MasukZara's POV I walked into Emmett’s office and dropped the invitation card dramatically onto his desk. The sharp sound echoed through the quiet room. Emmett looked up from whatever paperwork he had been reading, confusion flickering across his face. His dark brows pulled together slightly as his gaze moved from the card to me. “What’s this?” the asked. I released a shaky breath and sat down before my legs decided to give out beneath me. My fingers had been trembling ever since the invitations were delivered to my house this morning. “An invitation to my mating ceremony,” I announced. Even to my own ears, my voice sounded strange. I couldn't even bring myself to pretend to. be happy about this. I avoided looking directly at him as I added, “It is happening this weekend.” Emmett arched a brow slowly. “This weekend?” I nodded. “What’s the rush?” he asked, picking up one of the cards. I let out a humorless laugh and leaned back into the chair, folding my arms tightly across my
Kali’s POV Hot. That was the first thing I felt The burning heat wrapped around me so violently it felt like I had been thrown into the center of a furnace. My skin prickled as sweat coated my body instantly. I tossed restlessly beneath the covers, breathing harder with every passing second. But something felt wrong. This wasn’t my bed. The surface beneath me felt uneven and rough against my back. Twigs snapped softly beneath my movement. Dry leaves scratched against my skin. My heart stuttered. No. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Fire. Towering flames surrounded me again. Orange and gold twisted violently toward the night sky, roaring loud enough to shake the forest around me. Heat crashed into my body in suffocating waves. I was back there. Back in the forest. But how? Panic slammed into my chest instantly. My breathing turned sharp and ragged as I scrambled backward across the ground, my hands digging desperately into dirt and dead leaves. The flames moved wildly around
Emmett’s POVI stood with my arms folded tightly over my chest, rubbing the back of my neck as Lilith moved slowly around the second burn site.The old woman crouched carefully near the blackened symbols carved into the dirt, muttering faintly beneath her breath while her fingers hovered over the ash without fully touching it.The forest had gone strangely quiet around us.There were no hovering birds or chirping insects. Just unsettling silence and smoke drifting lazily through the trees and the occasional crackle from dying embers hidden beneath the earth.I didn’t like it.And I still couldn't feel Dogo, which made it all the more unsettling.Ike stood nearby with his sword strapped across his back, watching Lilith with the same wary expression twisting across my own face.Finally, Lilith straightened slowly with a grimace and dusted ash from her hands.Then she shook her head.I frowned immediately.“What did you find?”Ike stepped closer too.Lilith glanced once toward the markin
Emmett’s POV Kali flinched. A tiny movement. It was barely noticeable. But in the suffocating silence of the room, it felt loud enough to shake the walls. My eyes locked onto her instantly. And for one dangerous second, something dark stirred inside me. Did she flinch out of guilt? Or... Dogo snarled low in my head. 'Leave my mate alone.' I almost rolled my eyes at him. Kali’s breathing quickened under my stare. Her fingers curled tightly into the fabric of her dress as though she was physically trying to hold herself together. Lilith slowly turned toward her too. “Kali,” she said carefully. “Do you know something about this?” Kali immediately shook her head, too quickly. “N-no. I didn't do anything." Kora made a weak sound from the bed, drawing attention back to herself again. "So it's supposed to be a coincidence that you were in the forest the same time that my energy was drained?" Tears welled up in Kora's eyes. "I always knew you were jealous of me, b
Emmett'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
Kali's POV I folded the last of my things — if they could even be called things — into a small canvas bag I’d borrowed from the storage tent. My hands shook slightly, though I told myself it was from exhaustion, not fear. The truth was harder to admit. My heart was hammering because this time, I w
Kali’s POV The world spun as I hit the ground, a cloud of dust rising around me. Pain shot through my ribs, sharp and fiery, but I bit down a groan. My lungs burned as I gasped for breath, every inhale scraping like sandpaper. “Had enough yet?” Vera’s voice carried above me, half mocking, half
Kali’s POV My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since Zara left my room. Every thump echoed in my ears like a war drum, each beat a reminder that I was living on borrowed time. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the faint shimmer of light bleeding in through the curtains, my hands trembling in m
Zara’s POV For a long moment, neither of us moved. Kali’s eyes were locked on the dark, blood-stained bandage hanging from my hand, her chest rising and falling in shallow, frightened breaths. I could almost hear her heartbeat pounding in the silence between us. Her lips parted, but no sound







