Caelan's POV

In my chest, the moonstone blade burns like liquid fire.

I have previously been stabbed. Silver bullets were fired. Challengers' claims. However, nothing has ever felt like this before—*nothing*.

My blood turns black as the poison spreads instantly. I sense that it is cutting the link between my human and wolf sides. destroying me from the inside out.

I hear Sera scream in the distance as I strike the ground hard.

"CAELAN!"

Something in me is broken by her voice. In my two hundred years of life, I have never heard my name spoken in such a manner. As if she would be destroyed if she lost me.

"Avoid him!" With a roar, Damien transforms into a huge wolf and appears between Gregor and me.

Gregor merely chuckles while the other Council members disperse. "It's too late. Moonstone poison cannot be cured. It might be five minutes before your brother's wolf dies.

Five minutes.

I open my mouth to tell Sera to run, but it refuses to cooperate. My brain has already been poisoned, shutting everything down.

I can make out Sera stumbling toward me through my blurry vision. Despite being weak from her first shift and still wrapped in that blanket, she is coming.

"No," I attempt to say. "Run."

She is not a runner.

She falls to her knees next to me, her hands pressed against my chest wound. Her hands are black with blood that has been poisoned.

She sobs, "You stupid, stupid man." "Why did you do that?"

I want to say, "Because you're mine." I've been waiting for you for two hundred years, and I'm not going to let some old fool kill you five minutes after I've finally found you.

However, I am mute. hardly able to breathe.

Sera's silver-glow eyes meet mine. In response to my suffering, her priestess power is growing.

Desperately, she says, "I can heal you." "My name is Moon Priestess. I am able to—"

"You can't," Gregor interrupts icily. "Moonstone poison is made especially to destroy your kind. The poison will spread to you if you attempt to heal him. Both of you will perish.

Sera doesn't even give him a glance. She doesn't take her eyes off of mine.

"I don't care," she mumbles.

*No.*

My arms won't move when I try to push her away. My limbs have been affected by the poison.

"Sera, please," implores Damien. "Avoid doing this. We'll figure something else out—"

"There isn't another way!" Sera's voice breaks. "He kept me alive. The blade was intended for me, but he took it. I will not allow him to perish.

Marcus says, "You barely know how to use your powers," and I'm shocked to hear genuine worry in his voice. "Trying could kill you."

"Then I commit suicide." Sera's hands grip my chest more firmly. "But I'm not going to watch someone else die because of me."

We develop a strong, desperate, and *permanent* mate bond. She has the same emotions as me. The poison is getting worse. The darkness is drawing near.

Furthermore, she would rather die with me than live without me.

Weakly, my wolf murmurs, "That's my mate." Our queen is that.

Power bursts from Sera's hands as she closes her eyes.

It's not kind. It's not under control. A woman who only discovered she was a Priestess an hour ago is the conduit for this unadulterated, three-hundred-year-old magic.

It hurts like hell. She seems to be using pure fire to burn the poison out of my veins.

I hear Gregor yelling. Damien is shouting. Marcus swore.

But Sera is all I can think about.

I can see her through my closed eyelids because she is glowing so brightly. Tears are streaming down her cheeks as her face is contorted in concentration.

Our mate bond is more intense than the moonstone poison. More powerful than death itself.

And the darkness fades, slowly, impossible.

Sera's power is unrelenting, despite the poison's resistance and attempts to spread. She gives me everything she has. Her power. Her spell. Her vitality.

She whispers against my lips, "Come back." "Return to me. I give you an order. as your partner. as your priestess. as your monarch. Return."

The poison completely burns off.

With a roar that fills the whole area, my wolf springs back to life.

My eyes pop open, gleaming like gold.

Sera falls on top of me, exhausted.

but still living.

Both of us are still alive.

She falls to the ground, but I catch her and hold her to my chest. My chest has healed. Sera's handprint glows faintly silver, and where there was a deadly wound thirty seconds ago, there is only smooth skin.

I was marked by her. healed me. saved me.

"Impossible," Gregor exhales.

My wolf is very, very near the surface when I look up at him.

I whisper, "You tried to kill my mate." Not loud enough.

Gregor backs off. "I was abiding by ancient law—"

"Anyone who tries to kill the Alpha King's mate is guilty of treason, according to ancient law." I slowly stand, still holding Sera's lifeless body. "Death is the penalty for treason."

"You can't—"

"I can." I growl as I speak. "I will, too. Not today, though. I'm bringing my partner inside today to ensure her survival and spare my life."

I glance at the other members of the Council. They're all looking at Sera in awe and terror.

I tell them, "Let this be a lesson." "My friend is not against you. She's not a threat to be contained. She is the strongest female wolf in existence and a Moon Priestess, a healer and protector. She is also mine.

Damien falls into step next to me as I begin my walk toward the Court.

"Brother," he murmurs. "This will not be forgotten by the Council. They'll perceive her strength as—"

"A danger. I am aware. I reposition Sera in my embrace. She's really light. It's too light. "Give them a chance. I'm going to kill them all."

"Even if it starts a war?"

"Especially if it starts a war."

After we enter, I lead Sera directly to my private quarters. Not the guest room where she had previously awoken. My chamber. My bed. My personal area.

The place where she belongs.

My healer comes in instantly after I gently lay her down.

The healer examines her and concludes, "She exhausted herself completely." "It's a miracle she's alive, using that much power when she hasn't eaten much in years."

"Will she get better?"

"Yes. She needs to sleep, though. Days of it. as well as food. An abundance of food.

I nod, keeping my gaze fixed on Sera's pallid face. "Anything she requires. Grab it.

I'm finally by myself with my partner after the healer departs.

I take her hand as I sit on the bed's edge. In mine, it's really tiny. delicate. However, this delicate hand just saved my life.

"Thank you," I mumble. "For not going for a run. for continuing to believe in me."

I feel her wolf brush against mine through the bond, but she doesn't respond. Present but weak.

Her wolf murmurs, "Mate," "You're safe now. Safe.

* "Always," my wolf swears. "We'll give our lives to protect her."

I sense a disturbance at my border just as I'm about to lay down next to her. Many wolves. strong ones.

In the doorway, Damien emerges. "We have a problem, brother."

"Of course we do." Reluctantly, I stand. "What now?"

"An emergency summit is being called by the Council. They are requesting that Sera appear before them to answer for her use of prohibited magic.

"She saved my life."

"They are indifferent. They claim that she is too dangerous to be ignored. They wish to restrict her abilities.

over my lifeless body.

"Tell them that until Sera gets better, the summit can wait."

"Caelan, they're not asking. They have high expectations. They will vote to depose you as Alpha King if you don't comply."

I chuckle. In fact, chuckle. "Give them a chance."

"This is a serious matter. You've already alienated half of the Council by claiming her. If they band together—"

"I'll fight them all after that." I turn to face Sera's sleeping body. "I didn't wait two hundred years for her only to have her taken away by some old fools."

Damien lets out a sigh. "You're willing to fight for a woman you just met?"

She is more than a woman. She is my partner. My monarch. And sure, if it means protecting her, I'll set fire to the whole werewolf world."

"The strategic decision would have been made by the Caelan I knew. would have managed to reach a compromise.

"There was no mate for the Caelan you knew." I look him in the face. "Now everything is different."

"I understand." Damien gives a small smile. "I'm happy. You've spent too much time by yourself.

He departs to bring my message to the Council.

Making sure not to wake her, I go back to Sera's side and lie down beside her.

Since she saved my life, our mate bond has grown stronger. For the first time in years, her wolf is sleeping soundly, and I can feel her dreams and fatigue.

Here, she is secure. Safe. mine.

However, how long?

The Council wants her restrained. Other packs will want her subdued or killed. Now that the Moon Priestess is back, all of North America's power-hungry Alphas will be calling.

There will be war. I sense it.

Whether Sera will be prepared when it comes is the question.

I whisper, "Sleep, little wolf," and plant a kiss on her forehead. Develop your strength. Because your actual training starts the moment you wake up.

She curls up against me and whispers something in her sleep, I believe my name.

I don't feel alone for the first time in two hundred years.

However, my tranquility has been disrupted after three hours.

With a pale face, Damien bursts through the door.

"Awaken, brother. RIGHT NOW.

I get up quickly. "What?"

"Elena Frost has just reached our border. "With fifty rogues and something else."

"Something else?"

"A weapon." Damien's voice falters. "She's got another moonstone blade. Additionally, she is calling for a combat trial.

I feel cold. "Against whom?"

"Against Sera. She is contesting your partner's legitimacy.

Unaware that someone has just declared war on her, I gaze at Sera, who is still sleeping soundly.

"Tell Elena that she can challenge me instead."

"Not possible. Old Law was invoked by her. Women against women. Sera will automatically lose and be put to death if she doesn't fight.

"That law hasn't been applied in—"

"Not important. Elena called for it. She has the support of the Council. Sera has 24 hours to accept the challenge or risk dying.

I look at my sleeping partner. My life was just saved by her. She is worn out, inexperienced, and hardly able to shift.

She must now battle to the death against a skilled fighter who is using a weapon made especially to murder priestesses.

I whisper, "We begin training as soon as Sera awakens." She has twenty-four hours to become a warrior.

"That's not enough time, brother—"

"It must be." I turn to face Damien. "Because I'll kill everyone who permitted this challenge to occur if Elena kills my partner. First, the Council.

Damien gives a nod and walks away.

I take Sera's hand and settle back down next to her.

I mumble, "I'm sorry, little wolf." "War was the result of your desire for freedom. However, I swear—I'll give you the strength to endure it."

Suddenly, Sera's eyes open, gleaming silver in the shadows.

Her voice is hoarse as she asks, "How long?"

"You heard?"

"My wolf listened. via the bond. She slowly sits up. "How long do I have?"

"Twenty-four hours."

She gives a single, expected nod. "Then we'd better get started on our training."

"You just saved my life, Sera. You must get some rest—"

"I must live." She looks me in the eye. "I'm also done letting other people determine my fate. Show me how to fight.

My chest swells with pride.

My queen is that.