Sera's POV
"Run!" Luna grabbed my arm. "We have to run now!"
But more howls answered from behind us. Ahead of us. Every direction.
We were surrounded.
"There are too many," Luna's face went pale. "At least twenty. Maybe more."
My heart hammered against my ribs. I pressed both hands to my swollen belly protectively. Nine weeks pregnant but looking six months along. The baby kicked frantically, sensing my fear.
"I can't run fast," I said. My crooked leg throbbed. "Luna, you should go. Save yourself—"
"Not a chance." She positioned herself in front of me, ready to fight. "I told you—you're going to need a friend."
Shapes emerged from the trees. Wolves—but wrong. Their eyes glowed red with madness. Fur matted and diseased. Foam dripping from bared fangs.
Rogues. More than I'd ever seen in one place.
They circled us slowly, cutting off every escape route. Growling. Snarling. Hungry.
The largest one—a massive black wolf with half his face scarred—stepped forward. He shifted into his human form. A huge man, naked, covered in dirt and blood.
"Fresh meat," he said, voice rough and broken. "Been a while since we had fresh meat."
"Stay back!" I screamed. "I'm warning you!"
He laughed. The other rogues joined in, their laughter mixing with growls.
"Little wolfless girl thinks she can warn us?" The black rogue grinned, showing broken teeth. "You're in our territory now. And pregnant she-wolves taste best."
They lunged.
Luna shifted into her wolf form, meeting the first attacker. They collided in a mass of fur and fangs.
But there were too many. Five rogues broke past her, coming straight for me.
I backed against a rock, arms wrapped around my belly. "Not my baby," I gasped. "Please, not my baby!"
The rogues' eyes locked on my stomach. On the life growing inside me.
They wanted my pup.
"No!" I threw my hands out desperately—
Silver light exploded.
But this time it was different. Stronger. The light didn't just push the rogues back—it sent them flying through the air. They crashed into trees with sickening cracks.
The power kept flowing from my hands. My arms lit up with glowing patterns—intricate designs like moonlight written on my skin.
More rogues attacked. The power threw them back like toys.
I felt it building inside me. Growing. The baby's kicks matched the rhythm of the pulses. We were connected to this power somehow.
"Sera!" Luna's voice cut through the chaos. "Behind you!"
I spun. The massive black rogue had circled around. He lunged, claws extended, aiming for my belly—
A shadow materialized between us.
Literally. One second there was nothing, the next a massive figure stood there, catching the rogue's claws with one hand.
The rogue screamed. The sound of bones breaking echoed across the clearing.
The figure threw the rogue aside like he weighed nothing. The black wolf hit a tree and didn't get up.
Sudden silence fell.
I stared at the stranger who'd appeared from nowhere. He was tall—well over six feet—and powerfully built. He wore all black, from his boots to his long cloak. And covering the upper half of his face was a silver mask that caught the moonlight.
But it was his presence that made my knees weak. Power rolled off him in waves so intense it pressed down on me like physical weight. Ancient. Overwhelming. Absolute.
Every rogue in the clearing dropped to the ground. Not from injury—from submission. They bared their throats, whining like puppies before an Alpha.
The masked stranger stood perfectly still, surveying the bowing rogues with cold authority.
Then he spoke. One word. His voice was deep, commanding, the kind of voice that expected instant obedience.
"Leave."
The rogues scrambled to their feet and fled. All of them. Even the injured ones dragged themselves away, terrified.
In seconds, the clearing was empty except for me, Luna, and the masked stranger.
My legs shook so badly I could barely stand. The silver light on my arms had faded, but I could still feel the power humming under my skin.
The stranger turned to face me.
Even through the mask, I felt his gaze. Intense. Penetrating. Like he could see straight through me to whatever was awakening inside.
"Who are you?" I managed to whisper.
He tilted his head slightly, studying me. "Someone who's been looking for you."
His voice sent shivers down my spine. Not from fear exactly. From recognition. Like something inside me knew him even though we'd never met.
"Looking for me? Why?" I clutched my stomach protectively. "I'm nobody. Just an outcast—"
"You're carrying something that belongs to me." He stepped closer. I wanted to back away but couldn't make my legs move. "Not the pup. Though that child is... interesting. No, I'm here for what's awakening inside you."
The power. He meant the power.
"I don't understand what's happening to me," I said. "But it doesn't belong to anyone. It's mine—"
"Is it?" He moved closer still. Now I could see details—the strong jaw below the mask, lips pressed into a thin line, gloved hands that looked like they could crush stone. "The Moon Goddess's blessing that was stolen from my kingdom ten years ago. The power that scattered when my mate died. You're radiating it like a beacon."
My mouth went dry. "Your mate?"
"Elena Silvermoon." His voice turned cold. "Does that name mean anything to you?"
It didn't. Should it?
He must have seen the confusion on my face because he continued. "Your mother was her younger sister. That makes you the rightful heir to the blessing. It's been waiting ten years for someone strong enough to carry it. And it chose you."
"That's impossible. My mother never—"
"Your mother's bloodline was hidden. Sealed. Your entire pack conspired to keep you weak because they feared what you'd become." He gestured at my glowing arms. "But you survived their attempt to destroy you. And now the blessing has awakened."
My mind spun. None of this made sense. "Who are you?"
Luna stepped forward, her voice shaking slightly. "Sera, this is—"
"I'll tell her myself." The masked stranger's gaze never left me. "I am Kieran Nightshade. The Alpha King. And I've traveled here personally to make you an offer."
The Alpha King.
The most powerful wolf in all the realms. The Masked King who'd ruled for over three hundred years. The one nobody dared cross.
He was standing in front of me in the Outcast Lands.
Looking for me.
"What offer?" I whispered.
"Come with me to Crown City." His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. "Become my Luna Queen. Let me protect you and your pup while you learn to control the power inside you."
I stared at him. "You're insane."
"I'm practical." He held out one gloved hand. "You're starving. Injured. Pregnant with a pup that's growing too fast and draining your strength. Without training, the blessing will consume you within months. Kill you and the child both."
"You're lying—"
"Look at your hands."
I did. The silver glow was back, and it was spreading. My skin looked almost transparent, light shining through my veins like they carried molten silver instead of blood.
It hurt. Not much, but enough to notice. Enough to realize he might be telling the truth.
"The power is too much for an untrained vessel," the Alpha King said quietly. "Without control, it'll burn through you. But I can teach you. Give you everything you need to survive."
"Why would you do that? You don't even know me."
"I know you survived your mate's rejection." His masked face tilted slightly. "Survived false accusations, torture, and exile. Survived being thrown off a cliff that should have killed you. You're nine weeks pregnant but look six months along, and you're still fighting for your pup despite having every reason to give up."
He stepped closer. "That's the kind of strength I need in a Luna Queen."
"I'm scarred," I said desperately. "Broken. Pregnant with another man's child. What kind of queen would I make?"
"The kind who refuses to stay broken." His voice softened slightly. "I've ruled for three centuries, Sera Ashwood. I've seen countless wolves with perfect appearances and weak spirits. You have the one thing that matters—you survived what should have destroyed you."
My baby kicked hard. The power inside me pulsed in response.
"What's the price?" I asked. "You're not offering this out of kindness."
"Smart girl." He lowered his hand. "Three rules. Break any of them, and our deal ends immediately."
"What rules?"
"First: Never ask my name. You may call me Your Majesty or Alpha King. But my true name is mine alone."
That was strange, but I nodded. "And second?"
"Never try to remove my mask." His voice turned hard. "I've worn it for ten years. I'll wear it until I choose otherwise. You will not question it or attempt to see beneath it."
The mask he'd worn since his mate died. Since Elena—my supposed aunt—was killed.
"And the third rule?" I whispered.
"Never question why I chose you." He held out his hand again. "Accept these terms, and you'll have everything you need. Protection, resources, safety for your pup. Refuse—" He glanced around the empty clearing, "—and you'll die in these lands within a week. Starvation, childbirth complications, or the assassins your former pack will eventually send."
Assassins. Of course they'd send assassins.
Celeste, Vivienne, Marcus—they'd all worked together to destroy me. They couldn't risk me returning with proof of my innocence.
"You'll protect my baby?" I asked. "No matter what?"
"I give you my word as Alpha King. No harm will come to your pup while you're under my protection."
His word. The word of the most powerful wolf in existence.
Luna touched my shoulder gently. "Sera, you should accept. You won't survive here alone. Not with the baby growing this fast. Not with the blessing consuming you."
She was right. I knew she was right.
But accepting meant binding myself to a stranger. A king who wore a mask and kept secrets. A man who wanted me for the power inside me, not for who I was.
Then again, Marcus had wanted me for political alliance. At least the Alpha King was honest about using me.
My baby kicked again, reminding me I wasn't just choosing for myself anymore.
"If I accept," I said slowly, "what happens to me?"
"You'll live in the palace as Luna Queen. Have servants, healers, teachers—everything you need. Your child will be raised as royalty." He paused. "And you'll learn to control the blessing before it kills you both."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll leave you here to die. I won't force you. But I also won't save you when starvation or assassins come."
Brutal honesty. At least he wasn't pretending to be a savior.
I looked at my glowing hands. At my swollen belly. At the wasteland stretching endlessly around us.
I thought about Marcus celebrating with Celeste. About my father standing silent while they scarred me. About Vivienne's cruel smile as they threw me off the cliff.
They thought I was dead. Broken. Erased.
But I wasn't dead.
And if this stranger—this Alpha King—could give me the power to make them all regret what they'd done...
"I accept," I whispered.
The moment my hand touched his, the world exploded.
Silver light burst from my body in a massive wave that lit up the entire clearing. Power flooded through me—overwhelming, ancient, consuming.
Marks appeared on my arms. Not just glowing patterns—actual marks, like silver tattoos, flowing from my shoulders to my fingertips. Moon symbols, star patterns, designs I'd never seen before.
I gasped as energy tore through every nerve. The blessing wasn't just awakening anymore.
It was claiming me.
And more terrifying—it was connecting me to him.
I felt the Alpha King's shock through the touch. Felt his emotions—surprise, recognition, something that might have been awe.
The bond snapped into place like a physical chain. Not a mate bond. Something older. Deeper.
The light finally faded. I stood in the center of a circle of scorched earth, my arms covered in glowing silver marks. The Alpha King stared at his own hand, where matching patterns now glowed through his glove.
"What did you do?" I gasped.
He looked up at me, and even through the mask, I felt his intensity.
"I didn't do anything. The blessing did." His voice was rough. "It just bonded us. Permanently."
"Bonded us how?!"
"We're connected now. I can feel your emotions. Your pain. Your power." He took a slow breath. "And you'll start seeing my memories. Everything I've tried to keep buried."
Horror washed through me. "I don't want to see your memories! I don't want to be bonded to you!"
"Too late." His voice was grim. "What the Moon Goddess binds, no wolf can break."
A memory flashed through my mind. Not mine. His.
A silver-haired woman laughing, her hand on her pregnant belly. His voice—younger, warmer, full of love: "Elena, our heir will be strong like you."
The memory vanished.
I looked up at the Alpha King. He stood rigid, fists clenched.
"You saw," he said flatly. Not a question.
"Your mate. Elena."
"Yes." One word, heavy with centuries of grief.
The marks on my arms pulsed. More memories waited, I could feel them. His past, his pain, all his secrets—now accessible to me.
And he could feel me too. My fear. My rage. My determination to survive.
We were strangers bound by power neither of us fully understood.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," the Alpha King said quietly. He raised his hand, and shadows began swirling around us. A portal forming. "But it's done now. We're bound until one of us dies."
The shadows opened, revealing a massive city of black stone and silver moonlight. Crown City.
"Welcome home, my Queen," he said. "Let's hope we both survive what comes next."
He stepped toward the portal, still holding my hand.
I looked back once at the Outcast Lands. At the wasteland where I'd survived for three weeks. Where I'd learned that broken things could still fight.
Then I looked down at the silver marks covering my arms. At the life growing in my belly.
I wasn't the broken girl they'd thrown away anymore.
I was something else now. Something dangerous.
And the people who'd destroyed me were about to learn exactly what they'd created.
I stepped through the portal with the Alpha King.
Into my new life.
Into the unknown.