LOGINDax’s pov “Little moon?”Her body hung limply against me, and for one horrible second, everything inside me stopped. I could hear her heartbeat, fast and uneven but still there, and that was the only thing keeping me from completely losing my mind. My hand immediately moved to her stomach, palm spreading over the curve as I searched desperately for the pup’s current. The moment I felt the strong, warm and alive feeling, my knees almost gave out beneath me.My wolf’s voice came quieter this time, stripped of the anger he had used only seconds ago. "Get them on the bed. Carefully."I could barely think, but my body listened. I lifted Ciara properly into my arms and carried her towards the bed, though my legs felt strangely weak beneath me. I had walked away from battles with broken bones and half my body covered in blood without feeling this unsteady, yet carrying her those few steps felt harder than anything I had done in centuries. I lowered her onto the mattress as gently as poss
Dax’s POVFor several seconds, I forgot how to move.Ciara stood only a few feet away from me, yet the woman looking through her eyes was not my little moon. Purple light crawled beneath her skin in thin, living veins, gathering around her throat, her wrists and the curve of her stomach before disappearing again. Her eyes were completely wrong, beautiful, yes, but wrong. They were suddenly too bright, old and there was no confusion in them anymore, none of the fear I had seen only moments ago when she fought whatever was trying to push her out of her own body.There was hunger.Pure, shameless hunger.The golden-red threads of my true essence remained suspended between us, twisting slowly in the air, and she watched them the way a starving beast watched fresh blood. Then her lips curved into a smile.My chest went cold, that's not Ciara’s smile.Ciara smiled with her whole face when she was genuinely happy. Her nose wrinkled slightly when she tried not to laugh, and when she was plo
Ciara’s povMy fingers turned cold.“Ciara?”I shook my head hard, and the presence seemed to retreat, although not completely. “It spoke again.”Dax’s entire body went rigid. His eyes sharpened, and that dark pressure I had felt earlier returned around him. “What did it say?”I hesitated for only a second before forcing the truth out. “It told me not to let you test me.”Something changed in Dax then. The uncertainty did not disappear, but it became determination.“Then we are testing you.”“Dax...”“If something inside my mate understands enough to interfere with what you tell me, especially when it is asking you to collect essence from me and my brothers, I am not leaving it alone.”The Alpha beneath his calm voice made the words feel final.I hated that part of me agreed with him.Fear sat like a stone inside my stomach, yet ignoring the thing felt worse. It had already started speaking outside the void. What happened if next time it did more than speak?“Fine,” I whispered.Dax n
Ciara’s POVThe warmth surrounding Dax suddenly became heavier, pressing against the room until I could almost feel it against my skin. For one brief second, something dark moved through his eyes before he forced it back down, but I had already seen it and that small reaction frightened me more than I wanted to admit because Dax rarely looked genuinely disturbed by anything. I tightened my fingers in the front of his shirt as though holding on to him could somehow keep me anchored to reality.“She kept saying she needed more Blackthorne essence,” I continued, my voice shaking as memories of that horrible void returned. “Not only yours either. She said we needed it. There were things behind her, Dax. I couldn’t see their faces or even understand what they were, but there were many of them. I could feel them watching me.” I swallowed hard and forced myself to continue when his expression became more serious. “She said your essence opened the first gate, and then she told me I shoul
Ciara’s POVI woke up with so much energy rushing through my body that I gasped and sat upright.For several seconds, I simply remained there, one hand pressed against my chest while I tried to understand what was happening. My heartbeat was fast, but I was not tired or sick. If anything, I felt too alive. Every nerve beneath my skin seemed awake at once, my hearing strangely sharp enough to catch the faint hum coming from somewhere behind the walls and the soft movement of guards far beyond the closed door. Even the morning light slipping through the curtains looked brighter than usual, every little detail around me standing out with uncomfortable clarity.I looked towards the other side of the bed, it was empty.“Dax?”No answer.The sheets where he had slept were already cold, which meant he had probably left some time ago. I rubbed my face and slowly moved my legs over the side of the bed, expecting my body to protest immediately.It did not.That was probably the strangest part
Author's pov Jasper raised the vial slightly and studied the liquid inside. It appeared black in the dim room, but when he rolled it between his fingers and let the light pass through, a faint red shimmer gathered at the bottom before disappearing again.“No.”Mr. Dagon’s relief vanished. “Stop behaving like a fool.”Jasper ignored the insult. “The older batches were clear.”The older man frowned.“This one is not.”“Formulas change.”“They do.”Jasper turned the vial again. “Interesting timing, though.”Mr. Dagon’s eyes narrowed. “What are you implying?”“Nothing.”Jasper smiled faintly. “I have learned that implications make people nervous.”He held the vial closer to the light. “This formulation appeared after Ciara became pregnant. New colour. Different smells. Different concentration.”Mr. Dagon looked at it more carefully despite himself.Jasper noticed.“You never checked.”“There was no reason to.”“Because Oracle sent it.”“Yes.”The answer came with absolute certainty.Jasp







