LOGINRyder POVDay three. Last day before the challenge.I hadn't slept. None of us had.The training room was a disaster zone. Broken equipment, blood stains on the mats, holes in the walls from when Jolie lost control of her power. She was getting stronger, but control was still a problem."Again," Knox's voice echoed from the room below. "You're still telegraphing your moves."I walked to the window. The sun was starting to rise, painting the valley gold. In six hours, we'd be at the neutral grounds. In seven, Jolie would be fighting for her life.My wolf paced restlessly inside me. He wanted to shift, to hunt, to tear apart anyone who threatened our mate. But that wouldn't help her now."You should eat something." Doc appeared at my elbow. He looked as tired as I felt. "Can't protect her if you collapse.""I'm fine.""You're not." He set down a plate. Eggs, bacon, toast. "Eat. That's an order from your medic."I picked at the food. "She's going to die," I said. Couldn't keep it in anym
Jolie POVThe training room reeked of sweat. Knox had set up mats in the center, punching bags along the walls. Weapons hung on racks—knives, staff, even a few silver chains.I stared at them. My reflection stared back from the mirror. Dark circles under my eyes. Hair pulled into a messy braid. Sports bra and leggings Doc said would let me move freely.I looked like I'd already lost."First lesson." Knox's voice made me jump. "Stop thinking you're going to fail. It shows in your stance."I turned. He was in workout gear too, scars visible on his arms. "I'm not""You are." He walked over. "You're already defeated up here." He tapped my forehead. "So your body follows. We fix that first.""How?""By beating it out of you." He grinned. "On the mat. Now."I stepped onto the mat. Knox circled me like a predator. "Show me your fighting stance."I lifted my hands. I tried to remember the basic self-defense I was taught before my fight with Mara. Knox made a disgusted sound. "Drop your hand
Ryder POVThe compound was dead silent when we got back. No music from the garage, no laughter from the fire pit. Just the sound of our boots on gravel and the wind through the pines.I carried Jolie inside. She hadn't said a word since we left the Council chamber."Put me down." Her voice was small. "I can walk.""I know you can." I kept holding her anyway. "Doesn't mean you have to."Doc was waiting in the main hall, medical kit already open on the table. "Let me check her."I set her on the couch carefully. She looked so small surrounded by worn leather and motorcycle parts. Nothing like the woman who'd stared down the entire Council an hour ago."I'm fine," she said."Humor me." Doc pulled out his stethoscope. "Heart rate?""Fast.""Blood pressure?""Probably high."He listened to her chest, checked her eyes, felt her pulse. The whole pack was watching from the doorway. Nobody wanted to leave."She's in shock," Doc said finally. "But physically okay. I'll make tea.""I don't want
Jolie POVThe Council chamber was carved from living stone, walls smooth and ancient. Torches burned in iron brackets, casting dancing shadows across faces I didn't recognize. Powerful alphas from every major pack in the region, all here to watch me.To judge me.My boots echoed on the stone floor as I walked to the center. Ryder was behind me, his presence a solid wall at my back. The whole Iron Fangs pack had come, flanking us like an honor guard.Or a funeral procession.The Council sat on a raised platform, seven alphas arranged in a semicircle. I recognized Alpha Dominic from the Steelheart Pack in the center. My father's old friend. The one who'd looked the other way when Nightshade Pack turned me into their punching bag."Jolie Rys." His voice boomed through the chamber. "You stand accused of harboring unregistered abilities. Of refusing Council summons. Of bonding with a rogue pack without Council approval.""I'm not accused of anything," I said. My voice came out steadier tha
Ryder POVI watched Gio drive away, his smug face visible through the tinted window. My wolf wanted to chase him down, tear out his throat, leave him bleeding on the road."Don't," Jolie said quietly. She was still holding that damn paper. "He wants you to lose control.""Working," I growled.Cass locked the gate behind the SUVs. The pack gathered around us, their faces grim. Everyone knew what this meant. The Council didn't issue summons lightly. And they definitely didn't offer ancient loopholes unless they thought they'd win either way."Let me see that." I took the paper from Jolie's hands. The Council seal stared back at me, all official and threatening. "Luna's Challenge. Trial by combat. Winner takes all.""It's a trap," Luna said. She was leaning against Knox, favoring her taped ribs. "They're giving her an impossible choice.""Explain," I said."If she refuses the summons, they classify her as a rogue threat and hunt her down. If she accepts, they take her for 'evaluation and
Jolie POVI woke up in Ryder's bed. Again. This was becoming a pattern.The room was dark except for a single lamp. Ryder sat in the chair beside the bed, his head in his hands. He looked exhausted, his shirt still missing from earlier, dried blood streaking his chest."Hey," I croaked.His head snapped up. In two steps he was beside me, his hand on my face. "You scared the hell out of me.""What happened?" My mouth tasted bitter. Every muscle ached like I'd run a marathon."You healed Knox." His thumb traced my cheekbone. "Completely. The silver poisoning, the wound, everything. Then you collapsed."Memory flooded back. The light. Knox's scream. The feeling of power draining out of me like water through a broken dam."Is he okay?" I asked."He's fine. Better than fine. You saved his life." Ryder's jaw tightened. "But you almost killed yourself doing it."I tried to sit up. My arms shook with the effort. "I had to do it. He's part of my pack.""You've been unconscious for six hours."







