Rejected By One, Claimed By Two.

The Prophecy That Doomed Us All

The Oracle collapsed in the middle of the festival grounds. One moment she stood trembling under the silver lanterns. The next her knees buckled and she dropped hard onto the stone. The music cut off mid-note. Every conversation died. Hundreds of wolves froze where they stood.

I could not move. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt. Someone near the front called out in alarm, but no one dared approach her. The ancient Moon Oracle was too revered, too feared. Her frail body shook violently. Her milky eyes stared at nothing, wide and unfocused, as if she saw something far beyond this world.

Then her head snapped toward me with unnatural speed. One thin, bony finger rose and pointed straight at my chest.

The air left my lungs. Her hand shifted. She pointed at Draeven. Then at Zyren.

The entire festival fell into complete silence. Hundreds of eyes darted between the three of us in stunned confusion. I felt Draeven go rigid on my left. Zyren stood just as still on my right. Neither of them spoke.

The Oracle’s voice came out cracked and rough, yet it carried across the entire open space with terrifying clarity.

“The Moon Goddess has chosen.”

My blood turned cold.

“The rejected wolf carries not one…”

She paused. Blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth. Her body convulsed harder.

“…but two Second Chance Mates.”

Chaos exploded.

Gasps and shouts crashed together in a deafening wave. People stumbled backward. Others pushed forward for a better look. I stood frozen between the two Blackthorne brothers, both of them equally still, equally stunned. Every powerful wolf at the festival now stared at us like we had become the center of a disaster.

Two mates.

The words did not make sense. These men were my stepbrothers. This could not be real. I looked at Draeven. His face had gone pale, shock and something darker warring in his eyes. I looked at Zyren. His usual easy expression had vanished completely. Wide, serious eyes met mine for a split second before he looked away.

The Oracle was not finished. Her frail body jerked again. Blood now streamed freely down her chin. She lifted her shaking hand once more and pointed at the two brothers standing beside me.

“And if she chooses the wrong one,” she screamed, her voice breaking with raw terror that silenced even the loudest voices in the crowd, “every kingdom will burn!”

The last word tore out of her like it cost her everything she had left. Then her eyes rolled back. Her body went limp. She collapsed lifeless onto the stone before anyone could reach her.

Dead...

Absolute silence crashed over the festival. It was thick and suffocating. No one moved. No one spoke. Hundreds of the most powerful wolves in the region stood frozen, staring first at the Oracle’s still form and then at me.

I could not breathe. I could not think. The dual-mate declaration still rang in my ears. The warning about kingdoms burning sat like ice in my chest. Draeven’s presence felt like a storm barely contained. Zyren’s usual warmth had turned into something sharp and alert. Both of them stood close enough that I felt the tension rolling off their bodies, but neither reached for me. Neither spoke.

My mother pushed through the crowd, face white with fear, but even she stopped several steps away as if an invisible line had been drawn around the three of us.

Whispers started again, low and frantic this time.

“Two mates…”

“The Blackthorne heirs…”

“If she chooses wrong…”

“Kingdoms will burn…”

I wanted to run. I wanted to disappear. Instead I stayed on my feet, chin lifted, even though every part of me shook. I had been rejected in front of my old pack. I had been ordered away by one brother and pulled toward the other. Now an entire region of Alphas had just watched an Oracle die after naming me the center of a prophecy that could destroy everything.

A cold voice cut through the silence. It came from somewhere in the crowd, steady and certain, the kind of voice that belonged to someone used to being obeyed. I could not see who spoke. I only heard the words land like a death sentence.

“The prophecy is real. That girl has just become the most dangerous person in the region.”

Every eye turned back to me. I stood there under the silver lanterns with two forbidden mates at my sides and a dead Oracle at my feet, and for the first time since the Blood Moon I understood the full weight of what I had walked into.

There was no running from this. Not anymore…