For a heartbeat, the world froze.
Smoke curled through the shattered hallway. The house groaned under the weight of the collapsing ceiling. Sparks flickered from ripped electrical wires. The scent of blood, sweat, and wolf energy hung thick in the air.
Lucien stood with his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths, golden eyes glowing like molten fire.
Kieran faced him, unbothered by the blood smearing his jaw, a cruel smirk carved into his face.
And Sera felt her wolf pushing at her bones—wild, restless, desperate to burst free.
She had never felt so much pressure inside her own skin.
Two paths.
Two Alpha auras pulling at her with opposite force.
Lucien's pull was familiar, warm, magnetic—like the steady beat of a heart that had always belonged to her.
Kieran's pull was colder, sharper, unsettling—yet tied to the violent awakening tearing through her body.
"Sera," Lucien breathed again, voice cracking with emotion. "Please. Choose me."
Kieran tilted his head, watching her like prey. "You already know the truth. Your wolf is reacting because she recognizes my bloodline."
"My wolf," she whispered, clutching her chest as the heat rose, "recognizes power—that doesn't mean I belong to you."
Kieran smirked. "That's where you're wrong."
Lucien growled, stepping forward. "Sera is not an object."
"And yet," Kieran replied, "your entire pack wants to use her as one."
Sera's breath hitched.
His words hit too close.
Too true.
Lucien stiffened. "That's a lie."
Kieran chuckled. "Is it? Even your Beta whispered that awakening her sooner would give your pack an advantage. Don't deny it."
Lucien's jaw clenched as guilt flickered across his face—brief, but Sera saw it.
Ava, still half-conscious on the floor, groaned, "Ignore him, Sera… he's twisting the truth…"
"With pleasure," Kieran sneered. Then eyes back to Sera. "You deserve to know what you are. Lucien would have hidden it forever if it kept you in his territory."
Sera felt the world tilt again.
She was shaking—too hot, too cold.
"Stop," she whispered, nails digging into her palms. "Please just stop."
Kieran took a step toward her.
Lucien growled so loud the air shook. "Don't you dare."
Kieran ignored him. "Sera, come with me. I can help you control your awakening. Lucien's fear will only make it worse."
"Fear?" Lucien bared his teeth. "I'm trying to protect her!"
"By lying to her?" Kieran snapped. "By keeping her ignorant until her body breaks under the awakening?"
Lucien froze.
Sera gasped.
Ava said nothing.
The truth slammed into her chest.
"You… you knew?" she whispered, staring at Lucien. "You knew it would hurt this much?"
Lucien's expression collapsed. "Sera—"
"Did you?" she whispered again.
His refusal to answer told her everything.
Kieran smiled coldly. "As I said. He wants a weapon."
Lucien snapped. "No! I want the woman I love alive!"
A silence more painful than shouting fell over the hall.
Lucien's voice dropped to a trembling whisper. "I am terrified of losing you."
Sera's heart cracked.
"I hide things because I don't want anything hurting you. Ever. Especially not this awakening." He took a slow step closer, voice thick with emotion. "If keeping you ignorant kept you safe… I would've done it a thousand times."
Her wolf surged painfully.
Kieran's aura flared. "Do you hear him? He would rather you stay small—unaware—than risk you becoming powerful."
"I would rather she stay alive!" Lucien roared.
The floor beneath them cracked.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Ava coughed, blood trickling down her face, but she pushed herself up. "Sera… it's your choice. Not theirs."
A shockwave of energy burst from inside Sera so violently that the two Alphas stopped mid-fight and turned toward her.
Her nails lengthened.
Her irises flickered gold—then crimson—then back to brown.
Her wolf was forcing its way into reality.
Sera gasped. "It… it hurts—"
Lucien surged forward, but Ava stumbled in front of him. "No! If you touch her now, you might push her wolf into full shift before her body is ready!"
Lucien froze, agony on his face.
Kieran stepped forward confidently. "I can help her."
"You touch her and I'll slaughter you," Lucien growled.
Another wave hit Sera—this one sharp, dizzying, violent. She staggered back into the wall, clutching her chest as her bones heated.
"Make it stop," she gasped. "Please—someone—make it stop!"
Lucien's face twisted in pain. "Sera—Sera, look at me. Breathe with me. Focus on my voice."
Kieran's eyes gleamed. "No, focus on the pain. Don't fight it—embrace it. That's how hybrids awaken. Let it consume you."
Lucien snarled. "You want her to lose control!"
Kieran smirked. "Losing control is the point."
"STOP!" Sera screamed.
A burst of power exploded from her chest, blasting both Alphas backward. Lucien crashed into a cracked pillar; Kieran slammed against the opposite wall.
Ava shielded her head as dust filled the corridor.
Sera stood alone in the center of the destruction, chest heaving, eyes glowing with a strange shimmering light—neither pure gold nor Kieran's crimson, but something new.
Something powerful.
A hush fell.
Lucien stared at her in awe. "Sera…"
Kieran's expression changed for the first time—not cocky, not amused, but stunned.
"You're… awakening naturally," he whispered. "I've never seen—"
Sera took a shaky breath, clutching the wall. Her wolf's voice echoed through her mind—louder than ever but still too fragmented to understand.
Her bones hurt. Her blood felt like fire. She couldn't breathe past the pressure in her ribs.
"Lucien," she whispered, eyes finding him through the smoke. "I… I can't hold it…"
Lucien moved, ignoring Ava's warnings. "Sera, I'm here."
Kieran stepped forward too. "Sera—choose me. Let me help you finish the change. Lucien will only make it worse."
"Back off!" Lucien lunged.
They slammed together again, wrestling, claws slashing, teeth snapping. Their roars echoed like thunder through the burning house.
The floor beneath Sera cracked.
Her knees buckled.
She slid down the wall, trembling uncontrollably.
Ava crawled to her. "Sera… listen to me. Your wolf is confused because the two strongest Alphas in the territory are ripping each other apart over you. Their auras are destabilizing your awakening."
Sera blinked through the pain. "So… what do I do?"
Ava cupped her face gently. "You choose. Not with your wolf. Not with your blood. But with your heart."
"My… heart?" Sera whispered, barely conscious.
"Yes, Sera. Your wolf will follow whichever Alpha you choose. But you have to decide who you trust. Who you want. Who you believe in."
Lucien roared as Kieran pinned him. "Sera—choose me!"
Kieran snarled, "Choose strength!"
Ava looked at her urgently. "Who does your heart go to? Lucien… or Kieran?"
The hallway shook as another part of the roof collapsed.
Sera squeezed her eyes shut.
Lucien's touch.
Lucien's devotion.
Lucien's fear of losing her.
Lucien loving her long before he knew what she was.
Lucien risking everything to keep her safe.
Her heart answered before her mouth did.
Sera opened her eyes.
And whispered with the last strength in her body—
"Lucien."
A pulse of gold exploded from her chest.
Ava shielded her face.
Kieran was thrown across the hall so violently he crashed through a wall.
Lucien fell to his knees—overwhelmed by the force of the mate bond deepening, solidifying, blazing into something ancient.
Sera collapsed forward.
Lucien caught her just before she hit the ground.
Her eyes fluttered weakly. "I… choose you…"
Lucien's voice broke. "I've got you. I've always got you."
Her wolf calmed instantly—settling, accepting, surrendering.
But Sera's last sight before darkness swallowed her was Kieran dragging himself out of the debris, face twisted with fury and a promise of war in his crimson eyes.