Three marks, one mate

Forty

Zelda POV

The vision came again.

It did not creep in gently or fade in like a dream, it tore through me, violent and unforgiving, dragging me into a future I could neither stop nor fully understand, a future soaked in blood and fire, where screams echoed into nothingness and power consumed everything in its path.

I saw the pack.

I saw their home burning.

The sky was dark, choked with smoke, and the ground was littered with bodies I could not bring myself to count, because I knew if I did, I would recognize them.

I saw her at the center of it all.

Desiree.

Her eyes were glowing—no, blazing with something far beyond what she understood, something ancient and unstoppable, and yet… there was pain in them, unbearable pain, like she was losing herself even as she gained everything.

And beside her, my breath hitched.

Was Elias, but, he was not standing beside her as an equal, he was behind it, controlling it.

Using her.

A sharp gasp tore from my throat as I snapped out of the vision, my body trembling violently, sweat clinging to my skin as though I had just lived through that destruction myself, my fingers digging into the edge of the table as I tried to steady my breathing.

“No…” I whispered hoarsely, shaking my head as if that alone could erase what I had seen. “I won’t let that happen… not again.”

I could not stand by and watch.

I could not keep helping him.

Every moment I remained here, every second I allowed him to move forward with his plans, I was feeding that future, bringing it closer, piece by piece, until there would be no stopping it.

I would have left long ago if not for the one thing tying me to him.

My totem.

The source of my power.

The one thing he had taken from me when I was at my weakest.

My jaw tightened at the thought.

I had searched everywhere, every hidden chamber, every guarded room, every place he thought I would never dare enter but I had not found it, and without it, I was bound to him in ways I despised.

That was why I endured.

That was why I played along.

That was why I smiled when I wanted to tear his throat out.

Because until I found it…I was not free.

The memory of how it all began flashed through my mind, sharp and unwelcome.

I had been searching for the Moon-Born, following whispers and fragments of prophecy, chasing a power I barely understood, when I was ambushed, cornered before I could even defend myself properly and that was when he found me.

He kept me.

My thoughts were abruptly shattered by the sound of the door opening.

“Where were you?” His voice was cold and demanding.

I stiffened instinctively before turning to face him, masking every trace of fear, every flicker of defiance, burying it beneath the calm expression I had perfected over time.

“I was meditating,” I replied smoothly, my tone steady despite the storm raging inside me.

His eyes lingered on me for a moment longer than necessary, as though searching for something beneath the surface, something I refused to give him, before he finally spoke again.

“I need you to see into the future.”

A bitter laugh almost escaped me. “I already told you,” I said, my voice edged with restrained irritation, “I can’t see into the future.”

His jaw tightened, impatience flaring in his gaze as he stepped closer, his presence pressing down on me like a weight.

“Can’t you just try?” he snapped. “Or are you becoming useless to me?”

The threat was clear.

It always was.

But I did not flinch. Instead, I let out a soft chuckle, one that held just enough mockery to provoke him without crossing the line. “You mistake me for someone who exists to serve you.”

His eyes darkened, but I continued before he could speak again, choosing my words carefully.

“All I know,” I said, my tone dropping slightly, more serious now, “is that you are doomed… if she finds the old woman who foretold the prophecy.”

That caught his attention.

“What does that old woman have to do with her?” he demanded, his voice sharp with curiosity.

“She is the key,” I replied, meeting his gaze without hesitation. “The one who can help her understand what she is… and once she does…”

I let the sentence trail off deliberately.

I watched the shift in his expression, the way his confidence flickered for just a second before he forced it back into place, masking it with arrogance.

He took a slow step forward, his gaze sweeping over me in a way that made my skin crawl.

“Are you behaving like this because I slept with Celine?” he asked suddenly, his tone almost amused.

Disgust twisted in my chest. “What you do with your mate,” I replied coldly, “is none of my concern.”

“Then stop acting like it matters,” he said dismissively before his expression hardened again. “Get me the old woman. They must not meet.”

My fingers curled slightly at my sides. “No one knows where she is,” I said quickly, and for once, it was not a lie.

The old woman had disappeared long ago, vanishing without a trace after delivering the prophecy, as though she knew what would follow and chose not to witness it.

Elias studied me for a moment before scoffing lightly, clearly unsatisfied but unwilling to press further.

“Then find her,” he said casually, as though he were asking me to fetch something insignificant. “Or make sure she never finds Desiree.”

“The only thing I can do,” I finally said, my voice measured, “is inform you if the prophecy shifts… or if I see anything unusual.”

It was just enough to keep him from questioning me further.

He stepped closer again, his presence suffocating, his voice dropping into something low and threatening.

“Be careful what kind of news you bring me,” he said. “Or I will feed your head to my wolf.”

A slow smile touched my lips, one that did not reach my eyes. “If you kill me,” I replied calmly, “you will never get her.”

That made him pause.

“Do not fail me,” he said over his shoulder before walking out of the room.

The moment the door shut behind him, the tension I had been holding in snapped, and I exhaled slowly, my shoulders dropping as the silence settled around me once more.

For a few seconds, I did nothing.

Then I closed my eyes and reached inward towards the last fragment of power I still had access to.

Toward the connection I had forged earlier with Desiree.

“You need to find her…” I whispered softly, my voice barely audible, though I knew she would feel it, somewhere deep within her. “Before he does.”