Se connecterKorran pov The moment Jacob entered the echo’s radius without being torn apart, I understood immediately that the situation had shifted beyond what I originally expected. My eyes narrowed as I watched the silver light move around him without resistance. The echo acknowledged him instead of rejecting him. That alone confirmed several theories I had spent decades trying to prove. The awakening was accelerating. More importantly, the bonds surrounding the vessel were becoming part of the process itself. That was dangerous. Very dangerous. Because once the echo fully stabilized around emotional connections instead of fear, controlling it would become nearly impossible. The process would root itself too deeply inside the people tied to the child. Severing those bonds afterward would risk destabilizing the awakening entirely. I could not allow that to happen. Pain pulsed sharply through my body as I shifted my weight slightly. The burns left behind by the crown still
Jacob pov The moment the silver light exploded outward from Faye and the baby, panic spread across the battlefield instantly. Wolves staggered backward while shielding their eyes from the brightness. Some of the corrupted wolves screamed and collapsed onto the dirt as the echo surged through the clearing in powerful waves. The ground beneath our feet trembled hard enough to crack further, and the pressure in the air became so intense that breathing itself started feeling difficult. But none of that mattered to me. My attention stayed fixed entirely on Faye. She stood in the center of the clearing with the baby held tightly against her chest while silver light poured around both of them endlessly. Tears continued sliding down her face, and even from several feet away, I could see how badly her body was shaking. She looked exhausted. Not physically alone. Something deeper than that. The fear that hit me at that moment nearly stopped my heart completely because I realized she
Faye POV Silence surrounded me even though the battlefield was still full of injured wolves, broken ground, and lingering fear. The noise around me felt distant now. I could still hear growls, uneven breathing, and the sound of movement somewhere behind me, but none of it reached me fully. My focus stayed locked on the baby in my arms and the strange presence pressing against my thoughts. The echo had changed. Before, it reacted wildly to danger and emotion. Every surge came with fear or desperation. But now it felt controlled. Aware. Watching me carefully. The silver light around my daughter pulsed steadily against my chest, warming my skin through the bloodstained fabric of my clothes. My arms tightened around her instinctively. Despite everything happening around us, she remained calm. Too calm. That frightened me more than the battle itself. My throat tightened as I slowly lifted my head. Jacob stood several feet away, restrained by Elara. The panic on his face hur
Darius POV Pain spread through my body so intensely that it became difficult to separate physical agony from the damage happening inside my mind. My muscles kept tightening uncontrollably, and every few seconds my claws pushed halfway through my fingers before retreating again. The constant shifting left my hands covered in blood. My breathing sounded uneven in my own ears, rough and strained, while sweat rolled down the side of my face despite the cold night air surrounding the battlefield. Around me, the other corrupted wolves struggled just as badly. Some paced violently across the ruined clearing while muttering to themselves. Others crouched low against the ground with their hands gripping their heads as if they were trying to physically stop the voices tearing through their minds. One wolf slammed his fist repeatedly into the dirt hard enough to break the skin across his knuckles. Another growled nonstop beneath his breath, unable to stop the sound no matter how ha
Elara pov Jacob’s body tensed beneath my grip the moment I stopped him. I could feel the desperation radiating from him, sharp and unstable, like he was seconds away from tearing himself apart to reach Faye. His breathing was uneven, and the fury in his eyes told me he was already blaming himself for everything that had happened tonight. Riven’s death had broken something inside him. I saw it clearly every time his eyes drifted toward the blood still staining the battlefield. He carried guilt heavily, and guilt made people reckless. Right now, recklessness would kill Faye faster than Korran ever could. “If you touch her now,” I repeated firmly, tightening my grip on his arm, “you’ll kill her.” Jacob stared at me in disbelief. “What are you talking about?” His voice came out rough and strained. “She needs help.” “She does,” I answered quietly. “But not like this.” He looked past me immediately, his attention snapping back toward Faye standing in the center of the clearing.
Jacob POV The ground remained cracked beneath our feet, and the air still carried traces of the strange energy that had exploded from the baby’s echo moments earlier. Wolves were scattered across the clearing in different states of injury and exhaustion. Some were struggling to stand while others remained on the ground, breathing hard and trying to regain their strength. Blood stained the dirt in several places, and the scent of smoke mixed heavily with the sharp smell of fear. Pain spread through my ribs every time I inhaled, but I barely paid attention to it. Blood had dried along my jaw from a cut I did not remember receiving, and my palms burned from scraping against the rough ground earlier. None of those injuries mattered enough to hold my focus. The only thing I could see was Faye standing at the center of the clearing with the baby in her arms. Something about her had changed. At first glance, she still looked like herself. She still held the baby close against he
Jacob pov The tent was quiet except for the baby’s soft breathing and Faye’s slow, even breaths beside me. I watched them both for a minute—Faye’s face relaxed in sleep, and the little one curled against her chest. My side still ached when I moved, but the pain felt smaller today. I had to be read
Faye POV The walk back from the clearing left me drained in the best way. My muscles ached from the repeated shifts, but the soreness felt like proof that something was changing. Umfa had answered me today—not with words, but with a quiet presence that lingered even now, like a second skin waiti
Faye POV My body still felt heavy from yesterday’s training, but the ache was different now—good ache, like muscles remembering they could do more. The baby slept beside me, with her tiny hand curled near her mouth, breathing slow and even. I watched her for a long minute, letting the quiet settl
Faye pov“Faye Miller. Step forward and offer your blood. Let the runes judge.”Harlan’s voice rang out clear and firm across the small stone circle behind the pack house. The words hit me like a cold wind as I stood at the edge of the circle with Jacob right beside me. His shoulder brushed mine fo







