Sera's POV

"Teach me how to fight."

Between us, the words linger. Caelan looks at me as if I've just declared war on the moon.

"You can hardly stand, Sera—"

"Then show me how to fight while seated." I ignore my trembling legs and push myself off the bed. "Twenty-four hours isn't much time."

"It's not enough time," corrects Caelan. "Elena has spent her entire life in training. Three hours ago, you learned how to shift.

"So I suppose I'm a quick learner." I move in his direction and almost trip. His arms are strong and steady as he quickly catches me. "Or I try and die. In any case, I'm tired of being powerless."

Caelan's eyes change something. Perhaps respect. or acknowledgment.

"You're insane," he declares.

I'm in a desperate situation. There is a distinction.

After examining my face for a while, he gives me a single nod. "Put on some clothes. In five minutes, we will begin.

"The only clothing I have is—"

A woman with a pile of clothes enters after someone knocks on the door. Her short black hair and unblinking eyes give her a stunning yet menacing appearance.

"Kira?" I take a breath.

The clothes are placed on the bed by my friend, who is the only friend I have from Silvermoon. "Surprise."

"You're present. In fact, you're here. How did you—"

Kira mumbles, "I've been here the whole time." "Well, not right here. but employed by the Alpha King. Five years ago, he sent me to Silvermoon to keep watch over you.

I felt like I was slapped by the words. "You were snooping on me?"

"I was keeping you safe." Kira's tone is firm. "When no one else would. I stopped them every time they tried to do you serious harm. I snuck you food every time you went days without eating. Do you believe those scraps materialized out of thin air?

My throat gets constricted. I felt so alone all those years. Kira, however, was present. She was defending me in the only way she could without revealing her identity.

"Thank you," I mumble.

Kira's face softens. "Thank me by making it through the next 24 hours." Put on your clothes now. There is training equipment on the bed.

I examine the clothing after she leaves. Just a shirt that fits and some basic pants. I hardly recognize myself in the mirror when I wear them.

I appear to be an important person.

When Caelan comes back, he shows me a large training room. Weapons line the walls, and mats cover the floor. However, that isn't what stops me in my tracks.

It's the window.

I can see the courtyard through it, where Marcus and his wolves are still standing. Awaiting. arguing about something with Damien.

"He's still here," I state bluntly.

"Until he talks to you, he won't leave." Caelan comes over to stand next to me. "If you want, I can make him leave."

I ought to desire that. Marcus should be as far away from me as possible.

However, I have a need for answers. He should be asked why he rejected me despite feeling a connection with me.

I say, "Let me talk to him." "Prior to training. I must hear the truth.

Caelan tightens his jaw. "Are you sure?"

"No. However, I'm going ahead anyway."

After five minutes, I'm with Marcus Kane in a private room for the first time in a decade.

He looks awful. He's holding his ribs where I threw him into that tree, his clothes are filthy, and his eyes are bloodshot. Excellent.

He says, "Sera," and my name makes his voice crack. Give thanks to the goddess. I assumed you wouldn't notice me.

"I nearly didn't." I keep my distance from you by crossing my arms. "You've got five minutes. Speak.

"I felt it," exclaims Marcus. "The bond between mates. From the day you turned seventeen, I sensed it. Perhaps even earlier.

I should feel validated by the admission. Rather, it merely enrages me.

"You felt it," I say slowly again. "You chose Elena despite the bond that held us together for ten years."

"I didn't pick Elena!" Marcus moves forward, but when I recoil, he stops. "I decided to keep you safe."

"By permitting them to torment me? by acting as though I didn't exist?"

"Yes!" There is desperation in his eyes. "My father made me take an oath the night your mother passed away, Sera. He threatened to kill me if I recognized the mate bond before I was ready. Both of us. "Your mother made me promise to keep you hidden until your power awakened," he said.

I shake my head. "That is illogical. Why would my mother— if she wanted to keep me safe?

"Make you kill her?" Marcus completes. "I'm not sure. But I know the oath was real. Sera, blood magic. The kind that, if broken, kills you. The oath would come into effect each time I wanted to claim you or tell you the truth. My heart felt like it was being torn out.

I'd like to think he's real. wish to think that he was also in pain. However, a convenient excuse doesn't make ten years of suffering go away.

I whisper, "You could have been kind to me." "You could have prevented them from treating me like trash, even if you were unable to claim me."

"People would have questioned me if I had been nice. They would have examined you too intently. And if they'd discovered what you really were—" His voice cracks. "Sera, they would have killed you. similar to how they murdered every other priestess.

"So you saved me by destroying me? Are you saying that?

"I didn't ruin you." Caelan can be seen in the courtyard outside the window, which Marcus points to. "Here you are, strong and alive. due to my actions. because, despite the fact that it killed me on the inside, I kept my father's oath."

I growl, "Don't you dare," as power flickers at my fingertips. "You have no right to pretend that you are the protagonist of this tale. You put duty before me. You ignored your own mate in favor of your pack's approval. Elena was your choice—”

Marcus exclaims, "I never wanted Elena!" "I despise Elena, but she was the ideal front to give the impression that I didn't want you."

I turn to face the door and say, "Well, congratulations. It worked." "You gave everyone the impression that you didn't want me, including me."

"Sera, hold on—"

I give him one final glance and say, "My five minutes are up. And so are we." "All I need to know is that Caelan felt the bond and claimed me, while you felt it and rejected it."

Marcus erupts, "Caelan knew what you were!" "You think he claimed you because of the mate bond? He claimed you because you're a weapon he can use!" "He's been planning this for ten years!"

My hand is on the door and I freeze. "What?"

Marcus chuckles bitterly, "He's the Alpha King. He needs power to maintain his throne. And you—" "Of course he claimed you. It's strategy, not love." "You're the strongest female wolf alive."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

Marcus approaches and asks, "Don't I?" "Ask him, Sera. Ask him when he first heard about you. If he was so worried, ask him why he never took you away from Silvermoon. Ask him what he truly wants from you."

My heart is racing. "Leave."

"Sera—"

"GET OUT!"

Caelan walks in as the door slams open. He has a wolf at the surface of his eyes, which are pure gold.

Caelan growls, "She told you to leave."

Without flinching, Marcus looks him in the eyes. "You've been taking advantage of her—" "I won't leave until she understands the truth."

"I've been protecting her," Caelan interrupts icily. "While you let them break her."

"You could have taken her at any time! You allowed them to break her too!"

"Every Alpha in North America would have hunted us both if I'd taken her before her power awakened. She needed to be strong enough to defend herself." Caelan's voice falls dangerously low. "And I was prepared to wait until she was ready, unlike you."

"Ready?" Marcus asks with a harsh laugh. "You're calling that ready?" "She fled to die?"

The words struck me hard. He's correct. I wasn't fleeing for my life. I was on the run from death.

"Enough," I murmur.

The two Alphas turn to face me.

"Go now, Marcus, before I let Caelan rip your throat out."

Marcus's face falls flat. "Please, Sera, even though I know I let you down, I still loved you."

I interrupted him, saying, "No." "Whatever you felt, it wasn't love. Love doesn't destroy people. Love doesn't watch them suffer and do nothing."

Marcus gestures to Caelan and asks, "And what he feels is?" "He's taking advantage of you—"

"Maybe he is," I respond. "You lied for ten years, but at least he's honest about what he wants. Get out of my sight before I forget that I'm supposed to be learning control."

After giving me a long look, Marcus turns and leaves.

I'm suddenly out of breath as the door shuts behind him. I collapse to the ground as my legs give out.

Caelan appears right away and kneels next to me. "Sera—"

I look up at him and ask, "Is it true?" "Have you been taking advantage of me? Is this all part of your plan?"

Caelan responds, "Yes," and my heart sinks. "And no. It's complicated."

"Simplify it."

He inhales deeply. "Yes, I need your power. Having a Priestess as my mate solidifies my rule in a way nothing else could." "When I first saw you ten years ago, I felt the mate bond immediately, but I also recognized what you were—a Moon Priestess. The last of your kind."

"So Marcus was right. You're taking advantage of me."

"I'm being strategic," corrects Caelan. "But that doesn't mean the bond isn't real. It's possible that I wanted you for both political reasons and because you're my fated mate."

I get up and move away from him. "I need to think."

"You have twenty-three hours left, Sera. We have to train—"

"I need to think," I said.

Every window in the room breaks as power erupts from me.

Both of us freeze, gazing at the shards of glass all over the floor.

"I apologize," I mumble. "I didn't mean—"

Caelan assertively states, "Don't apologize for your power." "Channel it. That's what training is for."

"I'm not sure if I can trust you."

When we look at each other, he says, "You don't have to trust me. You just have to let me teach you how to survive." "You live first, and then you can choose whether to stay or go."

He's correct. If I die, I won't be able to process my feelings for Caelan.

"Fine," I reply. "Teach me."

For the next six hours, we train nonstop. I learn from Caelan how to shift more quickly, how to use my Priestess power for attacks rather than just explosions, and how to fight intelligently rather than brutishly.

I endure the pain despite my body's protests. Elena is on her way. She also possesses a weapon that can kill me.

I'm not going to die tomorrow.

I eat like I haven't eaten in years when Kira brings food around midnight. since I haven't.

After that, we train for six more hours.

With a pale face, Damien bursts into the training room just as dawn is breaking.

"We have a problem," he declares.

"Let me guess," I say, struggling to stay upright. "Another one?"

Damien turns to face Caelan and says, "Elena changed the terms of the challenge." "She no longer only fights Sera."

Caelan insists, "What do you mean?"

Damien swallows hard as he says, "She's bringing a champion. Someone to fight beside her." "And it was approved by the Council."

I feel cold. "Who?"

"Someone who has seen you for ten years and knows exactly how to hurt you. Someone who knows all your weaknesses."

"Who?" I ask again.

"Your father," says Damien in a low voice. "Tomorrow, Thomas Blackwood will fight for Elena."

"And he's bringing all the wolves from Silvermoon who want to kill you.”