3. The Bond Commands

"I belong to no one but myself." 

My voice echoed through the chamber. "Until I understand what is happening..."

I looked each of them in the eye and closed my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. "...none of you have any claim over me."

Then I faced the stranger. "And you." His eyebrow lifted. "I don't even know your name." He said nothing. "Everyone in this room looks at you like you're a plague sent to destroy us." I folded my arms. "So explain."

Silence. His eyes darken a bit as he stares back at me. He didn't look away. 

Most wolves dropped their eyes when challenged. He didn't.

Those strange violet eyes held mine without arrogance or apology. For one impossible heartbeat, the room disappeared. It felt like I'd known those eyes long before tonight.

Then the feeling vanished, leaving only questions.

Finally, one of the elders sneered. "He was exiled years ago. He broke the sacred laws. He should never have been capable of forming a mate bond."

The stranger's lips curved into a humorless smile. "Interesting."

"So..." His violet gaze swept over each elder. "Now you all know better than the Moon Goddess?"

The elder's smile vanished as he glared at the stranger. 

"But let's not repeat the past, shall we?" 

The room chilled. Kael's eyes narrowed. Recognition flashed across his face. "You're the Veilborn heir." Silence. "The Butcher of Hollow Ridge."

My eyes widened in shock.

The stranger's expression hardened. "Don't speak on things you know nothing about." He said. Then he looked back at me. There was a challenge in his eyes...and the faintest hint of satisfaction.

Almost as if he were daring me to figure it out.

I racked my brain, Veilborn heir… to my clan… Hollow Ridge… Exiled…

I’m sure he can see the gears turning in my head because his lips slip into a smirk. 

“You’re….” 

He inclined his head. "Riven." A slow smile spread across his face. "Now we can be on a first-name basis."

"You shouldn't even be alive." Kael stepped forward, claws extending. 

Riven’s eyes whip from mine to Kael. 

 "But that's easily fixed." Kael continued. 

Darian shifted closer to me. Not possessively. Protectively.

His shoulder brushed mine for only a second. Warm. Solid.

Somehow that single touch steadied my racing heart.

I looked at Kael. Our eyes met. The bond flared. Beneath his anger...

I felt something else.

Regret.

Then it vanished beneath fury and Kael attacked.

I could tell from the look in his eyes. This wasn't another dominance fight. This was murder. The mate bonds tightened around my chest.

One. Kael's fury burned through me like wildfire.

Two. Darian's desperation wrapped around my chest until I could barely breathe.

Three. Resolve. Ancient. Unbreakable.

They pulled so hard I couldn't breathe. My wolf exploded awake beneath my skin.

Protect them.

The command wasn't mine. It was hers. I threw myself between them.

My palms struck Kael's chest. Then Riven's.

"STOP!"

It wasn't my voice anymore. It belonged to something ancient. Something buried deep inside me. Power reverberated through the room.

Both males froze.

Absolute silence.

Silver light raced beneath my skin. I looked down. Ancient markings spread across both of my arms like living moonlight.

Darian stared at me in wonder. "Did she..."

"No." Kael's voice was barely a whisper. The look on his face bounced between shock and rage

“That’s… impossible” Riven looked at me with something I had never seen before.

Recognition. Relief. And something that looked dangerously close to triumph.

One elder stumbled backward, panic spread across his features. "Impossible..."

The High Priestess dropped to her knees. Her eyes filled with horror. "No..." Her voice trembled. "It can't be." She looked up at me. 

The color drained from every elder's face.

"Those are the markings..." She swallowed hard.

"...of the First Luna."