THE BEAST STOLEN BRIDE

[LILY'S POV]

Owen pressed play.

The screen flickered to life. Security camera footage. Black and white. Timestamp: six months ago.

An office. Two men entered the frame.

Tyler. And an older man who looked exactly like him. Grant Mitchell.

"You're sure about this?" Grant's voice came through tinny but clear. "Twenty-three wolves is a lot of blood."

"They're already dead," Tyler said. "They just don't know it yet."

My stomach turned.

"The Stoneclaw Alpha knows about the territory expansion. If he reports us to the Council, we lose everything." Tyler took a whiskey glass. "So we silence him. Make it look like a rogue attack. Kill the witnesses. By the time the Council arrives, there'll be nothing but ashes."

"And the Beta? Ford?"

"Ford's on patrol. He'll come back to find his pack slaughtered. If he behaves, we offer him sanctuary. If he doesn't-" Tyler shrugged. "We kill him too."

Grant leaned back. "The children?"

"No survivors. No witnesses." Tyler's voice was flat. "Can't have them growing up seeking revenge."

"The children too?"

"Especially the children."

I couldn't breathe.

The screen went black. Flickered again. Different date. Three months ago.

Tyler sat alone, phone to his ear.

"I found her," he said. "Lily Thompson. Twenty-three. Orphaned. Perfect."

Pause.

"Yes, I'm sure. The investigator traced the bloodline. Marcus and Elena Blackwood's daughter. The last Luna-born." Tyler smiled. "She has no idea what she is."

My heart stopped.

"Three months. I'll court her fast. Marry her before she turns twenty-five and the wolf wakes up naturally."

Twenty-five. My birthday was in six weeks.

"The plan is simple. Marry her. Consummate. Kill her before dawn. The power transfers through the broken mate bond. I become the first Alpha with Luna-born abilities in a century."

He laughed.

"No, she won't suspect anything. She's desperate. Alone. Grateful someone like me even looks at her." His voice was contemptuous. "She's nobody. Who's going to miss her when she's gone?"

The words hit like physical blows.

Who's going to miss her?

"Lily Thompson is going to make me the most powerful Alpha in North America." Tyler looked at the camera. "And she'll never see it coming."

The screen went black.

I sat there, shaking.

"There's one more," Owen said quietly. "The massacre itself."

The screen flickered. Nighttime. Chaos. Wolves attacking. Fire. Screaming.

Tyler's white wolf tearing through smaller wolves. Killing a woman protecting children. Burning buildings while people were inside.

The footage cut to interior. An older man sat behind a desk. Marcus Stoneclaw.

Tyler entered, covered in blood.

"It's over, Marcus. Your pack is dead."

"The Council will know," Marcus said calmly.

"Watch me hide it." Tyler pulled out a gun. "Any last words?"

"Yes." Marcus looked at the camera. "Mason. Owen. Protect the Blackwood girl. She's the last one. Don't let Tyler-"

The gunshot cut him off.

Tyler walked to the camera, reached up-

The screen went black.

Owen closed the laptop.

Silence.

"That's why he wants you," Ford said quietly. "You're not a person to him. You're a weapon. A means to power."

"He said nobody would miss me." My voice broke.

"He was wrong." Ford's hand covered mine. "I'd miss you."

I looked up at him. "Why do you care?"

"Because my pack died and I wasn't there to save them. I won't fail you too."

A howl split the night. Close.

Ford's head snapped toward the window. "They're back. More this time."

"Who?"

"Tyler's wolves." He peered through blinds. "Fifty. Maybe sixty."

"We can't fight sixty-"

"We're not fighting. We're running." Ford grabbed my hand. "To the Council chambers. It's the only place Tyler can't touch you."

"Why can't he touch me there?"

"Because you're Luna-born." Ford pulled me toward the back door. "And Luna-born fall under direct Council protection. Ancient law. If we can get you inside Council territory, Tyler can't claim you without a formal hearing."

"What's Luna-born mean? What am I?"

Ford stopped. Looked at me. "You're royalty, Lily. Luna-born wolves can command other wolves. Force them to submit through voice alone. It's why Alphas hunted your kind to extinction a hundred years ago. Too much power. Too much threat to their control."

"I can't command anyone-"

"Because you haven't shifted yet. Your wolf is still dormant from the suppressants. But when she wakes-" Ford's expression was intense. "You'll be able to make any wolf obey you. Even Alphas. Even against their will."

"That's impossible-"

"It's your birthright. And it's why Tyler wants you dead." Ford opened the door. "When a Luna-born dies while mate-bonded, their power transfers to their partner. Tyler was going to mate you, kill you, and steal your abilities before you even knew you had them."

Outside, engines roared. Motorcycles. Four-wheelers. Closing in.

"Can I use it now? This power?"

"No. Not until you shift. Not until your wolf wakes." Ford shifted to wolf form, crouching. "Which is why we run. Now."

I climbed onto his back.

"But when my wolf does wake up-what's the cost? There's always a cost for power."

Ford's wolf voice was grim. "Luna command causes physical pain. Migraines. Nosebleeds. Exhaustion. The stronger the command, the worse the cost. Use it too much and you'll collapse. Use it wrong and you could hurt innocents. It's power, Lily. And all power has a price."

He ran.

Straight toward the wall of wolves surrounding us.

"FORD, WHAT ARE YOU-"

He didn't slow. Just ran full-speed at the line.

Wolves braced for impact.

Ford leaped.

Over them. Fifteen feet. Landing on the other side in a cloud of dust.

Then he ran faster than before.

Behind us, Tyler's howl split the night.

"AFTER THEM!"

Sixty wolves gave chase.

We ran through desert, Ford's paws eating ground, my fingers twisted in his fur.

I looked back.

Tyler's white wolf was gaining. Fast.

He shifted mid-run to human. Still running. Impossibly fast.

He raised his hand.

Moonlight glinted off metal.

A gun.

"FORD, HE'S GOT A-"

The gunshot cracked.

Ford stumbled. Blood sprayed from his shoulder.

But he didn't stop.

Another shot. Grazed his ribs.

He was slowing. I could feel it.

"Don't stop!" I screamed.

Ahead, lights appeared. Buildings. The Council chambers.

We were close.

Tyler fired again.

This bullet hit Ford's back leg.

He went down hard. I flew off his back, hit the ground, rolled.

Pain exploded through my ribs.

I looked up.

Tyler stood ten feet away. Gun aimed at Ford's head.

"Game over," Tyler said.

Ford shifted back to human, bleeding from three gunshot wounds. "Lily. Run. Get to the Council building. Cross the boundary line."

"I'm not leaving you-"

"RUN!" Ford's shout was desperate.

Tyler's finger tightened on the trigger.

I ran.

Not away from Ford. Toward Tyler.

Toward the man who planned to murder me.

Tyler's eyes widened. "What are you-"

I slammed into him. My shoulder hit his chest. The gun went off, the bullet going wild.

We hit the ground together.

Tyler recovered first. Grabbed my throat. Squeezed.

"You stupid girl," he hissed. "I was going to make it quick. Painless. Now? Now I'm going to make you suffer."

Black spots danced in my vision.

Then Tyler's weight disappeared.

Ford had tackled him off me. They rolled, Ford's wounded body moving on pure adrenaline.

I gasped for air, scrambling to my feet.

The Council building was right there. Fifty yards. The boundary marked by white stones.

"GO!" Ford shouted.

Tyler's fist connected with Ford's jaw. Ford went down.

Tyler shifted to wolf. His jaws opened, aiming for Ford's throat.

"NO!" I screamed.

And something inside me cracked open.

Power flooded through me. Hot. Wild. Terrifying.

"STOP!" The word ripped from my throat in a voice that wasn't mine. Deeper. Resonant. Command.

Tyler's wolf froze mid-attack. Every muscle locked. Fighting it. Unable to move.

Behind him, all sixty wolves stopped running. Dropped to the ground. Whimpering.

Submitting.

To me.

Pain exploded in my head. I gasped, doubling over. My nose started bleeding.

"Impossible," Tyler's wolf voice was strained. "You haven't shifted. You can't-"

"I said STOP." The command was weaker this time. The pain in my head intensified.

Tyler's body trembled, fighting my order. He was strong. So strong.

And I was untrained. Bleeding from my nose. My vision blurring.

"You can't hold me," Tyler snarled. "You don't know how."

He was right.

My knees buckled. The command shattered.

Tyler lunged for Ford's throat.

I threw myself between them.

Tyler's jaws closed around my shoulder instead of Ford's neck.

Pain. Worse than anything I'd ever felt.

Tyler's teeth sank deep, tearing through muscle.

Then he released me. Shifted back to human. Stared at the bite mark on my shoulder.

"No," he breathed. "No, that's not possible."

I looked down.

The bite mark was glowing. Silver light pulsing beneath my skin.

"You're claimed," Tyler whispered. "Ford claimed you. You're already bonded."

"Yes," Ford said, struggling to his feet. "She's mine. And if you kill her now, the Luna-born power doesn't transfer to you. It transfers to me."

Tyler's face went white with rage.

"You-you ruined EVERYTHING!"

"Good," Ford said.

Tyler's hand moved to his gun.

But before he could raise it, the Council building doors burst open.

Seven wolves emerged. Massive. Ancient. Powerful.

The Grand Council.

"This is Council territory," the center wolf said, her voice like thunder. "And you've just committed assault on protected ground. Tyler Harrison, you're under arrest."

Tyler looked at the Council. At Ford. At me.

Then he smiled.

"See you at the hearing, darling," he said.

And ran.

His pack followed, disappearing into the desert.

The Council wolves approached.

"Lily Blackwood," the center wolf said. "Last of the Luna-born line. Welcome. You're safe now."

I collapsed.

And the last thing I saw before darkness took me was Ford's bloody hand reaching for mine.