The room explodes at that moment. Theron’s roar shakes the rafters, his Alpha command rolling through the hall like thunder. “Release her. Now.”

But Damon’s arm stays locked around my throat, his breath hot against my ear.

My pulse hammers against his forearm—he can feel it, I know he can. His thumb presses into the scar on my neck, the one that’s now glowing silver, burning like a brand.

“You don’t give me orders, Alpha.” Damon’s voice is silk and poison. “This is a Bloodmoon. Royal blood. My blood.” His grip tightens. “My twin.”

Twin. The word loops in my head, making no sense.

I have a brother. I had a brother my whole life, and I never knew.

A brother who wants me dead.

King Maelric rises from his seat, and the temperature in the room drops. Power radiates from him—ancient, terrible, the kind that makes Mira whimper and press herself flat in my mind.

“Let. Her. Go.”

Damon laughs against my hair. “Make me, old man.”

“Damon.” The King’s voice cracks like a whip. “She is your sister.”

“She’s my death sentence.”

Damon spins me to face the room, and I stumble, my legs barely holding me. His hand slides from my throat to my wrist, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise.

“The prophecy says only one twin survives. Only one can inherit the crown. So tell me, Father—which one of us did you plan to murder?”

The silence that follows is suffocating. Theron moves then, faster than I’ve ever seen him, his hand closing around Damon’s wrist.

“I said. Release her.” His eyes bleed gold, his wolf so close to the surface I can feel the rage pouring off him. “She’s mine. Mine to protect. Mine to—”

“Yours?” Damon’s smile is all teeth. “You rejected her. Threw her away like garbage. Made her scrub floors and serve wine while you fucked your chosen Luna.”

He yanks me closer, and I gasp as pain shoots through my wrist. “She’s not yours anymore, Alpha. She never was.”

“The blood debt—”

“Means nothing.” King Maelric’s voice cuts through them both.

He’s standing now, and Goddess help me, he looks like a king. Ancient and powerful and absolutely merciless.

“Blood debts cannot bind royal blood. Whatever oath her ‘parents’ swore, it died the moment her true lineage was revealed.” His eyes find mine, and something in them makes my chest ache. “She was never yours to keep, Alpha Theron.”

Theron’s jaw clenches, a muscle ticking in his cheek. His wolf is going insane—I can see it in the way he’s barely holding onto control. “She can’t leave.”

“Watch me take her,” Prince Damon smiled.

“No.” The word rips from my throat before I can stop it.

Everyone freezes. Damon’s grip loosens just enough for me to wrench myself free, stumbling back until I hit the wall. My heart is trying to beat out of my chest. My hands are shaking.

And Mira… Mira is howling inside my mind. Terrified and confused and angry.

“I’ve tried to leave.” My voice sounds hollow, distant. “I can’t.”

Theron’s eyes narrow. “What?”

I hold up my wrists, turning them so the light catches the marks there. The brands that burned into my skin when I slammed into the barrier last time. They’re faint now, silvery scars that look almost like tattoos—ancient symbols I don’t recognize.

“I tried to cross the borders. After the rejection. I thought…” My throat closes. “I thought breaking the bond and spilling the blood to the land would free me.”

“It should have.” The King moves closer, and I press harder against the wall. He stops a few feet away, his expression unreadable. “Show me.”

I extend my arms. His fingers are gentle as he takes my wrist, turning it to examine the marks. His face goes pale.

“No,” he breathes. “No, she wouldn’t have—”

“Who?” Damon’s voice is sharp. “Who wouldn’t have what?”

“She protected her.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify