The silver mark on Isla's neck suddenly blazed white-hot, making her scream. Pain shot through her head like lightning. The world around her—the dark cell, Marcus's cruel smile, the sound of fighting above—all disappeared. Instead, she found herself standing in a sunny field she'd never seen before."What's happening to me?" she gasped, but her voice echoed weirdly.A woman turned around, and Isla's heart stopped. It was like looking in a mirror twenty years from now. The woman had Isla's green eyes, her black hair, and the same silver mark glowing on her neck."My beautiful daughter," the woman said, tears running down her face. "I wish I could have protected you from all this.""Mom?" Isla's voice broke. "But you're dead.""My body is. But the silver blood keeps memories alive in holy places. You're seeing my past because you need to know the truth." Her mother reached out, but her hand passed through Isla like smoke. "I'm so sorry for what's coming."The meadow moved and changed. Now Isla stood in the same house where she lived, but everything looked different. Newer. Three young guys sat at a table, and Isla's breath caught. They looked exactly like Thorne, Caspian, and Dorian, but their clothes were old-fashioned. Their father sat with them—a younger version of Alpha Roderick."The Triple Bond," her mother's voice whispered in her ear. "It's rarer than silver blood itself. Only happens once every few hundred years.""What is it?" Isla asked."When one soul is meant to love three others. When the moon goddess can't choose just one perfect match, so she picks three." Her mother's voice was full of sadness. "I had the same bond with Roderick and his two brothers."The scene changed again. Now Isla watched her mother—young and beautiful—laughing with three guys who looked like older versions of the triplets. They were all clearly in love with her, and she with them."But the pack laws said I had to choose," her mother continued. "Only one mate. Only one Alpha. The other two would have to leave forever.""What did you do?""I picked your father, Roderick's younger brother. He was the nicest, the gentlest. But making that choice..." Her mother's voice cracked. "It broke all our hearts. Roderick became bitter. His other brother died of grief within a year."
The vision changed to a darker scene. Isla watched her mother fighting with a younger Alpha Roderick. His face was twisted with pain and anger."You destroyed us!" the young Roderick shouted. "We were meant to share you! The Triple Bond isn't meant to be broken!""The pack demanded I choose!" her mother cried back. "What was I supposed to do?""Die before you tore us apart!"Isla's mother flinched like she'd been hit. In that moment, something in young Roderick's eyes went cold and calculating."That's when he started planning," her mother's voice whispered to present-day Isla. "He couldn't have me, so he decided no Silver Wolf should ever have the Triple Bond again.""He killed you," Isla breathed."Not directly. But he made sure I was in the woods alone that night. He told the Darkwood wolves where to find me." Her mother's spirit appeared beside Isla again. "He thought if he eliminated Silver Wolves, the Triple Bond would never happen again."The image changed one more time. Isla watched her mother running through dark woods, chased by wolves with red eyes. But she wasn't running away—she was running toward something."I was pregnant with you," her mother stated. "I knew they would kill me, but I had to hide you first. I used the last of my silver power to make a protection spell."Young Sarah Blackthorn stopped at a small cave and put her hands to her belly. Silver light poured from her fingers, wrapping around her like a cocoon."I gave up my life to make sure you would live. To make sure the silver blood would continue." Her mother looked at Isla with desperate love. "But I also made sure you would have what I couldn't—the right to choose your own path."The vision began to fade, but her mother grabbed Isla's shoulders. This time, her touch felt real."The binding chains can't hold silver blood forever," she said quickly. "Your anger, your love, your desperation—those feelings make the power stronger. Fight, Isla. Fight for your right to love all three of them."
But the pack laws—""Were made by scared old men who don't understand the moon goddess's gifts!" Her mother's spirit was starting to disappear. "You are not me, daughter. You don't have to choose. The Triple Bond is holy. Make them understand that."The meadow disappeared. Isla was back in the dark cell, but something had changed. The silver mark on her neck was shining so brightly it lit up the whole room. The binding bands around her wrists were cracking, green light leaking out like water from a broken dam."What—" Alina stumbled backward. "That's impossible!"Marcus spun around, his eyes wide with shock. "The chains are old! Nothing can break them!""My mother's protection spell," Isla whispered, feeling power flowing back into her blood like liquid fire. "She made sure I would be stronger than she was."The chains shattered totally, falling to the floor in pieces. Isla stood up, silver light pouring from her skin. For the first time since waking up here, she felt like herself again.But the return of her power brought something else—she could feel the triplets' feelings like they were her own. Thorne's frantic rage as he fought through Darkwood wolves. Caspian's fear that he might be too late. Dorian's psychic pain as he tried to break through magical obstacles to find her.They were close. Very close. And they were in real danger."You want to know about Triple Bonds?" Isla said, power making her voice echo oddly. "Let me show you."She reached out with her mind, calling to her three mates. The connection blazed to life instantly, stronger than it had ever been. Through their eyes, she saw the trap Marcus had set—dozens of Darkwood wolves waiting in ambush, ready to kill the triplets the moment they found her.But she also saw something that made her blood run cold. Alpha Roderick was with the rescue group, and he was leading them straight into the deadliest part of the trap."No," she breathed, understanding rushing through her. "He's not here to save me. He's here to finish what he started with my mother."Marcus smiled coldly. "Now you're learning. Your dear Alpha has been working with us for months. Who do you think told us exactly when to take you?"
Through her connection to the triplets, Isla felt the moment they understood the truth. The betrayal hit them like a physical blow. But it was too late—they were already trapped, and Alpha Roderick was raising a silver sword that could kill even the strongest werewolf.Isla had seconds to choose: save herself by fleeing, or risk everything to save the three boys she was just beginning to understand she truly loved.The silver power in her chest pulsed once, twice, then burst outward like a star being born.