เข้าสู่ระบบDamon’s POVThe light vanished so fast it felt ripped away. One second the ritual circle was burning white, the next it was nothing but cold air and the sharp echo of Ivy’s scream fading into silence.I hit the ground beside her before anyone else could move.“Ivy,” I whispered, pulling her into my arms. Her skin was ice. Her lashes didn’t flutter. Her chest barely moved.“No, no, no, stay with me,” I pleaded, shaking.Gemma stumbled back, shielding her eyes. Kara dropped to her knees beside Lyra’s, no, Seren’s empty place in the circle. Sera pressed a hand over her own mouth, choking on panic.But all I saw was Ivy. My mate. My life. My entire damn world is barely breathing.“Damon,” Gemma said softly, but she sounded miles away.“Don’t touch me,” I growled, holding Ivy tighter. “Don’t take her from me.”The ritual markings on her wrists faded into faint silver scars. Her pulse flickered under my thumb, too weak, too thin, like a thread stretched past breaking.“She gave part of her
Ivy’s POVThe moment the sky split open above the temple, everything inside me went rigid. The ritual circle tightened around my ankles, warm and cold at the same time, like the moons themselves were pulling me in opposite directions.Lyra trembled beside me, her small fingers locked in Seren’s. Seren’s shadows flickered all over her skin, crawling like restless veins trying to escape. The girls leaned into each other, both breathing fast, both terrified but refusing to let go.Damon’s hand hovered near my back as though he was scared touching me would break whatever thin thread kept this moment together.“Ivy,” he whispered. “Tell me what you need me to do.”I shook my head. “Just stay close. And don’t let go of them, no matter what happens.”Seren’s eyes darted up. “What do you mean, no matter what?”Her voice cracked, and it stabbed something deep in my chest. She had never learned how to be calm. She had only learned how to survive.The moonlight flashed again, red and white twist
Damon’s POVThe moons hadn’t stopped moving since dawn.By nightfall, the whole sky felt wrong, too bright, too dark, too silent. The kind of silence that comes when the world is holding its breath before something breaks.I stood at the entrance of the Bridge Temple, staring at the heavens as wolves gathered behind me, witches forming their circle on the other side. The air vibrated with storming energy, sharp and metallic, crawling under my skin like lightning with no place to strike.Ivy came up beside me, Lyra’s hand in hers. Our daughter’s eyes glowed gold and silver, shifting like water under light. She looked up at the sky without fear.“Papa,” she whispered, “it’s starting.”I took her free hand. “I know, starshine.”Ivy looked at me then. Her eyes were tired but steady, brave in that way only she could be. “She’ll come,” she said softly. “Seren won’t hide from this.”I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe Seren wanted healing, not chaos. But the memory of her voice, sof
Ivy’s POVSleep didn’t come that night.Not after Seren’s face. Not after her voice. Not after hearing her call herself daughter.I lay beside Damon, staring at the ceiling, Lyra curled between us with her tiny hand gripping my shirt like she feared the night itself. Damon kept his arm around both of us, but his breathing was tense, too controlled to be real sleep.“Damon,” I whispered.He didn’t open his eyes. “I know. I’m thinking about it too.”“Seren… she wasn’t lying.”His jaw clenched. “I hate that she looks like you.”“I know.”“And I hate what she said even more.”“I know.”Lyra stirred softly, mumbling in her sleep. “Mama… don’t let her fall…”Damon and I shared a look. We didn’t need the bond to tell us she wasn’t talking about a dream. Our daughter never dreamed normal dreams.He brushed a hand through her hair. “Get some rest,” he murmured. “I’ll stay awake.”But I couldn’t rest, not with the sigil glowing faintly on my palm and Seren’s last words echoing through my head.
Damon’s POVI felt Ivy’s fear through the bond before I even reached the clearing.Her pulse was rapid, her breath unsteady. My wolf shoved against my skin, snarling, Get to her. Now.By the time I burst into the ridge, half-shifted and ready to tear apart anything standing, Ivy wasn’t alone.She stood face-to-face with a woman who looked, no, not looked, matched her. Same eyes. Same jaw. Same expression.Shadow-Ivy.I didn’t slow down.“Ivy, get behind me,” I growled, stepping between them.The woman didn’t flinch. She watched me with this eerie calm, chin lifted like she’d already judged me and found me lacking.“You came,” she said, voice soft but steady. “Alpha of Crescent. Mate of the Bridge.”“Who the hell are you?” I snapped. “And why do you look like my wife?”Ivy stepped close, fingers brushing my arm. “Damon… she calls herself Seren.”The woman, Seren, inclined her head. “A name given by the shadows. A name born from the moment your daughter took her first breath.”My wolf s
Ivy’s POVThe mark on my palm wouldn’t stop pulsing. It wasn’t painful, but it felt alive, like something pacing beneath my skin. Damon kept glancing at my hand as we prepared for the morning council, and although he tried to hide it, fear kept slipping into his eyes.Before either of us could say anything, Gemma burst through the door.“We have a problem,” she said, breathless. “A big one.”Damon straightened immediately. “What happened?”“Rogue hybrids,” Gemma answered. “They hit two border villages before dawn.”My stomach tightened. “Rogues? From where? There haven’t been any hybrid factions since the war.”“That’s the problem,” Gemma said, shaking her head. “They’re calling themselves the Moonless Ones. And they took prisoners.”Damon cursed under his breath. “How many?”“Twenty. Maybe more. They left one guard alive just to deliver a message.” Gemma looked at me. “And it was for you.”My throat tightened. “What message?”Gemma hesitated. “They said… ‘Tell the Bridge we rise for







