Nora's POV
The pain hits me in the middle of breakfast.
My chest EXPLODES with fire—both bonds pulling in opposite directions so violently I collapse off my chair. The plate shatters on the floor. Food scatters everywhere.
I can't breathe.
Through Kael's bond: possessive fury that I'm thinking about his brother.
Through Dane's bond: seductive persuasion trying to pull me toward him.
Both of them fighting for dominance inside my chest, tearing me apart.
NORA! Mira drops beside me, her hands on my shoulders. What's happening?
The bonds— I gasp. They're fighting each other
Another wave of pain. I scream.
This has been happening more and more over the past two weeks. Ever since that fake emergency session threat that turned out to be Alpha Roderick trying to scare me into a hasty choice.
The Council gave me back the original timeline—fifteen days left. But the bonds are getting worse.
Every time I lean toward Kael, the Dane bond SCREAMS in protest. Every time I soften toward Dane, the Kael bond BURNS with rejection.
They don't want me to choose. They want me to keep BOTH.
But I can't. Ancient law says I can't.
Get Dr. Helena, Mira shouts to a guard. NOW!
The healer arrives within minutes, her face grim as she examines me. She presses her hands to my chest where both bonds anchor, and her expression grows more worried.
The bonds are actively fighting each other, she says quietly. Your body is caught in the middle.
Can you fix it? Mira asks desperately.
No. Only Nora can fix this by making her choice. Helena meets my eyes. But I need you to understand something. Your body is treating the choice like an amputation. Whichever bond you sever will cause you immense physical and emotional pain. Possibly permanent damage.
The words hit like a punch to the gut.
How much pain? I whisper.
Imagine losing a limb. Now imagine that limb is part of your soul. Her voice is gentle but honest. That's what severing a mate bond feels like. And you're not just severing a bond—you're condemning your rejected mate to death. You'll feel him dying through the connection until it finally breaks.
I'm going to be sick.
I can't do this, I choke out. I can't choose. I can't
The sobs come hard and fast. Two weeks of courting, of being pulled between two alphas, of knowing my choice kills one of them—it's too much.
I break down completely.
Mira holds me while I cry. It's okay. Let it out.
But it's not okay. Nothing about this is okay.
Through both bonds, I feel the exact moment both alphas sense my breakdown. Feel their alarm. Their need to get to me.
Twenty minutes later, they both arrive.
Together.
Kael and Dane walk into my room side by side—not fighting, not arguing. Both of them radiating worry instead of rivalry.
Everyone out, Kael orders. Guards and staff disappear immediately.
Mira squeezes my hand once before leaving. You've got this.
Then I'm alone with both of them.
They don't fight over who gets to sit closer. They just move to either side of my bed—Kael on my left, Dane on my right—and the symmetry of it is almost funny.
We're hurting you, Kael says, his voice rough with guilt.
Tell us how to fix this, Dane adds quietly.
I look between them—identical faces, different souls, both desperately mine. Both bonds pulse in my chest, pulling toward their respective mates with equal intensity.
I can't choose, I whisper. The bond won't let me. Every time I try to lean toward one of you, the other bond feels like it's tearing me apart.
Then don't choose, Kael says.
Both Dane and I stare at him in shock.
What? Dane asks carefully.
Kael's jaw clenches. I can feel her through the bond. Feel what this is doing to her. We're destroying her by making her choose.
The Council demands— Dane starts.
Fuck the Council! Kael's eyes blaze silver. Look at her! She's in physical pain because we're both pulling at her like she's a rope in a tug-of-war game.
Dane's hand finds mine on the bed. What are you suggesting?
I don't know. Kael scrubs his face. I just know I can't keep doing this. Can't keep demanding she choose me when I feel her bond with you screaming just as loudly as ours.
The admission costs him. I feel it through our connection—how much he hates saying this out loud.
But he's saying it anyway. For me.
Ancient law— Dane begins.
Ancient law is killing her, Kael interrupts. And if she dies, we both die anyway. The mate bond works both ways.
They're quiet for a long moment, both processing.
Then Dane speaks. There might be another way.
What way? I ask desperately.
Ancient twin alphas used to share their mates. Before the law changed. Before the Council decided twin bonds were too dangerous. His eyes meet Kael's. What if we
The door SLAMS open.
Elder Magda stands in the doorway, flanked by Council guards. Her wrinkled face is twisted with fury.
Sharing? she hisses. Absolutely NOT.
Both alphas surge to their feet, moving to block me from her view. For once, they're completely unified.
You have no authority here, Kael growls.
I have EVERY authority. Magda waves a hand, and guards file into the room. Fifteen days remain on your deadline. I'm here to ensure you make your choice.
She has fifteen days, Dane says coldly. You can't force her
I can and I will. Magda throws a thick folder onto the bed. Papers scatter across the blanket. Especially now that I know what she really is.
My hands shake as I pick up the papers. They're old documents—birth records, bloodline charts, medical reports.
All about my parents.
What is this? I whisper.
Magda's smile is cruel. The truth about your precious bloodline. Your parents weren't random casualties of the civil war. They were ASSASSINATED.
The room goes silent.
What? Kael's voice is deadly quiet.
Magda pulls out more documents—photos, witness statements, kill orders. Nora's parents discovered they carried Moon Blessed genetics. A bloodline capable of forming multiple mate bonds. They were going to expose the Council's systematic elimination of Moon Blessed wolves over the past century.
My vision blurs. You killed them.
I gave the order, yes. No remorse in her voice. They were dangerous. Their bloodline threatens the natural pack hierarchy. One alpha, one mate, one clear line of succession. That's how it's supposed to be.
You murdered them for genetics? Dane's voice shakes with rage.
I eliminated a threat. Magda's eyes lock on mine. Just like I'll eliminate YOU if you don't make your choice. Your bloodline is dangerous, girl. You can form twin bonds. You can disrupt pack structures. You can inspire other Moon Blessed wolves to reveal themselves.
So you've been killing us, I breathe. For generations.
For ORDER. She steps closer. Your parents tried to expose us. Tried to protect other Moon Blessed families. So we killed them and made it look like war casualties. We've been watching you ever since, waiting to see if you'd manifest the same abilities.
And I did, I whisper.
Unfortunately. Magda's expression hardens. Which is why this ends NOW. You choose one mate in fifteen days, or I'll sever both bonds myself and execute you for being an abomination. Your bloodline dies with you.
Through both bonds, I feel Kael and Dane's murderous rage. They want to tear Magda apart.
But she's surrounded by guards. And she's a Council Elder with the law on her side.
Fifteen days, she repeats. Choose one alpha. Kill the other. And pray I don't decide you're too dangerous to leave alive regardless.
She turns to leave, then pauses at the door.
Oh, and one more thing. Her smile is venomous. Your parents had a son. A baby boy born six months before they died. We never found him. He's out there somewhere, carrying the same Moon Blessed genetics you do.
My heart stops.
I have a brother?
Had, Magda corrects. He's probably dead by now. We've been hunting Moon Blessed bloodlines for twenty years. But if he IS alive... She shrugs. Well, we'll kill him too. Can't have your corrupted genetics spreading.
The door slams shut behind her.
I stare at the documents scattered on my bed, proof that my parents were murdered, that I have a brother somewhere, that my entire bloodline is being systematically destroyed.
I have a brother, I whisper again.
Kael's hand finds my shoulder. We'll find him.
We'll protect him, Dane adds.
But all I can think is: I'm not alone. Somewhere out there, I have family. Real family.
And the Council wants us all dead.
Through the window, I see Magda's car driving away.
And on the front steps, a figure appears from the shadows—scarred, dangerous, watching.
Ghost.
He meets my eyes across the distance and nods once before disappearing back into darkness.
My phone buzzes. A message from an unknown number:
Your brother lives. I've been protecting him for twenty years. If you want to meet him, survive the next fifteen days. Choose wisely, little wolf. Or don't choose at all—there's always a third option. The Council just doesn't want you to know about it.
The message deletes itself.
Fifteen days to choose.
A brother I never knew existed.
And a third option that might save everyone—if I can find it before the Council kills us all.