The burst of power knocked everyone backward.
I opened my eyes to find myself floating three feet above the ground, surrounded by a golden light that pulsed with each beat of my heart. The protective necklace around my neck was shining so bright it hurt to look at.
"Elara!" Darius shouted, reaching for me. But when his hand touched the light, it burned him and he jerked back.
Kaelen's possessed body was on the ground, writhing in pain. The silver glow in his eyes flickered on and off like a broken light bulb.
"What's happening to me?" I cried out, but my voice sounded different. Stronger. Like it was coming from everywhere at once.
"Your powers are awakening," Elder Mira said, awe and fear mixing in her voice. "But this is too much too fast. You need to control it before—"
The shrine's old walls started cracking. Books flew off the table. The candles went out all at once, but somehow I could still see everything clearly.
"Elara, you have to calm down," Mom begged. "You're going to bring the whole building down!"
But I couldn't calm down. Not after what I'd seen in Sylas's thoughts. Not after finding out that Alpha Orion—the father of my mates—had destroyed my family.
"How could you?" I demanded, turning to face Alpha Orion while still floating in the air. "How could you kill innocent people?"
"It wasn't supposed to happen that way," he said, his face pale. "We only meant to stop the war—"
"By burning down their homes? By killing children?"
"We didn't know there were children still inside," he whispered. "When we realized what we'd done, it was too late."
The golden light around me pulsed brighter. "My grandmother died because of you!"
"I know. And I've regretted it every day since."
"LIAR!" I screamed.
The power burst outward again, and this time everyone was thrown against the walls of the shrine. Even Elder Mira, who was supposed to be protected by her magic.
That's when I realized something terrifying. I was stronger than all of them. And I was losing control.
"Elara," a weak voice called from the floor. "Please."
I looked down and saw Kaelen. The real Kaelen, not the possessed version. The silver glow was completely gone from his eyes, and he was looking at me with such pain and sadness that it broke my heart.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I rejected you. I'm sorry I made you feel like you weren't good enough. You're perfect, and I was too stupid and scared to see it."
His words hit me harder than any physical blow. All the anger and hurt I'd been carrying since his rejection came flooding back, but alongside it came something else. Love. Real, deep, complicated love.
The golden light around me started to fade, and I slowly floated back down to the ground.
"Kaelen," I breathed, running to kneel beside him. "Are you okay? Did Sylas hurt you?"
"I'm fine," he said, though he clearly wasn't. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his hands were shaking. "But Elara, there's something you need to know. Something I learned while Sylas was in my head."
"What?"
"He's not working alone. Someone in our pack is helping him."
My blood went cold. "Who?"
"I don't know. Sylas was careful not to think about them directly when he was controlling me. But I caught glimpses. Someone with blonde hair. Someone who hates you."
We all looked at each other, thinking the same thing.
"Rhea," Lucien said quietly.
"We don't know that for sure," Alpha Orion said, but he sounded worried.
"Where is she right now?" I asked.
"I don't know," Darius admitted. "She wasn't at the emergency pack meeting earlier."
Elder Mira stumbled to her feet, using the stone table for support. "We need to find her. If she's working with Sylas, she knows all our plans."
"She knows about this shrine," I realized with horror. "She knows we're here."
As if summoned by my words, footsteps echoed outside the shrine. Not one person. Several people.
"They've found us," Elder Mira whispered.
The footsteps stopped right outside the door.
"Elara," a familiar voice called softly. "I know you're in there."
Rhea.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she sang like we were playing some twisted game of hide and seek.
"Don't answer her," Darius warned quietly.
But then Rhea's voice changed, becoming hard and cold. "Fine. If you won't come out, I'll just have to come in."
The door to the shrine burst inward, torn off its hinges like it was made of paper. Rhea stood in the doorway, but she looked different. Wrong. Her normally perfect golden hair was wild and messy. Her green eyes were glowing with an unnatural light. And she was smiling in a way that made my skin crawl.
Behind her stood five other pack members, all with the same bright green eyes.
"Rhea," Alpha Orion said carefully. "What have you done?"
"What I had to do," she replied, stepping into the shrine. "What I should have done years ago."
"You're working with Sylas," I said. It wasn't a question.
"Working with him?" Rhea laughed, and the sound was sharp and bitter. "Oh, Elara. Sweet, stupid Elara. I'm not working with him."
She raised her hand, and I saw something that made my heart stop. A silver ring on her finger. The same silver that had been glowing in the eyes of everyone Sylas controlled.
"I'm controlling him," she said with a smile that was pure evil.
The world seemed to tilt sideways. "That's impossible."
"Is it? Did you really think someone as weak as Sylas could have this much power on his own? Did you think he could control an Alpha's mind without help?"
"But why?" Lucien asked, looking at Rhea like he'd never seen her before. "Why would you do this?"
"Because she stole everything from me!" Rhea snarled, pointing at me. "I was going to be Luna! I was going to mate with one of you! I trained my whole life for it!"
"Rhea—" Lucien started.
"Don't you dare pity me," she snapped. "I don't want your sympathy. I want what's mine."
"The position of Luna isn't something you can just take," Elder Mira said.
"Isn't it?" Rhea held up the silver ring. "This little beauty lets me control anyone I want. I could make all three of the Alpha heirs reject Elara and choose me instead."
"The bonds don't work that way," I said, though my voice was shaking.
"Don't they? Let me show you."
She turned to Lucien and held up the ring. It started glowing brighter. Lucien's eyes immediately glazed over, and when he looked at me, there was no recognition there. No love. Nothing.
"Lucien," I whispered.
He didn't respond. He just stared at me like I was a stranger.
"Tell her you don't love her," Rhea commanded.
"I don't love you," Lucien said in a flat, emotionless voice.
The words hit me like a physical blow, even though I knew they weren't really his.
"Tell her you choose me instead."
"I choose Rhea instead."
I felt the mate bond between us stretch and strain, like a rope being pulled too tight.
"Stop it!" Darius shouted, lunging toward Rhea. But one of the controlled pack members stepped in front of him, knocking him to the ground.
"Rhea, please," I begged. "You don't understand what you're doing. That ring isn't just controlling people. It's feeding on your soul."
"I don't care," she said. "As long as I get what I want."
She turned to Kaelen next. "Your turn."
"No," Kaelen said firmly. "I won't let you control me again."
"You don't have a choice."
The ring flared with silver light, reaching toward Kaelen. But before it could touch him, something unexpected happened. The necklace around my neck started glowing gold again, and a barrier of light formed around Kaelen, protecting him from Rhea's magic.
"What?" Rhea stared at the barrier in shock. "That's impossible. This ring can control anyone."
"Not someone who's protected by true love," Elder Mira said with a small smile.
Rhea's face twisted with rage. "Fine. If I can't have the Alpha heirs, then no one can."
She raised the ring high above her head, and it started shining brighter than ever before.
"What are you doing?" I asked, fear crawling up my spine.
"Calling in all my favors," she said with a wicked grin.
Suddenly, screams filled the night. Dozens of them. Coming from all directions.
"The entire pack," Alpha Orion breathed in horror. "She's controlling the entire pack."
Through the broken doorway, I could see wolves emerging from the forest. Dozens of them. All with bright green eyes.
"Now," Rhea said sweetly, "let's see how much your precious mates love you when they have to choose between saving you and saving everyone else they care about."
She snapped her fingers, and all the controlled wolves started moving toward the shrine.
"Run," Elder Mira whispered.
But there was nowhere to run. We were trapped.
And then I heard something that made my blood freeze. My mother's voice, calling my name from somewhere in the crowd of controlled wolves.
"Mom?" I called back.
"Elara," her voice came again, but it sounded wrong. Flat and empty like Lucien's had been.
"She has your mother too," Rhea said with obvious pleasure. "Along with everyone else you care about. So here's your choice, little omega. Come with me willingly and become my prisoner, or watch me make your mother and all your friends tear each other apart."
I looked around desperately. Kaelen was still weak from being possessed. Darius was outnumbered by the controlled pack members. Lucien was still under Rhea's spell. Elder Mira was too old to fight. And Alpha Orion... I wasn't sure I could trust him anymore.
"What's it going to be?" Rhea asked, enjoying every second of my panic.
That's when I made a decision that surprised everyone, including myself.
"I choose option three," I said, standing up straight.
"There is no option three."
I smiled, and for the first time since this whole nightmare began, I felt truly confident.
"There is now."
I reached up and grabbed the glowing necklace around my neck. And crushed it in my hand.
The explosion of power that followed made my earlier outburst look like a tiny spark compared to a forest fire. But this time, I wasn't losing control. This time, I was choosing to let it out.
"You want to see what a real Luna can do?" I asked Rhea as golden light exploded from my body. "Let me show you."