LUCA'S POV

The cell was not what I thought it would be.

It was a round room, like a stone well, with a trail of moonlight slipping down from high above.

I woke up on a thin mattress, my body was still hurting from the dart, and my head felt thick with pain. But the bond in my chest was still there, a quiet signal linked to Rafe.

I pushed up to sit alright, when I heard a very familiar voice that I thought was dead.

"You're awake."

I scrambled back forcefully, scared that I was hallucinating, when she stepped into the light. She was skinny, her clothes hanging loose. Her hair was a mess of black and silver.

But her eyes... they were my eyes. Grey, and glowing faintly, eyes that I never forget anyway.

My breath seized, and my sight blurred with disbelief. "But you're dead...." I stammered.

Her smile was sad. "I know."

"Mom?" The word sounded strange in my mouth.

She nodded, a tear flowing through the dirt on her cheek, she didn't come closer.

"How?" I whispered.

"The rogues didn't kill me, they took me." She murmured.

"Cain let the pack think I was dead, it was easier for him." Her voice was flat, like she'd told this story too many times in her head.

"Why?"

She sat on a stool. "What do you smell on me, Luca?"

I breathed in. Beneath the dust and herbs, beneath the soft, familiar scent of her, was something else, something powerful. It was like my new scent, but stronger.

"You're an Omega!" I exclaimed shockstricken

"So are you." Her gaze locked knowingly on mine.

"But we're not the same as the others."

My skin went cold and rigid. "Caleb called me a Lunar Omega."

"It's an old word that means your wolf is touched by the moon in a different way." She snorted.

Your power isn't about fighting, it's about... feeling and connecting."

"You can feel the bonds between wolves, sometimes, if you feel something strong enough, you can change them." She explained quietly.

The forest flashed in my mind. The wolf flying back. My scream.

"I did that?"

"Your fear for Rafe woke it up." she said softly.

The door bolt slammed open.

Caleb stood there, two big rogues behind him, a bruise colored his jaw. He looked at me, then my mother, and smiled.

"Talking about the family curse?"

I stood up roughly, putting myself between him and her. A low growl brewing in my throat.

Caleb laughed arrogantly. "Still got some fight omega! Good." He walked in, his smell of leather and arrogance filling the room.

"Let's talk. My father's world is ending. I'm going to take his place, I could use someone like you." He prodded proudly.

"Use me how?"

"You have power, I have a plan. Together we could tear it all down."

You wouldn't be a nobody Omega, you'd be at my side. You could fix everything."

It was a lie. I could see it in his eyes. He didn't want to fix anything. He just wanted my power for himself.

My mother spoke from behind me, her voice hard. "He'll drain you dry and leave you in a ditch."

Caleb's smile vanished. He turned his Alpha command on her, his voice like a whip. "Shut up, witch."

She flinched like she'd been hit, going pale.

Rage, clean and sharp, shot through me. I stepped right up to him. "Get out."

He stared, surprised, then he smirked. "Fine but tomorrow, the rogues are putting you through a test. A Moon Trial."

If you pass, you're their precious prophecy. If you fail..." He leaned close, his breath on my face. "They give you to me and guess what pretty boy, you don't need to be conscious to be useful."

He left. The bolt slid shut.

I turned to my mother. She looked frail, shaking.

"The trial." she said, her voice urgent and worried.

"They'll force your power out, right now it's wild and panicked. To pass, you have to control it. You have to find the calm inside it."

"How?" My voice cracked.

"It's tied to what connects you. What you feel deepest." Her eyes dropped to my chest, where the bond lies.

"Right now that's him, that bond is your anchor. I can try to show you how to use it. But it's dangerous. If you lose focus..."

She didn't finish. She didn't need to.

"Show me." I said.

She placed her cool hands on my temples. "Close your eyes. Breathe. Don't reach for the power. Reach for him."

I did. I shut out the cell, the fear, my mother's face. I focused on the bond. On the feeling of Rafe.

The power inside me stirred, but softly. Like it was listening.

"Good." she whispered.

"Now, gently, ask it to show you."

I didn't ask. I just thought of Rafe. A silver light began to glow behind my eyelids. It was warm. Safe.

And then I saw him.

Rafe. In a dark cell, chained to a wall. His face was bloody, one eye swollen shut. But he was fighting, straining against the metal, roaring my name.

The vision sharpened. I saw a rogue guard outside his door, laughing. I saw the corridor. I saw the path from my cell to his. A left, then a right, then down a set of wet stone stairs.

It was a map. The bond was showing me exactly where he was.

My eyes flew open. The silver glow was in the room now, clinging to my skin.

My mother gasped, pulling her hands back like she'd been burned. "You found the connection... but it's a two-way street. If you can see him...."

I tried seeing if I could connect with Rafe, perhaps I could send him a telepathic message. But I was met with a dead end. Silence, the bond was silent, everything faded, I couldn't even see Rafe anymore.

It was all silent.....

The silence was the worst part.

Since I was held down by the rogues, the bond had been a comfort in my chest. Warm. Alive. A steady beat of Rafe, Rafe, Rafe.

Now, it is gone.

Not quiet. Gone.

A hollow, cold vacuum where his presence had been. It felt like someone had reached into my ribs and ripped out my heart, my lungs, everything that kept me breathing.

I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I sat on the mattress, my hands pressed to the center of my chest, trying to feel something, anything.

"Luca." My mother's voice sound desperate amd distant.

"Luca, Luca, please breathe." She pleaded nervously

But I couldn't, my body had forgotten how to breath, all it wanted was Rafe.

"The bond." I finally choked out. My voice sounded strained and fragile.

"It's... empty." I cried tears pouring down, my eyes like petals.

Her face, already pale, went sheet-white, she understood what that meant, bonds don't just go quiet.

They break for two reasons death, or a severing so violent it might as well be death.

"No," she said, sharp. Firm. She grabbed my shoulders. "Listen to me. You are a Lunar Omega. Your bond is not a normal one. It's stronger. Deeper. They cannot break it so easily."

"They just did!" The words tore out of me, raw and furious.

"Or they blocked it." she insisted, her fingers digging into my arms.

"Wolfsbane. Silver cuffs. Magic. There are ways to mute a bond, to make it go dormant. It would feel like this, like a void." She explained.

"You're lying to make me feel better." I resorted, scared of being hopeful.

"I am telling you what I know." she said her grey eyes holding mine, blazing with a fierceness that belied her frail body.

"If they wanted him dead, they would have done it quietly. That cry was a message. For you."

"Caleb will be back."

LUCA'S POV

"He'll be back." she said, her voice sad and fragile.

"He doesn't give up, he would use Rafe as a bargaining chip, they always use what you love most."

"He wants to use me to kill his own father." I said, the reality of settling strangely in my brain. It wasn't about revolution, it was about patricide.

"He wants to use you to take power." she corrected.

"Cain is just the obstacle in his way." She turned to me, her expression grim.

"The trial they have for you tomorrow... it's real, the Kindred Rogues revere the old myths they'll test your connection to the moon... If you prove it, they'll protect you as a living relic. If you fail..."

"I'm Caleb's property." I finished. The word tasted like dirt.

"Do you know why you couldn't sense your alpha?" she asked, changing the conversation.

"No, I don't mom." I replied honestly.

"It happens when your emotions are high, when you feel a connection strongly, and want to speak through it." Her eyes were knowing, like she understood what I tried doing earlier.

"Like the bond with your Alpha."

I flinched. She saw it.

"It's your greatest strength right now." she said softly.

"And your biggest weakness. Caleb will try to use it against you, the trial will try to break it to see what's underneath." She shifted closer.

"I can try to show you, to help you find the calm center,so as to avoid what happened earlier but it will be hard. She bowed her head.

"Why hard mom?"

"If the rogues sense me helping you, they may disqualify the test, they call it interference." She explained.

I didn't care about their rules, all I cared about was not being handed to Caleb.

"Show me."

She had me sit facing her. "Close your eyes, Breathe, don't reach for the wolf, don't reach for the power just reach for... the thread."

"The thread?"

"The thing that ties you to him, the bond. It's not just a feeling. For us, it can be a path. A guide. Find it."

I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the smell of the cell, the fear. I focused inward. Past my own racing heart. I searched for the bond.

There it was, I finally saw it again, a warm, humming cord of light in my mind's eye, stretching away from me into the dark. It felt safe and stubborn, a feeling only Rafe can provide.

"Good." my mother murmured.

"Now, don't pull on it."

"Just... listen to it. Let it steady you."

I focused on the steady pulse of it, the proof that he was alive somewhere in this maze of stone.

My breathing slowed, the panic receded, just a little. In that calm, I felt the other thing, the silver, restless pool of power that had been churning inside me since my shift. It was still there, but quieter like a lake without wind.

"It's calm." I whispered.

"That's your center." she said with a light smile

"The bond is the anchor that holds you there."

"Remember this feeling, you must find it tomorrow, no matter what they do to you."

The door bolt crashed open again.

Caleb walked in, alone this time. He carried a wooden tray with a bowl of stew and a hunk of bread, he placed it on the floor just inside the door, his movements casual, like he was feeding a dog.

"Thought you might be hungry." he said, his eyes on me.

"I'm not." I lied. My stomach was actually tightening due to hunger.

He shrugged and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms, he was ignoring my mother completely now. "Change your mind?"

"No."

"Pity." He laughed clicking his teeth, he didn't look upset, he looked amused.

"The trial is at moon-high tomorrow, in the main cavern, all the Kindred will be there. It's quite a show." He pushed off the wall and took a single step toward me.

"Here's the thing Luca, I know you think you can pass, you have your mama's tricks now." He laughed coldly.

"But you see, pretty boy, the trial... it's designed to break you, to strip you down to your most basic instinct, and when you're broken, when you're nothing but a scared, screaming Omega, that little bit of moon magic won't save you."

My mother hissed, but Caleb's gaze snapped to her, an Alpha glare so potent I felt the pressure in the air. She went rigid, silenced.

He looked back at me, his voice dropping to a conversational tone. "So here's my final offer. You don't have to join me just fail, take a dive, let the trial break you.

"The rogues will lose interest, they'll give you to me, I'll make sure you're... comfortable. And I'll let your precious Rafe live, I'll even set him free, far from here." He concluded cunningly.

My blood went cold. "You have him."

"Of course I have him." Caleb's smile was cruel and brutal.

"He's in a cell three levels down. He's been entertaining my guards, very stubborn. But everyone breaks." He leaned in, his voice a whisper meant only for me.

"Fail the trial tomorrow, and I'll open his cell door, fight it, try to win, and I'll have him killed before the moon reaches its peak. Your choice, Omega. His life, or your pride?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He turned and walked out. The bolt slammed shut.

RAFE POV

The cell was exactly what I thought it would be.

Stone, damp and cold, chains thick and silver-laced, bolted to the wall, clasped tight around my wrists. The smell of mildew, stale water, and my own blood.

My left eye was swollen, nearly shut from the guard's fist, my ribs ached with every breath, but the pain was just light, the only thing that mattered was the bond.

It was still there, a steady and humming warmth in my chest, Luca was alive. He was scared, but alive.

I focused on it, letting it feed my anger, using the anger to burn through the cold and the hurt.

They'd thrown me in here hours ago, after the fight in the tunnels. I'd taken three of Caleb's goons down before a fourth got a lucky hit with a silver-weighted club. The world had gone dark, and I'd woken up here.

The door was solid iron, with a small slot at the bottom for food. No window. The only light came from a flickering torch somewhere down the hall, casting weak, dancing bars of orange through the grate.

I'd tested the chains, they were solid. The silver in them burned if I pulled too hard, tearing my skin. I had to stop testing.

Instead, I listened and breathed deep, sorting through the scents. Damp stone rat droppings the musky, wild smell of rogue wolves. And underneath it all, faint but crushed violets and moonlight, Luca. He was above me. Not far away.

The bond tugged gently in that direction. Up.

I pulled at the chains again, ignoring the fresh burn. I had to get to him, the thought of Caleb anywhere near him, breathing the same air, made my wolf snarl inside my head.

The sound of boots echoed down the hall. Heavy, confident. Not the slow steps of the guard who brought the watery sop they called dinner.

The boots stopped outside my door, and a key turned in the lock.

I straightened up as much as the chains allowed, squaring my shoulders. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me beaten.

The door swung open.

Caleb stood in the doorway, a smirk already on his face, he'd cleaned up. The bruise I'd given him on his jaw, had started fading. He leaned against the doorframe, looking me over like I was a piece of meat at a market.

"Comfortable?" he asked.

I said nothing. I just stared back, letting my Alpha energy roll off me, even chained. It wasn't much, but the air in the cell grew heavier.

Caleb's smirk didn't falter. He stepped inside, the door staying open behind him. "I just came from seeing your little mate. He's adjusting well."

A growl ripped from my throat before I could stop it. "You stay away from him."

"Or what?" Caleb spread his hands, laughing.

"You'll rattle your chains at me?" He took another step closer, well within striking distance if my arms were free.

"He's fascinating you know, I offered him a place at my side." He smiled, drawing his words slowly.

"A chance to be more than an Omega. He told me to shove it." He sounded almost admiring.

"Stupid, but brave."

Relief battled with fury. He'd said no. Of course he'd said no. But Caleb knowing he'd said no was dangerous.

"He'll never be yours." I said, my voice low and rough.

"See, that's where you're wrong." Caleb crouched down in front of me, his dark eyes level with mine.

"He'll be exactly what I need him to be,

because I have you."

Fear and cold trickled down my spine. "What?"

"The Moon Trial is tomorrow, if he passes, the rogues keep him, they'll protect their precious Lunar Omega. If he fails..." Caleb's smile turned vicious.

"They will give him to me, so I made him a new offer, a simpler one, all he has to do is fail the trial. And in exchange, I let you live, and even set you free."

The world narrowed to Caleb's smug face, I felt like punching the smirk out of his ugly face.

He'd backed Luca into a corner with my life as the bargaining chip. Luca would do it, I knew he would. He'd sacrifice himself in a heartbeat.

"He won't believe you." I spat out.

"He doesn't have to believe I'll let him go, he just has to believe I'll kill you if he doesn't obey." Caleb reached out, and before I could jerk back, he tapped a finger against the silver chain around my right wrist. It sizzled against my skin.

"And I will, it would be easy and it would be a shame, for a made Alpha like you, to be snuffed out." He said, clicking his teeth.

The words landed like blows, a made Alpha. He knew, of course he knew. He'd probably read the same records I was looking for in the archives.

The shock must have shown on my face. Caleb's eyes lit up. "Oh, you didn't know? You thought you were just special?" He laughed, a mean, cruel sound.

"You're a science project Rafe, my father's little experiment, he took the power of a dead rogue Alpha and stitched it into a weak Beta pup."

"He created you, a custom-built Alpha, designed for one purpose." He leaned in, his voice dropping to a poisonous whisper.

"To control the Lunar Omega, to be his leash."

My breath seized abnormally, the memory of the bite in the forest, the instant, overwhelming need to claim Luca... was that even me? Or was it just my programming kicking in?

No. The feelings were too real. The bond was too real. I shut the doubt down, clinging to the warmth in my chest. Luca.

"You're lying." I snarled, but it sounded weak.

"Am I?" Caleb stood up, looking down at me with pity.

"Why do you think your bond formed so fast? So perfectly? It's what you were made for, you're not his fated mate, you're his handler." He walked toward the door.

"Think about that while you're sitting here. Tomorrow, your little Omega is going to fail his test to save your pathetic life, and then he'll be mine, because that's what you made him do, his sacrifice will be your fault."

He stepped out into the hall.

"Wait!" The word tore out of me.

He paused, glancing back.

"Don't make him do this." I said, the plea tasting like ash.

"He doesn't deserve your games."

Caleb's expression softened into something truly terrifying, something almost like sympathy. "It's too late for that, the game is already in motion."

The only move left is his." He signaled to someone in the hall. "Make sure he's ready for the trip."

Two large rogues stepped into view. They carried a thick, black hood and a set of heavier manacles between them.

Panic kicked in."Ready for what? Where are you taking me?"