*************
Her power released all at once, snapping back into her core like a rubber band.
She gasped and stumbled.
Kael caught her, supporting her weight.
Around them, over a thousand wolves suddenly found themselves able to move again.
Chaos erupted immediately.
"Get them!" Cain roared.
"The omega is mine!" Ronan bellowed.
"Take them both!" Thaddeus commanded.
Three armies surged forward at once.
Kael shifted instantly, his massive black wolf shielding Seraphine.
But they were surrounded. Outnumbered. Overwhelmed.
This was the end.
Then.....
A howl split the air.
Not from any of the armies present.
This howl was ancient. Powerful. Wild.
It came from the forest beyond the northern border.
Every wolf froze again this time not from Seraphine's power, but from primal instinct.
The trees at the northern edge began to shake.
Then wolves emerged.
Hundreds of them.
But these weren't pack wolves.
These were rogues.
Wild. Scarred. Dangerous.
And leading them was a wolf that made even the Alpha Kings look small.
Massive, with fur the color of storm clouds and eyes that burned red, the creature that emerged from the forest was legend made flesh.
Fenrir.
The Rogue King.
He shifted to human form as he walked forward a giant of a man, covered in scars and tattoos that marked ancient pack affiliations. He looked old enough to have lived centuries, with silver threading through his hair and beard.
But his eyes... his eyes were ageless and mad and terrifyingly focused.
On Seraphine.
"Well," Fenrir said, his voice like grinding stone. "Isn't this interesting."
The three Alpha Kings stared in shock.
"Fenrir," Cain breathed. "But you're supposed to be"
"Dead?" Fenrir smiled, showing too many teeth. "I get that a lot."
His gaze swept across the battlefield.
"Three Alpha Kings, over a thousand warriors, all fighting over one little omega."
He looked at Seraphine.
"She must be very special indeed."
Kael's growl was a warning. "Leave. Now. While you still can."
Fenrir laughed a cold, hollow sound.
"Oh, little king. I'm not here to fight you."
He spread his arms wide.
"I'm here to collect what's mine."
"She's not yours," Kael snarled.
"Not yet," Fenrir agreed. "But she will be."
He took a step forward.
"You see, I know what she is. I know the prophecy. Better than any of you."
His red eyes gleamed with madness and knowledge.
"I know because I was there when it was written."
Silence crashed over the battlefield.
"Impossible," Thaddeus whispered. "That prophecy is over five hundred years old"
"Try a thousand," Fenrir corrected. "And yes, I'm that old. Cursed to wander. Unable to die. Watching and waiting."
He looked at Seraphine again.
"Waiting for her."
Seraphine felt ice spread through her veins.
"What do you want?" she managed to ask.
Fenrir's smile widened.
"I want what the prophecy promises. Freedom from my curse. Death, finally, after a millennium of wandering."
He took another step closer.
"And you, little omega, are the only one who can give it to me."
"I don't understand"
"The third trial," Fenrir interrupted. "Life of the beloved, surrendered unchosen. You have to kill someone you love. That death is the key that unlocks your full power."
His eyes blazed.
"And when you do, when you become what you're meant to be you'll be able to end me."
Horror flooded through Seraphine.
"I won't....I can't.."
"You will." Fenrir's voice was certain. "Because if you don't, everyone you care about dies. This pack. This king. Everyone."
He gestured to his rogue army.
"I've been gathering wolves for centuries. Building my forces. Waiting for this moment."
His smile turned cruel.
"So here's the deal, little omega. You come with me. Let me train you. Teach you to embrace your power. Help you complete the trials."
"Never," Kael snarled.
"Or," Fenrir continued as if Kael hadn't spoken, "I kill everyone here. Every single wolf. Then I burn every pack territory within a thousand miles until I find you again."
His expression was completely serious.
"Choose."
The four Alpha Kings Kael, Cain, Ronan, and Thaddeus—all stood frozen, realizing they faced something far worse than each other.
A force of nature.
An immortal nightmare.
A rogue king who had nothing left to lose.
Seraphine looked at Kael, her heart breaking.
Then at the thousands of wolves surrounding them her pack, the enemy armies, all of them about to die because of her.
She looked at Fenrir.
"If I go with you," she said slowly, "you swear you'll leave everyone here alive? You'll leave all the packs alone?"
"Seraphine, no" Kael lunged forward.
Fenrir moved impossibly fast, his massive hand wrapping around Kael's throat and lifting him off the ground.
"Yes," Fenrir said to Seraphine while holding Kael. "I swear it. You come willingly, I leave them all alive."
He squeezed slightly, making Kael gasp.
"But you have to choose now. Before I lose my patience and kill your precious king."
Seraphine's power flared inside her, desperate and wild.
But she was exhausted. Drained from holding a thousand wolves earlier.
She didn't have enough left to fight him.
"Let him go," she whispered. "And I'll come."
"NO!" Kael's roar was anguished, desperate.
"I'm sorry," Seraphine said, tears streaming down her face. "I love you. I'm so sorry."
She turned to Fenrir.
"I'll come with you. Just... please. Let him go."
Fenrir's smile was triumphant.
He released Kael, who collapsed to his knees.
"Smart choice, little omega."
He extended his hand toward Seraphine.
She took one step toward him.
Then another.
Behind her, Kael's anguished howl split the air.
Around them, the Moonwalk wolves watched in horror as their future queen walked toward the monster.
Seraphine reached Fenrir, her hand trembling as she placed it in his massive palm.
His fingers closed around hers like a trap.
"Good girl," he murmured.
Then he looked at the assembled armies.
"Remember this day," he called out. "The day the Hidden Omega chose freedom for all of you over her own happiness."
He began to turn, pulling Seraphine with him
Power exploded from the southern border.
Different from Seraphine's.
Different from any Alpha aura.
This was pure, divine, overwhelming.
''The Moon Goddess had arrived and she was furious''