Aria's POV
We barely escape Morgana's army.
Lyra's magic creates a portal that dumps us into a parking lot somewhere outside Seattle. I'm shaking, covered in dirt and blood that isn't mine.
Everyone in the car, Cael orders, already opening doors to a black SUV. Now.
Whose car is this? I ask.
Mine. I keep vehicles stashed everywhere. He practically shoves me into the back seat. Paranoid habit. Useful right now.
Zane insists on driving. Nobody else can be trusted, he mutters, adjusting the mirrors.
I'm an excellent driver, Cael protests.
You're reckless.
That's not the same as bad
Both of you shut up, Darius interrupts, climbing into the passenger seat. We need to move before Morgana tracks us.
I end up sandwiched between Lyra and Cael in the back. The moment we start driving, the adrenaline crashes and everything hits me at once.
My father sold me. My sister tried to kill me. My grandmother wants me dead. And I'm mated to three Alphas I've known for less than a day.
I can hear you panicking, Zane says from the driver's seat.
I'm not panicking.
Your heartbeat says otherwise.
Right. Werewolf hearing. I forgot about that.
It's okay to panic, Lyra says, squeezing my hand. Your life exploded. Panic is normal.
Normal would be nice, I mutter. I miss normal.
Normal is overrated, Cael says. You're extraordinary now. That's better.
Extraordinary people get hunted by ancient evil organizations.
Fair point.
I watch the landscape change through the window. Wilderness gives way to small towns, then suburbs, then nothing I recognize. I've never left Iron claw territory before. Everything feels foreign.
Tell me about the Covenant, I say, needing to understand what I'm up against. What do they want?
Darius turns in his seat. They've existed for three thousand years. Started as a group of powerful supernatural wolves, witches, vampires who wanted to control our world.
Why kill the Primordial Wolves?
Because they couldn't control them, Cael explains. True Lunas could command any wolf with just their voice. Primordial Alphas were nearly immortal, strong enough to level cities. The Covenant saw beings more powerful than them as threats.
So they murdered them all, Darius continues. Wiped out the Primordial. Hunted every True Luna for three millennia. Until you.
My stomach twists. They're going to kill me.
No, Zane says firmly. They won't.
You can't promise that
Yes, I can. His eyes meet mine in the rear view mirror. You have three Alphas now. We don't lose what's ours.
The certainty in his voice makes something warm bloom in my chest. These men barely know me, but they're willing to die protecting me.
Why? I whisper. Why do you care so much? The mate bonds were forced. You didn't choose this.
All three Alphas go still.
The bonds completed because of the ritual, Darius says carefully. But we chose to let them. We could have pulled away.
We stayed, Zane adds. That was our choice.
And we'd make it again, Cael finishes.
Lyra makes a small sound. That's actually kind of beautiful. Gross, but beautiful.
Despite everything, I almost smile.
We drive for hours. The sun sets, painting the sky in oranges and purples. Finally, we turn onto a private road that winds through dense forest.
Welcome to Bloodmoon territory, Darius announces.
I expect something dark and ominous based on the name. Instead, we emerge into a clearing with a stunning lake. Modern buildings nestle into the trees, all glass and wood. It's beautiful.
Pack members emerge from the buildings as we park. They catch my scent and freeze.
Is that a young wolf whispers.
Can't be, another breathes.
An older woman with silver hair steps forward. Tears stream down her face. A True Luna. In my lifetime, I never thought I'd see...
She drops to one knee.
Within seconds, every single pack member is kneeling. Fifty wolves, bowing to me.
Please don't, I say, panic rising. I'm not I don't know what I'm doing
You don't have to know, Darius says gently, helping me out of the car. Just being here is enough. These wolves grew up hearing legends of True Lunas. You're a miracle to them.
I was nobody yesterday, I whisper.
You were never nobody, Zane says, his voice hard. Iron claw was just blind.
Darius addresses his pack. This is Aria, True Luna and my mate. She's under Bloodmoon protection. Anyone who threatens her answers to me.
Yes, Alpha! The response is immediate and fierce.
They show me to a guest house by the lake. It's gorgeous all windows overlooking the water, comfortable furniture, everything I could need.
I'm staying, Lyra announces, claiming a bedroom. Until I know you're safe. These Alphas seem decent, but after what Kade did, I'm not trusting anyone.
I appreciate that, I tell her.
My three mates linger at the door.
We'll be close, Darius promises. If you need anything
I know. I can feel them through the mate bonds now. Three golden threads connecting us, warm and steady.
They leave reluctantly. Through the windows, I watch Zane shift into his massive black wolf and start patrolling the perimeter. Cael appears on a balcony across the lake, on his phone but watching my house. Darius is somewhere nearby I can sense him.
Three Alphas guarding me. It should feel suffocating.
Instead, it feels safe.
That night, I lie in bed staring at the ceiling. My body is exhausted but my mind won't stop racing.
Everything hurts. The broken bond with Kade still aches. The betrayal from my family cuts deep. And the new bonds with my three mates feel overwhelming too much, too fast, too intense.
Eventually, exhaustion wins. I fall into restless sleep.
The dream hits immediately.
I'm running through an ancient forest on four paws. But these aren't my paws they're bigger, older, belonging to a wolf long dead. I see through her eyes as she races toward something.
A battle. Hundreds of wolves fighting. Blood soaking the earth.
And in the center, a woman with silver hair and glowing eyes. The first True Luna.
She's surrounded by enemies. Betrayed. Dying.
They're coming for you, daughter, her voice echoes in my mind. The past and the present. History repeats. You must be ready.
Ready for what? I try to ask.
The Covenant never stops. Your grandmother will come. Your father will come. And something worse. Her eyes lock onto mine. Trust your mates. Trust yourself. The real battle hasn't even begun.
The scene shifts. I see Aurora lying in a dark room, her veins black with poison. She's dying.
Then I see Morgana standing over her, chanting. Dark magic swirls. Aurora's eyes snap openbut they're empty. Dead. Not my sister anymore.
She will be my weapon, Morgana's voice hisses. Your sister's body, my power. She'll destroy everything you love.
I scream.
The dream shatters. I wake up gasping, my heart pounding.
All three of my mates are in my room.
Zane is in fighting stance by the door. Darius has his hands glowing with power. Cael is at the window, checking for threats.
You screamed, Zane says, his eyes scanning me for injuries. We felt your terror through the bonds.
Just a dream, I start to say.
But it wasn't. The first True Luna's warnings never are.
It was a vision, Darius says, his eyes going distant. I can see the echo of it. You saw Aurora.
She's dying, I whisper. The ritual poisoned her. But Morgana she's going to use dark magic. She's going to bring Aurora back wrong. As a weapon.
That's impossible, Cael argues. You can't resurrect the dead
The Covenant has been around for three thousand years, Darius interrupts. They've had time to learn magic that should be impossible.
A phone rings. Cael answers his. His face goes white.
When? he demands. Then: How many casualties?
He hangs up. Looks at all of us.
Iron claw Pack was just attacked. Fifty dead. The entire Alpha family is missing.
My stomach drops. Finn. My little brother
Missing, Cael confirms. Along with your mother and father. Witnesses say the attackers were led by a girl with dead eyes and black veins.
Aurora.
Morgana already brought her back.
This is my fault, I whisper. I refused to save her. Now she's
Now she's being used, Zane interrupts firmly. That's not your fault. That's Morgana's choice.
We need to rescue your family, Darius says.
It's obviously a trap, Cael argues.
Doesn't matter. I stand up, my hands shaking. Finn is sixteen. He tried to defend me when Father banished me. I'm not leaving him to die because it's dangerous.
My three mates exchange looks.
Then we go together, Zane says. As a pack.
As mates, Darius adds.
And we bring an army, Cael finishes with a dangerous smile.
Lyra bursts into the room, her phone in hand. I just got a text. From an unknown number.
She shows me the screen. My blood turns to ice.
The message is simple: Come alone to Iron claw by dawn, or your brother dies screaming. You have three hours. Your loving sister, Aurora.
Below the text is a photo. Finn, chained with silver, unconscious and bleeding.
My mate bonds flare with fury. All three Alphas' eyes glow with power.
We're going, I say.
It's a trap, Darius warns.
I know.
They'll try to kill you, Cael adds.
Probably.
Good, Zane says with a feral smile. Let them try. They're about to learn what happens when you threaten a True Luna's family.
Through the window, I see dawn starting to break.
Three hours until I walk into certain death.
But I'm not the same girl who got rejected two days ago.
I'm the True Luna. And I'm done running.