After My Mate Killed My Sister, I Swore Revenge

The doctor's words echoed in my head long after she left the room.

"Your aura is collapsing. The forced mark is poisoning you from the inside out, fighting against your true mate bond. If you don't accept Jonathan's claim soon, your wolf will fade completely."

I stood at the window of my recovery room, watching the moon rise over Blood Moon territory. Three weeks here, and I could finally breathe without pain. But the mark on my neck still burned, a constant reminder of Roman's violation.

A knock at the door.

"Come in."

Jonathan entered, his presence filling the space immediately. Even now, after weeks of daily visits, the pull between us stole my breath.

"The doctor told me," he said quietly. "About your aura."

I didn't turn around. "I'm not your responsibility."

"No." His footsteps approached. "You're my mate."

The word hung between us. We'd danced around it for weeks, both of us feeling the bond but neither willing to name it.

"Roman marked me," I whispered. "I'm—"

"His mark means nothing." Jonathan's voice turned hard. "It was forced. Incomplete. The Moon Goddess doesn't recognize bonds built on lies."

I finally turned to face him. "Then why is it killing me?"

"Because you're fighting it alone." He stepped closer, his silver eyes intense. "Let me help you. Let me give you what he never could."

My heart hammered. "What if I'm too broken?"

"Then we'll put the pieces back together." His hand lifted, hovering near my face but not touching. "I won't force you, Elaina. This has to be your choice. But I need you to know—I've felt the bond since the moment I touched you. You're mine, and I'm yours. That's not duty. That's fate."

The cedar and rain scent wrapped around me, and my wolf stirred. Not the weak, fading presence I'd grown used to, but something stronger. Hungry.

"The shrine," I said. "Take me to the Moon Goddess shrine."

Something fierce flashed in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

I touched Grace's pendant at my throat. She'd had a mate. A real one. And Roman had stolen that from her.

He wouldn't steal it from me too.

"I'm sure."

---

The shrine sat deep in Blood Moon forest, a circle of ancient stones beneath the full moon. Jonathan led me there in silence, his hand warm in mine.

When we reached the center, he turned to face me.

"This is sacred ground," he said. "What happens here, the Moon Goddess herself witnesses. Once I mark you, there's no going back."

"Good." I stepped closer, my hands finding his chest. "I don't want to go back. I want to move forward. With you."

His control cracked. He pulled me against him, his mouth finding mine in a kiss that burned away every touch Roman had ever forced on me. This was different. This was choice. This was real.

When he pulled back, his eyes had shifted to pure silver.

"Tell me you want this," he growled. "Tell me you choose me."

"I choose you." The words came easily, truth ringing in every syllable. "I choose us."

He lowered his head to my neck, right over Roman's fading mark. I felt his breath, hot against my skin.

Then his teeth sank in.

Power exploded through me. Not pain—pure, overwhelming energy that lit up every nerve. Roman's mark shattered like glass, the pieces dissolving into nothing. In its place, Jonathan's claim burned bright and true, a bond that sang through my blood.

My wolf surged forward, no longer grey and dying but radiant white, her eyes blazing silver.

I gasped, my body arching as the transformation swept through me. Strength flooded my limbs. My aura expanded, no longer weak and flickering but powerful, commanding.

Luna. The word whispered through my mind. Not a placeholder. Not a lie.

A true Luna Queen.

Jonathan held me as the power settled, his own wolf rumbling with satisfaction.

"There you are," he murmured against my hair. "There's my mate."

I looked up at him, and for the first time in three years, I felt whole.

"Now," I said, my voice stronger than it had ever been, "we make them pay."

His smile was dark and full of promise. "Now we make them pay."

---

Three years later, I stood in the Blood Moon training ring, my body moving through combat forms with deadly precision.

The submissive girl who'd cowered under Roman's Alpha tone was gone. In her place stood a warrior.

Jonathan circled me, his eyes tracking every movement. "Again."

I lunged, my strike fast and controlled. He blocked, but I'd anticipated it, spinning to catch him off-guard. My leg swept his feet out from under him.

He hit the mat hard, then laughed. "Better."

I offered him a hand up. "You're getting slow, old man."

"Old man?" He pulled me down instead, rolling us so I was pinned beneath him. "Take that back."

"Make me."

His kiss was fierce and claiming, and I met it with equal intensity. We'd spent three years building this—not just our bond, but our partnership. Training together. Planning together. Learning every law, every loophole, every weakness in Roman's armor.

When we finally broke apart, his expression turned serious.

"The spy network confirmed it," he said. "Roman's planning Dahlia's official Luna Crowning Ceremony. Three months from now."

My heart kicked. "Then that's when we move."

"Are you ready?"

I thought of Grace. Of the video. Of three years spent transforming myself into someone who could stand against an Alpha and not flinch.

"I'm ready."

A knock at the training room door interrupted us. Jonathan's Beta, Marcus, entered with a grim expression.

"We have a problem," he said. "And an opportunity."

Jonathan stood, pulling me up with him. "Explain."

"Dr. Elena Cross. The surgeon who performed the transplant." Marcus held up a phone. "She wants to meet. Says she has evidence. Medical files. Recordings."

My breath caught. "Why now?"

"Dahlia's getting worse. More unstable. Dr. Cross thinks she's going to be the next target." Marcus looked at me. "She's scared. And she's ready to talk."

Jonathan's hand found mine, squeezing once. "Set up the meeting. Neutral territory. Maximum security."

"Already done. Tomorrow night."

After Marcus left, I turned to Jonathan. The final piece. The evidence we needed to destroy Roman legally, publicly, completely.

"This is it," I said. "Once we have those files—"

"We burn Silverclaw to the ground." His eyes gleamed. "And we do it at Dahlia's crowning ceremony, in front of the entire Lycan Council."

I smiled, and it was nothing like the timid expressions I'd worn in Roman's presence. This smile was sharp. Dangerous.

The smile of a Luna Queen ready for war.

"Let's give them a show they'll never forget."