MasukI stood at the edge of the cave, clutching the silver ring until it dug into my palm. The morning sun was bright, but it didn't feel warm. To the rest of the world, this was a day of victory. To me, it was the day the world went quiet.I was no longer a Queen. I could no longer hear the whispers of the trees or the heartbeat of the earth. I was just Kaima—a girl with no pack, no power, and a heart that felt like it had been turned to stone."Rowan..." I whispered his name, but the wind didn't carry it back to me.I looked back at the temple. The entrance was sealed shut by a wall of black ice. No matter how much I kicked or screamed, I couldn't get back in. The Altar had taken its price, and the price was the only man who had ever truly seen me.A twig snapped behind me.I spun around, my heart jumping into my throat. I didn't have my violet eyes to see in the dark or my super-speed to run. I was slow. I was human.A man stepped out from behind a frozen pine tree. He wasn't wearing a
The sky didn't just turn dark; it turned bruised. The pillar of smoke in the North expanded like an ink blot in a glass of water, swallowing the stars. The air felt heavy, like the atmosphere was being replaced by lead. Every wolf in the valley, from my Blue-Eyed ghosts to the defeated Council warriors, let out a long, low whimper.The Soul-Eaters.The stories our elders told us were wrong. They weren't just monsters; they were the shadows of the universe. They didn't want to rule us. They wanted to erase us."We have to move," Rowan gasped. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out again. I caught him, his heavy weight leaning into my shoulder. "Kaima, the Northern Gate is where your father’s people came from. There is a temple there. If the Soul-Eaters reach it, they will use the Altar to suck the life out of every living thing on earth."I looked at the giant, winged shape in the distance. It was moving slowly, but with every flap of its thousand wings, another mountain peak crumble
The mountain air was so cold it felt like breathing in needles. On the hills surrounding the Black-Ridge manor, thousands of wolves stood ready for blood. The High Council had brought everything—armies from the North, South, East, and West. Their armor gleamed under the rising moon, a sea of gold and silver that looked like it could crush the world.In the center stood the Grand Alpha. He was a massive man with hair as white as a blizzard and eyes that held the weight of centuries. He looked down at us from his high horse, his face full of disgust."Rowan," the Grand Alpha’s voice boomed, shaking the very earth. "You were meant to be our jailer. Instead, you fell in love with the prisoner. You have betrayed your blood, your pack, and the Goddess herself."Rowan leaned heavily against me. He was still weak from the Void, but he forced himself to stand straight. He gripped my hand so hard his knuckles turned white."I didn't betray the Goddess," Rowan shouted back, his voice raw. "I fou
Falling.That was the only thing I knew. There was no up, no down, no air, and no sound. Just the feeling of my stomach dropping as I plunged through a tunnel of thick, oily blackness. The bone-hand had let go of me the moment the portal snapped shut, leaving me to drift in a place where time didn't exist.My heart—the heart that had just been restart by the Beast—thumped painfully against my ribs.Thump.Thump.Thump."Rowan?" I tried to scream his name, but no sound came out. The Void swallowed my voice before it could even leave my throat.I looked at my hands. The violet runes were gone. The metallic white hair was fading back to a dull brown. I felt small. I felt like the weak, discarded omega again. The poison from Chloe’s blade was gone, but it had taken my strength with it.Beast? Are you there? I called out in my mind.Silence.For the first time since the forest, I was truly alone. The ancient spirit that had given me wings and fire was hiding, or maybe the "Soul-Eater" had
The pain wasn't like a normal cut. It felt like someone had poured liquid ice into my veins. The blade Chloe had shoved into my ribs was coated in "Black-Silver"—a poison designed to kill gods.I fell to my knees. The violet fire that had been screaming around me vanished. My smoke wings dissolved into ash. I could hear the heartbeat of the Beast in my head, but it was slowing down.Thump... thump... thump..."Kaima!" Rowan’s voice screamed.He didn't look like a "harvester" now. He looked like a man watching his entire world collapse. He lunged toward me, but Lyla—the woman with my scent—threw a wave of purple energy that slammed him back against a stone pillar."Stay out of this, Rowan," Lyla hissed. "The ritual has begun. You know the rules. Once the blood hits the floor, the vessel is empty."Chloe pulled the blade out of my back with a sickening squelch. I collapsed into the dirt, my vision turning gray at the edges."Look at you," Chloe mocked, stepping around to look me in the
The morning after the attack, the air in the Black-Ridge manor was heavy. The smell of burnt magic and smoke still hung in the hallways. I stood on the training grounds, a flat area of gray stone surrounded by jagged mountains. The wind was cold, biting at my skin, but I didn't feel it. My blood felt like it was boiling.Rowan stood across from me. He had discarded his shirt, showing the bandages wrapped around his chest and shoulder. Even injured, he looked like a god of war. His silver eyes were focused on me, tracking every breath I took."You have the power of a God, Kaima," Rowan said, his voice echoing against the rocks. "But right now, you are like a child with a loaded gun. If you don't learn to aim, the kickback will kill you before the enemy does.""I saved you, didn't I?" I snapped. I was restless. The Beast inside me was pacing, its claws scratching at the walls of my mind. It wanted to hunt. It wanted to find Damon and rip his throat out."You saved me by accident," Rowan







