Chaos erupted in the Council chamber. Pack members shouted over each other while Kael writhed on the floor, blood trickling from his mouth. The fake bond Siena created pulled at him like poison.
"My son!" Luna Calista pushed through the crowd, dropping to her knees beside Kael. Her perfect face twisted with rage as she turned to Arin. "This is your fault! You brought this curse upon my family!"
Arin couldn't breathe. The pendant burned against her skin, the cracked green stone pulsing with fading light. She felt Kael's pain as if it were her own.
"We need to get him to the healers," Jaxon said, his usual playfulness gone, replaced by fear for his brother.
Rowan's steady hand gripped Arin's shoulder. "There's another way," he whispered. "The Moonwell."
Queen Althara overheard. "The Moonwell is too dangerous now. The balance has been disturbed."
"It's our only chance," Rowan insisted. His blue eyes met Arin's, filled with an unspoken question. Are you willing to risk everything?
Arin nodded without hesitation.
"No!" Luna Calista snarled. "Keep her away from my son! She's done enough damage."
Alpha Vaughn stepped forward, his powerful presence silencing the room. "My son is dying." His voice was tight with control. "If the Moonwell offers hope, we take it."
Before Luna Calista could argue further, Siena screamed. The key around her neck glowed white-hot, burning into her skin. She clawed at it frantically, but couldn't remove it.
"Help me!" she begged, her eyes wide with terror.
Beta Callen rushed to his daughter's side, but when he touched the key, he yanked his hand back as if burned.
"The Goddess punishes those who interfere with fate," Elder Mava said, her ancient voice carrying no sympathy. "You've started something that cannot be easily stopped."
Four pack warriors lifted Kael carefully. Jaxon and Rowan flanked Arin protectively as they followed the group outside toward the forest path. Luna Calista walked close behind, her icy gaze never leaving Arin's back.
"You'll never be worthy," she hissed as they entered the forest. "My son was meant for greatness, not to be tied to gutter trash."
"Enough, Calista," Alpha Vaughn warned, but the Luna ignored him.
"Do you know what happens to omegas who reach too high?" Luna Calista continued, voice dripping with venom. "They fall. Hard. And no one catches them."
Arin kept walking, focusing on the silver threads that still connected her to Jaxon and Rowan. The broken bond to Kael felt like an open wound in her chest.
Queen Althara glided alongside Arin. "Don't listen to her," she murmured. "Your mother was ten times the Luna that woman will ever be."
"You knew my mother well?" Arin asked, desperate for any information.
"She was my sister," Queen Althara replied quietly.
Arin stumbled in shock. "That makes you—"
"Your aunt, yes." The queen's eyes softened. "I've been searching for you since the night your mother hid you away."
The group reached the Moonwell clearing. In the three days since Arin had been unconscious, the sacred pool had changed. The once-silver water now swirled with streaks of crimson, as if bleeding.
"The Moonwell suffers," Elder Mava said solemnly. "It feels the imbalance."
They placed Kael's shaking body at the edge of the pool. His skin had gone gray, his breathing shallow.
"What do I need to do?" Arin asked, kneeling beside him.
Elder Mava's bone jewelry rattled as she moved forward. "The bond must be restored or released properly. The choice is yours, child, but know that either path requires sacrifice."
"My life for his," Arin whispered, remembering Queen Althara's words.
"Not necessarily death," Elder Mava corrected. "But something equally precious."
Luna Calista pushed forward. "This is ridiculous! My son needs real healing, not some omega ritual!"
"Be silent!" Alpha Vaughn roared, his Alpha voice making everyone flinch.
Luna Calista's beautiful face twisted with hatred. "You've always been weak for strays, Vaughn. Just like when you took in that rogue's son."
A terrible silence fell over the clearing. Rowan's face went completely blank, but pain flashed in his eyes.
"What does she mean?" Jaxon asked, looking between his parents.
"Nothing," Alpha Vaughn growled. "She speaks nonsense."
"Tell them, husband," Luna Calista taunted. "Tell everyone how one of your precious triplets isn't yours at all."
Queen Althara stepped between them. "This helps no one. Your son is dying, Luna Calista. Let Arin try."
Tears streamed down Arin's face as she touched Kael's cold cheek. The connection between them was almost gone, but she could still feel a tiny spark. The broken thread hung limply from her heart, no longer reaching him.
"Help me," she whispered to Elder Mava. "Please."
The old woman handed Arin a small knife. "Blood calls to blood. The Moonwell responds to sacrifice."
Arin took the blade without hesitation. She cut across her palm, letting the blood drip into the crimson-streaked water. The moment her blood touched the Moonwell, the water began to glow.
"Now," Elder Mava instructed, "take him into the pool."
With Jaxon and Rowan's help, Arin guided Kael's limp body into the shallow waters. The cold liquid surged around them, rising unnaturally, creating a barrier that cut them off from the others.
Inside their watery dome, Arin held Kael close. "Come back to me," she begged, pressing her bleeding palm to his chest, directly over his heart.
The broken thread from her pendant stirred, reaching weakly toward him. Kael's eyes fluttered open, glassy with pain.
"Arin," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Let me go. Save yourself."
"No," she said fiercely. "I choose you."
The water around them began to swirl faster, glowing brighter. Arin felt something tear inside her—the bonds connecting her to Jaxon and Rowan stretched thin, pulling painfully.
Outside the water dome, Jaxon dropped to his knees, clutching his chest. Rowan remained standing but swayed dangerously, his face contorted in pain.
"What's happening to them?" Alpha Vaughn demanded.
"The choice is being made," Queen Althara said solemnly. "But something is wrong."
Inside the dome, Arin felt the Moonwell's power surging through her. The green stone in her pendant glowed, the crack slowly mending itself. The thread connecting her to Kael strengthened, weaving itself back together strand by strand.
"I feel it," Kael gasped, color returning to his face. "The bond—it's healing."
But as their connection grew stronger, the other two threads began to fray. Arin cried out as she felt the bonds to Jaxon and Rowan weakening.
"No! I don't want to lose them either!" she screamed at the water, at the Moon Goddess herself.
The water dome shuddered. A voice—ancient and powerful—echoed in Arin's mind.
The price must be paid. One lives. One dies. One sacrifices.
"There must be another way," Arin begged.
Outside, Luna Calista seized her opportunity. She grabbed Elder Mava's knife and lunged toward the water dome, aiming for where Arin knelt with Kael.
"Mother, no!" Jaxon shouted, too weak to stop her.
Just as Luna Calista's blade pierced the water barrier, Rowan moved with supernatural speed. He threw himself between the knife and its target.
The blade sank deep into Rowan's chest. He made no sound as he fell backward into the Moonwell, his blood mixing with the glowing water.
The dome exploded outward, drenching everyone in the sacred water. Arin found herself thrown clear, Kael beside her, fully healed and strong once more.
"Rowan!" Kael scrambled toward his fallen brother, who lay motionless in the shallow pool, blood spreading from his chest.
Luna Calista stood frozen, the bloody knife still in her hand. "I didn't mean—" she began, but Alpha Vaughn silenced her with a look of pure hatred.
Jaxon crawled to his brother's side, tears streaming down his face. "No, no, no..."
Arin felt a terrible tearing sensation as the blue stone in her pendant cracked and darkened. The thread connecting her to Rowan thinned to almost nothing.
"He's sacrificing himself," Queen Althara whispered in horror. "The prophecy—it's coming true."
Elder Mava knelt beside Rowan, checking for signs of life. "He still breathes, but barely. His wolf is fading."
Luna Calista backed away, her perfect face ashen. "I only wanted to protect my sons," she whispered.
"By killing one of them?" Alpha Vaughn roared. "Guards, take her away!"
As two warriors led Luna Calista from the clearing, a strange glow began to emanate from Rowan's body. His eyes flew open, but they weren't his usual blue—they glowed silver, like the Moonwell itself.
"It is done," he said, but the voice wasn't his own. It was ancient, feminine, powerful. "The sacrifice is accepted."
The pendant around Arin's neck burned hot. The blue stone shattered completely, the silver thread dissolving into nothing.
"What's happening to him?" Arin cried, reaching for Rowan.
"Don't touch him!" Elder Mava warned. "That's not Rowan speaking. It's Her."
"The Moon Goddess," Queen Althara whispered, dropping to her knees in reverence.
Through Rowan's lips, the Goddess spoke again. "The false mate has been punished. The true bond has been restored. The sacrifice has been claimed."
Siena screamed from the edge of the clearing. The key around her neck had turned black, burning deeper into her skin. "Make it stop!" she begged.
"Your punishment is just beginning," the Goddess said through Rowan. Her silver eyes turned to Arin. "And your trial is only just starting, little Luna. The Moonwell dies. Without it, all packs will fall."
Rowan's body convulsed violently. When it stilled, his eyes returned to their normal blue, but something was different. Empty.
"Rowan?" Jaxon whispered, touching his brother's face.
Rowan blinked slowly, looking at the faces around him without recognition. "Who's Rowan?" he asked, his voice hollow and confused. "Who are you people?"
Arin's heart shattered as she realized the truth. Rowan hadn't sacrificed his life.
He'd sacrificed his very self