Lucas’s POVShe closed her eyes.Moon above, she actually closed her eyes.I could feel her breath on my lips, warm and quick, like she'd been running. Her chest was rising and falling way too fast and my heart was doing this thing where it felt like it might actually burst out of my ribcage.I was already leaning in. Close enough to see this tiny freckle by her jaw that I'd never noticed before, close enough to count her eyelashes if I wanted to be creepy about it. Somehow my hand had ended up in her hair, fingers twisted at the back of her neck, pulling her toward me without me even realizing I was doing it.She wanted this, I could tell from the way she was leaning into me, from how her lips had parted just slightly like she was already waiting.Every instinct I had was screaming at me, that I needed to stop being an idiot and just kiss her already.And for about half a second, I almost did it.But then I stopped.Because here's the thing, if I kissed her right now, if I let this w
Ava’s POVThe witch shocked me that morning when she said, “No training today, your body needs rest and so does your mind.”I’d half expected another grueling session that would leave me crawling to bed. Instead, I blinked at her, confused. “Rest?”“Yes,” she said simply, her voice clipped as always. Then, with a wave of her hand like I was an annoying pup, she shooed me out of the room.Resting sounded good, but sitting inside doing nothing made me restlessbut then the door creaked open and Lucas leaned against the frame, one shoulder propped, a lazy grin tugging his lips.“You look like you’re about to die of boredom,” he drawled.I narrowed my eyes. “And you came to save me?”“Of course.” He pushed off the frame and stepped inside. “That’s what knights do when princesses are locked in towers.”I folded my arms. “You’re no knight.”“True.” He winked. “I’m better.”“Better at being insufferable.”“Admit it,” he said, grinning wide. “You’d miss me if, I wasn't the one that came with y
Zack’s POVThe training ground was alive with grunts, the sound of claws against dummies, the crack of bodies hitting dirt. Maren and Darius had the recruits lined, sweating and stumbling through drills. They were trying but trying wasn’t enough.I didn’t announce myself, I just stepped into the edge of the arena and let my presence sink into the air like a blade. Slowly, heads turned, spines straightened. Good, fear kept them sharp.“Maren, Darius,” I said.“Alpha,” they both bowed slightly.“I’ll see what you’ve built.”They didn’t argue, they knew what this meant.“Line up!” I barked.The recruits scrambled, some nearly tripping over their own feet. A crooked row of nervous eyes stared at me. Sweat slicked their faces, but under it I could smell their fear.I paced, slowly, letting my boots grind into the dirt. “Over a month you’ve been here, you’ve bled, you’ve been bruised. You think that makes you warriors?” I stopped dead, eyes sweeping the line. “No, It makes you bodies waitin
Ava’s POVThe witch’s staff thudded against the ground with each step as she circled me. Her voice was calm but stern.“You’ve begun to master your emotions,” she said, her pale eyes never leaving me. “But power is not just what lies inside you, It is what you can call from the world itself, the ground, the air, the light, all of it waits. If you are strong enough to reach.”A lump formed in my throat. My palms were clammy. “And if I’m not strong enough?”Her lips curled faintly, humorless. “Then it will crush you.”The words made my stomach twist.From the edge of the clearing, Lucas muttered, “Really comforting.”The witch didn’t even glance at him. “Truth doesn’t need comfort, truth keeps wolves alive.”Lucas’s jaw flexed, but he stayed silent.I swallowed hard and forced my eyes forward.“Close your eyes,” the witch commanded.I obeyed.“Breathe.”I dragged in air, my chest rising.“Slower,” she snapped. “Again.”I tried again, forcing each breath to be steady.“Now feel,” she sai
Lucas’s POVShe finally went back to sleep.Her breathing evened out against my chest, but it wasn’t peaceful. Every so often her body twitched, and her fingers tightened in my shirt like she was afraid I’d vanish if she let go.I didn’t move. My arm stayed around her, holding her steady, while my other hand gripped the dagger across my lap.I stared into the fire, jaw locked.My wolf prowled inside me, restless and snarling. She’s ours and he still reaches her, even in sleep, he whispers to her.I bared my teeth silently. I hated the truth in that.The red-eyed bastard wasn’t here but his shadow was still clinging to her, was still poisoning her.And I couldn’t fight shadows.That helplessness burned through me, eating me alive. I was supposed to be a protector, my entire life had been built on the idea that I could shield the ones I cared about and yet here she was, shaking in her sleep and there was nothing I could do about it.I looked down at her face, softened only by exhaustion
Ava’s POVThe witch’s house was quiet when I finally lay down for the night. The air smelled of dried herbs and smoke, the wooden beams creaking softly as if the house itself was breathing.Lucas, Ryn and Jarek had taken positions at the far end, Lucas had insisted he stay closer, but the witch had shut him down. “She needs rest, not a watchdog breathing down her neck.”Rest, that was what I was supposed to be doing.But as I curled under the blanket, staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t calm my thoughts. My body was still sore from the day’s training, sparks lingering in my fingertips like static. What if I lost control again? What if I hurt someone else next time?I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes and forced myself to breathe slow. In, out. In, out. Eventually, exhaustion pulled me under.That’s when the nightmare came.---At first, I thought I was back in the forest outside Moonclaw but the trees weren’t right. Their trunks were black, bark split like charred skin, branch