Kira's POV
The wagon stops so suddenly I slam face first into the bars.
Out. Now, a warrior growls, yanking the door open.
I stumble into freezing night air. Stone walls tower above me, blocking out the stars the Council fortress. Where my father drew his last breath.
Where I might draw mine.
Warriors shove me forward roughly. Down a spiral staircase that descends into darkness. The air grows colder with each step, damp and stale.
We reach the bottom. A long corridor stretches before us, lined with cells on both sides. Screams echo from somewhere deeper in the complex.
In the last cell before the corridor ends
Lydia?
Kieran's aunt sits slumped in chains, her face a mess of bruises. One eye swollen completely shut. Split lip. Blood crusting her nose.
What did they do to you? I whisper, horrified.
She laughs, the sound wet and broken. Asked questions. When I didn't answer fast enough, they made me scream instead.
Warriors throw me into the adjacent cell. I hit the stone floor hard enough to taste blood.
She needs medical attention
The iron door slams shut with a hollow clang of finality.
They tortured you, I say through the bars separating our cells.
Wanted to know about the twenty moonmarked wolves. She coughs, and blood spatters the stone. Their names. Locations. Everything. I didn't tell them a damn thing.
I stare at her, searching for the trap. Why not? You hate me. You called the Council on me.
I tried to scare you away. Make you leave on your own. She meets my eyes, and I see truth there. But I didn't want you dead, and I sure as hell didn't summon that Shadowbeast. Someone else stole your shirt. Framed me.
You expect me to believe that?
Believe what you want. She slumps against the wall. But I don't betray pack. Not even when that pack includes my nephew's cursed mate.
Footsteps echo down the corridor. Multiple sets, moving with purpose.
Cassius appears outside my cell with four guards. He enters alone, the door locking behind him with an ominous click.
I press my back against the far wall, nowhere left to retreat.
Don't be afraid, he says calmly, sitting on the single bench like we're having tea. I'm not going to hurt you. Not yet.
Reassuring.
I've studied moon marks for thirty years. Ever since they executed Aria the woman I loved. His voice softens with old pain. She was moonmarked. They killed her anyway.
I don't know what to say to that.
Moon marks aren't random accidents, Cassius continues, leaning forward. The Moon Goddess marks wolves who will fundamentally change the world. He pauses. The question is will they change it for better or worse?
And you get to decide?
Someone has to. He stands abruptly, pulling out a knife.
I throw my hands up instinctively. Stop!
Silver light flickers at my fingertips then dies.
Nothing happens.
The silver chains suppress moon magic completely. You're powerless here. He grabs my arm before I can pull away.
The knife slices across my forearm in one smooth motion.
I scream.
Blood wells up from the wound but it's not red.
It's silver. Pure liquid silver.
Cassius's eyes widen with something between awe and terror. Impossible. You're not just moonmarked. His hand shakes slightly. You're
The entire fortress shakes violently.
Stone dust rains down. Cracks spider across the ceiling.
An explosion. Close. Too close.
Alarms blare throughout the complex, high pitched and urgent.
Cassius runs to the door. What's happening?
A guard appears, blood streaming from a head wound. We're under attack! Bloodmoon Pack, sir! Led by Alpha Kieran himself!
My heart stops, then races.
He came for me. Despite everything.
How many warriors?
Fifty. Maybe more. They're fighting like demons
Another massive explosion rocks the fortress. Closer this time.
The fortress shakes harder. Deeper cracks appear in the walls. Mortar crumbles.
Sir, we need to evacuate the lower levels immediately
A boulder crashes through the ceiling, crushing the guard where he stands. His scream cuts off abruptly.
Open all cells! Move prisoners to upper levels! NOW! Cassius is shouting, his composure shattered.
My cell door swings open. Lydia's too.
What's your insane nephew doing? she gasps, staggering to her feet.
Destroying an entire mountain to save his mate.
The corridor tilts at a sickening angle. The floor cracks beneath our feet.
Run!
We flee up the spiral stairs. Lower levels collapse behind us with deafening roars, swallowing everything.
We burst into the main hall just as the massive front doors explode inward in a shower of splinters.
Kieran stands framed in the doorway in wolf form massive, bloody, absolutely terrifying. His eyes glow with Alpha power and barely contained rage.
Behind him, fifty Bloodmoon warriors fan out.
And behind them, twenty wolves glowing with silver, gold, blue, and green light.
The moonmarked wolves. Out of hiding. Fighting for me.
Cassius draws his sword with a metallic hiss. Stand down! This is treason against the Council!
Kieran shifts to human, blood covering most of his body. You took my mate. That's not treason. That's war.
She surrendered willingly!
She was coerced with threats. Kieran's eyes find mine across the hall. The mate bond flares to life. And I'm taking her home.
Council warriors flood the hall from every entrance. A hundred against seventy.
Terrible odds.
Then the twenty moonmarked wolves step forward as one.
Their marks blaze in different colors, casting the hall in rainbow light.
One raises his hand. Fire erupts from his palms, engulfing five warriors.
Another gestures. Ice materializes from thin air, freezing three warriors solid.
A woman screams. Visible sound waves knock down an entire line of Council forces.
Moonmarked wolves aren't just powerful.
They're absolutely unstoppable.
Fall back! FALL BACK! Cassius shouts, his tactical mind finally recognizing a losing battle.
Too late.
Within minutes, it's over. Council warriors lie unconscious or frozen. Only Cassius remains standing.
Kieran crosses to me, each step deliberate. You came, I whisper, still not quite believing it.
Always. He breaks my silver chains with his bare hands like they're paper. Did you really think I'd let them keep you?
The moment the metal falls away, my power surges back like a tidal wave.
My mark blazes so bright everyone shields their eyes.
But I'm staring at my arm.
Where Cassius cut me.
Where silver blood still drips, gleaming in the light.
Kieran sees it. His face goes pale. Kira, what
I don't know.
Elena pushes through the crowd, takes one look at my blood, and gasps.
Moon Goddess preserve us. She grabs my arm, examining the wound with shaking hands. You're not just moonmarked, child.
Then what am I?
She meets my eyes, and I see fear there. Real, bone deep fear.
You're a Moon Child. The first one born in a thousand years.
What does that mean?
Cassius laughs from where he kneels, the sound slightly hysterical. It means she's not just powerful. She's the most powerful being in all the territories. More powerful than every Alpha combined. Than every pack working together.
He looks at me with something resembling pity.
And it means every wolf in the world will want her dead or controlled. There's no middle ground with Moon Children.
The words hang in the air like a death sentence.
Around me, wolves stare with new expressions. Not just awe anymore.
Terror.
And I realize with crushing certainty I'm not free.
I'll never be free.
I've just traded one prison for another.