Five years earlier"You can't be serious, Uncle." Elias stood before me, barely twenty years old, already showing the attitude that would one day destroy him."I've seen it with my own eyes," I insisted. "Charles Winters is hiding something. A child with powers that could change everything.""The Blood Moon Pack has always been secretive," Elias shrugged. "That doesn't mean they're harboring some magical child."I slammed my fist on the table. "This isn't about pack politics! The prophecy speaks of a three-heart child who will either unite or destroy us all. If Charles is hiding her—""Prophecies," Elias laughed. "You sound like the old witch who lives at the edge of our territory.""Celeste Moreau knows more than you give her credit for," I growled."Mother was right. You're becoming unstable." Elias turned away. "Perhaps it's time for new leadership."I froze. "You would challenge me? Your own blood?""If I must." His eyes flashed gold - the mark of an Alpha. My sister's son, but no
Orion Blackwood's POV I caught the guard's arm mid-swing and turned it behind his back. His knife clattered to the ground. "I don't want to hurt you, Travis," I whispered. "I just need to get inside." Recognition flashed in the young guard's eyes. "Orion? You can't be here! They'll kill you on sight!" "Let them try," I said, releasing him. "I've survived worse than Beta Luther's welcome committee." Eight years in hiding had changed me. Once, I'd been Blood Moon Pack's Head Warrior, Charles Winters' right hand. Now I was a ghost, returning to a place that had forgotten me. Travis glanced nervously toward the main house. "Everything's fallen apart, Orion. Alpha Charles is dead. Kamla was murdered. Amara disappeared. And Beta Luther..." "Is acting Alpha now," I finished for him. "I know. That's why I'm back." Travis hesitated, then gave me his pack jacket. "Take this. It'll help you blend in. The old tunnels beneath the packhouse haven't been sealed. Enter through the east
Luna Seraphina Winters's POV"You cannot enter here," the hooded guardian said, blocking my way. "This temple is forbidden to outsiders."Blood dripped from the cut on my forehead where a branch had struck me during my climb up the mountain. I was tired, hungry, and in no mood for more challenges."I am not an outsider," I said, pushing back my hair to show the mark behind my ear – three silver stars in the shape of a triangle. "I am Seraphina of the Starborn. This temple belongs to my people."The guardian's eyes widened. He dropped to one knee. "Forgive me, My Lady. We thought the Starborn were extinct.""Nearly," I said, my voice bitter. "But not quite."I felt Charles's death like a knife to my heart just hours ago. The link we had shared for twenty years suddenly torn away. I had fallen in the forest, screaming his name. Now I had to hurry. Amara needed me, even if she didn't know I was living.The guardian led me through stone passageways lit by blue flames that needed no fuel.
Rowan Kingsley's POVI ducked as the knife whizzed past my ear and stuck in the wooden beam behind me. Elias Beaumont stood in the doorway, another blade already in his hand."Get out of my house before I put the next one between your eyes," he growled."I'm not here to fight," I said, keeping my hands where he could see them. "I'm here to help Amara.""How did you get past the guards?" Viktor asked from behind Elias."The same way the Guardians will get in if you don't listen to me," I answered. "Your security is good against werewolves, but not against what's coming."I'd been tracking Amara Kings for two years. Watching from a distance, waiting for the right time. I'd seen everything – her imprisonment, her torture at Elias's hands, her escape with Lyra's aid. All part of the prophecy that had ruled my life since I was a kid."Who are you?" Elias asked.Before I could answer, footsteps rushed down the stairs and Amara appeared. Her eyes were red from tears. She must have felt Charl
Elias Beaumont's POVThe bullet grazed my shoulder as I dove behind the fallen table. Wood splintered above my head as more gunfire tore through the home."Viktor!" I yelled over the chaos. "Where are they?"My uncle reloaded his shotgun with trained hands. "Everywhere. At least twenty Guardians outside."I peered through a broken window. Black-clad figures were moving on the house from all sides. In the distance, I caught a glimpse of Rowan's motorcycle disappearing into the trees with Amara hanging to his back.A strange mixture of relief and fear washed over me. She was safer away from here, but the thought of her with Rowan made my stomach twist. I didn't trust him, promise keeper or not."We need to move," Viktor said, breaking into my thoughts. "They'll burn the place down if they have to."I nodded, trying to focus. My pack needed me. But Amara—my true mate—was going into danger without me.The front door crashed open. I shifted instantly, bones popping as my wolf form emerged.
Luther Cain's POVI smashed the burner phone under my boot, grinding the parts into the dirt. The call had taken only thirty seconds, but it changed everything."Amara is still alive," the voice had said. "She's with Elias. They know what you did."My carefully built plan was coming apart. For eighteen years, I'd worked as Beta to Charles Winters, waiting for the right moment to take control of the Blood Moon Pack. Now that stupid girl had ruined everything.I kicked the pieces of the phone into the bushes and headed back toward the pack house. Members nodded respectfully as I passed. They still trusted me. Still thought I was the loyal Beta who'd stepped up after Charles disappeared.They had no idea what I'd done. What I was capable of.Inside my office, I locked the door and pulled out the list of names. Five people who knew too much. Five lost ends that needed to be cut.Marcus Hale topped the list. Elias's Beta had seen me talking to Celeste the night before Kamla's murder. He'd
Elder Thalia Reed's POVThe old books tumbled from the shelf as I yanked the secret lever. Behind me, I heard the heavy footsteps of the Guardians searching the house. They'd already checked this room once, but they'd be back soon.I didn't have much time.The bookcase swung open with a creak, showing a narrow passage. I slipped inside, pulling it closed just as voices approached. My old bones complained as I hurried down the stone steps, my only light a small crystal that glowed blue in my palm.For eighty years, I had served as Elder of the Blood Moon Pack, keeper of our most dangerous secrets. Only three people knew about this secret chamber beneath the pack house. Charles, Seraphina, and me.At the bottom of the stairs, I pressed my hand against the stone door. It recognized my touch and slid open."Finally," Orion Blackwood said, rising from where he sat against the wall. "I've been waiting for hours.""The Guardians are everywhere," I
Amara Kings' POVI woke up gasping for air, my body burning from the inside out. The mate bond flared like flames in my chest, pulling me toward Elias even as he slept across the room."Easy," my mother whispered, pressing a cool cloth to my face. "The bond is strengthening. Fight through it."We'd taken shelter in an old cabin after fleeing from Luther. My father was still weak from his wounds. Elias had fallen into exhausted sleep. And I was burning alive with need for my mate."It hurts," I whispered, rolling into a ball. "Why now?""The Blood Moon approaches," Mom explained. "It amplifies everything—especially mate bonds."I forced myself to sit up, sweat dripping down my face. Across the room, Elias stirred in his sleep, reacting to my discomfort."I feel him," I said, putting a hand to my chest. "Not just emotions anymore. His thoughts. His dreams."Mom nodded. "That's rare, even for true mates. Your healing abilities are affectin
POV: Amara KingsI screamed as my father's body went limp in my arms. The world around me blurred with tears."Dad! Dad, please!" I shook him, but his eyes stared blankly at the night sky. "Come back!"Viktor's blade had done its work. My father—the man who had hidden me away for eighteen years, who I'd both hated and loved—was gone."Amara," Elias said softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "He's gone."I shrugged him off, anger bubbling inside me. "Don't touch me."The Mother stood on the shore now, looking exactly like me except for those terrible black eyes. She held the black stone in her hand, smiling as if my father's death meant nothing."He was weak," she said. "Just a vessel, like your false mother.""Shut up!" I yelled, the blue markings on my skin flaring brighter. "He was my father!""One of your fathers," she corrected. "The human one."Luther approached slowly, his face a mix of fear and wonder. "The prophecy is f
POV: Luna Seraphina WintersPain shot through my chest like a lightning bolt. I dropped the bowl I was holding, and it broke on the stone floor of my secret room. I knew instantly what it meant."Charles," I gasped, grabbing at my heart. "No!"Our mate bond, a link that had lasted for over twenty years, snapped like a thread cut by invisible scissors. The void that followed was so painful I couldn't breathe.He was gone. My mate was dead.I had no time to cry. If Charles was dead, it meant he had found Amara. It meant the Mother had returned. And it meant I had to act now.I stumbled to my feet, still fighting through the pain of the broken tie. With shaky hands, I pulled the loose stone from the wall and took out the small wooden box I'd hidden there eighteen years ago.Inside was a bottle of dark liquid – blood mixed with something else, something that shimmered even in the dim light. Beside it sat a black knife with strange symbols cut i
POV: Alpha Charles WintersI crashed through the trees, my heart beating in my chest. The smell of blood and magic filled the air. She was close. After eighteen years of keeping her secret, of trying to protect her from this very moment, I was too late."Amara!" I yelled, following the blue glow that lit up the night sky like a beacon.My daughter was floating above Silver Lake, ringed by that strange blue fire. The sight made my throat tighten. She looked so much like her mother—not Seraphina, who raised her, but her real mother. The one who came from this very lake eighteen years ago.A werewolf flew through the air, smashing into a tree beside me. It was Dorian Graves, the Alpha who had been hunting my daughter. He snarled, blood dripping from his mouth, and flung himself back toward the lake.I shifted instantly, bones popping as my wolf form took over. I was older now, gray marking my once-black fur, but I was still an Alpha. Still her father.
POV: Celeste MoreauMy scream echoed through the stone walls of my refuge as I fell to my knees. The vision hit me like a punch to the gut—blue fire everywhere, a girl floating in the air, and a woman with eyes as black as night rising from Silver Lake."Mistress!" My trainee Finn rushed to my side, his young face twisted with worry. "What is it? What did you see?"I couldn't speak. My whole body shook as the images burned themselves into my mind: Amara Kings, the girl I'd helped betray, surrounded by blue fire and facing a thing with her own face."It's happening," I whispered, holding the edge of my scrying bowl. The water inside still rippled with the aftershocks of my vision. "The Harbinger has awakened.""The Harbinger?" Finn's eyes widened. "But you said that was just a story to scare little witches."I shook my head, trying to stand. My legs felt like water. "I was wrong. I was wrong about everything."The candles around us flickered
Amara Kings' POV Blue fire shot from my hands, shocking even me. I was floating above everyone, power surging through my blood like lightning. Part of me wanted to scream, but another part—a bigger part—felt alive for the first time. "Amara!" Elias yelled from below. "Fight it! Come back to us!" I could barely hear him through the noise in my ears. The blue marks had spread across my entire body now, burning like ice against my skin. I was becoming something else. Something scary. And I liked it. "She can't hear you," Dorian said, picking himself up from where I had thrown him. Blood dripped from his mouth. "The Harbinger is taking over." I turned my gaze to him—the stranger who had attacked my family, who had planned to sacrifice me to bring back his dead mate. Anger flashed through me, hot and fierce. "I hear everything," I said, my voice echoing weirdly. "I see everything now." With a flick of my wrist, I pinned Dorian again
Alpha Dorian Graves' POV Blood dripped from my claws as I pulled them from the scout's chest. The man had begged for pity, but I had none left to give. Not after losing Leila. "He talked," said Kira, my Beta, wiping her knife clean. "They're hiding in caves near the eastern shore of Silver Lake." Finally. After weeks of looking, I had found Amara Kings. The girl who could bring my mate back from death. "How many with her?" I asked, stepping over the body. "At least six. Her parents, the Artemis Alpha, a healer, and someone our scout didn't recognize." I nodded to the twelve warriors waiting quietly behind us. They were all that left of my once-mighty pack, each personally trained by me. Each with their own reason to hate the Artemis Pack. "Remember," I told them, "we need the girl alive and unharmed. Kill the others if you must, but Amara Kings is mine." We moved through the forest like shadows, the smell of rain masking our appro
Lyra Sinclair's POV I yanked my hand back from Amara's skin, the shock of energy burning my fingers. The sparkling blue marks on her arms pulsed brighter, like heartbeats beneath her skin. "What happened?" Amara asked, her wide eyes fixed on my face. I tried to calm my rushing heart. After years of looking for someone like her, the truth was both thrilling and terrifying. "Your markings," I whispered, "they're not just Starborn symbols. There's something else mixed in." We were hiding in a small cave near Silver Lake. Outside, rain pounded the ground as if trying to wash away our tracks. Elias and Charles stood guard at the door while Amara's mother slept fitfully nearby. I opened my worn leather bag and pulled out my grandmother's notebook. The pages were yellow with age, but the drawings inside fit what was happening on Amara's skin. "Look," I said, pointing to a sketch of entwined symbols. "These markings appeared on a girl two hundr
Viktor Beaumont's POV The guard's neck snapped under my hands. I dropped his body quietly to the ground, wiping blood from my mouth. Five years in exile had made me fiercer, not weaker. I moved through the shadows of the Artemis Pack area. Once, I had ruled here. Now I was sneaking back like a thief. My nephew Elias had no idea I was coming. No idea that everything—Kamla's death, Amara's abuse, the attack on the cabin—was part of a bigger plan. A plan I had tried to stop years ago. "You shouldn't be here," a voice hissed from behind me. I spun around, claws extending. Marcus Hale, my nephew's Beta, stood with his hands raised. "Going to sound the alarm, Marcus?" I asked, ready to quiet him if needed. "If I wanted to, I would have already." His eyes darted around nervously. "You need to leave. Ingrid has tripled security since Elias left to find Amara." I smiled coldly. "Ingrid is exactly who I came to see." Marcus grabbed m
Amara Kings' POVI woke up gasping for air, my body burning from the inside out. The mate bond flared like flames in my chest, pulling me toward Elias even as he slept across the room."Easy," my mother whispered, pressing a cool cloth to my face. "The bond is strengthening. Fight through it."We'd taken shelter in an old cabin after fleeing from Luther. My father was still weak from his wounds. Elias had fallen into exhausted sleep. And I was burning alive with need for my mate."It hurts," I whispered, rolling into a ball. "Why now?""The Blood Moon approaches," Mom explained. "It amplifies everything—especially mate bonds."I forced myself to sit up, sweat dripping down my face. Across the room, Elias stirred in his sleep, reacting to my discomfort."I feel him," I said, putting a hand to my chest. "Not just emotions anymore. His thoughts. His dreams."Mom nodded. "That's rare, even for true mates. Your healing abilities are affectin