A Feral Curse swept through the werewolf world.

Those wolves touched by it become monsters that devour their own packmates; others die in agony as the infection burns through them.

The survivors formed an Alliance to fight back.

I fought alongside my mate, Alpha Liam, until the very end. Until rescue finally came.

But our transport was seconds from takeoff. That’s when Liam's first love, an omega named Chloe, ran back. All for a beat-up music box.

Liam insisted we wait.

The feral pack was closing in. I had no choice. I forced the ramp shut.

Chloe was torn apart by ferals.

Back at the Alliance base, I thought we were safe. I was wrong.

That night, Liam knocked me out and threw me to a captured feral wolf.

The infection was pure agony. It felt like my veins were erupting from the inside out. I died alone in a cold, empty cell.

His last words echoed in my mind through our link:

"You let Chloe die. It's your turn to feel what she felt."

Then I opened my eyes.

I was back. Back on the airfield. On the day he refused to leave.

I saw the feral pack in the distance, and a cold smile touched my lips.

He wants to save Chloe so badly?

Fine. This time, they can die together.

The Feral Curse had shattered our world. We were the last survivors of our pack. And my mate, Alpha Liam, was holding us all hostage.

All for a troublesome omega named Chloe, who’d decided to run off on her own.

"Everyone, HALT!"

Liam’s roar shook the tarmac. A wave of his Alpha Command crashed over us.

My packmates buckled under the weight of it, some even dropping to their knees.

Only I stood my ground, staring coldly at the man I once loved.

"Chloe isn't back yet! We're not leaving!" He scanned the crowd, his eyes bloodshot. "No one gets left behind!"

The transport's engines were already whining, the final five-minute countdown blaring across the sky.

The Alliance pilot leaned anxiously out of the cockpit.

"Alpha, we have to take off now! The feral pack is only six miles out!"

"No!" Liam whipped out his silver dagger and pointed it at the pilot. "Wait ten more minutes!"

My Beta, Ryan, struggled to his feet, his face pale. "Liam, are you insane? You'd sacrifice the whole pack for one omega?"

"Shut up!" Liam's wild gaze snapped to me. "Elena, you're my Beta. Back me up! Tell them we're waiting for Chloe!"

In my last life, I had begged him, tears streaming down my face, to get on the transport.

I’d seen what the Feral Curse did. It didn’t just make you a monster. It twisted your body, breaking you from the inside out. Silver poison ravaged your veins until you burst.

It was a gruesome, agonizing death.

The Alliance sent this chopper to save us.

I’d set a strict rendezvous time with my pack. We had to leave on time.

It was Chloe who had sprinted back into the cursed zone to grab some broken music box her mother had left her. We couldn't doom the entire pack for one omega.

But Liam wouldn't listen. He had to have Chloe on board.

Last time, I’d jabbed a sedative into his neck.

I knocked him out just so I could close the ramp and get us the hell out of there.

As the transport lifted off, we saw Chloe in the distance, being torn apart by ferals.

Everyone felt a pang of pity, but if we hadn't taken off, that would have been our fate, too.

After getting our pack settled in the Alliance's safe zone, I started drawing up battle plans.

I thought the nightmare was over.

But that night, a crazed Liam drugged me and threw me to the feral wolves the Alliance kept for research.

Before I died, his voice sliced through our mind link.

"If you hadn't forced us to leave, Chloe would still be alive! It's your turn to feel her pain."

The memory of my agonizing death sent a phantom pain through my chest.

This time, as I watched Liam stubbornly demand we wait for Chloe, I smiled.

"Fine."

The single word was like a thunderclap.

Ryan’s eyes went wide. The other pack members stared in shock.

"Elena?" Ryan's voice trembled. "What did you say?"

I walked toward Liam and gently touched the hand that gripped his dagger. "You're right, my love." My voice was like silken poison. "We never leave a pack member behind. We have to get Chloe back, no matter what."

A triumphant grin spread across Liam’s face.

"See? That's my mate!" He sheathed his dagger. "Elena gets it. She knows what loyalty is!"

The pack exchanged looks of disbelief and terror. Ryan rushed to my side, hissing, "Elena, what are you thinking? We're all going to die here!"

I patted his shoulder, a glint in my eye he couldn't decipher. "Trust me, Ryan. No one is going to die."

Not us, anyway.

Liam stood before the transport like a victorious general.

The pilot, defeated, shut down the engines. The countdown stopped.

I pulled out my tactical watch, pretending to check the time.

In reality, I was activating a hidden comms link. A direct line to the Alliance Council's private transport—on standby 24/7.

My pack didn't know their leader was more than just a pack warrior.

I was a specialist in fighting the Feral Curse, trained by the Council itself.

I had the highest-level evacuation clearance.

But there were eight of us. I had clearance for six. Seven, if I pushed it. But not eight.

That was why I couldn't use it last time.

But since Liam didn't care if I lived or died… I'd use this to show him what real despair felt like.

"Elena." Liam came to my side, his eyes full of gratitude. "Thank you for understanding how I feel about Chloe. You're the best mate I could ask for."

I smiled and nodded, my heart cold as ice.

Oh yes, Liam. I understand completely.

And I'll make sure you two are together forever.

In hell, where you both belong.

In the distance, a piercing siren suddenly blared. A red flare exploded in the sky.

The Alliance Command broadcast echoed across the evac zone:

"EMERGENCY ALERT! THE FINAL SAFE ZONE HAS BEEN BREACHED! ALL EVACUATIONS ARE TERMINATED! I REPEAT, ALL EVACUATIONS ARE TERMINATED!"

The transport's engines roared back to life.

But this time, they weren't waiting for anyone.

The pilot's voice came through the loudspeaker, cold and robotic: "Evacuation aborted! All Alliance craft, return to base immediately!"

The giant metal bird lifted into the air, leaving the eight of us standing on the empty tarmac.

A dead silence fell.

Then it broke.

"You goddamn fool!" Marcus was the first to lunge at Liam, his silver-knuckled fist connecting with Liam's face. "We're all going to die! Because of your precious omega!"

"For a music box! A worthless piece of junk!" another warrior, Sofia, screamed, her eyes wild with despair. "My kid is waiting for me back at the Alliance!"

Liam wiped the blood from his nose, his expression still stubborn. "Chloe isn't a 'piece of junk'! That music box was all she had left of her mother!"

"Her mother's memory?" Ryan sneered. "Fantastic. Now we're all about to become memories!"

Just then, a trembling voice came from behind the ruins. "Liam? Why are you guys still here?"

Chloe staggered out, clutching a small, rusty music box. Her face was streaked with tears, the picture of a damsel in distress.

Marcus’s rage boiled over. He lunged, ready to strangle her.

I caught his arm. "Calm down, Marcus." My voice was quiet, but it held an authority he couldn't defy. "Anger won't save us."

I scanned the group, including the shivering Chloe. "The only thing that matters now is how we survive."

Ryan gritted his teeth, forcing his fury down. "Do you have a plan, Elena?"

I pointed to a skeletal skyscraper stabbing at the skyline. "The old NY-United tower. It has a reinforced deep-level bunker. It'll hold them off. For a while."

"And then what?" Sofia’s voice shook. "We wait in there to die?"

"No," I said, pulling a comms device from my tactical pack. "We wait for rescue."

At that moment, the Alliance Command's final broadcast crackled through the sky.

"ATTENTION! THE ALLIANCE IS OFFICIALLY DECLARING THIS ZONE UNDER PERMANENT QUARANTINE! NO ONE IN, NO ONE OUT! THIS IS THE FINAL BROADCAST!"

A suffocating silence fell again.

Chloe collapsed, the music box slipping from her grasp and clattering on the ground. "We're... we're really going to die here?" she sobbed.

Liam immediately dropped to his knees, pulling her into a tight hug. "No, Chloe. I won't let you die."

I watched them, feeling nothing.

Then, as despair settled over my pack, I pulled out a special encrypted satellite phone.

"Maybe there's one last hope."

Every eye snapped to me. I dialed a number only a handful of people knew.

"This is operative 'Moonblade' Elena," I said, my voice calm and firm. "Requesting emergency extraction. Coordinates sent. Awaiting pickup."

A familiar voice answered. Cold. Professional. "The Council President has been waiting for your call, Moonblade. A special ops team will arrive in 72 hours. Your request for a discretionary slot was approved. We have seven seats for you."

"Acknowledged." I ended the call.

My team let out a ragged cheer, celebrating their new lease on life. Ryan grabbed my arm, his eyes wide. "Elena... who are you?"

I just smiled, not answering.

Instead, I leaned in, my voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Ryan, there are seven seats on that rescue transport."

His smile froze on his face. "But... there are eight of us."

I nodded, a cold light in my eyes. "Yes. Eight."

The blood drained from his face. He understood.

Meanwhile, Liam, oblivious, was gently wiping Chloe's tears away.

His voice was a soft caress.

"Don't worry, Chloe. I'll make sure you have the best life in our new home at the Alliance. I swear it, on the Moon Goddess."

A cruel smile played on my lips.

All this affection…I wondered if they’d still be this close when they were fighting for the last seat out.

The atmosphere in the bunker was thick with tension.

We’d been down here for two days. And some people were enjoying their "privileges."

"Liam, I'm out of water," Chloe whined, holding up a bottle she'd just half-finished. It was one of six that was supposed to last our entire team three days.

"Here, baby." Liam didn't hesitate.

He grabbed another bottle from our dwindling supply.

"You're an omega. Not a hardened warrior. You need this more than we do."

Marcus shot to his feet, his fists cracking. "Damn it! The rest of us get half a bottle a day, and she's had six by herself!"

"Shut up!" Liam spun on him, his Alpha authority flaring. "Chloe's an omega! She needs special care!"

Sofia’s chapped lips trembled. "My daughter needs special care, too, but she's at the Alliance, wondering if her mother is dead or alive!"

"That's not my problem," Liam replied coldly.

Ryan was on his feet in an instant, his silver dagger in his hand. "What did you just say?"

Just as a fight was about to break out, Chloe let out a piercing scream. "Ah! My hand! What's happening to my hand?"

All eyes turned to her.

On the back of her left hand, several silver-white patches were spreading like frost.

"Silver-scaling!" Ryan gasped. "She's infected!"

Marcus scrambled back. "Damn it! That's the first sign of the Feral Curse! She's going to turn!"

"No! NO!" Chloe shrieked hysterically. "I don't want to be a monster! Liam, save me!"

Liam's face went deathly pale. He lunged for the supply crate, tearing through it. "The medkit! Where's the medkit?"

"It's useless," I said calmly. "Standard meds are useless against silver-scaling."

Liam whirled on me, a mad fire in his eyes. "Then what can? There has to be a way!"

As if on cue, I "accidentally" knocked over my tactical pack. A shimmering, silver syringe rolled out.

The air turned to ice.

Moon-Heal. The legendary serum said to purify any curse.

A single dose was worth a small city on the black market.

"Give it to her!" Liam pointed at me, his voice an absolute command. "Inject her now!"

"No." I put the syringe back in my pack. "This is the only sample. The Alliance scientists need it to develop a cure for everyone."

"I don't give a damn about a cure!" Liam snarled, his Alpha power crashing down on me. "That's an order, Elena. Treat her. Now!"

Ryan stepped between us. "Liam, you're crazy! You'd sacrifice the entire future of our species for one person?"

"Get out of my way!" Liam threw a punch, sending Ryan sprawling with a bloody lip.

He stood before me, his eyes consumed by a madness that had burned away all reason. "Elena, I'm your fated mate. As your Alpha, I command you—give me the serum!"

The mate bond screamed. A phantom blade of agony twisted in my soul, demanding I obey. It broke me, in my last life.

Not this time. I’d died once. This was nothing.

I looked at him and smiled coldly. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure!"

The pain was like a knife in my soul, but I forced myself to pull the syringe from my pack. "Fine," I said, handing it to him. "I hope you don't regret this."

Liam snatched it and knelt beside Chloe. "It's okay, baby. It'll be over soon."

The silver liquid entered her veins, and the effect was immediate. The silver patches receded, her skin returning to normal.

"Thank you... thank you," Chloe said weakly, a flicker of triumph in her eyes. "I know it was precious. I'll... I'll find a way to repay you all."

Her performance was perfect. Pitiful, grateful. Marcus and the others, though furious, just grunted and turned away.

Right on cue, the roar of engines shook the bunker. Our ride was here.

A brilliant smile lit up Chloe's face. "We're saved! We can finally leave this hellhole!"