So this was Sage, Luna's Beta. I'd heard about her, a legendary fighter who'd never lost a battle.

"Our pack scouts just arrived. They say there's going to be war if Thelma isn't freed. Alpha Marcus is rallying the southern packs. They're preparing to march on the Silver Moon."

Luna's face went pale. "War? Over one trial?"

"It's bigger than that now," Sage said. "A True Alpha has awakened and chosen to protect someone. If the Council executes her anyway, it sends a message that even True Alphas can be ignored. Every pack with a strong Alpha will see it as a threat."

"How many warriors?" I asked.

Sage turned to me, her eyes assessing. "At least five hundred, possibly more. Luna's father is leading them. He says he won't let the Council corrupt justice."

Luna grabbed my arm. "Theo, this is spiraling out of control. We need to stop this before wolves start dying."

"I'll go to the Council," I said. "Show them this evidence about Thorne. It might be enough to shift the vote."

"It won't be enough," Sage said bluntly. "Thorne has too much power, too many allies. You need leverage, something bigger."

She was right. But what?

I found Xavier sitting outside Thelma's cell, a tray of food beside him. Through the bars, I could see my sister sitting on the narrow bed. The guards had changed. These ones stood at respectful attention, no longer treating Thelma like a common criminal. A True Alpha's protection meant something, even to those who served the Council.

"Theo," Xavier said, noticing me. "Any news?"

"Luna's pack is threatening war if Thelma isn't freed. And I found evidence that Thorne has been embezzling from multiple packs."

Xavier's eyes flashed gold. "That's why he wants her dead. She's a threat to his corruption."

"Yes. But I don't know if it's enough to change the Council's vote."

Inside the cell, Thelma spoke quietly. "Let them execute me. It's not worth a war."

"Don't say that," Xavier said sharply, moving closer to the bars. "Don't ever say that."

"Why do you care?" Thelma asked, pain in her voice. "You don't even know me."

Xavier was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was raw with emotion.

"I don't remember you. But I dream about you every night. I see your eyes, golden and fierce. I feel your touch, gentle and strong. I wake up aching for someone I don't know, reaching for someone who isn't there. It's like I'm missing a part of myself."

Tears streamed down Thelma's face. "Xavier.."

"Who were we to each other?" he asked desperately. "Please, just tell me that."

"We were everything," Thelma whispered. "We were mates, partners, lovers. We were each other's whole world. And maybe that's enough. Maybe knowing we had that, even if you can't remember it, maybe that's enough."

Xavier reached through the bars, and Thelma took his hand. They sat like that, connected but separated, two people whose love transcended memory. I turned away, giving them privacy.

A young voice called my name. Finn came running up, his face desperate.

"Theo, please. You have to give Xavier his memories back. He's broken without them. I can see it."

"Finn, it's not that simple.."

"I don't care about curses or magic," Finn said fiercely. "He's my brother, and he's in pain. Thelma can fix it. I know she can."

"The curse would kill you," I said gently. "If Xavier gets his memories back, everyone in his bloodline dies. That includes you."

Finn's face crumbled, but he stood straight. "Then I'll die. At least Xavier would be whole again."

"Finn, no.."

A new voice cut through the night, old and commanding. The Oracle appeared from the shadows, moving with that unsettling grace. The Council guards tensed, but she ignored them.

"The Council convenes," she announced. "I bring a prophecy that will change everything."

We all followed her back to the Council chamber, where the five Alphas had reassembled. The room was packed with pack members, all wanting to hear what would happen next.

The Oracle stood in the center, her blind eyes somehow seeing everything.

"A True Alpha has risen not by blood but by love," she said, her voice echoing with power. "The mate bond was not broken. It was transformed. The woman on trial is his true mate, his other half, his destiny."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"And in three days, an ancient enemy will rise that only they can defeat together. Kill her, and you doom all wolf packs. Free her, and you have a chance at survival. The choice is yours, Council. But choose quickly. The enemy is already at your borders."

"What enemy?" Celeste demanded.

Before the Oracle could answer, a horn blast shattered the night. The northern watchtower alarm, the call for invasion.

Everyone rushed outside. On the horizon, I could see them. An army approaching, but not wolves.

Vampires. Hundreds of them, moving with inhuman speed and grace. And at their head, a figure that made my blood run cold.

He was ancient, beautiful in the way deadly things are beautiful. Power rolled off him in waves that rivaled any True Alpha.

A vampire lord, one who hadn't been seen in two hundred years.

A messenger vampire reached the pack boundary, stopping just outside our territory. His voice carried unnaturally far.

"We come with demands from Lord Azrael. Surrender the twins, Thelma and Theo Rivers, to us. They have something that belongs to our master. Give them to us, and we leave peacefully. Refuse, and every wolf in Silver Moon pack dies tonight. You have one hour to decide."

The message delivered, the vampire melted back into the darkness.

Silence fell over the assembled wolves.

Then chaos erupted as everyone started shouting at once.

And I stood frozen, staring at that vampire army, wondering what in the hell we could possibly have that a vampire lord wanted. Wondering if my sister and I were about to die anyway, just in a different way than we'd expected.