POV: Seraphina
Pack law is very clear about what happens to a Luna when her Alpha dies without an heir.
Damien's words echo in my head as I stumble away from the funeral pyre. Away from Natasha's tears. Away from the pack members' judging stares.
I don't make it far before my legs give out. I collapse onto a stone bench at the edge of the clearing, gasping for air.
Marcus cheated on me. With Natasha. My best friend since we were kids. The girl who braided my hair and promised we'd be sisters forever.
She's pregnant with his baby.
He was going to leave me.
I press my hands to my face, trying to hold myself together. I won't cry in front of them. I won't give them the satisfaction.
Seraphina.
I look up. Damien stands in front of me, his face full of fake sympathy. Two other Council members flank him Elder Teresa and Elder Roland.
We need to talk, Damien says. About your future.
I don't want to talk. I want to disappear. But Damien isn't asking he's telling.
Pack law states that when an Alpha dies without producing an heir, his Luna has seventy-two hours to mate with his closest male relative, Damien explains. His voice is too calm, like he's discussing the weather. This maintains pack stability and ensures strong leadership.
The words don't make sense. What?
Marcus's closest male relative is his brother, Elder Teresa adds. Her eyes are hard as stone. Kael Silvercrest.
My stomach drops. You want me to... to mate with Kael?
It's not about what we want, Damien says. It's pack law. You have seventy-two hours from this moment. If you refuse, or if the mating doesn't happen, you'll be exiled from pack territory.
Exiled? The word tastes like poison.
A lone wolf doesn't survive long in the wild, Elder Roland says quietly. He looks almost sad. Rogues, rival packs, hunters... exile is a death sentence, child.
I can't breathe. Can't think. Three days ago, I had a husband. A home. A place in this pack. Now I'm being told to mate a man I barely know or die?
This is insane, I whisper.
This is tradition, Damien corrects. The law exists for a reason. Silvercrest needs strong leadership, not a grieving widow.
His words hit like a slap. Grieving widow. Like I'm weak. Useless.
What if Kael doesn't want this either? I ask desperately.
Then you both face exile, Teresa says coldly. The pack cannot afford to look weak right now. Not with rivals watching our borders.
Damien leans closer. We'll give you tonight to process this. The Council meets tomorrow morning to formalize the timeline. I suggest you speak with Kael before then.
They leave me sitting there, frozen in shock.
Seventy-two hours.
Mate Kael or die.
I think about that moment at the funeral. The burning in my chest. The way the world narrowed to just him and me. The electricity when he caught me.
What was that?
You should go home.
I jump. Kael stands a few feet away, hands in his pockets. How does someone so big move so quietly?
I don't have a home, I say bitterly. Not anymore. Marcus and I lived in the Luna's quarters, but I'm not Luna if I'm being exiled.
Kael's jaw tightens. Did they tell you about the law?
I laugh, and it sounds broken even to my own ears. Oh yes. Mate you in seventy-two hours or die. Quite the choice.
I won't force you, Kael says quietly. If you want to refuse, I'll help you get out of pack territory before they can exile you.
I stare at him. Why would you do that?
Because you deserve a choice. His gray eyes hold mine. Your whole life just fell apart. I won't be another person who takes your power away.
Something in my chest cracks. Kindness. After everything tonight, this stranger is offering me kindness.
At the funeral, I say carefully. When you arrived. I felt something. Like
Like your chest was burning, Kael finishes. His voice is rough. Like you couldn't breathe. Like you were being pulled toward me.
My heart pounds. You felt it too?
Kael looks away. We need to talk. But not here. Not with the whole pack watching.
Before I can respond, shouting erupts from the main house. Kael's entire body goes tense.
What's happening? I ask.
Stay here. Kael's already moving toward the noise.
I ignore him and follow. Because I'm tired of being left in the dark. Tired of people making decisions for me.
We reach the main house to find pack members crowding around the entrance. They part when they see Kael, fear and respect in their eyes.
My stomach drops when I see what they're staring at.
The Luna's quarters my room has been destroyed. The door hangs off its hinges. Through the opening, I can see shredded clothes, broken mirrors, and red paint splattered across the walls.
Someone painted words in huge letters:
FAILED LUNA
Heat floods my face. Humiliation burns through me. Someone in this pack hates me enough to do this.
Kael's dominance explodes outward like a shockwave. The wolves nearest to us whimper and drop their eyes. Even I feel it the raw power of an Alpha command.
Who did this? His voice is deadly quiet.
No one answers. Everyone's too scared.
Find out, Kael orders two warriors. I want names by morning.
Then he turns to me. His expression softens slightly. You can't stay here tonight.
I look at the destroyed room. Four years of my life, ripped to pieces. I don't have anywhere else to go.
You do now, Kael says. Pack your essentials. You're staying in my wing until this is sorted out.
Your wing? I repeat.
It's separate from the main house. Private. Safe. He pauses. You'll have your own room. Your own space. I won't crowd you.
The pack members are watching us. Whispering. Judging.
I should say no. Should refuse. But where else can I go?
Okay, I whisper.
Kael nods once. I'll wait outside while you get what you need.
I step into my destroyed room. Most of my clothes are ruined. My photos are torn. Everything Marcus gave me jewellery, gifts is smashed or missing.
I grab what I can salvage and stuff it into a bag. When I turn to leave, I notice something on my nightstand that the vandal missed.
A small wooden box. My mother's. The only thing I have left of her.
I open it carefully. Inside is a letter in my mother's handwriting, yellowed with age. I've never been able to read it the ink is too faded. But seeing her writing makes my throat tight.
I tuck the box into my bag and walk out.
Kael takes my bag without a word. We walk through the compound in silence, past staring pack members and whispered gossip.
His wing is at the far edge of pack territory. Quiet. Isolated. Safe.
Inside, everything is simple and clean. He shows me to a guest room bigger than I expected, with its own bathroom.
I'm down the hall if you need anything, Kael says. He sets my bag on the bed. Try to get some sleep.
Kael, I say before he can leave. That thing at the funeral. What was it?
He's quiet for a long moment. Then: Tomorrow. I'll explain everything tomorrow. Tonight... just rest.
He leaves, closing the door softly behind him.
I sit on the bed, my mother's box in my lap. Everything I thought I knew is wrong. Marcus didn't love me. Natasha betrayed me. The pack wants me gone.
And Kael the one person who should hate me, who I barely know is the only one offering kindness.
I open my mother's box again, looking at the faded letter. If only I could read what she wrote. Maybe she'd tell me what to do.
That's when I notice something I've never seen before.
The letter is glowing.
Soft white light pulses from the paper, making the faded words suddenly clear. My mother's handwriting sharpens, becoming readable for the first time.
My dearest Seraphina,
If you're reading this, the binding has broken. Your power has awakened. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there to guide you. You need to know the truth about what you are. You're not just a wolf, my darling. You're Moonborn the last of our bloodline. And there are people who will kill to possess your gift...
My hands shake so hard I almost drop the letter.
Moonborn. The word echoes in my head as the white light spreads from the letter to my fingertips, and I realize with growing horror that my entire life has been a lie.