LOGINJacobThe ground beneath him was still trembling faintly when Jacob forced himself to rise from where the shockwave had thrown him, his body protesting every movement with sharp reminders of the impact he had taken. His ribs ached deeply on his left side, the kind of pain that suggested bruising at minimum, possibly something worse that he did not have time to assess properly. His shoulder throbbed where it had struck the ground first, absorbing most of the force that would have otherwise gone to his head, and his hands were scraped raw from the instinctive attempt to brace himself during the fall.But none of that mattered in the moment he managed to push himself upright and turn his attention back toward the center of the clearing where Faye had been standing when everything exploded outward.He looked at her across the distance that now separated them, his vision still adjusting to the residual light lingering in the air, and the moment his eyes focused clearly enough to see her
Faye pov The explosion of power that followed my decision was even worse than anything that had come before, tearing through the space around me with a violence that made the previous surges feel like nothing more than gentle ripples across still water. This time, the echo did not simply expand outward in waves of silver light that pushed against resistance with gradual pressure. This time, it erupted with the kind of raw, uncontrolled force that belonged to something that had been held back for far too long and finally allowed to break free without restriction. It was not just light anymore. It was force in its purest, most destructive form, a shockwave that radiated outward from the baby in my arms with enough intensity to distort the very air it passed through. I felt the pressure of it building for only a fraction of a second before it released, and in that brief window of awareness, I understood with terrible clarity that I had made a choice I could not take back, no m
Faye pov I saw it happening before my mind could fully process what I was witnessing, the sequence of events unfolding with a terrible clarity that made every second stretch into something far longer than it should have been. Jacob was locked in battle with Korran, his movements fast and relentless as he drove forward with an intensity I had rarely seen from him before. Every strike he threw carried the weight of desperation behind it, the kind that came from knowing there was no room left for hesitation or measured calculation. But he was not moving toward me anymore. He was contained, held exactly where Korran wanted him, fighting with everything he had while the real threat continued to move unchecked. The wolves were closing in from multiple directions now, their movements synchronized in a way that should not have been possible for individuals acting independently. They were not rushing forward in a chaotic surge. They were advancing with deliberate coordination, each
Jacob I broke through the containment with more force than precision, tearing past the wolves who had been positioned to slow me down as though they were nothing more than obstacles in a path I had already committed to crossing. Whatever restraint I had been holding onto, whatever part of me had still been calculating cost and consequence with each movement, was gone now. It had burned away the moment I watched Riven fall, and it had turned to ash entirely when I saw Korran step closer to Faye with that calm, measured expression that treated her suffering like an experiment worth observing. I did not care anymore who these wolves used to be, what names they carried, or what roles they had once filled within the pack. They were between her and me, and that was the only detail that mattered now. My strikes were not gentle. They were not calculated to minimize harm or preserve the possibility of recovery later. They were direct, efficient, and brutal in their simplicity, des
Faye povFor a terrifying moment that seemed to stretch beyond all reasonable measurement of time, the echo disappeared again.Not suppressed in the way it had been before, not diminished gradually under pressure or weakened by exhaustion, but gone in a way that felt absolute and final. The absence of it was not subtle. It was immediate and complete, as though something that had been woven into the fabric of everything around me had been suddenly torn away without warning.I felt it vanish before I could understand what was happening, and the moment that realization settled into place, panic hit me with a force that knocked every other thought aside."No," I whispered, my voice breaking under the weight of that single word as my arms tightened around the baby instinctively. "No, come back. Please, come back."My hands trembled as I adjusted my grip on her, pulling her closer against my chest as though proximity alone could restore what had been lost. My breathing became shallow and
Korran povI did not rush the moment because urgency belonged to those who were uncertain of what they were facing. I had already seen enough to understand that this situation was not collapsing randomly; it was revealing itself layer by layer, like a structure stripped of its surface until only its true framework remained.And at the center of that structure stood Faye.I observed her, not as an opponent reacting to pressure, but as a system responding to internal instability. The Lunaris echo surrounding the child in her arms was no longer behaving like an independent force. It moved in direct correlation with her emotional state, expanding when grief surged through her, tightening when fear attempted restraint, and destabilizing whenever conflicting emotions overlapped.That was not a weakness in the traditional sense.It was dependency.The child carried power, but the mother shaped its expression.That distinction mattered more than anything else unfolding around us.I spoke in
Thorn POV The cell felt smaller today. The air was thick and damp and smelled like rust from the chains. The torch outside the bars gave off a weak yellow light. Shadows moved on the stone floor when the flame danced. I sat on the cold floor with my back against the wall. My wrists hurt where the
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







