ISLA'S POV
We found the assassin.
Lucian's words make everyone in the war room freeze.
It's been three weeks since someone tried to kill Kade. Three weeks of hunting, investigating, questioning every wolf who had access to the Alpha's office.
Who? I demand.
Lucian slides a photograph across the table. Marcus Thorne. Your father.
The world stops spinning.
I stare at the photo Dad being dragged into a cell, his face twisted with rage. The man who raised me. Who disowned me? Who apparently tried to murder my mate to kill me.
No, I whisper. He wouldn't
He confessed, Damien says gently. Isla, I'm sorry. But he admitted everything.
My legs give out. Sara catches me before I hit the floor.
Why? The word comes out broken. Why would he try to kill me?
He didn't just want you dead, Theron says quietly. He wanted the Moonborne bloodline erased. He's been working with a group called the Old Guard wolves who think the royal family should stay extinct.
I look up sharply. There are more?
At least twenty that we know of, Lucian confirms. All high-ranking wolves in different packs. They've been planning this for months. If they can kill you before the Seven Territories learn you exist, the Moonborne line dies forever.
And they knew about the bond, I realize. They knew killing Kade would kill me too.
Your father told them, Damien says, his voice hard. He's known about the incomplete bond since you left Bloodmoon. He's been feeding the Old Guard information about you.
Betrayal cuts deeper than any blade.
My own father has been plotting my death for two years.
I want to see him, I say.
Isla Lucian starts.
I'm Queen, I interrupt, my voice steady even though I'm shaking inside. And I want to see my father. Now.
The dungeons beneath the Royal Court are freezing.
Marcus sits in a cell, hands chained with silver. When he sees me, his face twists with hatred.
So you survived again, he spits. Like a cockroach.
I stare at the man who raised me. Why? I'm your daughter. How could you
You're not my daughter! Marcus lunges against his chains. My daughter died with Elara! You're just the monster who killed her!
The words should hurt. They don't. Not anymore.
Mom died because I'm Moonborne, I say quietly. Queen Alpha bloodlines are hard to carry. The pregnancy killed her. That's not my fault.
Everything is your fault! Marcus screams. If you'd never been born, Elara would still be alive! I would still have my mate! Instead, I got stuck with you weak, pathetic, worthless you!
Is that why you joined the Old Guard? I ask. Because you hate me that much?
Marcus's laugh is ugly. I joined because someone had to stop the Moonborne line from destroying everything again. Your ancestors nearly wiped out the werewolf race with their wars. We've had peace for two hundred years because your family was gone. And I'll be damned if I let you bring back that chaos.
I'm nothing like my ancestors, I say.
You're exactly like them! Marcus snarls. Arrogant. Power-hungry. You think being Queen makes you special? It makes you dangerous. And dangerous things need to be put down.
I step closer to the bars. You tried to kill Kade. An innocent wolf. Just to get to me.
Kade's not innocent, Marcus sneers. He rejected you, remember? He threw you away like garbage. I did him a favour trying to end his misery.
By murdering him?
By freeing him from a bond he never wanted! Marcus's eyes are wild. That bond should have broken. But you couldn't even reject properly. You clung to him like a parasite. So I decided to cut the connection the only way that works. Death.
My hands shake with rage. You're insane.
I'm realistic, Marcus corrects. And when the Old Guard finishes what I started, you'll be dead. The Moonborne line will be extinct. And the werewolf world will be safe again.
The Old Guard is being arrested as we speak, I say coldly. Lucian's warriors are rounding them up right now. Your plan failed, Father. You failed.
For the first time, Marcus looks uncertain. You're lying.
Am I? I smile without warmth. You underestimated me. Again. Just like you always have. And now you'll rot in this cell for the rest of your life, knowing that the daughter you tried to kill became the most powerful wolf alive.
I turn to leave.
Isla, wait Marcus's voice cracks. Please. I'm your father. You can't just leave me here to
You're not my father, I say without looking back. My father died the day he disowned me. You're just a stranger who shares my blood. And strangers don't get mercy.
I walk out, leaving Marcus screaming behind me.
That night, the Royal Court holds a secret ceremony.
Every wolf who serves the Court gathers in the throne room. Elder Moira stands at the front, holding a crown made of silver moonstone.
This belonged to your mother, Moira tells me. Elara should have worn it. She was meant to be Queen. But she chose love over duty and ran away with Marcus.
How did she really die? I ask. Everyone goes silent.
Moira's ancient eyes are sad. Queen Alpha pregnancies are dangerous. The power fights the infant, trying to protect itself. Elara knew carrying you might kill her. She chose to have you anyway.
Tears sting my eyes. She died for me.
She died believing you would be the Queen she couldn't be, Moira says gently. And she was right.
Lucian steps forward. In his hands is the Moonborne crown ancient, beautiful, powerful.
Kneel, he commands softly.
I kneel before my people.
Lucian places the crown on my head. I crown you Isla Moonborne, Queen of the Royal Wolf Court and rightful heir to the ancient bloodline. Long may you reign?
Long may she reign! The Court echoes.
When I stand and look in the mirror, I barely recognize myself. The broken omega who arrived two years ago is gone completely.
In her place stands a Queen.
How do you feel? Theron asks after the ceremony.
Scared, I admit. Like I'm about to step off a cliff.
You are, Damien says. In three months, we reveal you to the Seven Territories at the Alpha Summit. Every pack leader will be there. Including Kade.
My heart pounds at his name.
There's something else, Lucian says carefully. My spies report that Bloodmoon Pack is falling apart. Kade's leadership is weak. His mate Vivian is embezzling pack funds. Wolves are leaving. The pack might not survive another year.
Good, I say automatically.
Is it? Theron challenges gently. Innocent wolves are suffering, Isla. Children are going hungry because Vivian steals their resources.
Guilt twists in my chest. I hate Kade. I hate Vivian. I hate Bloodmoon Pack.
But those innocent wolves the children, the elders, the ones who had nothing to do with my rejection they don't deserve to suffer.
What do you suggest? I ask.
Invite Kade to the Royal Court, Lucian says. Before the Summit. Let him plead his case for aid. Show the Seven Territories that their new Queen is merciful.
Or, Damien adds, let him see what he threw away before the whole world does.
I think about Kade's face when he sees me as Queen. When he realizes the omega he rejected became the most powerful wolf alive.
Sweet, painful satisfaction fills me.
Send the invitation, I decide. Let him come beg.
Two weeks later, a message arrives at Bloodmoon Pack.
Alpha Kade Blackthorn is summoned to the Royal Wolf Court to discuss aid for his failing pack. He will appear before Queen Isla Moonborne in one week's time.
Kade stares at the message, confused.
Who is Queen Isla Moonborne? he asks his Beta.
No one knows, the Beta admits. The Moonborne line has been extinct for two hundred years. But the summons is official. We have to go.
Kade's chest tightens with anxiety he doesn't understand.
The name Isla feels familiar. Important. But he can't figure out why.
Through the bond the one that never fully broke he feels something stir.
His rejected mate is close. He can sense her.
But that's impossible. Isla died in the mountains two years ago.
Everyone said so.
Didn't they?
Prepare for travel, Kade orders, trying to ignore the bond's insistent pull. We leave for the Royal Court tomorrow.
He doesn't know that across the Seven Territories, the mate he rejected is waiting.
Wearing a crown.
Sitting on a throne.
Ready to watch him fall to his knees.