Lucien felt it the moment the blood moon touched her.
A rupture in the bond.
Like a thread snapping between them.
He was mid-stride through the city's underbelly, hunting down rogue wolves who had crossed into his territory when it hit him like a blade to the chest.
"Sera," he growled, staggering.
The pain wasn't physical.
It was hers.
Her grief. Her rage. Her betrayal.
He turned and ran. There was no hesitation.
He knew where she was.
The Cathedral of Ashes
Sera stood in the center of the ruined cathedral, glowing faintly with power not of this world.
Blood-red light spilled from the stained glass above her, dancing along her skin like fire.
She didn't turn when Lucien arrived.
She didn't need to.
"I know," she said coldly.
Lucien's breath caught.
"I didn't kill them," he replied softly.
"But your pack did," she whispered. "Your father did. And you've known all along."
His jaw clenched. "I was a child, Sera. I didn't understand the war. I didn't know your bloodline was innocent. My father fed us lies. By the time I learned the truth, it was too late."
"You lied to protect me," she said bitterly. "But really, you were protecting yourself."
He took a step forward.
"I was protecting what I loved."
She finally turned to face him.
Her eyes glowed. Her hair moved like it was caught in a phantom wind. And behind her, the shadows trembled with power.
"You don't love me," she said. "You love the idea of me. The innocent, sweet mate you could claim and keep in a cage."
"That's not true." His voice cracked.
"You didn't want me to awaken. Because you knew I'd remember who I was before you."
Lucien reached for her.
But the moment he touched her, the bond between them flared—then screamed.
Power surged. Both of them thrown backward by the force of it.
The mate bond was unraveling.
And they both felt it.
Sera stood, shaking. A tear slid down her cheek.
"I loved you," she whispered. "But now I don't know if that love was real… or just fate."
Lucien knelt, bleeding from the shoulder, golden eyes filled with despair.
"It was real. Still is. Even if it kills me."
The Alpha's Choice
She walked toward him, slow, deliberate. Her fingers crackled with magic. The blade Veylor had given her hung at her waist.
"If I end the bond now," she asked quietly, "will you stop me?"
Lucien looked up at her with a haunted expression.
"No," he said. "If you want to break it, I won't fight you."
She hesitated.
Her fingers hovered above the blade.
But something else stirred in her chest. A memory. His voice. His touch. The way he had held her when she cried. The way he had looked at her like she was salvation, not destruction.
She dropped the blade.
The earth trembled.
But the bond held.
Frayed. Wounded. But not broken.
She fell to her knees before him.
Lucien caught her in his arms, trembling.
"I don't know how to fix this," she whispered.
"Then we fix it together," he said. "No more lies. No more secrets."
Outside, the blood moon began to fade.
But war was coming.
And now the Alpha and his awakened mate would face it together.
Or burn trying.