LUNA'S RECKONING

THE ESCAPE

Sera's POV

"The High Council wants me dead?" My voice comes out as a whisper.

Ryker's grip on my hand tightens. "We need to leave. Now. Before Victoria returns with troops."

But I can't move. My mind is spinning. The High Council—the vampire government that rules over all packs—has been hunting me? Why?

"Sera!" Ryker's sharp voice snaps me back. "Move!"

He's right. The wedding hall is in chaos. Pack members are screaming and running. Lily is asleep on the platform. Kade is looking at me with confusion and hurt in his eyes.

Good. Let him hurt.

"Wait," I say, pulling my hand from Ryker's. "My friend Maya. I can't leave without her."

"There's no time—"

"I don't leave my people behind!" My Alpha voice rings out, and even Ryker's eyes widen slightly. "Where is she?"

I scan the frantic crowd and spot Maya's red hair near the exit. She's fighting her way toward me, hitting anyone who gets in her way.

"Sera!" she yells. "What the hell is happening?"

"Long story! We need to go!"

Maya reaches us, breathing hard. She looks at Ryker and raises an eyebrow. "Who's the mountain man?"

"Someone who's trying to save your lives," Ryker growls. "Can we please leave now?"

That's when the doors burst.

Not just one door—all four doors to the ceremony hall burst open at once. Armed wolves pour in wearing black combat gear with a symbol I know immediately—the golden claw mark of the High Council Guard.

"Sera Nightshade!" A voice booms through the hall. "By order of the High Council, you are under arrest for crimes against the werewolf nation!"

My blood turns to ice. They're here. They found me.

A man steps through the main door, and power radiates from him like heat from fire. He's wearing the red cloak of a Council Enforcer—wolves trained to hunt down and kill dangerous criminals.

"Enforcer Darius," Ryker says quietly. "This is bad."

"You know him?" I ask.

"Everyone knows him. He's killed more rogue Alphas than anyone alive."

Darius points at me with a hand wrapped in metal claws. "Sera Nightshade, daughter of rebels Marcus and Selene Nightshade. You are charged with plot to overthrow the High Council. Surrender now, and your death will be quick."

"My parents weren't traitors!" I shout. "They were murdered!"

"They were investigating crimes they had no authority to investigate," Darius says coldly. "They found classified Council business and refused to stop. They forced our hand."

The truth hits me like a punch to the gut. The Council didn't just want my parents dead—they ordered it. Victoria was just the tool they used.

"You killed them because they found out something you wanted hidden," I breathe.

Darius smiles, and it's a terrible smile. "Smart girl. Just like your father. Too smart for your own good."

Rage burns through my blood. My Alpha Dominance rises up, and this time I don't hold it back. Power bursts from me in a shockwave that knocks everyone back three steps—everyone except Ryker and Darius.

"You want me?" I snarl. "Come and get me."

Darius's smile widens. "With pleasure."

He shifts into his wolf form mid-leap, and suddenly a massive black wolf with red eyes is flying at my neck.

Ryker moves faster than I can see. He shifts into his huge silver-white wolf and crashes into Darius mid-air. The two Alphas hit the ground in a growling, snapping ball of fur and teeth.

"Maya, get behind me!" I shout.

The Council Guards rush forward. There must be thirty of them, all trained killers.

My father's training kicks in. I grab a broken piece of wood from a shattered chair and use it like a stick. The first guard reaches me, and I slam the wood into his knee. He drops. I spin and hit the second guard in the throat.

But there are too many. Way too many.

A guard grabs Maya from behind. She screams and punches him in the ribs, but he's too strong.

"Let her go!" I run toward them, but three more guards block my way.

Then the windows burst again.

More wolves crash into the wedding hall, but these aren't guards. They're huge, wearing different pack colors. And they're striking the Council Guards, not us.

A big gray wolf takes down two guards at once. A smaller brown wolf with white paws saves Maya, ripping the guard off her with vicious efficiency.

What is happening?

A man changes from wolf to human right in front of me. He's beautiful in a dark, dangerous way, with black hair and eyes like shadows. He's wearing all black, and power rolls off him in waves.

"Need a hand, little Nightshade?" he asks with a smirk.

"Who are you?" I demand.

"Alpha Damon Ashford. Shadow Pack." He winks. "I've been watching you for a while. Thought tonight might be a good time to introduce myself. "

He's been watching me? "That's creepy."

"That's strategic." Damon pulls out two bent blades. "Duck."

I drop just as he throws both blades over my head. They sink into the chests of two guards who were sneaking up behind me.

"Thanks," I gasp.

"Don't mention it." Damon collects his blades and turns to face more guards. "Literally don't say it. I have a reputation as a heartless assassin to keep."

Another wolf shifts beside us—this one covered in tattoos even in human form. He's wild-looking with a scar across his face and a scary grin.

"The party started without me?" he says. "Rude."

"Who are you?" I'm getting tired of strange Alphas appearing. "Zane Corvus. Rogue King." He cracks his fingers. "I heard the famous Nightshade princess finally came out of hiding. Couldn't miss the show."

"This isn't a show!" I snap. "People are dying!"

"Only the bad guys," Zane says happily, then shifts and leaps at a group of guards.

I look around the destroyed wedding hall. Ryker is still fighting Darius in brutal wolf battle. Damon is moving through guards like a ghost, his blades flashing. Zane fights like a wild animal, all instinct and fury. Maya is safe behind a fallen table.

And Kade— Kade is helping Lily off the station, trying to get her to safety. He looks back at me once, and something in his eyes makes my chest hurt.

Then Enforcer Darius breaks free from Ryker with a vicious kick. He shifts back to human form and raises his hand. Dark magic—Victoria's magic—swirls around his claws.

"The Council and the witch made a deal," I realize. "You're working together."

"Finally catching on," Darius says. He points at me, and black lightning shoots from his hand.

I try to dodge, but I'm too slow. The lightning hits me square in the chest.

Pain. Burning, cold, terrible pain. I scream and fall to my knees. My view goes dark at the edges.

"Sera!" Multiple voices shout my name. Ryker. Damon. Maya. Even Zane.

But I can't move. The dark power is wrapping around my heart like chains, squeezing tighter and tighter.

Darius walks toward me, his metal claws dripping with black energy. "You should have stayed hidden, little Nightshade. Your parents died guarding a secret. Now you'll die without ever knowing what it was."

He raises his claws to finish me off.

Then a voice cuts through the confusion like a blade.

"Touch her, and you'll answer to me."

Everyone freezes. Even Darius stops mid-strike.

A man steps out of the dark at the back of the hall. I can't see his face clearly, but power—massive, old power—radiates from him like the sun. It's stronger than Ryker's. Stronger than Darius's. Stronger than anything I've ever felt.

This is an Alpha like no other.

He walks forward, and the crowds part for him naturally. Council Guards back away. Even Enforcer Darius drops his claws slightly.

The man steps into the moonlight, and I finally see his face.

He's beautiful in a frightening way. Sharp features. Golden eyes that glow like fire. Dark hair with gray streaks—like mine.

And around his neck, he wears a pendant I remember. My father's ring. The one that was meant to be buried with him.

"Who..." I can barely speak through the pain. "Who are you?"

The man kneels beside me, and his golden eyes meet mine. When he touches my shoulder, the dark magic around my heart shatters like glass. The pain vanishes quickly.

"My name is Kieran Nightshade," he says softly. "And I'm your brother."