll be trained. Experienced. Ruthless. If you can't defend yourself, you die. So attack. Me. Now."
The command in his voice triggers something primal. My wolf snarls and launches forward.
I'm fast. Faster than I expected. My jaws snap at his throat—
He sidesteps easily, catching my scruff and gently flipping me. I land on my back, the breath knocked out of me.
"Too straightforward," he critiques. "You're powerful, but you telegraph your moves. Again."
I scramble up and attack from a different angle.
He blocks again. And again. And again.
Each time I attack, he counters effortlessly, teaching me with his body what I'm doing wrong.
"Use your aura," he instructs after my tenth failed attempt. "You're not just physically strong—you have dominance. Let it out."
I don't know how, so I just... push.
Power explodes from me like a shockwave.
Theron actually stumbles back a step, his eyes widening with surprise. "There it is. Good. Again, but this time while you attack."
We train for what feels like hours. He teaches me how to use my Alpha aura to make opponents hesitate. How to read body language. How to bite to disable rather than kill.
"Why not kill?" I ask after shifting back to human form, panting and exhausted.
He tosses me a water bottle. "Because unnecessary killing makes enemies. Strategic killing establishes dominance." His silver eyes pin me. "You're going to be a Queen, Seraphina. Queens don't slaughter mindlessly. They remove threats efficiently."
"I never agreed to be a Queen."
"You will."
That arrogant certainty makes my temper flare. "Stop saying that! Stop acting like I don't have a choice!"
"You have plenty of choices." He steps closer, crowding me against the wall. "You can accept the mate bond or fight it. You can learn to use your power or let others control you with fear. You can hide here forever or step into the role you were born for."
"I wasn't born to be anything," I snap. "I was born, my parents were murdered, and I spent fifteen years being told I was defective."
"Your parents weren't murdered—they were executed for breaking my laws." His voice softens. "Laws that exist for good reason, Seraphina. If every wolf could steal from their king without consequences, chaos would consume us."
"They were trying to protect me!"
"I know. That's why I mourned them." He cups my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Elaine and Marcus were my friends once. Good wolves caught in an impossible situation. They knew the penalty for theft. Knew I'd have to enforce my laws. But they did it anyway because they loved you more than their own lives."
Tears blur my vision. "Then why didn't you help them? Why didn't you find another way?"
"Because there was no other way." Pain flashes across his face. "If I'd shown mercy, if I'd bent my laws for friends, every Alpha in the territories would see it as weakness. Wolves would die in the power struggles that followed. Sometimes, Seraphina, being a good ruler means making choices that destroy you inside."
I hate that I understand. Hate that his logic makes sense.
"They trusted me to finish what they started," he continues. "To find you. Protect you. Help you become what they knew you could be." His thumb brushes away my tears. "I've spent fifteen years searching. Fifteen years mourning them while hunting for their daughter. And now that I've found you..."
"What?" I whisper.
"Now I'll do whatever it takes to keep you alive." He leans closer, his breath warm against my face. "Even if you hate me for it."
The mate bond thrums between us, so strong it's hard to think. Hard to remember why I should push him away.
"What do you want from me?" My voice breaks.
"Everything." His answer is immediate. "Your trust. Your partnership. Your heart, eventually, if I earn it."
"You killed my parents."
"I executed criminals who knew the consequences of their actions." He doesn't look away. "I won't apologize for enforcing laws that keep thousands of wolves safe. But I will spend the rest of my very long life making sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain."
"By forcing me to marry you?"
"By giving you the power to destroy everyone who hurt you." His smile is sharp. "In seven days, I'm announcing our binding ceremony. Every Alpha in the Northern Territories will witness the Lycan King claim his Queen."
My heart stops. "Seven days? That's—"
"Not enough time for the Council to organize an execution," he interrupts. "Not enough time for Silver Creek to mount a serious attack. Just enough time to make you untouchable."
"I haven't agreed to this!"
"You will." That infuriating confidence again.
"What makes you so sure?"
He pulls back slightly, studying my face. "Because you're smart enough to see the benefits. As my Queen, you'll have the power to punish everyone who wronged you. As my mate, you'll have protection no other wolf can provide. And as my wife..."
He trails off, but the heat in his eyes finishes the sentence.
My face burns. "That's not—we're not—I don't even like you!"
"You don't have to like me." His voice drops low, intimate. "You just have to trust that I'll keep you safe while you learn to keep yourself safe."
Before I can respond, Axel bursts through the door.
"My King. We have a situation."
Theron's expression goes deadly. "What kind of situation?"
"A Silver Creek wolf just crossed into our territory. Alone. Unarmed." Axel's face is grim. "He's asking for an audience with Seraphina."
My stomach drops. "Who?"
Axel meets my eyes.
"Kael Thornridge. Your former mate. He says he needs to talk to you before the binding ceremony. Says it's a matter of life and death."