Mara woke to screaming.
Not Damian's this time.
Hers.
She bolted upright, gasping. Sweat-soaked. Heart slamming.
The dream—not a dream. A vision.
She'd been in the trial chamber. Five Alphas circling. But they all had Damian's face. All begging her to choose. All burning when she couldn't.
And Selene, standing in the center. Laughing.
"You can't save them all, daughter. So you'll save none."
"Mara." Damian's hands on her shoulders. Grounding. "Breathe. You're here. You're safe."
She looked at him. Real. Solid. Alive.
"She's in my dreams now," Mara whispered.
"I know." His jaw clenched. "I felt it through the bond. Your terror. It woke me up."
She checked her wrist.
28:03:15
Thirty-seven hours until Trial One.
"I can't do this," she said.
"Yes, you can."
"You don't understand—" Her voice broke. "In the dream, they all had your face. All of them. And I couldn't tell which one was real. I couldn't—"
A knock at the door.
Sharp. Authoritative.
They both froze.
"Who—?" Mara started.
Damian was already moving. Pulling on pants. "Stay here."
He crossed to the door. Looked through the peephole.
Cursed.
"Who is it?" Mara pulled the sheet around herself.
"Seraphina." He unlocked the door. "And she brought company."
The door opened.
Seraphina stood there immaculate as always. Victorian collar. Silver braid.
But behind her, two Council enforcers. And someone else.
A woman. Ancient. Scarred. Eyes that glowed faint violet.
"We need to talk," Seraphina said. "Now."
Five minutes later, they sat in Damian's living room.
Mara dressed quickly—jeans, sweater. Feeling exposed despite clothing.
The violet-eyed woman studied her with unnerving intensity.
"This is Magdalene," Seraphina said. "Council Eldest. She's—old."
"How old?" Damian asked.
"I was alive when Rome fell," Magdalene said. Her voice was dry parchment. "I've seen six Moonborne awaken. Five of them died during the trials."
Mara's stomach dropped. "Why are you here?"
"To prepare you." Magdalene leaned forward. "Seraphina believes you're different. Stronger. I came to see if she's right."
"And?"
Magdalene's gaze swept over her. Paused at her wrist. At the mark.
"You're surviving longer than most," she said. "But survival isn't the same as victory."
"Then tell me how to win."
"I can't." Magdalene sat back. "The trials are designed to be impossible. They're not tests of strength. They're tests of sacrifice."
Damian's hand found Mara's. Squeezed.
"Trial One," Magdalene continued, "isn't about resisting seduction. It's about resisting yourself."
"I don't understand."
"The five Alphas won't try to make you want them." Magdalene's eyes glowed brighter. "They'll make you want to escape. To run. To choose freedom over the bond."
Mara's breath caught.
"They'll offer you everything you've ever wanted," Magdalene said. "Anonymity. Safety. A life where you're not hunted. Not claimed. Not seen."
"But I don't want that anymore."
"Your conscious mind doesn't." Seraphina spoke now. "But your trauma does. Your foster care years. Your need for control. Your fear of being abandoned again."
She leaned forward.
"They'll weaponize your wounds, Mara. And when you're broken open—when you're most vulnerable—that's when Selene will strike."
Silence.
Then Damian: "How do we prevent that?"
"You don't," Magdalene said. "She has to face it. Alone."
"That's not happening—"
"It already is." Seraphina cut him off. "The trial starts in—" she checked her watch, "—thirty-six hours. Mara enters the chamber alone. No guards. No pack. No you."
Damian stood. "Then we don't go."
"Then you both die." Magdalene's voice was flat. "The countdown doesn't stop just because you refuse. It accelerates. You have twenty-eight days now. Refuse the trial, and you'll have twenty-eight hours."
Mara looked at her mark. As if on cue, it pulsed.
28:02:47
Still ticking.
"What happens if I pass?" she asked.
"The countdown slows," Seraphina said. "Not stops—slows. You gain time. Stability."
"And if I fail?"
Silence.
Then Magdalene: "The bond shatters. You die instantly. Damian survives—but his wolf goes feral. He'll slaughter everyone within a mile radius before the Council puts him down."
Mara's hand tightened on Damian's.
"So either way," she said bitterly, "people die."
"Not if you win." Seraphina stood. "Which is why we're here. To prepare you."
"How?"
Magdalene reached into her coat. Pulled out a small vial.
Clear liquid. Glowing faintly silver.
"This is moonwater," she said. "Distilled from tears shed during a Moonborne's awakening. It's—rare. Precious."
She handed it to Mara.
"Drink this one hour before the trial. It will amplify your power. But—" Her expression hardened. "—it will also amplify your pain. Every wound. Every fear. Every trauma. You'll feel it all at once."
Mara stared at the vial. "Why would I want that?"
"Because the Alphas will use your pain against you," Seraphina said. "If you've already faced it—if you've survived it once—you'll survive it again."
Mara looked at Damian.
He looked wrecked.
"Don't," he said. "Don't drink that. There has to be another way—"
"There isn't." Mara pocketed the vial. "If this is what it takes, I'll do it."
"Mara—"
"I'm not losing you." She cupped his face. "Not to the trial. Not to Selene. Not to anything."
He closed his eyes. Leaned into her touch.
"I hate this," he whispered.
"I know." She kissed him softly. "But we don't have a choice."
Seraphina and Magdalene left instructions.
Detailed. Clinical.
"Arrive at Council chambers at sundown tomorrow," Seraphina said. "Wear white. No jewelry. No weapons."
"Why white?"
"Symbolic. Purity. Innocence. The trial tests whether you're worthy of the bond."
Mara almost laughed. "I'm not pure. Or innocent."
"No." Seraphina's expression softened fractionally. "But you're trying. That's more than most."
After they left, Damian pulled Mara into his arms.
Held her. Just held her.
"We have thirty-six hours," he said.
"What do you want to do with them?"
"Everything." He kissed her hair. "I want to spend every second reminding you why you're fighting. Why we're worth it."
She pulled back. Looked at him.
"Then let's not waste time."
They spent the day together.
Not training. Not strategizing.
Just living.
Damian made her breakfast. Pancakes. Slightly burned.
She laughed. Real laughter. He smiled at the sound.
They walked through Central Park. Hand in hand. Like a normal couple.
No one recognized them. No one stared.
For a few hours, they were just Damian and Mara.
Not Alpha and Moonborne.
Just—them.
At sunset, they returned to the penthouse.
Stood on the balcony. Watched the city light up.
"Whatever happens tomorrow," Mara said, "I want you to know—I don't regret this. Any of it."
"Don't." His voice was rough. "Don't talk like you're saying goodbye."
"I'm not." She turned to him. "I'm saying—thank you. For seeing me. For choosing me. For—everything."
He pulled her close. Kissed her.
Not desperate. Certain.
"You're going to survive this," he said. "And when you do, I'm going to marry you."
She blinked. "What?"
"You heard me." He smiled. Small. Real. "I'm going to marry you. Human ceremony. Pack ceremony. Every ceremony there is. I'm going to stand in front of everyone and say—this woman is mine. And I'm hers. Forever."
Tears pricked her eyes. "Damian—"
"So you'd better win tomorrow." He wiped her tears. "Because I'm not proposing properly until you do."
She laughed through tears. "That's—that's the worst proposal ever."
"I know." He grinned. "That's why I'm saving the good one for after."
She kissed him. Deep. Loving.
When they pulled apart, both were crying.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you too."
They stood together. Watching the city. Holding each other.
Until her phone buzzed.
She checked it.
Unknown number.
Video message.
She almost didn't open it.
But Damian nodded. "We need to know."
She pressed play.
Selene's face. But different this time.
Softer. Almost sad.
"Mara," she said. "I know you think I'm the enemy. And maybe I am. But I want you to understand something."
Pause.
"I don't want to destroy you. I want to save you."
Mara's breath caught.
"The bond is a trap," Selene continued. "It looks like love. Feels like choice. But it's programming. Biology designed to control you. To make you serve an Alpha."
"That's not—" Mara started.
On screen, Selene continued as if she'd heard:
"I know. You think Damian is different. That he respects you. Loves you."
Her expression hardened.
"But when the trial breaks you—when you're on your knees, begging for it to stop—he won't be there. He'll be outside. Listening to you scream. And doing nothing."
Mara's hands shook.
"That's what Alphas do," Selene said. "They make you think you're choosing. But really? You're just—surviving."
The video ended.
Mara stared at the screen.
"She's wrong," Damian said immediately. "Mara, she's—"
"Is she?" Mara looked at him. "You won't be in the room tomorrow. You won't be able to help. So she's right—you'll be outside. Listening. Doing nothing."
"Because the rules won't let me—"
"I know." She touched his face. "I know it's not your choice. But—" Her voice cracked. "—what if she's right about the rest? What if the bond is just—biology? What if I'm not really choosing?"
"You are." He gripped her shoulders. "Every day. Every moment. You choose."
"But how do I know?"
He had no answer.
Because they both knew—
Tomorrow would test everything.
Her love. Her choice. Her identity.
And Selene would be watching.
Waiting for her to break.
She looked at her mark.
28:00:15
Twenty-eight hours.
Then—Trial One.