THE CALAMITY

The world exploded in slow motion.

Alessia's eardrums popped as the second detonation thundered through the King Corp gala, rupturing the air like an angry god's scream. The twelve-foot ice sculpture of Artemis shattered with crystalline violence, glinting like falling stars before raining across the blood-slick marble. Fire met silk. Screams tangled with string music still playing on a loop from the orchestra's abandoned instruments. She tasted champagne and cordite, ash and betrayal. Her wolf surged beneath her skin, snarling for blood-

Just as she saw her own face-smirking through the smoke like a secret unraveled.

Mira.

Her sister. Her fucking twin.

Alive.

The recognition hit her like silver between the ribs. Her breath caught, turned sharp. This wasn't some lookalike illusion, some shapeshifter mimicry. It was her. Same upturned mouth. Same high cheekbones. Same storm in the eyes.

"Eyes forward, Blackmoon." Nero's voice sliced through her daze, his hand a vise around her bicep. He hauled her behind a collapsing pillar just as another explosion lit up the orchestra pit like a hellmouth. His tuxedo hung in ruins, shredded at the sleeves to reveal jagged black runes carved into his arms-pulsing, living things.

"She's wearing your scent like perfume."

Alessia wrenched free, fury crashing through her veins. "You knew."

Nero didn't flinch. His smile was a blade slipped between the ribs. "I guessed."

Somewhere beyond the fire, Mira's laughter rang out-sweet, delicate, and laced with venom. Like poisoned wine offered in crystal goblets.

THE TWISTING KNIFE

Mira moved like a ghost through the carnage, untouched by the chaos she'd birthed. Her identical honey-blonde updo remained pristine, her emerald gown flowing around her like envy personified. Her heels didn't falter. No blood marred her skin. No regret shadowed her face.

Only one thing marked her different from Alessia: the silver heart locket gleaming at her throat.

Mother's locket.

Alessia's vision tunneled. That necklace had been around Mira's neck the night the rogues attacked. The night they were both torn apart by teeth, fire, and betrayal. The night Mira was supposed to die.

"Hello, little sister." Mira's voice was Alessia's own, down to the rasp, the smoky elegance-except colder. Sharper. "Did you miss me?"

The bullet was in Alessia's hand before she registered the weight of it. Silver-tipped. Nero had pressed it into her palm days ago. For your twin, if she ever turns up.

"You were supposed to be dead." Alessia's fangs split her gums, blood hot and metallic in her mouth.

Mira touched the locket gently, reverently. "And you were supposed to be Alpha. Funny how life always surprises us." Her smile widened, a serpent uncoiling. "Cyrus always said you lacked the teeth for it."

Alessia fired.

The first shot went wide, shattering a priceless Vermeer. Paint and plaster rained like dust over ruined tuxedos and upturned candelabras.

Mira sighed theatrically. "Still can't shoot straight, I see. But don't worry-tonight's not about you."

Then the chandelier groaned.

A final shudder.

And fell.

THE KING'S GAMBIT

Nero was a shadow between them, stepping into the fray with fire in his eyes and death on his tongue. His dress shirt flared open as he moved, revealing more of those infernal runes-snaking up his collarbones and disappearing beneath the line of his jaw. They pulsed like ancient machinery, humming with raw power.

He caught Mira's wrist just as her fingers closed around a second detonator.

"Now, now," he murmured, his voice a velvet dagger. "Blowing up my favorite Monet is one thing. But my favorite spy?" His grin was all teeth.

"That's personal."

Mira's knee shot upward.

Nero twisted to dodge, but not fast enough. The impact sent him staggering backward into Alessia. His blood hit her like boiling oil-searing, luminous, gold.

Her wolf screamed in recognition.

Mate.

The word detonated in her skull.

Mira's grin turned feral. "Oh, this is too good." She tossed her hair-Alessia's hair-and stepped back into shadow. "Didn't you ever wonder why he kept you alive?"

Nero's hand found the small of Alessia's back, his breath warm against her ear. "Darling, if you wanted me shirtless, you only had to ask."

Then the third bullet came.

THE BLOODIED CROWN

Everything slowed.

Alessia saw three things in brutal clarity:

Graves on the mezzanine, his black-ops pistol smoking.

A silver round spiraling like a curse toward Nero's chest.

Mira's mouth shaping one final word:

"Checkmate."

Instinct took over.

Alessia lunged.

Wrong. Nero moved first.

His body slammed into hers with brutal force, knocking them both sideways. The bullet tore through his shoulder instead of his heart. The impact snapped bone. His gasp-hot and ragged-splashed against her collarbone as golden blood arced across her lips.

It tasted like lightning. Like thunder wrapped in honey.

Like home.

Mira's laughter echoed down as the floor crumbled beneath them. "Oops," she sang. "Guess you just shot your mate."

Then the ceiling gave way.

And the world shattered again.

THE RUNE'S TRUTH

Darkness.

Alessia came to in a heap of stone and steel and pain. The scent of Nero's blood filled the ruined elevator shaft they'd fallen into-rich, syrupy, wrong. She could feel it tainting the air. Somewhere above, Graves barked orders, chaos reigning.

Nero was slumped beside her, his breathing shallow. His blood pooled between them in molten gold.

Her claws were at his throat before her mind cleared. "You knew," she snarled. "You knew she was alive."

He didn't even try to stop her. His eyes, fever-glazed, burned with something unreadable.

"I suspected."

"And the mate thing?"

His laugh was choked and smug all at once. "That was... an unfortunate bonus."

She pressed harder. Her claws dug into flesh. "The runes. They're not wolf. What the hell are you?"

Nero reached for her hand-gently, almost tenderly-and guided it down his chest, where her claws tore away the last of his ruined shirt.

Beneath, a crest carved into his skin glowed with faint firelight.

A wolf, chained to a crown.

"King Corp's first successful hybrid." His voice was a whisper, more confession than boast. "My father's magnum opus. Half wolf. Half god. No soul."

The runes pulsed once-then flickered.

He shuddered. The wound in his shoulder hissed, the silver poison beginning its ruin.

Alessia's wolf thrashed.

Save him.

From above, Mira's voice echoed again.

"Tick-tock, sister. The silver's in his bloodstream. You have seconds."

ALESSIA'S CHOICE

There wasn't time to think.

If she left him, she could chase Mira, end this game before it devoured what was left of her pack. Her sanity.

But Nero had taken a bullet for her. He had secrets, yes-but he also had answers. Power. A name she didn't know how to hate anymore.

And he was hers.

Mate.

"Damn you," she whispered.

Then her fangs split her wrist.

She pressed the bleeding wound to Nero's lips. "Drink, you bastard."

At first, he didn't respond. Then his eyes rolled back-and his teeth sank into her flesh.

The pain was a cleansing fire. Her blood, ancient and Alpha-strong, poured into his mouth like a promise. Their bond seared shut. Her wolf howled.

The world shifted.

Reality bent.

Somewhere above, Mira paused mid-step.

She felt it, too.

The tether. The awakening.

And for the first time, her smile faltered.