"No!" Lyra screamed, throwing herself between Isla and Roderick.A blast of red energy hit Lyra instead of Isla, sending the red-haired woman flying across the room. She crashed into the stone wall and didn't get up."Aunt Lyra!" Dorian yelled, but when he tried to run to her, invisible chains wrapped around his arms and legs, holding him in place. The same thing happened to Thorne and Caspian. They fought against the magical bonds, but couldn't break free."Let them go!" Isla yelled, trying to stand up. But Roderick's power was still draining hers, making her weak and dizzy."I don't think so," Roderick said calmly. "They're going to watch you die, just like I watched their grandfather's sons die twenty years ago."Isla felt confused. "What are you talking about?"Lyra coughed up blood but managed to speak. "Tell her, Roderick. Tell her about Elena Silver blood and the three Alpha sons who loved her."Roderick's face twisted with old anger. "Fine. She should know the truth before she dies anyway."He waved his hand, and suddenly Isla could see images in her mind—like watching a movie, but inside her head. She saw a beautiful woman with silver hair and glowing skin, surrounded by three young men who all looked like different versions of the triplets' father."Your mother wasn't just any Silver Wolf," Roderick said. "She was the most powerful one ever born. And she was mated to all three of my older brothers."The images in Isla's mind showed the three brothers fighting over Elena, each one wanting to claim her as his own."That's impossible," Thorne gasped from where the magical chains held him. "One person can't have three mates."
Silver Wolves are different," Lyra whispered, trying to sit up. "Their power is so strong that it can bond with multiple wolves. But the choice of who to actually marry... that choice tears them apart."In the mental images, Isla watched her mother crying as the three brothers demanded she pick one of them. Elena looked exactly like Isla, except older and sadder."She chose the youngest brother," Roderick continued. "Your father, Rowan's older brother, Marcus.""Wait," Caspian said, his blue eyes wide. "Marcus is our uncle's name. The one who kidnapped Isla."Roderick laughed coldly. "Different Marcus. That one was named after Elena's mate, my dear dead brother."The images showed Elena marrying Marcus while the other two brothers watched with broken hearts. But instead of accepting her choice, the older brothers declared war on the youngest."They said if they couldn't have her, no one could," Roderick added. "The pack split in half. Brother fought against brother. Hundreds died."Isla watched in horror as the mental movie showed wolves tearing each other apart. Her mother stood in the middle of it all, screaming for them to stop, but no one listened."Elena tried to use her silver power to end the war," Lyra said, tears running down her face. "But she was pregnant with you, Isla. Using that much power while carrying a baby almost killed you both.""What happened to the other brothers?" Dorian asked quietly."They died," Roderick said bluntly. "Killed each other in single combat while Elena watched. And when they died..."He didn't finish, but Isla saw it in the visions. When the two men died, her mother screamed so loud that windows shattered. Silver light exploded from her body, but instead of healing power, it was pure grief and pain."A Silver Wolf's power comes from love," Lyra explained. "When Elena lost two of her mates, half her power died with them. She was never the same after that."Isla felt sick. Her mother had been forced to choose between three men she loved, and that choice had destroyed everything."But she still had some power left," Isla said. "Enough that you wanted to steal it.""Oh yes," Roderick smiled. "Even broken, she was still stronger than any other wolf alive. So I waited. I watched. And when you were ten years old, I finally found my chance."The mental images showed Roderick following Elena into the forest, holding a silver knife."I told her I just wanted to talk," he said. "About the old days, about my dead brothers. She trusted me because I was family."Isla wanted to look away, but she couldn't. She watched her mother realize too late that Roderick meant to kill her. Elena fought back, but she was weakened from years of grief."She could have escaped," Roderick said. "But you were playing by the river, Isla. She wouldn't leave you behind."The images showed Elena making a choice—save herself or save her daughter. She chose Isla, letting Roderick stab her with the silver knife so she could throw up a protection spell around the river."The spell hid you from me for eight years," Roderick admitted. "But on your eighteenth birthday, it finally broke. That's when I realized what you were.""What am I?" Isla whispered."The first Silver Wolf in twenty years to be mated to three brothers," Lyra said softly. "Just like your mother."Isla's heart stopped. She looked at Thorne, Caspian, and Dorian, and suddenly everything made sense. The way she felt connected to all three of them. The way her power grew stronger when they were near. The way she couldn't imagine picking just one."No," she breathed. "I won't let what happened to my mother happen to me.""You don't have a choice," Roderick said. "History repeats itself, little niece. You'll have to pick one of them, and when you do, the other two will go mad with jealousy. They'll fight each other to the death, just like my brothers did.""That's not true!" Thorne shouted, fighting against his magical chains. "We won't fight over her!""We're not like your brothers," Caspian added. "We can share—""Can you?" Roderick asked with a cruel smile. "Even now, I can smell the jealousy on all three of you. You each want her for yourself."Isla felt the truth of his words through their mate bond. Deep down, each triplet did want to be her only mate. The jealousy was there, hidden but real.
"It's starting already," Roderick said happily. "Soon you'll be fighting each other, and I'll collect their blood too. A full set—three Alpha heirs and one Silver Wolf."But before anyone could respond, the castle started to shake. Dust fell from the ceiling, and somewhere in the distance, Isla heard the sound of howling."What's happening?" she gasped.Lyra's eyes went wide with fear. "The Darkwood Pack. They're not just here for you, Isla. They're here to wake up something that should have stayed buried forever.""What are you talking about?" Roderick demanded.Through the castle windows, red light began to glow—not from wolf eyes, but from something much bigger and much more dangerous."The original Alpha," Lyra whispered. "The first werewolf ever created. Roderick, you fool, your ritual isn't just making you immortal. You're bringing back the Beast of the First Moon."Isla felt ice-cold fear wash over her as an ancient howl shook the entire castle. Something that had been sleeping for a thousand years was waking up.And it was hungry.