Nyx's POV
Flying is harder than it looks.
I crash into a tree five minutes after leaving the temple.
"Ow!" I tumble through branches, Ember and Tobias screaming as we fall.
My wings flare at the last second, catching us before we hit the ground. We land hard but alive.
"Maybe walking would be safer," Tobias groans, picking leaves out of his hair.
"No time." I shake off the pain. My wings shimmer, adjusting to my movements. "I just need practice."
"You need more than practice," Ember mutters. "You need a miracle."
"I'm an Omega Sovereign with wings." I spread them wide, feeling the power thrumming through them. "I AM the miracle."
This time when I launch into the sky, I focus. I feel the wind currents. Let my instincts guide me instead of overthinking.
And suddenly, I'm soaring.
"Yes!" Ember whoops, clinging to my back. "Now THIS is how you travel!"
We fly over the Forsaken Lands, leaving the wasteland behind. I can see the five kingdoms in the distance, their lights twinkling like stars.
Somewhere down there, my Alphas are walking into a trap.
I fly faster.
We're halfway there when pain explodes through the bonds.
All five at once.
I scream and drop fifty feet before catching myself.
"What's wrong?" Ember shouts.
"The ceremony!" I gasp. "It's starting!"
Through Kieran's eyes, I see the Lunar Temple. It's packed with wolves. Lyra stands on the altar in a white dress, smiling like she's already won.
High Priestess Morvanna raises her knife. "We gather to witness a miracle. The Moon Goddess has given us a second chance. A true Mate of Five."
No, I send through the bonds. Don't do it! It's a trap!
But they can't hear me. The bonds aren't strong enough yet.
Morvanna cuts Lyra's palm. Blood drips onto the altar.
Dark blood. Too dark.
"Wait," Cassian says suddenly, his brilliant mind catching something. "That blood—"
"Is none of your concern," Morvanna snaps. She starts chanting in a language I don't recognize.
Black smoke rises from the altar.
"Stop!" I scream, even though I'm still miles away. "STOP!"
The smoke wraps around my five Alphas like chains.
Through the bonds, I feel them trying to fight. But they can't move. Can't speak. Can't do anything except stand there as darkness seeps into their skin.
Their eyes turn black.
"No, no, no!" I'm crying now, flying as fast as I can. "Hold on! I'm coming!"
But I'm too far away.
I'm going to be too late.
Morvanna turns to the crowd, her face transforming into something horrible—ancient and evil and wrong. "Finally! After three hundred years of waiting, the Alphas fall!"
Lyra backs away, terrified. "What—what's happening? This wasn't—"
"Silence, you stupid girl." Morvanna waves her hand, and Lyra flies backward, hitting a pillar. "You were always just bait. A way to gather all five Alphas in one place."
She turns to face my possessed mates. "Now, my puppets, kill everyone here. Start with the girl who thought she could steal a Sovereign's destiny."
The five Alphas move as one toward Lyra.
Their faces are empty. Their eyes are dead.
They're going to kill her.
And I hate Lyra. I hate her so much.
But I can't let my mates become murderers. Can't let Morvanna turn them into weapons.
"Faster!" I yell, pushing my wings harder. "We have to go faster!"
"You're already going too fast!" Tobias shouts. "You'll burn out!"
"I don't care!"
Silver fire erupts from my wings. I'm not just flying anymore—I'm becoming a shooting star, blazing across the sky.
The bonds are screaming with pain. My Alphas are fighting the possession from the inside, trying to stop themselves.
Nyx, Kieran's voice breaks through, barely a whisper. Run. Don't... come. She's... waiting... for you.
I'm not running, I send back. Not ever again.
Through Zane's fading consciousness, I catch a flash of his vision—me arriving at the temple just as Morvanna springs her final trap.
But I also see the one path where we win.
It requires me to trust them completely.
To fully accept the bonds, even knowing they broke me once.
"We're almost there!" Ember points ahead.
The Lunar Temple rises before us, glowing in the moonlight.
I fold my wings and dive.
We crash through the temple's roof in a shower of glass and stone.
I land in the center of the altar, my wings spread wide, silver fire blazing around me.
Every wolf in the temple gasps.
Morvanna's ancient face twists with rage. "Impossible! You shouldn't be here for another hour!"
"Surprise," I snarl.
My five Alphas turn to face me, their black eyes empty and cold.
"Kill her," Morvanna commands.
They move.
All five of them attacking me at once.
But through the bonds, I feel them fighting. Still there. Still trying.
I don't attack back.
Instead, I do the scariest thing I've ever done.
I drop to my knees and open my arms.
"I'm here," I say to them. To the males trapped inside possessed bodies. "I'm here, and I'm not leaving. So if you're going to kill me, you'll have to do it while I'm looking into your eyes."
They freeze, weapons raised.
"Kill her!" Morvanna screams. "NOW!"
Kieran's sword hovers inches from my throat.
But his hand is shaking.
"I know you're in there," I whisper. "All of you. And I forgive you. Not because you deserve it. But because I choose to."
I reach up and place my hand on Kieran's chest, right over his heart.
"I accept this bond," I say clearly. "I accept Kieran Shadowbane as my mate."
Silver light explodes from my palm into his chest.
His black eyes flicker—black, gold, black, gold.
"I accept Cassian Silvercrest as my mate."
Touch. Light. His eyes flicker.
One by one, I accept them all.
"I accept Darius Bloodmoon as my mate."
"I accept Riven Stormfang as my mate."
"I accept Zane Nighthaven as my mate."
The temple shakes as five bonds slam into place properly.
Not forced. Not broken.
Complete.
My five Alphas gasp as the possession shatters. Their eyes clear, returning to their normal colors.
They collapse around me, gasping for air.
"You came," Kieran whispers, shocked.
"Of course I came, you idiot," I say, tears streaming down my face. "We're mates. That means something to me, even if it didn't to you."
"NO!" Morvanna shrieks. "You've ruined everything!"
She raises both hands, and the entire temple fills with dark magic.
"If I can't have your power, Omega Sovereign, then I'll take your life!" Her form shifts, growing larger, more monstrous. "And everyone here will die with you!"
The ceiling starts collapsing.
Wolves scream and run.
My five Alphas struggle to stand, still weak from the possession.
And Morvanna, in her true demon form—twenty feet tall with black scales and burning red eyes—lunges straight at me.
I have one second to make a choice.
Fight alone and probably die.
Or trust the five males who broke me to stand with me now.
I look at them—at Kieran struggling to his feet, at Cassian's determined eyes, at Darius reaching for his sword, at Riven standing despite trembling legs, at Zane's visions showing him exactly what we need to do.
"Together?" I ask.
"Together," they answer as one.
And for the first time, I believe them.