The chamber still reeked of smoke and shadow. The air felt heavy, charged, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.Aria’s hands shook where they gripped the blanket. Her mind wouldn’t stop replaying the image—the pack warrior’s red-glowing eyes, the way his body had dissolved into nothingness.“He was right here,” she whispered, barely audible. “Right here, Killian. One of ours. One of yours.”Killian stood with his back to her, shoulders tense, jaw locked. His claws had half-shifted, digging grooves into the wood of the bedpost.“He wasn’t one of mine,” Killian growled finally, voice low and lethal. “Not anymore.”The words were meant to sound certain, but even Aria could hear the crack underneath. He was Alpha—if the Shadow Crown had already turned one of his warriors, it wasn’t just a betrayal. It was a challenge to his rule.“Killian…” She tried to keep her voice steady. “What if there are more? He said half the pack would follow. What if they already are?”He turned
The battlefield still smoked. Ash floated through the night air like black snow, clinging to fur and skin, carrying the bitter tang of blood. Wolves limped among the wreckage, dragging the wounded toward safety, but their eyes kept drifting back to one place—back to her.Aria sat cradled against Killian’s chest, his arms wrapped around her protectively, his bare skin streaked with dirt and blood. She could feel his heart pounding beneath her cheek, steady and strong, a lifeline in the storm of chaos swirling inside her.But she could hear them even here, pressed against the one person who steadied her. The whispers.“She glowed…”“That wasn’t wolf power.”“Prophecy. It has to be.”“What if she’s dangerous?”Each word struck sharper than claws. Her wolf whimpered low inside her, torn between pride in the strength they’d unleashed and fear of what it meant.Killian’s growl rumbled low, vibrating through his chest into hers. His storm-gray eyes swept across the gathered wolves, hard and
The battlefield reeked of smoke, blood, and fear. Wolves staggered among the ruins of their own strength, their eyes darting from the bodies of rogues to the faint glow still clinging to Aria’s skin. Silence pressed on them, heavier than the death littering the earth.And then, the howl came again.Low. Drawn-out. Wrong.It didn’t belong to any wolf she had ever known. It wasn’t even the rabid scream of rogues. It was deeper, threaded with something unnatural that scraped against the inside of her skull. Her wolf whimpered, her body trembling despite the heat still pulsing in her veins.The pack shifted nervously, hackles raised. Murmurs broke out.“What was that?”“It’s not one of ours—”“Moon above, what is she?”The last whisper cut sharper than claws. Aria’s stomach clenched.Killian’s growl rolled across the clearing, silencing them instantly. His broad frame stood tall, blood streaking his chest, his storm-gray eyes glowing with Alpha fire. “She is your Luna. You will remember t
The battlefield writhed with chaos. Once scattered with stars, the night sky was now smothered beneath smoke and fire. Wolves clashed fang to fang, claw to claw, as the pack fought desperately to hold the line. The enemy surged like a tide of endless, feral, and unrelenting shadows.Aria’s lungs burned as she tore through a rogue, her claws dripping crimson. Killian was beside her, his wolf a hulking shadow of fury, his growls rolling like thunder across the battlefield. They moved in sync, their bond pulling them together as though some invisible thread wove their every strike. And still, the tide pressed harder.Then the air shifted. Cold, sharp, unnatural.Aria froze, her wolf bristling. From the center of the field, the red-eyed stranger raised a hand. The rogues faltered, their movements jerking unnaturally, as if pulled by invisible strings. Then his voice cut through the din, low and sharp, reverberating in her skull.“You can fight until dawn, but you will break. The bond will
The forest edge trembled with movement, shadows bleeding into the clearing until the night seemed alive with eyes. The enemy’s presence pressed against the pack like a suffocating fog, thick with violence and something older, darker.Killian’s wolf surged beneath his skin, the Alpha’s dominance lashing out in waves that sent even his pack bowing lower in instinctive submission. But the figure at the treeline did not flinch. He only smiled, cruel and knowing.“Attack!” Killian’s voice roared like thunder, and the courtyard exploded.Wolves leapt forward, claws raking earth, fangs flashing white as the first wave of rogues tore from the forest. The crash was instant, brutal—the sound of snarls and screams blending into chaos.Aria’s bones snapped, fire racing through her veins as her wolf surged free. She landed on four paws, her senses igniting with clarity. The world sharpened—every scent, every sound, every movement in the shadows. The bond tethered her to Killian’s wolf, massive and
The silence after Cleon’s collapse was more dangerous than the fight itself. Wolves shifted uneasily around the training ground, their eyes glowing in the dying light, claws scraping earth as if unsure whether to bow… or to bare their fangs.Aria’s chest heaved, blood singing from the fight she’d barely won. Her wolf pulsed inside her, still restless, still hungry for dominance. But she forced herself still, straightening her spine as every gaze pinned her in judgment.Killian moved first. He stepped forward, radiating Alpha command, his presence crashing over the pack like a tidal wave. His voice thundered across the yard.“Enough!”The word cut through the murmurs like a blade. Even those who had doubted him flinched. His gaze swept across them, daring anyone to defy. “She spared him. That mercy is not weakness—it’s strength. Aria stood where others would have fallen. She is not only mine—she is yours. My Luna.”Some wolves lowered their heads instantly, submitting. Others hesitated