THANE'S POV
Two hundred miles away, moments earlier...
I wake to the scent of blood and power.
My eyes snap open for the first time in over a thousand years, and the first thing I feel is rage.
Someone hurt her.
I don't know who she is yet. Don't know her name or face. But I know with absolute certainty that she's mine—my Luna, my mate, the one I've been waiting centuries to find.
And someone made her bleed.
"Brothers!" My roar shakes the ancient cave. "WAKE!"
Beside me, two massive wolves stir. Dust and debris fall from their fur as they shake off a millennium of sleep.
Ryker's black eyes open first, shadows immediately swirling around him like they never stopped. "Thane? What—"
"She's calling," I growl. "Our Luna. She's in pain."
Caspian jolts awake, his pale blue eyes flashing white with visions. He gasps, seeing something the rest of us can't. "She's dying. They rejected her. Broke her. She's bleeding on sacred ground—"
"WHERE?" I'm already shifting, my wolf taking over.
A fourth wolf wakes nearby—Dante, my lieutenant and oldest friend. He staggers to his feet, confused. "My lords, how long have we slept?"
"One thousand forty-seven years," Caspian says, his voice distant as more visions flood him. "And we're running out of time. She won't survive much longer."
I don't wait for more explanation.
"Then we run. NOW!"
All four of us shift simultaneously. My wolf form is massive—twice the size of any modern wolf, covered in silver fur that glows faintly in the darkness. Ryker's shadows make him almost invisible. Caspian's eyes burn with prophetic light. Dante's scarred body radiates lethal power.
We are the Ancient Ones. The Original Wolves. The first of our kind.
And we've been asleep, waiting for this moment.
I burst from the cave at a speed that would terrify modern wolves. My brothers follow. Trees blur past as we run faster than should be possible, covering miles in minutes.
Hold on, I think desperately, following the golden thread connecting my soul to hers. I'm coming.
ARIA'S POV
Present moment...
The silver-eyed man kneeling before me radiates danger.
His hand cups my bloody face so gently, but I can feel the violence coiled in his muscles. He's waiting for an answer to his question.
"Who did this to you?"
My mouth is too dry to speak. Up close, he's the most terrifying and beautiful thing I've ever seen. Old scars crisscross his chest and arms. His silver eyes glow with barely controlled fury.
"I asked you a question, little Luna." His voice is soft but deadly. "Who. Hurt. You."
"I... he..." I try to point at Kael, but my hand is shaking too badly.
The man's eyes follow my gesture. When he sees Kael still kneeling nearby, his expression turns murderous.
"You," he snarls.
Kael's face goes white. "I don't know who you are, but—"
The man moves faster than my eyes can follow. One second he's kneeling beside me. The next, he has Kael by the throat, lifted completely off the ground.
"You rejected her." It's not a question. "I can smell the broken bond. You shattered your mate and left her to die."
"She's weak!" Kael chokes out, clawing at the hand crushing his windpipe. "The pack needs—"
The man with black eyes appears beside them. Shadows wrap around Kael's body like chains.
"She's not weak," the shadow man says quietly. "You are. You had the True Luna as your mate and threw her away like garbage."
"True Luna?" My father finally finds his voice, though he's still pressed flat to the ground. "That's impossible—"
"SILENCE!" The silver-eyed man's roar shakes the trees. "You are her father, and you let this happen. You watched her bleed and did NOTHING."
The third man—the one with glowing blue eyes—kneels where the silver-eyed man had been. His gaze finds mine, and I see visions swirling in those strange eyes.
"Little one," he says gently, "I need to See you. May I?"
I don't know what he means, but I nod.
He touches my forehead, and his eyes flash pure white. He gasps.
"Nine seals," he breathes. "Blood magic anchors buried in her bones. She's been poisoned for twenty-two years." His voice turns cold as he looks at Celeste. "By her."
The silver-eyed man drops Kael, who falls gasping to the ground. All three ancient males turn to face my stepmother.
Celeste tries to run.
Shadows grab her, dragging her back. She screams, struggling against the darkness wrapped around her arms and legs.
"Please! I can explain—"
"Explain?" The shadow man's voice is ice. "You tortured a child. Poisoned the True Luna. Tried to steal her power for your own offspring."
"How did you—" Celeste's face drains of color.
"I See everything," the blue-eyed man says softly. "Every spell you cast. Every symbol you drew on her skin while she slept. Every drop of wolfsbane you fed her."
"She deserved it!" Celeste shrieks. "She was supposed to be nothing! Lyanna is the one who should be Luna—"
The silver-eyed man moves so fast he blurs. Suddenly he's in front of Celeste, and the killing intent radiating from him makes everyone freeze.
"You hurt what's MINE," he growls. "Give me one reason I shouldn't rip your throat out right now."
"Thane." The fourth man—the one standing guard—speaks for the first time. "We need her alive to break the seals. Kill her and we might lose the knowledge of how to undo what she's done."
The silver-eyed man—Thane—snarls but steps back.
"Fine. She lives. For now." He turns to my father. "And you. You call yourself Alpha, but you let your mate torture your own daughter?"
"I didn't know!" My father protests, finally managing to lift his head slightly. "She never told me—"
"You didn't WANT to know," Elder Moira snaps. "I tried to tell you something was wrong with Aria. You ignored me. Too busy with your new family to notice your daughter was being slowly murdered."
The truth in her words silences him.
Sage breaks free from the warriors holding her and runs to me. She cradles my head in her lap, tears streaming down her face.
"Aria, I'm so sorry. I should have done more. I should have—"
"Not your fault," I whisper.
Thane is suddenly kneeling beside us again. Up close, I can see how old his eyes are. How much pain and battle and loss they've witnessed.
"We're taking her," he announces to the pack. "Anyone who tries to stop us dies."
"You can't just take my daughter!" My father tries to sound authoritative, but his voice shakes.
"Watch me."
Kael struggles to his feet. "She's my mate. I have rights—"
The shadow man appears in front of him. "You REJECTED her. You have no rights. Speak again and I'll remove your tongue."
"Who are you people?" Lyanna demands, trying to sound brave but failing.
The blue-eyed man smiles, but it's not friendly. "We are the Ancient Ones. The Original Wolves. We were the first of your kind, created by the Moon Goddess herself over a thousand years ago."
Shocked gasps ripple through the pack.
"The Ancient Ones are just legends," Kael says weakly.
"Do we look like legends?" Thane asks coldly. He gently scoops me into his arms like I weigh nothing. "This female carries the Original Bloodline. She is True Luna—the most powerful wolf born in ten centuries. And she is OURS."
"Ours?" I whisper, confused. "But there's three of you—"
"Three mates for one Luna," the shadow man says, his black eyes meeting mine. "It's ancient law. The True Luna is bonded to three Alpha Ancients."
My head spins. Three mates? That's not possible. That's not how mate bonds work—
But then I feel them. Three golden threads in my chest, burning bright, connecting me to these three terrifying males.
It's real.
"What are your names?" I ask weakly.
"Thane Silvercrest," says the silver-eyed one holding me.
"Ryker Ashenmaw," says the shadow man.
"Caspian Nighthollow," says the one with visions.
"And I'm Dante Ironfang," adds the fourth man with a slight smile. "Their lieutenant and your faithful servant, my Luna."
"I'm not... I can't be..." My vision blurs with tears. "I'm just Aria. The weak omega everyone hates."
"You were never weak," Thane says fiercely. "You survived twenty-two years of poison and torture and rejection. You're the strongest wolf I've ever met."
"We're leaving," Ryker announces to the pack. "If any of you follow us, I'll kill you in ways that will haunt your nightmares."
"Wait!" Sage grabs my hand. "Aria, do you want to go with them?"
I look at my best friend. Then at my father who never protected me. At Kael who destroyed me. At Lyanna who always hated me. At Celeste who poisoned me my entire life.
Then I look at the three ancient males watching me with possessive intensity.
They're strangers. Dangerous. Probably violent.
But they're the first people who've ever called me strong.
"Take me away from here," I whisper.
Thane's smile is fierce and triumphant. "As you command, Luna."
All four males shift to their massive wolf forms. Thane carefully takes me by the scruff—the way wolves carry pups—and runs.
The last thing I see before the forest swallows us is Kael's devastated face.
And I feel nothing but relief.