ISLA'S POV
The blade stops half an inch from my throat.
Dead, Damien announces. Again.
I drop my practice sword, breathing hard. That's the fifth time today.
Then maybe you should stop getting killed. But Damien's grinning. Six months ago, I couldn't last thirty seconds against him. Now I survive five whole minutes.
Progress.
Again? I groan.
No. You've earned a break. Damien tosses me a water bottle. Besides, you have a new sparring partner coming today.
Another warrior who thinks I'm too soft to be Queen? I've fought dozens of them. They all start by underestimating me and end flat on their backs.
This one's different, Damien says. She specifically requested to train with you.
Before I can ask what that means, a female voice calls out. Is this the Queen everyone's talking about?
I turn to see a wolf about my age striding into the training yard. She's all muscle and confidence, with short black hair and eyes that challenge everything.
I'm Sara Nightshade, she announces. From the Crescent Moon Pack. And I'm here to see if you're really as good as they say.
Something about her directness makes me smile. Want to find out?
Sara's grin is sharp. Absolutely.
We fight for twenty minutes straight. She's good really good. But so am I now.
I finally pin her, my practice blade at her throat.
Sara laughs, breathless. Okay. You're actually good. I'm impressed.
Most people expect me to be weak, I admit, helping her up.
Most people are idiots, Sara says bluntly. I heard you were rejected. That you used to be omega. So what? Look at you now.
I blink. Most wolves whisper about my past. Sara just says it out loud like it doesn't matter.
His loss, Sara continues, wiping sweat from her face. Any wolf who rejects his mate deserves to rot.
Just like that, I know we're going to be friends.
Over the next few weeks, Sara becomes my first real friend since leaving Bloodmoon.
She's fearless in ways I'm still learning to be. She doesn't care about politics or saying the right thing. She just says what she thinks.
So, Sara says one day during lunch, which prince are you going to choose?
I choke on my water. What?
Oh, come on. Sara rolls her eyes. Everyone knows all three of them are in love with you. Lucian pretends he's not, but I see how he looks at you. Damien's not even trying to hide it. And Theron that boy is head over heels.
They're not we're not I stammer.
You're a terrible liar, Sara laughs. But that's okay. You're allowed to have feelings, you know. Even Queens get to fall in love.
I don't want to fall in love, I say quietly. Not after
After your mate rejected you? Sara finishes. Yeah, that's rough. But here's the thing, Isla. That bond? It's fate. But these princes? They're choice. And choice is way more powerful than fate.
Her words stick with me for days.
I'm training late one night alone, because I need to think when Damien appears.
You're pushing too hard, he says, watching me attack a training dummy like it personally offended me.
I need to be stronger, I pant.
You're already the strongest wolf I know. Damien catches my wrist mid-punch. Take a break before you hurt yourself.
I'm fine
The dummy's support beam cracks from my last hit. The whole thing falls toward me.
Damien yanks me out of the way so fast we both crash to the ground. He takes the impact, protecting me with his body.
We land in a tangle of limbs, his arms wrapped around me.
Are you okay? Damien asks, his scarred face inches from mine.
Yeah, I The words die when I see how he's looking at me.
Not like a student. Not like a Queen.
Like something precious he almost lost.
Damien, I whisper.
I can't do this anymore, he says roughly. Pretend I don't feel anything. Pretend you're just my student. His hand cups my face. You're not fine, Isla. You haven't been fine since the rogue attack. Since you saw him again.
I don't want to talk about Kade, I say.
Neither do I. But he's still in your head. Still connected through that damn bond. Damien's thumb brushes my cheek. I just wish
Wish what?
That I could make you forget him. That I could be enough to break whatever hold he still has on you.
My heart aches. Damien
He kisses me before I can finish.
It's different from Lucian's possessive kiss. This one is desperate, pleading, like he's drowning and I'm air.
When we break apart, Damien looks wrecked.
I'm falling in love with you, he admits. Have been for months. And it's killing me because I know you're still tied to him.
The bond won't break, I whisper. Theron's tried everything. We're stuck.
I know. Damien rests his forehead against mine. But I'm a selfish bastard, Isla. Even knowing that, I still want you to choose me.
Before I can respond, my whole body goes rigid.
The bond explodes with pain.
Not my pain. Kade's.
Through the connection, I feel him collapsing. Blood. So much blood. Someone attacked him.
No, I gasp.
What's wrong? Damien demands.
Kade something's wrong he's hurt
The bond pulses again, weaker this time. Kade's consciousness is fading.
And I realize with horror: he's dying.
I have to go, I say, trying to stand. I have to
No. Damien holds me. You don't owe him anything.
If he dies, the bond kills me too! I shout. Don't you understand? We're tied together. His death is my death!
Damien's face goes white. What?
The bond didn't break properly. We're still connected. If he dies My voice cracks. I die with him.
Damien releases me immediately, his expression shifting to pure fury. Then we save him. Not because he deserves it. Because you do.
He pulls out his phone, already calling Lucian and Theron.
But through the bond, I feel Kade's heartbeat getting weaker.
We might already be too late.
We reach Bloodmoon territory in under an hour. The pack house is in chaos.
Wolves are screaming. Running. The smell of blood is everywhere.
I find Kade in the Alpha's office, surrounded by healers who look panicked.
He's on the floor, blood pooling beneath him. Silver blade wounds dozens of them.
Someone tried to assassinate him with silver. The only thing that can kill an Alpha permanently.
Isla? Kade's eyes find mine. He looks shocked I'm here. You came.
Don't talk, I snap, kneeling beside him. Save your strength.
It's bad, one of the healers says quietly. The silver is in his bloodstream. We can't
Move. Theron pushes past everyone. His hands glow with magic as he places them on Kade's chest. The silver is spreading. I can slow it down, but I can't stop it. He needs
My blood, I finish. Theron's been teaching me about royal bloodlines. Queen Alpha blood can neutralize silver poisoning.
No. Lucian's voice is ice behind me. You're not risking yourself for him.
If he dies, I die anyway, I say flatly. Would you rather lose us both?
Lucian's jaw clenches, but he doesn't stop me.
I cut my palm with a knife, let my blood drip onto Kade's wounds.
The moment my Queen Alpha blood touches the silver, it starts burning the poison away.
Kade gasps, his eyes going wide. What
I'm saving your life, I say coldly. Again. This is becoming a bad habit.
It takes thirty minutes for my blood to purge all the silver. By the end, I'm exhausted and Kade is unconscious but stable.
Who did this? Damien demands, his warrior instincts on full alert.
The Bloodmoon Beta steps forward, his face grim. We don't know. Someone broke into the Alpha's office. Used silver blades. They're gone now.
This was an assassination attempt, Lucian says. Professional. Planned. His ice-blue eyes narrow. Someone wants Kade dead.
Someone in his own pack, Theron adds quietly. These were inside defences that were bypassed. The killer knew exactly where to find him.
I look down at Kade's unconscious face and feel sick.
Someone in Bloodmoon Pack wants him dead.
And through the bond, I realize something worse:
Whoever wants Kade dead might know about our connection.
Which means they might know that killing him kills me.
This wasn't just an assassination, I whisper. This was an attempt to kill us both.
The three princes exchange dark looks.
Then we find who did this, Lucian says coldly, and we make them regret ever touching what's ours.
I should probably correct him I'm not theirs. But right now, with an assassin lurking and Kade unconscious and the bond pulsing weakly in my chest, I don't argue.
Because for the first time since becoming Queen, I realize:
Someone out there doesn't just want me dead.
They want me dead so badly, they're willing to kill my rejected mate to do it.
The question is: who?
And why?