Glass cracked as Jaxon knocked over a bottle. He froze, hearing for footsteps, but the healer's den remained quiet. He moved carefully through the darkness toward the back room where they were keeping Aria.
Three days had passed since her wolf had emerged and picked him. Three days since his brothers had stopped speaking to him. Three days of Alpha Darius keeping Aria locked away "for her own safety."
"This is stupid," Jaxon mumbled to himself. He shouldn't have to sneak around to see her. Yet here he was, breaking into Dr. Mara's den at midnight like a thief.
The door to the back room was locked. Jaxon pulled out the key he'd stolen from Dr. Mara's desk and slipped it into the lock. The click sounded too loud in the quiet room.
Inside, moonlight streamed through a small window, throwing silver light across Aria's sleeping form. She looked peaceful for the first time since the service. Her chest rose and fell with steady breaths.
Jaxon approached the bed slowly. He wasn't sure why he'd come, only that he couldn't stay away. The silver thread linking them pulled at his heart constantly, making it hard to think of anything else.
"Aria," he whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Her eyes fluttered open—normal gray now, not sparkling silver. "Jaxon?" She sat up quickly. "What are you doing here? If they catch you—"
"Let them," he said with a small smile. "I had to see if you were okay."
She looked away. "I don't understand any of this. Why did my wolf choose you? Why can I still feel your brothers too? Nothing makes sense."
Jaxon reached for her hand without thinking. The moment their skin touched, a jolt like lightning shot up his arm. Aria gasped, her eyes widening.
"Did you feel that?" she asked.
Jaxon nodded. "It happens every time we touch." He didn't let go of her hand. Instead, he joined their fingers together. The silver thread between them glowed softly in the moonlight. "It's stronger now."
"What is happening to me, Jaxon?" Aria's voice shook. "Everyone keeps talking about prophecies and bloodlines and wars, but no one will tell me the whole truth."
Jaxon took a deep breath. "I snuck into the pack library yesterday. There's an old book about the Silver Moon Pack. It said they were different from other werewolves. They could do things the rest of us can't."
"Like what?"
"Control their shifts perfectly. Heal faster. Command other wolves with their howls." He stopped. "And their royal line could mate with more than one wolf."
Aria's grip on his hand tightened. "That's impossible."
"Not for them. The book called it 'tri-mating'—where the Alpha female forms different kinds of bonds with three mates. One for strength, one for wisdom, and one for heart." Jaxon's eyes met hers. "The three together make her unstoppable."
"That's why I can feel all three of you," Aria whispered. "But why did Sylas choose you?"
Jaxon looked down at their joined hands. "I don't know. Maybe because—"
The door swung open. Dr. Mara stood there, holding a light, her face tight with anger. "I should have known," she said. "Get out, Jaxon. Now."
"No," Jaxon said, standing but not letting go of Aria's hand. "I'm tired of everyone keeping her locked up. Tired of secrets."
Dr. Mara's face softened slightly. "It's for her protection."
"From what?" Aria asked. "Mira is dead. Calyx is hunting me. There's some prophecy about me that everyone knows except me. How is keeping me in the dark protecting me?"
Dr. Mara sighed and closed the door behind her. "You're right. You deserve to know." She sat in the chair beside the bed. "The Silver Moon Pack wasn't just royal—they were chosen by the Moon Goddess herself to keep balance between wolves and humans. Their queen had special powers."
"And you think I'm the next queen?" Aria asked.
"I know you are," Dr. Mara said. "Your awakening proved it. The question is why now, after all these years? Why hide you as an omega only to reveal you at eighteen?"
Jaxon felt Aria's hand shake in his. "The council," he said softly. "They wiped out her pack because they feared her bloodline's power."
Dr. Mara nodded. "And they'll do it again if they find out about her. That's why Alpha Darius is keeping her hidden while he decides what to do."
"What to do with me, you mean," Aria said angrily. "Like I'm a problem to solve."
The silver thread between them pulsed suddenly, getting brighter. Aria gasped in pain.
"What's wrong?" Jaxon asked, fear rising in his chest.
"The bond," Dr. Mara said, running to Aria's side. "It's trying to complete itself."
Aria's eyes began to glow silver again. The thread connecting her to Jaxon shone like a star, but two fainter threads showed as well, stretching out through the walls of the healer's den.
"Kade and Lucian," Jaxon whispered. "They can feel it too."
Dr. Mara put her hand to Aria's forehead. "She's burning up. The bond is too strong for her human form to handle."
"What does that mean?" Jaxon asked.
"It means she needs all three of you to stabilize. The royal bond can't function with just one mate. It needs all three aspects—strength, wisdom, and heart."
Jaxon didn't pause. "I'll get my brothers."
"There's no time," Dr. Mara said. "Look!"
Silver fur was spreading across Aria's skin. Her bones were starting to shift.
"Sylas is taking over," Aria gasped through the pain. "I can't stop her."
Jaxon grabbed both her hands. "Fight it, Aria! Stay with me."
Their eyes locked. For a moment, the silver glow dulled. Aria squeezed his hands.
"I don't want to be queen," she whispered. "I just want to be me."
The moment shattered as howls sounded outside the den. Not pack howls—rougher, crazier.
"Rogues," Dr. Mara said, her face going pale. "Dozens of them."
The door crashed open. Alpha Darius stood there, already half-shifted. "They're here for her," he growled. "Calyx is leading them."
Aria tried to stand, but her legs gave out. Jaxon caught her, lifting her into his arms.
"Take the back exit," Alpha Darius directed. "Get her to Elder Rowan's cabin. We'll hold them off."
As Jaxon carried Aria out, they passed a window viewing the pack grounds. At least thirty wolves stood at the edge of the area, their eyes glowing in the darkness. At their middle was a massive black wolf—Calyx.
My promised one comes for me, Sylas whispered in Aria's mind, loud enough that Jaxon heard it too.
"What does that mean?" he asked as they slipped into the forest.
"I don't know," Aria said, "but Sylas wants to go to him."
Jaxon's arms tightened around her. "I won't let that happen."
They reached Elder Rowan's small cabin hidden among old trees. The old man stood in the doorway as if he'd been expecting them.
"Quickly," he pushed. "Inside."
Once inside, Elder Rowan locked the door and started drawing strange symbols around it with ash from the fireplace.
"Protection runes," he explained. "They'll hide her scent."
Jaxon set Aria down gently on a chair. "We need to get my brothers. Dr. Mara said the bond needs all three of us."
Elder Rowan shook his head. "Too dangerous. The rogues would follow them here."
"Then what do we do?" Aria asked, her voice weak. The silver glow in her eyes was pulsing, getting stronger then fading with each breath.
"There is one way," Elder Rowan said. He reached into a small wooden box and pulled out a sparkling blue stone. "This is a soulstone. It can temporarily stabilize the mate bond without all three males present."
He put it in Aria's palm. "But there's a price. Using it will reveal memories—the truth about your past."
"Do it," Aria said without doubt.
Elder Rowan wrapped her fingers around the stone. "Jaxon must place his hands over yours. The bond between you will channel the stone's power."
Jaxon didn't pause. He covered Aria's hands with his own.
The moment they touched, the stone blazed with light. Aria screamed as memories filled her mind—not just her own, but Sylas's too. A flash of fire. A baby crying. Mira running through the trees. And Calyx, much younger, standing over her cradle, putting a pendant around her tiny neck.
"You were born Luna," his voice repeated in her mind. "But you will return as Queen."
The stone cracked in half. The light faded.
Aria's eyes snapped open, now sparkling with silver fire that didn't fade.
"I remember everything," she whispered.
"What did you see?" Jaxon asked.
Aria turned to him, her face transformed by sudden power and terrible knowledge.
"Calyx isn't hunting me," she said. "He's protecting me from the real enemy—your father."