ROWAN'S POV
I wake up to the taste of blood in my mouth.
My wolf is in control, standing over the rogue I just killed. His throat is torn out. Good. He tried to touch my mate.
*Mate.*
Even thinking the word makes my chest ache where the bond is fractured and bleeding. But my wolf doesn't care about the rejection. He only knows one truth: Isla is ours, and we protect what's ours.
I shift back to human, breathing hard. Four more rogues are dead around me. I killed them all in seconds when they dared to attack her.
But where is she?
I spin around, searching. Mira is pressed against a tree, her eyes wide with fear. "Rowan—"
"Where is she?" My voice comes out as a growl.
Mira points with a shaking hand.
Isla is standing in the middle of the clearing. Her hands glow silver. Her eyes burn like stars. And every wolf within a hundred yards—including me—can barely move under the weight of her power.
She's magnificent. Terrifying. *Mine.*
But she's not looking at me.
She's staring at the man who just stepped from the shadows. Dark hair, silver eyes, power that makes my Alpha instincts scream danger.
"Daemon Shadowcrest," I snarl. "You're on Silvermoon territory without permission."
He doesn't even glance at me. His eyes are locked on Isla like she's the only thing in the world.
"Forgive the intrusion," he says smoothly. "But I've come for something very important. Something that belongs to me."
"She belongs to NO ONE," I snap, moving between him and Isla.
Daemon's smile is cold. "Oh, I think you're wrong about that, Blackwater. You see, I've been searching for a True Omega for a very long time. And now I've found her."
Isla staggers. The silver glow around her hands flickers. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't you?" Daemon takes a step closer. I growl a warning, but he ignores me. "Tell me, Isla Thorne. When did your wolf awaken? Tonight? Three years late? And when she came, did she bring power that made every wolf want to bow? Did she make you feel like you could command the world?"
Isla's face goes pale.
"That's what I thought." Daemon's voice is soft, almost kind. It makes me want to rip his throat out. "You're a True Omega, little one. The rarest wolf alive. And you're exactly what I need."
"For what?" I demand.
Now he looks at me. His silver eyes are flat. Dead. "That's none of your concern. But I'll make you a deal, Alpha heir. Give me the girl, and I'll leave your pack in peace. Fight me, and I'll burn Silvermoon to the ground."
"Try it," I snarl. My wolf surges forward, ready to shift, ready to kill.
But Daemon just laughs. He raises one hand, and suddenly I can't move.
Magic. He's using *magic* to hold me in place.
"Witch blood," Kieran gasps. He's arrived with pack warriors, all of them frozen like me. "He's part witch."
"Part witch, part Alpha, all determined," Daemon says pleasantly. He walks past me like I'm nothing. "Now then. Isla, was it? Come with me. I promise I won't hurt you. Much."
"Stay away from her!" I fight against the magic holding me, but it's like chains made of steel.
Isla backs up. Her power flares again, silver and wild. "I said STOP!"
Daemon does stop. His eyes widen slightly. "Interesting. You're strong. Untrained, but strong. That will make this more fun."
He snaps his fingers.
The magic holding me releases. I lunge forward, but not toward Daemon.
Toward Isla.
Because I'm not in control anymore. My body moves without permission, my hands reaching for her throat.
"No!" I scream inside my head. "Stop! Don't hurt her!"
But my wolf isn't listening. My body isn't listening. Daemon's magic has turned me into a puppet.
Isla's eyes meet mine. I see the betrayal there. The fear.
"I'm sorry," I manage to choke out before my hands close around her neck. "Isla, I'm sorry, I can't—"
Power explodes from her.
It hits me like a bomb, throwing me backward. I slam into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk.
But it's not just me. Every wolf—pack warriors, rogues, everyone—gets thrown back by the blast.
Everyone except Daemon. He's still standing, smiling wider.
"Oh, you ARE strong," he purrs. "Even better than I hoped. Do you know what you could do with training, little Omega? You could command armies. Destroy enemies. Rule packs."
"I don't want to rule anyone," Isla gasps. She's on her knees now, the power draining her. "I just want to be left alone."
"I'm afraid that's not possible anymore." Daemon walks toward her slowly. "You see, my pack is cursed. Dying. Only a True Omega can break that curse. And you're the first one I've found in twenty years."
Twenty years.
Something clicks in my brain. Twenty years ago, there was another True Omega. She died. Murdered by rogues from Shadow Creek Pack.
"You," I rasp, climbing to my feet. "Your pack killed Lyanna Thorne."
Daemon's smile vanishes. "That was unfortunate. My father was... overzealous. She refused to help us, so he tried to force her. She died in the struggle."
"Lyanna Thorne?" Isla whispers. "That was my mother's name."
The clearing goes silent.
Daemon's eyes narrow. "Your mother? But that would mean..." He studies her closer. Then he starts laughing. "Oh, this is perfect! Lyanna's daughter. The True Omega bloodline continues. And you—" He points at her. "—you're going to fix what your mother broke."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Isla says. Her voice is steady even though I can see her shaking.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."
Daemon raises both hands. Dark magic swirls around them—black and purple and wrong.
"No!" I lunge forward again.
But I'm too slow.
The magic hits Isla. She screams. Her body goes rigid, then limp.
"ISLA!" I catch her before she hits the ground. Her eyes are closed. She's breathing, but barely.
"What did you do to her?" I roar at Daemon.
"Just a little sleeping spell. She'll wake up in a few hours. In my territory. With her new pack." He gestures, and more wolves step from the shadows. His warriors. At least twenty of them.
We're outnumbered. Outmatched. And I'm holding my unconscious mate in my arms.
"You can't take her," I say desperately. "The mate bond—"
"Is rejected, according to my sources." Daemon smirks. "She doesn't want you, Blackwater. So why are you fighting so hard?"
"Because I love her." The words burst out. "I've loved her for three years. I was a coward. I hurt her. But I'm not letting you take her. You'll have to kill me first."
Daemon considers this. "That can be arranged."
He moves fast—faster than any normal wolf. His hand wraps around my throat, lifting me off the ground. Isla slips from my arms.
"Any last words, Alpha heir?"
I can't breathe. Can't speak. My vision goes dark around the edges.
But before I pass out, I hear a voice I never thought I'd be grateful for.
"PUT HIM DOWN!"
Alpha Marcus.
He's there with Luna Victoria, Celeste, and what looks like the entire Silvermoon Pack. Fifty wolves, all shifted, all snarling.
Daemon drops me. I fall to my knees, gasping.
"This is pack business, Marcus," Daemon says calmly. "The girl is mine."
"The girl is my daughter," Marcus says. His voice is hard. Final.
The clearing goes silent again.
Daemon's eyebrows raise. "Your daughter? The bastard Omega? Since when do you claim her?"
"Since right now." Marcus steps forward. "You want Isla? You go through me. Through my entire pack. And I promise you, Shadowcrest, it won't be worth it."
Daemon looks at the fifty wolves surrounding him. At Marcus standing tall with Alpha power radiating from him. At me, crawling toward Isla's unconscious body.
Then he smiles. "Very well. I'll retreat. For now. But Marcus? That girl is a True Omega. Word will spread. Every Alpha in the country will come for her. You can't protect her forever."
"Watch me."
Daemon nods to his warriors. They melt back into the shadows. But before he leaves, he looks at me.
"Enjoy your mate while you can, Blackwater. She rejected you. That bond will kill you both slowly. And when you're too weak to protect her anymore?" His smile is cruel. "I'll be waiting."
Then he's gone.
I reach Isla. Pull her into my arms. She's so cold. So still.
"Isla, wake up," I whisper. "Please wake up."
But she doesn't move.
Marcus kneels beside us. For the first time in eighteen years, he looks at his daughter with something like regret.
"What did he do to her?" he asks quietly.
"Sleeping spell," Mira says. She's checked Isla's pulse. "She'll wake up. But Rowan's right. Once word gets out that she's a True Omega..."
"Every Alpha will hunt her," Kieran finishes grimly.
Victoria's face is pale. "This is a disaster. We need to hide her. Send her away. Somewhere no one can find her."
"NO." The word comes out as a growl. I pull Isla closer. "She stays here. Where I can protect her."
"You?" Celeste laughs bitterly. "She rejected you, Rowan. She doesn't want your protection."
"I don't care what she wants." My wolf is in my voice now, dark and possessive. "She's my mate. Mine. And I'm not letting anyone take her. Not Daemon. Not rogues. Not anyone."
"The rejection—" Marcus starts.
"I'm not accepting it." I meet his eyes. "Ever. The bond might kill us both. But I'd rather die protecting her than live without her."
Silence.
Then Isla's eyes snap open.
But they're not violet anymore.
They're pure silver. Glowing. Ancient.
And when she speaks, her voice echoes like a thousand wolves speaking at once.
"Where am I? What happened? Who are you people?"
She doesn't recognize me.
She doesn't recognize anyone.
Daemon's spell didn't just put her to sleep.
It stole her memories.