The Blackwood mansion reeked of old money and older magic. The scent of pine and leather crawled under my skin as I walked the marble hall. Every step screamed to run, but I forced myself forward.

"The ceremony begins in twenty minutes," a voice called.

Valta Tallis leaned on the doorway. She stood there in platinum hair smirking. She was Avalon's real mate. She looked at me like I was something rotten.

"You must be the bride." Her eyes lingered on my black dress. "How... unconventional."

"You must be the other woman," I said sweetly. "How predictable."

Her smile faded. Behind me, Osilus snorted and her eyes turned red. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." I stepped closer. "Touch what's mine, and I'll bury you."

Her brows lifted. "Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise." I said as the air thickened with power. Then Avalon's voice sliced through it.

"Valta, leave."

He appeared instantly standing in-between us.

"She insulted me," Valta hissed.

"I said leave." His tone made the walls hum.

Valta's jaw locked as she brushed past him. "You'll regret this, little girl." She said as she got close to me.

I smiled. "Get in line."

Her palm cracked across my face so hard the sound echoed.

I didn't flinch, instead I returned the slap hard enough to turn her head.

"That's for last time," I said.

She froze, then stormed off, heels clacking like gunfire.

Avalon's brow furrowed as he turned to me slowly. Power rolled off him, but I met his gaze head-on.

"What game are you playing, Zephyr Delphine?"

"I am not here to play games. Just setting boundaries." I shot back.

His eyes darkened. "You're different."

"People change..."

"Not overnight." He stepped closer and my pulse jumped.

"Just yesterday you were crying to your father, begging him not to marry me. Today you're threatening my..." he stopped.

"Your what? Your true mate? The woman you'll reject me for tonight?"

His expression shattered. "You know about that."

"I know everything."

He went still. "Explain."

"No."

His hand shot out again, catching my wrist and the surge of electricity seared through me. We both gasped as he dropped me like I burned him.

"What are you?"

"Your bride. At least for the next twenty minutes, anyway." I brushed past him as my heels echoed down the hall.

"Zephyr...come back here..."

"Save it." I waved my hand.

The ceremony hall doors loomed ahead and as I pushed through, I was greeted by white roses and whispers.

"Is that what she's wearing?"

"Human trash."

"Alpha Avalon deserves better."

In my first life, I cried. This time, I smiled.

Avalon waited at the altar, while Osilus stood beside him, and Valta sat in the front row simmering.

"Dearly beloved..." the officiant began.

"Let's skip it," Avalon said. "We both know why we're here. This is purely business. Nothing more." And a wave of gasps rippled through the church.

"Do you, Zephyr Delphine, take Avalon Cary as your husband?"

"I do."

He didn't look at me. "And I take you as my wife only for the alliance."

"Only for the alliance," I repeated.

"I... I now pronounce you..."

"We're done here." Avalon turned and walked off before the words finished.

Murmurs exploded as Valta stood smiling victoriously. I stood alone, the humiliation almost familiar but this time, fury burned instead of tears.

And just then, the chandeliers flickered as the air shimmered. The very next second, every wolf stiffened.

"Zephyr?" Osilus's voice carried.

I smiled. "Thank you all for coming," I said, voice sharp and echoing. "As you can see, my husband treasures this union. I'm sure we'll be very happy."

The whispers died as every eye widened and then I turned and walked out. The crowd parted like I carried fire.

Avalon caught up in the hall, hand clamping my shoulder. "What the hell was that?"

"Your wedding. Did you enjoy it?"

"You did something. Every wolf felt it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

He blocked my path, voice rough. "You're hiding something, and I will find out."

"Good luck."

I shoved his chest and he stumbled back. For a split second, shock flashed between us because I'd just moved an Alpha.

His voice dropped to a growl. "This is your last chance. What are you?"

"Your wife. That's all you need to know."

I ducked past him and ran.

The guest room door slammed behind me and my chest was heaving.

"What's happening to me?" I whispered.

Heat pulsed beneath my skin. And those strange pulls grew stronger. The nearest one throbbed through the wall. Was it to Avalon?

I squeezed my eyes shut trying to calm myself down when a knock interrupted me.

"Zephyr?" Osilus's voice was gentle. "Please let me in."

I hesitated for a while, then opened the door.

He stepped inside. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"About why every wolf in that room submitted to you."

"I didn't..."

"And why do you smell like a mate bond, but not to Valon." He came closer, jaw tense. "Why is my wolf losing his mind right now?"

I froze. "What?"

"You feel it too, don't you?"

His voice dropped, soft but rough. "This pull."he traced my shoulders.

"No. You're imagining..."

He touched my face and sparks shot down my spine.

"Osilus..." I groaned.

"Zephyr," he whispered. "What are you?"

I met his eyes. "I don't know all I remember is me dying and when I woke up, everything changed."

His breath caught. "You're a..."

Suddenly, the window shattered causing us to duck for safety.

Then a huge black wolf crashed through the window, shards raining across the floor.

This wasn't Avalon for sure this was much bigger, wilder, with eyes like burning coals.

He shifted mid-lunge to reveal Severus Zane. Alpha of Shadow Crest. My killer.

"Found you," he growled, then sniffed, stopping mid-walk. "Mate." he growled.

The world froze.

"Severus..." Osilus started, stepping between us and his growl deepened.

That was when the door exploded open and Avalon stormed in, eyes glowing gold, teeth snarling.

"Avalon!" Zane roared, and the whole house shook.

He didn't speak, he just shifted. Bones cracked, fur erupted, and before I could think, Avalon slammed into Zane. They hit the wall like a freight train and went down in a tangle of claws and teeth.

"Osilus...get her back!" someone yelled.

"Now!" I heard again, and his hands grabbed me, yanking me behind his broad back. "Stay back," he ordered, but his eyes never left me. "Zephyr, did he just..."

"Call me his Mate," I said, stunned. "Yeah, He did."

"What?!" Kai's voice was small.

"Zane called... me... mate."my eyes widened as the realisation hit me.

Zane's wolf tore through the air and changed mid-lunge into a man–scarred, massive, and burning with something feral. He landed on his knees, then rose, and when he sniffed me he froze.

"I finally found you..." he growled. Then he sniffed again, and his face changed.

"Mate."

"Mate?" Osilus echoed like he'd been slapped.

"Zane..." I started but they started fighting again.

"Stop it!" I screamed, and everyone froze. The light in my veins flared and a golden wave pulsed through the room. I felt it, all three anchors snapping closed around my chest.

Avalon. Osilus. Zane.

They stared at me with the exact same shock on each face. The air was full of my scent. Then Avalon tore himself free and stood, he was human again with hard nipples, blood slicking down his side.

"What...Was...That." His words were broken, edged.

"I don't know!" My hands wouldn't stop shaking. "I felt... everything. All three of you like you were in my bones."

Zane rose, chest heaving, his hair and scars on display. "You stopped us."

"She used Alpha command on two Alphas," Zane said, slow and amazed. "She...used...Alpha command."

"Don't be ridiculous,she's human," Avalon snarled.

"Does she smell human to you?" Zane's nostrils flared. "She smells like moonlight and fire. Like power that's been sleeping."

"She smells like mine," Osilus said soft and stunned.

"Yours?" Avalon's voice dropped. "She's my wife."

"A wife you rejected before you even married her," Osilus spat. "I felt it too, Val. The bond...she's my..."

"Don't say it," Avalon warned.

"Mate," Osilus finished, and the room exploded again.

"Pull yourselves together!" I threw myself between Avalon and Osilus without thinking. My hands hit Avalon's bare chest and something exploded inside us. Ice slammed into fire and we both flew back. I hit the wall so hard it cracked while Avalon slammed the opposite wall. Between us the air was alive.

"Lunar Phoenix," Zane breathed, like a prayer and a curse. "Holy shit. She's a Lunar Phoenix."

"That's impossible," Avalon said. "Lunar Phoenix bloodlines..."

"They are supposed to be extinct." Zane finished.

"They are hunted...Except..." his eyes widened.

"They can have multiple mates."

"Three mates," Zane corrected, stepping closer like a predator tasting the truth. "Ice, Earth, Fire. Guess which one I am."

"Don't call me that," I warned, backing up until the glass of my shattered window rattled.

"You did something no human could," Avalon said, and his voice had a new, stunned reverence. "How long have you known?"

"Since tonight," I said. "Since I woke died and woke up."

Silence.

Osilus swore softly. "You're a regressor."he said

"And a Lunar Phoenix," Zane added, with a grin too sharp for comfort. "Not even sure that combo should exist."

"It's not possible," Avalon whispered. "Unless death triggered something dormant. Life-force bloodlines like the Lunar Phoenix respond to that. If you died and came back..."

"I'm not a freakshow on your doorstep," I said. "I'm a person."

"You are not ordinary," Zane said bluntly. "You are so valuable."

"Is that why you killed me?" I asked before I could stop myself. I met his burning gaze. "Three years from now at the summit, you shoved me down the stairs and Bron helped you. You started the chain that ended me."

Zane's face went hard. "I would never..."

"But you did." I looked at all three of them. "Avalon, you rejected me at our wedding. Osilus, you pitied me and did nothing. Zane..." My voice broke. "You killed me."

There was a long, slow moment where their faces rearranged into defense, then comprehension.

"What?" Osilus asked, and it sounded like a child.

"You don't get to pick what the bonds do," Avalon said, cold. "Lunar Phoenix bonds are permanent once triggered."

"Watch me," I said, and shoved past them for the door.

Avalon caught my wrist and the electricity sparked again, this time stronger. His thumb found my pulse and the touch made my head spin. "You're my wife. My mate. Our bond is sealed and You're not leaving."

"You can't keep me." I jerked, and pain lanced through my wrist as something pulled at us.

"You really think so?" He leaned close, and the scent of pine and frost and power filled my nose. "You want to know what happens? You have no idea of the threats that's coming so work with me. Help me protect what's mine. I'll..." His voice faltered. "I'll do better."

"Do better?" I let out a bitter sound.

"You already did this...said I was weak, human, and unworthy. You sent me to the guest room while Valta warmed your bed. Why should I trust you now?"

"I never meant-"his jaw worked.

"Yes, you did." I wrenched my wrist free and this time he let go. "I came back to survive and get revenge on the people who killed me. Everything else is noise."

"Revenge on who?" Osilus asked quietly.

"Bron, my father. The pack that ignored me." I met Avalon's eyes. "And maybe you, for what you did to me every day for five years."

His mouth tightened. "I..." He stopped.

"That's not enough," Zane said circling me. "If the Vampires finds out about a Lunar Phoenix, they'll parade her around, then forcefully breed her to control their bloodline."

"What Vampires? Who are those?" I asked.

"Our biggest rivals," Avalon said, and fear creased his features in a new way. "They are slowing going extinct and have been actively hunting the Phoenix bloodline. If they discover you, they'll..." He didn't finish.

"Breed you," Zane said, blunt as a blade. "Probably lock you up and use your power to restart their lineage."

My stomach fell through the floor. "We can't let them know."

"We?" I repeated.

"The three of us." Avalon's voice hardened into command. "You're bound to us now. That means we protect you."

"I don't need protection," I said as pride flared. "I just need help destroying Bron and my father."

Zane shrugged. "I'm in, only because it sounds fun."

Osilus's expression melted into resolve. "I'll help. She's my mate too...whether Val likes it or not."

"You're just a beta," Avalon snapped.

"And I'm tired of watching you throw people away," Osilus shot back. "I felt the bond, Val. Now, I can't un feel it."

"This isn't about what you expect," Avalon turned to me."This is about pack law. If the Vampires finds a Phoenix unguarded, they'll take you. We can't risk it."

"Fine." I breathed. "You'll help me find Bron and my father and teach me to control whatever this is. Then, stay out of my way while I figure out how to live differently."

"Agreed," Osilus said immediately.

"Sounds like a show," Zane grinned. "I like shows."

Avalon looked at me long and hard, finally he said, "Only on one condition. You stay in the estate where I can protect you."

"That's not happening."I shot back. "You don't get to control me twice."

"I want to keep you alive." He moved closer, and the bond tightened like a noose. "You've died already died once, Zeph. I won't let it happen again."

"Why do you care?"

"Because that hasn't happened yet," he said quietly. "And now that I know what you are... it never will."

His thumb brushed my cheek so gentle it should've felt tender, but it ignited something hot under my ribs.

"Give me a chance to be different," he said.

"Never, not a chance in hell." I wanted to spit at his face then run. I wanted to burn the place down and be done but exhaustion and the ache of the bond made me small.

"Fine. I'll stay," I said massaging my temples. "But I sleep alone. If you try to be funny, I promise, I am going to burn this estate to the ground."

Zane chuckled. "Ouuu, she bites, I like her already."

"You literally just tried to kill her," Osilus said.

"I haven't yet," Zane corrected. "Now I never will."

Avalon ignored them both and because someone fetched pants he pulled them on and stepped back.

"A room will be prepared with reinforced locks if you want."

"That would be nice."

"Consider it done." He nodded and the distance between us suddenly a wound.

"Tomorrow, we train," He said. "You need to learn to control the bond and fight. If you're going to survive, you need to be ready."

"We can't have our mate falling without a fight."Zane chipped in

"Of course," Osilus echoed, softer than before and Avalon expression darkened, but he didn't argue. "After you, Mrs. Cary." His voice...those words...landed like a weight.

Mrs. Cary. In my previous life I craved to be called by that name. Now, I simply didn't give a damn.

I walked out of that destroyed room with my head high, feeling the pulse in my chest, three beats tangled into one. "I can't believe all this happened in just one night," I say revenge burning like acid in my veins."

"Tomorrow," I told myself, "we plan Bron's downfall."

"Tonight," I let a sliver of something like hope crawl in, dangerous and fragile, "I'll let myself believe maybe...just maybe...this second chance wouldn't end in my death."

"I didn't sleep."

"You didn't?" Kai's voice was soft in the doorway like he expected me to be a wreck.

"I didn't." I dragged the words like a blade. "How do anyone get any sleep when three mate bonds are thrumming like competing heartbeats. I barely closed my eyes."

"No wonder you look so exhausted," Osilus said, handing me a coffee. "A pretty woman like you deserves her beauty sleep. Anyways, training starts in twenty. Wear something you can move in."

"I already have something to move in?" I sniffed, tiny fury flaring. "Of course you'd pick my size."

"We planned for emergencies," he said, like it absolved him of prophecy.

"Here, peace offering."he smiled holding out a tray.

"Three espressos?" I looked at the cups. "Are you trying to sedate me or murder me?"

"Both," he said, and it almost made me smile. "Because you're my mate and I failed you before. Not again."

"You failed me?" The laugh on my lips was bitter. "You did bring me coffee when I cried. But that's not the same as stopping a man from stomping on me."

"It's different now." His gaze went warm and insistent. "Your happiness matters to me."

"Then show me." I opened the door and let him lead.

"You good?" he asked as we entered the training room. The walls were padded and I could see the forest from the windows. I looked around and my eyes caught two shirts on a bench.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe this, the three men I hate are gathered to watch me train." I said barely hiding my sarcasm.

Zane was lounged against the wall, shirtless and smug as sin. Avalon stood in the center, he was shirtless too and his arms were crossed in the kind of posture that made the floor feel inferior.

"Wonderful," I said. "What a way to start my morning."

"Phoenixes don't train in shirts," Zane said. "They rip things apart."

"I'm not shifting," I said.

"Not yet," Avalon corrected. "But you will. Your wolf is dormant, not dead. We just need to wake her."

"And what if I don't want to?" I folded my arms.

"Too bad," Zane said, and moved like a shadow. "You're a Lunar Phoenix. Everyone with a better brain than you sees what that means. You need to defend yourself."

Avalon closed the distance before my brain could protest, his hand at my throat. He wasn't squeezing, just showing he could.

"You're so dead," he said flatly. "That barely took me two seconds."

Rage lit me as heat flared through my veins and golden light licked my skin. He jerked back, then hissed as his palm blistered.

"Don't you dare touch me," I snarled.

Zane grinned. "There she is."

"Your Phoenix is reactive,"

Osilus said, stepping forward. "This is good. It means she's close to the surface."

"What is this thing?" I demanded, watching the glow fade. "What is inside me?"

"Its not a thing," Avalon said, flexing the burnt hand. "Its part of you. Your wolf and your Phoenix are linked. One gives you the fight, the other the fire."

"Though emotion feeds it," Zane added, circling like he'd always been a vulture. "Rage, fear, desire-they all fuel the flame."

"Desire?" The word snagged something alarming in my chest. The bonds pulsed like answering drums.

"Control yourself,"Avalon stepped back into teacher mode. "You need to learn to channel it without letting it consume you. Otherwise, you're a ticking time bomb."

"That's very encouraging." I spat.

"We're not here to encourage," he said. "We're here to keep you alive. Osilus, start."

Osilus's face softened and then grew serious. "I need to touch your wolf through the mate bond. Do you trust me?"

"No." I almost said it, then put my hand in his.

The west-bond flared-warm like hearthlight as his eyes goldened. "Breathe with me. In... out."

I followed him and felt something inside me stir, curious and sleepy and amused.

"She's talking," I whispered.

"Good," He said. "What is she saying?"

"She says the your technique needs work," I said, a ghost of a smile twitching. "She said your wolf was lazy and fierce and annoyingly charming."

He actually laughed. "I can work with that."

"Enough bonding," Avalon snapped. "Can she shift?"

"Not yet," Osilus said. "She's too weak from years of being dormant."

"Then we need to feed her," Zane said, and my spine tightened when he put a hand at my lower back. "Phoenix fire strengthens wolves if you channel inward."

"Be careful, that's extremely dangerous," Avalon warned.

"Fine," I said, and the world tilted as Zane's presence slammed into mine-fire on fire. Pain ripped through me and I screamed.

"Let it out!" Zane yelled. "Channel it down into your wolf!"

I didn't know how. The fire burned and I thought I'd die again before cold hands seized my shoulders. It was Avalon's northern pressure and it crashed into me like ice.

"You're not dying," he barked. "Control it."

His command was a whip and my body obeyed. The blaze condensed and shifted, and my wolf drank until she purred.

"She wants more," I breathed.

"Give it to her." Osilus's warmth steadied the storm. "We've got you."

I stopped fighting and let the Phoenix roar. The pain became power and the power became clarity. My wolf broadened as it tasted strength.

"Her eyes," Osilus said in awe. "They're..."

"Gold and silver," Avalon finished. "Wolf and Phoenix."

I looked at my hands, there was no glow, but I felt a hum under my skin.

"How do you feel?" Zane asked, still holding me like there was nowhere else to be.

"Powerful," I admitted. Then my stomach growled like a betraying beast.

"You have no shame as a lady," Zane said, amused.

"Training burns," Avalon said. "We'll rest while she eats breakfast, then continue."

"Carry me," Osilus offered.

"Don't be ridiculous," I said.

"I guess I have to be the man," Zane said, and scooped me up like I weighed nothing. I didn't fight it because it felt oddly safe.

At the table they fed me like I'd been starving for weeks and in truth I had.

The food was ridiculously tasty and all three hovered, shoveling eggs, fruit, and protein into my tiny mouth.

"This is more serious than food," Avalon said after half of the food was gone. "We need to talk about the Council."

"Can't I eat in peace?" I set my fork down. "Tell me, why are they're so interested in the Lunar Phoenix bloodlines?"

He explained, and fear braided cold through his voice. "They govern the packs and when they find a Phoenix and they'll lock her up until the Vampires come for her. After that, she becomes their property."

"Breed her?" The word tasted like poison in my mouth. "You mean like own her."

"That's how it is politically," Zane said. "We can't let them know you exist. Not until you're strong."

"We will protect you," Avalon said. "Whether you like it or not, you're bonded."

"I don't need protection," I said. "I just need power and revenge."

"You keep talking about revenge, who wronged you that you can't let go?" Osilus's gaze sharpened.

"I won't rest until Bron and my father pay for their sins. That pack that let me die, I won't rest until I wipe out every single one of them." The words landed and I felt them settle like coal.

"I haven't forgotten about you Avalon, you are also on my death list for making me feel worthless every day."

He flinched like the memory hurt. "I..." He stopped.

"Even though you don't remember it, that's what you think of me. If this mate bond hadn't trap you," I snapped. "You would have rejected me on our wedding night and let Valta walk over me."

Silence.

Then he said, quiet, "You're right. I was blind. I saw you as an obligation, not a person, but I am not the same man as of yesterday."

"Why?" I asked. "What made you care now?"

"I learned what you are," he said. "And what you survived. No one deserves that especially not my mate."

"Mates," Zane said with a grin that was dangerous and oddly fond. "Plural. You might as well enjoy the chaos."

"Don't get your hopes up." I drew a line. "I have conditions."

"Name them," Osilus said. He was quick, already my ally on principle.

"Firstly, The final decisions are mine. You advise but you don't command."

"All agreed," they said at once, an unnerving harmony.

"Secondly, no secrets. If the Council is a threat, tell me everything."

"Done," Avalon said.

"Thirdly, Bron dies by my hand. Not yours." My voice pierced through the room.

Zane's smile went feral. "Mind if I sharpen that blade?"

"And four," I said breathing slowly. "The bonds are not ownership. Respect that, or I'll find a way to break them."

"That's impossible..." Avalon started.

"Then I'll die trying," I said. "Don't test me."

No one spoke for a heartbeat. Then Avalon nodded "We accept your terms."

"Good." I picked up my fork and ate like the world depended on it.

"We will continue training tomorrow," Avalon said.

"No, we continue tonight," I said, the promise tasting like copper and watched as they all smiled.

"I'll make sure you don't die again," Avalon said.

"I don't want you to save me," I said. "I want to make sure I kill the people who tried to bury me." I said, and the words were the last thing I let myself feel."