**Arin's POV**
As another bomb went off in the building, the ground shook under my feet. I thought my heart would burst because it was beating so fast. As ceiling tiles fell around us, Kael grabbed my hand and pulled me behind a broken beam.
"We need to get out of here!" Jaxon yelled above the noise.
The wind he had pushed the smoke away, but I could tell he was tired. He had a pale face and sweat running down his temples. Rowan stumbled beside me, blood running from his nose.
"I can see them coming," he said slightly out loud. "A lot of soldiers. They're everywhere."
I wanted to help him, but I didn't know how. Every time I tried to use my skills, something went wrong. The silver light that came from my hands was getting stronger, but I couldn't stop it. What if I hurt someone I loved?
"Stay close to me," Kael said, putting his arm around my waist.
His earth magic made a wall of stone between us and the broken entrance. But even his wall had cracks in it.
That's when I heard a voice that made my blood freeze.
"Hello, old friends. Miss me?"
We all turned toward the sound. Through the smoke and darkness, a man stepped forward. He was tall and strong-looking, with gray hair and scars on his face. Alpha Vaughn's mouth fell open like he'd seen a ghost.
"Cassian?" Alpha Vaughn whispered. "But you're dead. I saw your body."
The man called Cassian laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound.
"Did you really think I'd be stupid enough to die for this pack? For you?"
Elder Mava made a small noise like someone had punched her in the stomach.
"Impossible. We buried you ourselves."
"You buried someone else," Cassian said with a cruel smile. "Someone who looked enough like me to fool everyone. It wasn't hard to arrange."
My chest felt tight. I didn't understand what was happening, but I could feel the fear coming from the triplets. Kael's hand on my waist was shaking. Jaxon stopped using his wind skills and just stared. Rowan covered his eyes like he was seeing something terrible.
"Why?" Alpha Vaughn asked. His voice sounded broken. "You were my best friend. My war guide. I trusted you with everything."
"And that was your first mistake," Cassian spat. "Do you know what it's like to watch you make decision after decision that harmed our pack? To see you choose feelings over strength?"
I took a step backward, but there was nowhere to go. The building was falling apart around us, and now we had an enemy inside with us too.
"You've been working for Althara," Elder Mava said. It wasn't a question.
"For twenty years," Cassian nodded. "Ever since you refused to join the Northern Alliance. Ever since you decided to keep your precious little pack independent instead of becoming part of something bigger."
"You betrayed us for twenty years?" Jaxon's voice cracked with anger and hurt.
Cassian's eyes found mine, and I felt like a mouse being watched by a snake.
"I didn't just betray you. I've been planning this moment since the day this little omega was born."
"What do you mean?" I managed to ask, even though my voice came out small and scared.
"Oh, sweet Arin," Cassian said in a voice that made my skin crawl. "You really don't know, do you? You have no idea what you are."
"She's the Blood Moon Child," Elder Mava said quickly. "We know."
"Do you?" Cassian laughed again. "Do you know why Queen Althara has spent decades preparing for this day? Do you know why she's willing to start a war just to get her hands on one little omega?"
I felt sick to my stomach. "I don't understand."
"Your mother wasn't just any Luna," Cassian said, walking closer to us. The triplets moved to block his path, but he didn't seem worried. "Luna Seraphina was the most powerful monster born in five hundred years. And when she died, all that power went somewhere."
He pointed at me with one finger. "It went into her daughter. Into you."
The silver light under my skin started glowing brighter. I tried to make it stop, but it wouldn't listen to me.
"Every Blood Moon Child is born with the power to unite all werewolf packs under one rule," Cassian added. "Or to destroy them all totally. Queen Althara has been waiting eighteen years for you to grow strong enough to be useful."
"Useful for what?" Kael demanded.
"To make her the first High Queen in a thousand years," Cassian smiled. "With Arin's power feeding hers, Althara will be able to control every werewolf living. Every pack will bow to her. Every Alpha will become her servant."
"That's not going to happen," Rowan said. His voice was quiet but full of steel. "We won't let it."
"You won't be able to stop it," Cassian said. "Because you're all going to be dead soon."
He pulled out a silver gun and pointed it right at me.
"Althara only needs Arin living. The rest of you are just in the way."
Everything happened at once. Kael threw up a dirt wall. Jaxon sent a blast of wind toward Cassian. Rowan grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away. But Cassian was faster than all of them.
The gun went off with a loud bang. Someone screamed. I felt something hot and wet splash across my face.
When the dust cleared, one of the triplets was on the ground, not moving. And I was looking into the cold, satisfied eyes of the man who had just destroyed my world.
"Now," Cassian said, aiming the gun at me again, "let's go meet your new queen."
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