LOGINPOV: Thelma The door burst open again, and Luna rushed in, followed by a group of warriors. She took one look at the scene, Marcus's body, the trapped witch crystal, and me slowly turning to stone and her face went pale. "What happened?" she demanded. "No time to explain," Theo said. "Where's Xavier? We need Xavier now!" "He's coming," Luna said. "He felt something through the mate bond. He and his warriors are maybe five minutes behind us." "She doesn't have five minutes!" Theo gestured at me frantically. "Look at her!" Luna moved closer, her eyes widening as she saw the stone spreading across my body. "Oh no. Oh, Thelma, no." I tried to speak, but my jaw was stiffening. The words came out slurred. "Not... your fault..." "Save your strength," Luna ordered, kneeling beside me. "Don't try to talk. Just hold on a little longer." But I could feel it. The stone was at the base of my throat now. Soon it would reach my heart. And when it did, I would be frozen forever. A s
POV: Thelma The moment Marcus's blood touched the ritual circle, I felt everything shift. The dark energy that had been pulling at my life force reversed direction, and suddenly, instead of draining me, it was exploding outward in waves of uncontrolled magic. "No!" Morgana screamed, her hands raised as she tried to contain the backlash. "NO! This can't be happening!" But it was happening. Marcus's willing sacrifice, his choice to give his life to save mine, had done something to her spell. Something she hadn't anticipated. Elena's sobs filled the air as she held Marcus's body, rocking back and forth. "You fool," she wept. "You stupid, stubborn fool. Why would you do this? Why?" I wanted to say something to her, to comfort her somehow, but words felt impossible. This man had murdered my birth parents. He'd raised me as a tool, poisoned me, tried to steal my power. He'd been my enemy in every possible way. And yet, in his final moment, he'd saved me. "Thelma, we need to mo
POV: Narrator The words hit Thelma like physical blows. Her rebirth, her second chance had it all been a lie? Had she been dancing on the witch's strings this entire time? "No," Thelma said, though her voice shook. "I made choices. I changed things. I rejected Neon, I found Xavier, I.." "You did exactly what I needed you to do," Morgana interrupted. "You broke away from Marcus, forcing him to act more desperately. You found your mate, creating a bond that made your blood even more potent. You discovered your twin, awakening the power that had been dormant in both of you. Every rebellion, every choice, every moment of defiance brought you closer to this moment." Theo looked at Thelma, and through their twin bond, she felt his despair mirror her own. They'd thought they were fighting for freedom, but they'd been prisoners all along. "Why tell us all this?" Theo asked. "Why not just kill us and take what you want?" "Because the ritual requires understanding," Morgana explained. S
POV: Narrator The witch's lair was hidden deep in the Shadowpeak Mountains, a place where sunlight never quite reached and the air tasted of ancient magic. Neon dragged Thelma through a stone archway covered in runes that glowed with sickly green light. Behind them, his men carried the unconscious Theo, still paralyzed from the silver dust. "Welcome," a voice purred from the darkness. "I've been waiting so very long to meet you, child." A woman emerged from the shadows. She looked perhaps forty, with long black hair streaked with silver and eyes that held centuries of knowledge and cruelty. Morgana the Dark Witch, though she looked nothing like the monster Thelma had imagined. "Let me go," Thelma demanded, trying to pull free from Neon's grip. But her body was still weak from healing Xavier, and she could barely stand. "In time, dear. In time." Morgana circled them slowly, studying Thelma like a scientist examining a specimen. "You're even more perfect than I'd hoped. The
POV: Xavier "No!" Luna started forward, but more of Neon's men appeared from the shadows. Men I hadn't noticed before, disguised as Silver Moon warriors. They'd been here all along, waiting. "Sorry, Luna," Neon said, not sounding sorry at all. "This was always the plan. Get the twins in one place. Wait for them to exhaust themselves. Then collect." "You planned this entire attack," Luna realized, horror in her voice. "The other packs, the siege, you coordinated all of it." "I'm a very thorough planner." Neon reached down and grabbed Thelma's arm. She tried to fight, but she was too weak. "Come along, darling. We have an appointment with someone very interested in meeting you." "Let her go," I snarled, trying to push myself up. My arms shook with the effort. "Or what?" Neon laughed. "You can barely stand. She drained herself saving you. The perfect ending to my plan. She's too weak to fight, too weak to run, and you're too weak to stop me from taking her." He started drag
POV: Xavier Pain was the first thing I felt. Sharp, burning pain radiating from my chest through every nerve in my body. Then I heard Thelma's voice, distant and panicked, calling my name through the mate bond. "Xavier! Stay with me! Xavier!" I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. My body was shutting down, system by system. The poison Neon had been feeding me was finally taking full effect. "What did you give him?" That was Theo's voice, filled with rage. "Just a little wolfsbane compound." Neon sounded so casual, like he was discussing the weather. "Mixed with silver dust and a few other ingredients. Nothing immediately fatal, but over three days, it accumulates in the system. Very difficult to detect. Very effective." "You bastard!" Thelma's scream was followed by the sound of flesh hitting flesh. She'd hit him. Good. "Now, now," Neon said, still infuriatingly calm. "Violence won't help your mate. In fact, nothing will help







