Damon POVThe first blade came from the left. I deflected it, slammed my shoulder into the attacker, and drove my knife up under his ribs. He dropped without a sound.More came—sprinting through the trees, shouting Axel’s name like it was a war cry. I met them head-on. Steel met flesh. Blood soaked into the dirt.I moved on instinct. Dodge, strike, kill. My breath was ragged, my arms heavy, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t. I carved a path forward through the chaos, eyes scanning the battlefield, listening for anything—anyone—that could tell me where Kalilah was.Then I heard her scream, but it was a battle cry. She was fine. Good.Someone lunged at me with a sword. I caught his wrist, twisted until it snapped, and buried my blade in his chest.I paused only long enough to catch my breath.We keep going.“I know,” I growled. My voice was hoarse. “Not until I know she’s safe.”She will be. But only if Axel dies here.My grip tightened on the hilt of my blade.“Then we finish this.”Axel was
Kalilah POVThe next day we are closing in on Axel after all the information we were able to gain. I was here first with Kiran and some of the other fighters I gathered. We gazed at each other, even if I couldn’t see him. But I knew he was looking at me with that expression on his face that told me that someone was coming.I smelled him.It was Damon. He smelled good. That was my first thought. My wolf was aching, wanting to give him a piece of him.Quickly, I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind. No, thinking about that right now was not going to help anything. All it was going to do was complicate things and make my life a lot more difficult. I would consider them later when I wasn’t about to kill Axel or looking to kill him.I heard his footsteps before I felt his presence. Slower than I remembered. He was trying not to make noise, but I knew his gait. Every shift of weight, every breath. My pulse stuttered.Then he spoke. Low. Careful.“Kalilah.”Hearing his voice in perso
Kalilah POVI found Kiran pacing near the window—I could hear the soft, uneven thud of his boots against the floorboards. He stopped when he heard me come in.“You talked to him.”I nodded once. “Yeah. Just now.”It had been surreal to talk to him again. I wish I had done it sooner.He didn’t speak right away. Just the sound of his arms folding, the quiet shift of fabric.“And?” he asked finally.“He’s planning to move on, Axel.”His breath caught, just for a second. “Did he say how close he is?”“No. Just that it’s happening. Soon. Same as us.”Kiran exhaled sharply. “Figures. Did you agree to anything?”“We’re trading intel.”“That’s all?”I turned my head slightly toward his voice. “You sound like you have something to say.”He gave a short laugh, not quite amused. “You’re the one who called him. After all that.”“We’re fighting the same enemy. I’m not letting pride get in the way of ending this.”“And you trust him?”“I trust that he wants Axel dead,” I said. “I told him that kill
Damon POVTalking to Kalilah after all this time was surreal, but it also helped me get my head on straight.Just hearing her voice—steady, sharp, a little colder than I remembered—cut through the noise that had been building in my mind for days. Weeks, if I were honest.We didn’t say everything. Not even close. There was too much history, too much pain still sitting between us like a live wire. But the fact that she picked up at all? That meant something.It reminded me of who I was doing this for. What I was fighting to protect.Who I was still trying to become.Right now, I have to focus and talk to Caden. We were causing damage to Axel’s forces, but we also had to ensure that we didn’t face a lot of pushback. It was important to stay on top of things.It was getting to the point where I had to make a decision. Did I want to attack once and for all? Or continue to weaken him, continuing to drag out this fight?This was the frustrating thing. I knew I had to end it eventually. Keepi
Kalilah POVI was helping the kids when Kiran appeared in the doorway. It was obvious because I smelled him.“You’re busy,” he said, like it wasn’t obvious.“I’m teaching three-year-olds to sound out the word cloud,” I replied dryly. “So yes. What’s up?”He hesitated.“What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.He stepped further in, lowering his voice. “Damon called.”The air left my lungs a little too fast. I kept my expression neutral, but inside, everything flipped upside down. “What did he want?”“To talk to you.”I turned back to the kids, trying to ignore the way my heart was beating very fast. “Did he say why?”“He said he’d talk about Axel later. But you were the reason he called.”I didn’t answer right away. My fingers felt tight around the edge of the sword. “Did you tell him I was busy?”“Yeah. I told him you’d call him back.”“And you think I will?”He shrugged. “You just asked what he wanted. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have asked.”I hated how well he could read me. Always
Damon POVI had been meaning to talk to Caden about the situation. Everything was crazy, buzzing around my mind. The two of us did need to talk, so I could figure out what was going on with the battle with Axel. We were trying to find his men to make sure that we could end her life.There just hadn’t been a moment to stop and breathe, let alone sit down and go over the shifting pieces. Caden was doing his part—tracking leads, interrogating prisoners, coordinating scouts. We were all stretched thin, but he was the only one who knew the full scope of what we were walking into.And I needed that. I needed to know what he’d seen. What was he thinking? If he believed Axel had more allies hidden in the shadows—or worse, was planning an attack.Caden was leaning against the training wall, chewing through the last of an apple like it had personally offended him. The rest of the warriors had cleared out, the yard empty except for the two of us and the silence hanging between us.I broke it. “K