LOGINThere is no time to drive her back to the fortress. The roads are washed out, the storm is blinding, and she is barely conscious. I sweep her off her feet, lifting her against my chest, and sprint toward the tree line."Evan!" I shout.He spins around, instantly reading the panic in my posture."Secure a perimeter around the lead transport!" I order, moving fast over the cracked stone. "No one gets within fifty yards. Radio Dr. Thorne. Tell him to get up here immediately."Evan nods, raising his rifle. He barks rapid commands at the surviving guards, shifting them from a defensive line into an impenetrable circle around the armored vehicles. They face outward into the dark forest, weapons drawn, turning the vehicles into a fortress.I reach the lead transport. I kick the side hatch open and slide Jaslyn onto the wide leather bench in the back. The cabin is cramped and smells of ozone and wet tactical gear, but it is dry. I strip off my ruined vest and throw it aside, kneeling on the m
I look down at the woman who orchestrated my nightmare. The storm washes the ash from her face, revealing the deep, bruised lines around her eyes. Without the dark entity using her as a vessel, she is just a broken mercenary bleeding out in the ruins of the Blackwood estate. She looks frail. Her tactical gear is shredded, soaked in mud and her own blood.Her hand rests inches from my boot. She does not try to grab me. She does not try to cast a final spell."Jaslyn," she whispers again."I am here," I say. My voice is quiet over the howling wind.Vanessa coughs. A thin line of dark blood spills over her chin. She forces her eyes to focus on me. "I found the ancient texts," she rasps, each word costing her effort. "I translated them. I saw the truth about the White Moon bloodline when the elder council refused to look. They thought you were a myth. They thought Elora was a fluke. They were fools. I knew exactly what you were."She shifts her head, grimacing as the broken stones press i
I push myself off the cracked stone. My broken ribs grind together with a sharp, sickening crack. My right shoulder is numb, slick with my own blood from the torn sutures. I force myself to stand anyway.The ancient enemy's shell is gone, reduced to a pile of wet ash washing away in the rain, but the threat isn't dead.The shrieking shadow hovers over the jagged chasm. It is desperate to sink back into the earth, fleeing the light. It needs the open rift. It needs the blood tethers feeding the chasm to keep the passage wide enough to slip through and survive.I look at Evan. He is already on his feet near the tree line. His rifle is raised, his tactical vest covered in gray sludge from the courtyard floor."The anchors," I tell him. I point toward the bodies of the mercenaries stationed around the perimeter of the ruins. The blood ritual is still active, pulsing softly against the cracked stone, sustaining the open rift. "Break the circles. Cut the tethers."Evan nods. He shouts a com
The silver light drains from my fur.The ancient enemy inhales, pulling the deep power of the twins straight from my core. The draw is relentless. I feel the energy leaving my veins, siphoned directly into the dark vortex spinning inside its fractured chest. The cold ache of exhaustion settles into my bones. My legs shake under the strain, my paws sliding forward in the freezing mud.The entity grows taller, feeding on the pure force meant to destroy it. The black sphere in its chest expands, pulsing with stolen light.It lifts its arm. Ryder is still attached, his jaws locked around the petrified joint, his dark fur slick with his own blood. The beast uses my stolen power to swing its arm violently, slamming Ryder into a jagged slab of ruined concrete.I hear the bone crack. I feel the sharp, blinding spike of pain through our mate bond. Ryder’s lungs seize, but he refuses to open his jaws. He holds the limb down, keeping the enemy’s chest exposed for me. He is buying me time with hi
The petrified armor covering the entity’s chest splits open. Beneath the hardened bone, a swirling vortex of dark energy holds the First Alpha together. Right in the center beats a solid black core. It is the heart of the ancient threat. The single weak point.The First Alpha recognizes its vulnerability instantly. It crosses its thick arms, moving to shield the fracture from the blinding silver glare radiating from Jaslyn.I do not give it the chance.I push off the cracked stone. My right shoulder burns. The torn muscle screams in protest, but I ignore the pain. I cross the distance between us in three long strides. I launch myself into the air before the enemy can close the gap over its chest.My jaws lock onto its right forearm.My teeth sink into the hardened skin. It tastes like ash and ozone. I throw all my weight backward, dragging the limb down toward the mud.The First Alpha lets out a deafening roar. It tries to shake me off. It swings its arm, lifting my dark-furred wolf f
The First Alpha stands over me. He blots out the storm. The corrupted magic rolling off his petrified armor freezes the air in my lungs. He does not waste time gloating. He raises a massive hand, his bone-white claws dripping with dark energy, and drives it straight down toward my stomach.He wants the twins. He senses the raw White Moon magic inside them, the only power capable of neutralizing his corruption.Jaslyn. Ryder’s voice echoes through the mate bond, desperate and pinned beneath the stone.I do not scramble backward. I do not raise my arms to block a strike that would shear right through bone. I stay on my knees in the freezing mud. I close my eyes and reach inward.My own magic is drained, spent on the portal. But the twins are not empty. Their power pulses in perfect rhythm with their heartbeats. It is not like mine. It is deep, untempered, and absolute. It is the pure, unfiltered countermeasure the earth created to fight this exact entity.I tap into it.I do not force t
JASLYN'S POVThe iron gates of the Blackwood estate loomed over my beat-up sedan. I stared through my dusty windshield at the towering metal bars and let out a long sigh. I pressed the intercom button on the security keypad and waited in the stifling summer heat."State your business," a gruff voic
I walked out of the massive dining room with Damien's black credit card tucked securely into the front pocket of my jeans. My fingers traced the raised numbers on the plastic through the denim fabric. My mind raced as I thought about the tense dinner conversation.Vanessa had glared at me the whole
RYDER'S POVEvan stood in the middle of the hallway and waited for an answer. I did not want to have this conversation out in the open where anyone from the staff or my family could hear us. I reached out and grabbed him by the arm so I could pull him down the corridor. He stumbled a bit, but he fo
JASLYN'S POVVanessa let go of my arm the exact second he spoke. She dropped her hands to her sides and took a quick step away from me.She smoothed the wrinkles on her tight dress and forced a bright, fake smile onto her face."Damien, darling," Vanessa said. Her voice pitched much higher than nor







