เข้าสู่ระบบ“Six more inside according to intel,” Fenris said, checking his rifle. “They’re expecting trouble after what happened to Lars.”“Good. Let them expect it.” I shifted my grip on my weapon. “We go in fast. No mercy for anyone who gets between us and Isabella.”We moved under cover of darkness. The guards at the entrance never saw us coming. Fenris took the left one with a knife to the throat. I broke the right one’s neck before he could shout. We dragged the bodies into the shadows.The door was locked. I kicked it open, the frame splintering.Inside, two guards spun toward us. I shot the first one on the chest. He dropped. Fenris put three rounds in the second before he could raise his weapon.We took the stairs two at a time. Another guard appeared on the landing. I caught him mid-stride, throwing him over the railing. His scream cut off when he hit the ground floor.A door at the end of the hall — reinforced steel with a keypad lock.“Stand back,” Fenris said, pulling out a small exp
I watch Fenris standing across from me, a thoughtful look on his face. The night air between us feels heavy, thick with things unsaid.“I appreciate what you did today,” I tell him. “Bringing those reinforcements. We wouldn’t have survived without you.”He looks up. “You’re my brother,” he says, his voice rough. “Of course I came.”“Still. Thank you.”He goes quiet for a while, then speaks againm “I need to tell you something. About my past. About the things I’ve done.”“You don’t have to,” I start to say, but he cuts me off.“Yes, I do. I want to tell you all the shitty stuff I did. I don’t want any secret between us.” His tone is heavy. “If we’re going to move forward, if you’re going to trust me, you need to know most of my sins.”“I sold people to Lars,” he says flatly. “For years. Bad bloods, mostly. Women and children. I can’t imagine what he did to them. It makes me sick that I had to do that to survive.” "Though that’s not an excuse,” he continues. “And sometimes I might have
Arthur pulled me into his arms, holding me tight against his chest. His heart pounded beneath my ear.“I’m sorry,” he said using his hand to trace my hair. “For attacking you. For not listening to you.”“I’m sorry too.” I looked up at him. “For shooting at you. Though your body looks hot from all the blood dribbled over your skin,” I said, tracing my hands across his chest.A laugh escaped him. “You have terrible aim. You could have killed me.”“I was aiming for the sword.”“Sure you were.”I smiled despite my exhaustion. Arthur was here. We were alive. That was enough. He cupped my face, thumb brushing away dirt and blood. His eyes stared into mine.“I love you,” he said. “I should have said this ever since. I want to marry you and make you carry my children.”My cheek went glowed bright red, I had never thought of having children, and now Arthur mentioned the idea seemed good."I love you too, and I would love to birth your children.”He kissed me then, his mouth crashing into mine.
"Aurora, remember what I told you? About us being descended from ancient shifters.”Okay, how about it? I feel Eos press at the edges of my mind.“I am going to give you a huge boost now. You will be able to help Arthur’s soldiers overwhelm Lars’s force.”“How would you do that?”“Give me the reins.” I grant Eos full access. My body lightens. I rise. A glow spreads from my chest, up my arms, spilling into the air. The energy flows outward, touching Arthur and his soldiers like a tide. Wounds knit, strength returns, breath steadies.With the new power, we grew stronger. Pushing Lars’s army back. We won the second clash.Then more of my mother’s force arrives. Natasha’s reinforcements in addition to Lars remaining soldiers attacked us with renewed fevor. Eos Keeps Arthur force afloat.. She draws deeper from me. More light pours from my body, a beam of silver that crashes over the new attackers. With only a handful of soldiers left, Natasha refuses to yield. Arthur’s men finish off the
The battlefield has gone quiet. Lars’s remaining fighters stand with their hands raised, weapons scattered at their feet.Finally, we achieve victory.Then I hear it—the sound of approaching cars.“No,” Fenris says, raising his rifle. “No, he couldn’t have.”A new convoy appears. Twenty vehicles, fresh fighters pouring out, all fully armed.Natasha stands at the front, commanding them.“I’m sorry it came to this, Arthur,” her voice carries across the field. “But I can’t let you destroy everything we built.”“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Aurora mutters beside me.The divine power still hums through my body, through my pack. Aurora’s blessing hasn’t faded yet. But we’re exhausted. Our minds and muscles scream for rest.“One more fight, soldiers,” I say to my fighters. “For your families, your pride, your pack—and for me. Charge.”Natasha’s forces advance, organized and fresh. They open fire, forcing us back toward the pack house again.But Aurora steps forward.Her eyes blaze white, li
Lars’s forces regrouped faster than I expected. I watched them form up again.“Head count,” I said to Torstein, pressing gauze to my bleeding shoulder.“One hundred and sixty-three still combat effective. Another twenty wounded but mobile.” He wiped blood from his forehead.“How about ammunition?”“Not too bad, but we might need more soon.” Torstein checked his own weapon. “If we can stop them from breaching the house, we should be okay.”Outside, Lars raised his hand again.They came all at once this time, charging across the open ground toward the pack house.“All units, open fire!” I shouted.Our defenders poured bullets into the advancing mass. But there were too many. They kept coming, stepping over their own dead.They hit the pack house like a tsunami.The front doors exploded inward, blown by explosives. Soldiers poured through, firing as they came. My fighters met them in the entrance hall with bats, gunfire at point-blank range, knives and claws, fists when weapons failed.I







