Caelan's POV

At 3:47 AM, my wolf goes crazy.

In one moment, I'm performing the nightly border patrol that I've been doing for the past two centuries. The next, my inner wolf is tearing at me while repeatedly yelling the same word:

*"MINE."*

I stop in my tracks.

My wolf hasn't uttered that word in 247 years. Not once. I had begun to think that the Moon Goddess had forgotten about me. that kings might not have mates.

However, there is only one reason why my wolf is acting so crazily right now.

She is present.

My mate has finally arrived after two hundred years of searching.

I transform into a wolf and take off. Every instinct in my body cries out, "CLAIM. PROTECT. MINE," as my paws eat up the ground in pursuit of a scent.

The smell is subtle. feeble. As if the person has lost a lot of strength.

My wolf pushes faster and harder. If she is harmed before I get to her—

There.

Three miles beyond my border, a tiny figure fell to the ground. Not moving. Breathing heavily.

She's so tiny, my gods. Too little. Her shirt allows me to see her ribs even from this distance.

I transform back into a human and move cautiously closer. A giant wolf standing over her when she wakes up could frighten her.

But my world comes to a halt when I approach and see her face.

Half-open, unfocused, silver-grey eyes. Sweat and dirt matted dark hair. Through her ripped shirt, three long scars—claw marks that appear to be around ten years old—can be seen across her chest.

and youthful. She's so young, my gods. Mid-twenties, perhaps.

My heart stops, though, not because of her age or scars.

It's her face.

This face is familiar to me.

"No," I mumble as I fall to my knees next to her. "It's not possible."

However, it is.

I followed rumors that a Moon Priestess was still alive ten years ago. When I got to the Silvermoon Pack lands, I saw a seventeen-year-old girl with trembling hands holding a silver knife and covered in her mother's blood. Back then, her eyes had been a brilliant silver, like the form of moonlight.

The daughter of Lyanna Blackwood.

The final Moon Priestess.

From the shadows, I observed them labeling her a murderer. saw her transformed into an omega. observed the fading of the silver gleam in her eyes.

At that moment, I wanted to take her. However, she had lost her power and was too young and broken. Every Alpha in North America would have pursued us both if I had taken her before she was ready.

So I waited.

Five years ago, I placed Kira in the Silvermoon Pack to protect her. to sustain her until the awakening of her power.

For the past ten years, I've been waiting for this girl to gain the strength to support me.

My wolf is screaming that she is my mate now that she is here, dying on my border.

I whisper, "Found you," as I put my hand to her face.

The mate bond snaps into place like a lightning strike the instant my skin touches hers.

All my cells light up. This one moment is the culmination of two hundred years of waiting, loneliness, and searching.

*MY OWN*

not only mine. OURS. The relationship is unquestionable, mutual, and absolute.

Even when she is half-conscious, I can see the recognition in her eyes as they flutter open. She senses it as well.

When I ask for her name, she whispers, "S-Sera Blackwood."

Sera.

Sera is the name of my friend.

I get angry when she tries to tell me something about another partner. "That boy who turned you down for a decade? He's not your partner. Yes, I am.

Kane, Marcus. I am fully aware of him. I am aware that he ignored the bond he felt. I am aware that he did nothing but allowed them to torment her.

For that, I will kill him.

But I have to save her first.

After what appears to be years of abuse, Sera's body is finally giving up, and her eyes are closing once more.

I give the order, "Stay awake," using Alpha power.

She goes limp in my arms after a brief moment of success.

I snarl and grab her, saying, "Don't you dare die on me." She has no weight. Nothing at all. "Not when I just discovered you."

I run faster than I've ever run in my life as I make my way back to the Obsidian Court.

My pack bond has already alerted my healers, who greet me at the door. After glancing at Sera, they begin yelling commands.

malnourishment. Extreme. For years, she has been starving.

"Several old wounds that never fully healed."

"She doesn't have a wolf. I hardly notice it.

The last one is untrue. I'm perfectly able to sense her wolf. Deep within, it lurks, waiting for the ideal opportunity to show itself.

Awaiting protection.

I tell the healers, "Fix her." It's not a request.

I pace outside the room like an animal in a cage while they work for three hours. My wolf won't stop growling, no matter how much Damien tries to soothe me.

Our friend is injured. Broken. She was harmed by someone, and they will pay for it.

The head healer finally appears. "She is steady. Dozing off. In a few hours, she will awaken.

"And?"

Additionally, she must consume real food for the upcoming month. Rest is required. requires protection. The healer pauses. "The scars on her chest, Your Majesty, are from a ceremonial murder. ancient magic. "Dark magic."

"I am aware of their origins."

The healer bows and walks away.

I enter the room where Sera is sleeping. In that enormous bed, she appears so tiny. delicate. brittle.

However, I am aware of the reality.

The strongest female werewolf in the world is this frail-looking girl. She has the ability to bring down the entire werewolf world once her power is fully awakened.

She is also mine.

I ought to feel victorious. For two hundred years, I have been looking for a Moon Priestess. I need her strength to firmly establish my authority and stop Alphas from challenging me because they believe they can usurp my throne.

But all I can feel as I stand here and watch her sleep is anger.

My friend was broken by someone. Someone attempted to destroy this strong creature.

And I will punish them for it.

---

Hours later, when Sera awakens, I watch her take it all in. the misunderstanding. The terror. The incredulity.

I almost laugh when she tries to get away. As though, after two hundred years, I would finally let her go.

I then admit to her that I was present on the night her mother passed away. that I am aware of who she is.

I say, "A Moon Priestess," and see her world fall apart once more.

She doesn't think I'm real. She doesn't, of course. For ten years, they made her believe she was nothing. It is difficult to dispel such a lie.

However, before I can elaborate further, Damien interrupts with news that makes my wolf growl with rage:

At my border, Marcus Kane is requesting the return of his omega.

*His* omega.

As though Sera could only ever be mine.

I go to the courtyard after leaving Sera in Damien's care. Marcus, who appears desperate, is there with twenty of his wolves. Crazy.

Excellent. He ought to be afraid.

"She's not his omega," I icily inform Damien. "She is my partner."

I nearly slit Marcus' throat when he tries to invoke pack law.

Then Marcus does something unexpected.

He yells Sera's name. implores her to pay attention. claims that by refusing the bond, he was shielding her.

Marcus yells, "My father made me swear." "He made a commitment to your mother! To protect you, I had to turn you away."

I go cold.

Marcus's father and Lyanna Blackwood made a commitment, right?

That makes a difference. There are complications I didn't anticipate, but it's not enough to return Sera—she's mine, and I'll kill anyone who tries to take her.

Then Marcus says something that chills me to the bone:

"She is unable to have two partners! It's not feasible!"

As I'm going to explain, Sera's feelings weren't a genuine mate bond.

Strength. The room where I left Sera had a huge, old power building.

No.

Not just yet. She's not prepared. She just woke up her wolf. If she changes now without identifying herself—

However, it's too late.

A wolf, driven by pure magic, flies through the window rather than jumps.

Every wolf in the area falls to their knees as she lands in the courtyard.

Even me.

Because Sera isn't your typical wolf. She glows as if she were composed of the moonlight itself. Silver-white fur. Ancient power burning in the eyes. The size of a typical she-wolf is doubled.

A complete Moon Priestess.

Something that hasn't happened in three hundred years.

I can tell that Marcus finally realizes what he gave up when he looks at her in complete horror.

I'm still on my knees, but I whisper, "A Moon Priestess." Such power even humbles an Alpha King. "The final member of a purportedly extinct lineage."

as well as mine. I own her.

I can feel Sera's shock reverberating through our mate bond as it explodes into full existence. This is different from the magic she felt with Marcus, which was likely left over from their parents' oath.

This is true.

It's fate.

But I feel them approaching before I can get up and approach her.

More wolves. Many of them.

I can smell the Council of Thirteen—the old Alphas who assist me in ruling—from the north.

I smell rogues coming from the west. There are too many rogues.

Additionally, I smell something from the south that makes my wolf bare his teeth:

Silvermoon Pack elders and Elena Frost.

Everyone is coming here. Right now. This evening.

Because somehow, word has already gotten out.

The Moon Priestess is back.

I gaze at Sera, who is still glowing in her wolf form and is undoubtedly afraid despite her amazing appearance.

She is unaware of her actions. By coming out as herself, she has simply set herself up as a target for all the power-hungry Alphas in North America to pursue.

They'll try to dominate her. Make use of her. If they can't, kill her.

However, they must first pass through me.

I slowly stand up and look into Sera's bright eyes.

I whisper, "Welcome to your new life, little wolf." "I hope you're prepared."

Because the battle for my mate has just begun, whether prepared or not.

And before I allow anyone to take her away from me, I'll burn the whole werewolf world to ash.

I transform into a wolf as the first wave of wolves emerges over the tree line.

It's going to be a long night.