로그인Emmett's POV Kora hit the floor hard. “Kora!” I moved before thinking, catching her just before her head slammed fully against the ground. Her body felt frighteningly cold beneath my hands. Almost ice cold. The complete opposite of Kali yesterday. Something twisted uneasily in my chest. Behind me, Kali gasped softly from beside the window. I glanced up sharply. She looked terrified. Her wide dark eyes were locked onto Kora’s unconscious form, her face drained completely of color. “What the hell…” I muttered. Kora’s breathing came shallow and uneven as I lifted her carefully into my arms. She looked even worse up close. Dark shadows bruised the skin beneath her eyes. Her lips had lost their color entirely. Even the scent coming off her was wrong somehow. Weak. Like her wolf was struggling. “Kali,” I said sharply without looking at her. “Find Ike and tell him to get Lilith. Now." For a second she didn’t move. "Kali now!" I barked. Then she startled like she had snapp
Emmett's POVSteel clashed sharply across the training field.Again.And again.The sound rang through the cool morning and the sound somehow made me feel grounded. I twisted sideways just as Ike’s sword came for my shoulder, the blade barely missing before I countered hard enough to force him back several steps across the dirt.Both of us were drenched in sweat already.Breathing hard.The early sun glinted across the blades while dust swirled around our boots from the force of each strike.Usually training cleared my head.Today it was doing the exact opposite. I still couldn't get the image of the burn mark in the forest off my mind. Our swords collided again with enough force to jar up my arm.“I think Kora has to go,” Ike said suddenly between breaths.I shoved his blade away before circling him slowly. “I agree.”That surprised him slightly.His brow lifted.“But,” I continued, “I can’t send her back until we figure out what’s happening here first.”Ike paused briefly, wiping
Zara's POV Several minutes after pulling into my driveway, I still sat frozen inside the car.The engine had long gone quiet.So had the world around me.But my mind refused to.All I could see was that ring burned into the forest floor. The perfect circled charred into the earth.I stared blankly through the windshield as the image replayed over and over in my head. The blackened earth. The untouched center. The lingering scent of smoke curling through the trees like the forest itself remembered what happened there.And somehow every road led back to Kali.Kali.Sweet nervous Kali who apologized too much and avoided eye contact whenever Kora entered a room.How could someone like her create something so terrifying?More importantly…Why now? If she had this ability all this while, why was it surfacing now?My fingers tightened unconsciously around the steering wheel.Then another thought slammed into me so suddenly my breath caught.Maduro.Did he know?My stomach twisted hard.Was
Zara's POV Sleep never truly came.Not for me anyway.Even after returning from the forest, after the horses were stabled and the servants retreated for the night, my mind refused to quiet down.So I sat there instead.Watching Kali sleep.The room was dim except for the faint glow of moonlight spilling through the curtains. Shadows stretched softly across the floor while the fire in the hearth crackled low and quiet.Kali hadn’t moved much since falling asleep again.She looked peaceful now.Celine had already gone home by the time I returned from the forest with Ike. Honestly, I still wasn’t sure whether that relieved me or made me more anxious.Because now all the questions sat heavily inside my chest with nowhere to go.What really happened in that forest?How did fire appear around Kali?And why did it feel like every answer only made things worse?I rubbed tiredly at my face and glanced toward Kali again.Still asleep.I didn’t want to wake her.But goddess, I needed answers be
Zara's POV My eyes widened in shock. Inside the room, Celine’s voice dropped lower, with a hint of urgency or maybe it was fear. It was too hard to tell over my racing heart. “You started the fire, Kali.” Celine repeated. For a second, my brain simply stopped working. Fire? What fire? And why in goddess’s name would Kali start one? I pressed my ear harder against the door, my pulse suddenly roaring loudly in my ears. Inside, there was rustling from the bed before Kali spoke weakly. “I didn’t do anything,” she whispered. “The fire just appeared.” A chill raced down my spine. “Yeah,” Celine replied immediately. “Because of you." She sighed. "Listen, I'm not exactly sure what happened out there, I just know, one moment a ring of fire appeared around you and the moment you fainted, the fire disappeared.” Silence followed. My heart began racing wildly as my mind screamed one thing over and over again.A ring of fire? I struggled to breathe quietly as I kept listening. Th
Zara's POV My heart nearly stopped the moment I saw Kali in Celine’s arms. “Kali!” I rushed across the room immediately, panic surging through me as I grabbed hold of her shoulders. Celine hesitated. Just for a second. Her grip tightened protectively around Kali before she finally loosened her hold enough for me to take her. That alone made alarm bells ring in my head. “Kali,” I said quickly, brushing damp strands of hair away from her face. Her skin was warm. A little too warm. But at least she was conscious now. Barely. Her eyelids fluttered weakly before she whispered my name so softly it almost broke my heart. “Zara…” Relief flooded me instantly. “I’m right here,” I murmured gently. Carefully, I guided her back toward the bed and lowered her onto the mattress. Kali winced faintly as her head touched the pillow, exhaustion written all over her face. She looked terrible. Like something had drained the life straight out of her. Once she settled back against the bl
Kali's POV Today was the day Emmett would present me to the council as the Luna of Shadow Clan. My stomach had been twisted into knots since sunrise, but now— now it felt like it had completely caved in on itself. My heart hammered wildly as a group of women I had never seen before swarmed aro
Kali's POVMy breath caught in my throat as I stared at my reflection.I had completely forgotten about this strange stab mark that had appeared on my chest.Only now, it was throbbing and felt raw. I rubbed my hand on my forehead. In my dream I had been stabbed exactly where this strange stab wou
Kali's POV I stared back at Zara, unsure of what to say. She had this look in her eyes, like she was worried about what I might have seen. Did she know Emmett had a beast in his house? "Um..." I cleared my throat, "I didn't see much." I didn't miss the relief that washed over her featur
Kali's POV This was it. This was it. My life was officially over. The beast growled. Each growl vibrated through my ribs like a drumbeat from hell. I had never given much thought to how I would die. Well, actually, I have. But I had been so certain that when I died, it would be at the h







