LOGINOur formation had collapsed into a desperate cluster.
Fourteen wolves, surrounded by hundreds of enemies, were still trying to push forward by sheer force of will.
It wasn’t enough.
“Luna!” Martin’s warning came too late.
Something massive slammed into me from behind. I went down hard, skidding across the blood-soaked ground. Before I could roll to my feet, an enemy wa
Our formation had collapsed into a desperate cluster.Fourteen wolves, surrounded by hundreds of enemies, were still trying to push forward by sheer force of will.It wasn’t enough.“Luna!” Martin’s warning came too late.Something massive slammed into me from behind. I went down hard, skidding across the blood-soaked ground. Before I could roll to my feet, an enemy was on me, teeth aiming straight for my throat.Then Kael was there. He tore the attacker off with savage fury.“Get up!” he snarled. “We move!”I scrambled upright. My left hind leg wouldn’t hold weight properly. Something torn. Maybe broken. It didn’t matter. I limped forward on three legs, driven by pure stubbornness.The crystal pressed hard against my chest, still tucked
The objects slammed into the wall and exploded.Not with fire, but with magic that ate through stone like acid. Gaps tore open in our defenses almost instantly. Enemy forces poured through.“Plug those gaps!” Theron shouted, already moving to rally warriors to the breaches.I shifted mid-stride. The damaged connection with my wolf screamed in protest, but it obeyed. The change hurt more than it should have. I pushed through the pain, anyway.No time for weakness.An enemy wolf lunged at me through one of the new openings. I met it head-on, all teeth and fury. We crashed together in a tangle of claws and snapping jaws. It was strong, but I was desperate, and desperation made me vicious.I tore out its throat and kept moving to the next.And the next.Around me, Black River’s defenders fought with everything they had. Every inch of ground cost blood. But for every enemy we killed, two more took their place.“Fall bac
“Magic is imprecise at this level,” Aldric said as he pressed the small crystal into my palm. “But it’s your best chance. Maybe you're the only one.”I stared at the crystal. Such a small thing to carry so much weight.“And if it doesn’t work?” I asked.“Then we all become Seraphine’s puppets, and she rebuilds her empire using our bodies as tools.” His voice was bleak. “There is no backup plan, Sophia. Either you stop her, or everything ends.”“No pressure, then.”“I’m sorry.” He sounded genuinely regretful. “I’m sorry it’s come to this. Sorry I couldn’t stop her decades ago, before she slid this far. Sorry, the burden of fixing my failure now falls on you.”“It’s not your failure.”
“Alaric is safe,” I cut Kael off sharply. I couldn’t let doubt take root. “Cassius will protect him. That’s what we’re trusting. That’s what we have to believe.”“And the rest of the threat?” Martin asked, reading over Kael’s shoulder. “Burning Black River? Scattering our people?”“She’d do that anyway,” Helena said. “Whether Sophia surrenders. This is just her trying to dress up the slaughter as mercy.”“Probably,” I agreed.“But we should put it to a vote. Let the people decide if my life is worth their safety.”“No,” Kael said at once.I raised an eyebrow. “No?”“No,” he repeated, voice firm. “We’re not putting your life up for a vote. Th
All evacuations were finished. Every outer settlement stood empty. Their people—some willingly, most not—were now packed inside Black River’s walls.The fortifications had reached seventy percent. Not perfect, but strong enough to fight from.Our numbers sat at four hundred thirty-seven combat-ready wolves, plus the fifty reinforcements from Shadow Peak who arrived last night.We were as ready as we could be.Which wasn’t saying much.I stood on the eastern wall at first light, eyes scanning the quiet land beyond our borders. Somewhere out there, Seraphine was moving her pieces into place.We had one day left.One day to wait and wonder if any of it would be enough.“Couldn’t sleep either?” Erica’s voice came from behind me.I
Day two of the evacuation brought additional complications.The three scattered homesteads were digging in harder than the major settlements. Word of the forced removals had spread overnight, and now families were ready to fight back.“They’ve barricaded the doors,” the team leader reported. “Set up basic defenses. Nothing serious, but enough to slow us down.”“How many families?”“Fifteen total. Maybe forty wolves.”Forty wolves who would rather stand and fight than run.I should have respected that kind of stubborn courage.Instead, I just felt tired.“Give them one last chance,” I said. “Full evacuation by sunset. If they refuse, breach the barricades and move them by force.”“That could t
I was placing a ward near the northern creek when I felt it.A surge of power from inside me. The Tear wakes up without permission."No, no, no!" I tried to push it down.Contain it.Too late.
I was out of bed and running before I was fully awake.Kael was right behind me, his injured shoulder forgotten.We burst into Erica's room to find her thrashing in bed.Her eyes were open but unseeing. Glow
The bloodied moon hung low in the sky as Kael and I finally surrendered to exhaustion in the dim glow of the safe house lantern.His arm wrapped around me, a steady anchor against the chaos we'd just survived—the altar's destruction, Seraphine's mocking laughter echoing in my ears, and the Tear's i
I couldn't sleep.I was staring at the ceiling. The Tear pulsed gently inside me, like a second heartbeat. You could end this, it whispered. Reach out. Take control of Seraphine's army. Turn them against her. End the threat before it begins.No.Why not? You have the power. W







