ANMELDENJacob’s POV Dawn broke over the smoking ruins of our camp like a cruel joke. The first pale light touched the horizon, revealing the full extent of the damage. Tents lay in charred heaps. Barricades were splintered and scattered. The ground was soaked with blood—ours and the enemy’s—mixed with gray ash from the wolves the echo had burned. Bodies of fallen pack members were being carried to the mourning fire. The air smelled of smoke, blood, and defeat. I stood in the middle of it all, blade still in my hand, blood drying on my arms and ribs. My side throbbed from the wound I had taken destroying the hidden rift. My throat burned from Thorn’s grip. Every breath hurt, but I refused to let it show. The giant portal was closed. We had survived the night. But Thorn’s promised “true army” was coming, and the pack was barely holding together. My thoughts were grim and tactical. We had bought ourselves a few hours, but the pack was exhausted, wounded, and outnumbered. If we waited for T
Jacob’s POV I gasped for air as Thorn released my throat. The shadow grip had left burning marks around my neck, but there was no time to feel the pain. The tent was collapsing around us. Canvas burned at the edges. Shadow chains whipped through the air. The giant portal above still tried to reopen, pouring fresh waves of shadow wolves into the camp. The entire territory had turned into a battlefield of fire and darkness. Howls and screams echoed from every direction. My pack was bleeding out, but the Lunaris echo was our only hope. I recovered in an instant and threw myself back into the fight. My blade moved on pure instinct, cutting through a shadow chain that tried to wrap around my leg. “Protect the Luna and the child!” I roared to the surviving warriors. “Close every rift! Do not let them reach the tent!” Riven fought at my left, his blade a heavy blur. “They keep coming! The portal is fighting to reopen!” Lira spun on my right, twin blades flashing as she severed two
Faye’s POV The collapsing central tent had become a nightmare of fire, blood, and shadow. Thorn’s massive fist was wrapped around Jacob’s throat, lifting him off the ground. Jacob’s face twisted in pain as he struggled, legs kicking helplessly. Shadow chains lashed wildly through the air, wrapping around tent poles and dragging loyal guards screaming toward the giant portal above. More shadow wolves poured in through every tear in the canvas, their violet eyes glowing with hunger. The ground shook with each new impact. The war outside had turned the entire camp into a slaughterhouse. I stood in the middle of it all with our daughter clutched tight against my chest. The Lunaris echo blazed at its absolute limit inside both of us, giving me a final burst of strength. My legs no longer shook. My voice came out clear and fierce despite the exhaustion tearing at my body. Elara fought beside me, moonstone flickering in her hands. Lira stood at the entrance, blades spinning as she tried
Jacob’s pov “Jacob!” Faye shouted from behind me. “The echo is ready!” Elara stood beside her, moonstone glowing faintly. “Channel it through me! We push him back together!” I slashed at another shadow chain that tried to wrap around my leg. “Do it! Burn these chains!” Faye lifted our daughter higher. The Lunaris echo surged. Silver light burst from the baby and flowed into Elara’s moonstone. The combined power created bright flashes that burned the nearest shadow chains into nothing. Thorn staggered back one step, hissing in pain as the silver light scorched his dark armor. “You think your light can stop me?” Thorn snarled. “I carry Nyra’s full power now. I am the shadow!” He raised both hands. More chains erupted from the ground, lashing toward Faye and the baby. I dove forward, cutting two of them in mid-air. The broken ends whipped away, but the effort left me open. Thorn’s fist slammed into my ribs. I felt something crack, but I refused to fall. “Stay behind me!” I
Jacob’s POV I stood at the front of the collapsing central tent, blade slick with blood, chest burning with every breath. Thorn’s giant portal still hung above us like an open wound in the sky, pouring wave after wave of shadow wolves and cursed beasts into the heart of our camp. Fires raged unchecked. Tents burned or lay in shreds. The ground was soaked with blood. The pack fought in small, desperate pockets, blades clashing against shadow armor, howls mixing with screams. We were losing ground fast. My thoughts were locked on one thing only: protect Faye and the baby at all costs. Nothing else mattered. Not the camp. Not my own life. If Thorn reached them, everything we had fought for would be gone. I roared to the remaining warriors around me. “Push them back! The dome must hold! Do not let a single shadow wolf inside this tent!” Riven fought at my left flank, his blade moving in heavy, brutal arcs. “There are too many! The portal keeps feeding them!” Lira held the right
Faye’s POV The central tent was collapsing around us. Canvas ripped with every brutal impact from the outside. Shadow wolves slammed against the weakened walls, their claws tearing long gashes through the fabric while black chains whipped down from the giant portal above and lashed at the support poles. The ground shook violently with each new tear in the sky. Outside, the war had become total — howls of rage, screams of pain, and the constant deafening roar of the massive portal filled the night air. Fires crackled louder as more tents caught flame. The entire camp was dying around us. I stood firmly in the center of the chaos, our daughter clutched tightly against my chest. The Lunaris echo blazed inside both of us now, hot and fierce, flooding my body with strength I should not have possessed after everything I had endured. My legs no longer trembled. My voice carried clear and commanding despite the exhaustion pulling at my bones. Elara fought at my right side, moonstone raise
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 povThe morning after the runes felt different from every other morning since I had arrived here. The air carried a strange stillness, as though the pack was holding its breath all at once. Sunlight came through the tent canvas in thin stripes, warming the furs where the baby slept beside me.







