Masuk*Lilah*Voices blur in and out.“…too fast—”“…pale—”“…get her inside—”Something solid presses against my back. I’m weightless and heavy at once. My head lolls. The world rocks with each step.Heat.A familiar scent—pine and smoke and something under it that my body recognizes before my mind does.“…got you…”The words are a low rumble against my ear. I try to answer, but my tongue is thick and useless.Darkness drags me under again.***Cool fingers touch my forehead.“She’s burning up.”That’s not Ronan. The voice is higher, edged with worry.“Her core temp is up, but look at her skin,” another voice murmurs. Male. Cassian. “No fever flush. No sweat shake. It doesn’t look like humans overheat.”“Human,” someone snorts softly. “Right.”I want to snap at that. Tell them I’m human enough to be terrified.My mouth doesn’t cooperate.Something cold and wet dabs my lips. Water. It slides down my throat. I swallow reflexively.“She’s taking it,” Ronan’s voice says, closer now. “Keep goin
*Lilah*His hand closes on my shoulder.I move.It’s not graceful or pretty. It’s a panicked, sideways twist and drop, my knees giving out as I throw my weight in the opposite direction of his grab.Cassian’s fingers catch only the fabric of my dress. It stretches, then slips free.I hit the dirt hard on my hip. Pain flashes up my side.But I’m not on my back staring at the sky this time.I’m rolling.Instinct, adrenaline, sheer stubbornness—whatever it is, it gets me back onto my feet before my brain can catch up.Cassian turns with me, eyes bright, the corners of his mouth lifted.“There you go,” he says. “You moved before you died. A novel concept.”I’m panting, heart racing, sweat dripping down my spine. My cheeks burn—not just from exertion, but from the awareness that half the training field just watched me flail like a baby deer.Laughter ripples around the ring.Some of it is mean.Some of it isn’t.“Again,” I say.Cassian raises his brows. “You sure? You’re going to start col
*Lilah*I don’t stay in my room.I last fifteen minutes.Fifteen minutes of pacing between the bed and the window. Fifteen minutes of replaying Malric’s words in my head like a messed‑up podcast I can’t turn off.*Luna in low form. Human shell. Wolf soul. Last Luna died for your choices. Reject her and break the chain.*And over all of it, that voice from the snow that sounded exactly like mine:*Don’t choose them over me again.*My head throbs just remembering it.“This is ridiculous,” I mutter. “If I’m going to lose my mind, I’m not doing it alone in a pretty cage.”I yank the door open.Leo jumps a little. Not enough to be obvious, but enough that I see it.He’s back at his post, arms folded, leaning against the wall opposite. The sight of him is weirdly comforting now, even with the scowl.“Going somewhere?” he asks.“Yeah,” I say. “To pick a fight.”His brows rise. “With who.”“Guess,” I say. My heart already knows the answer.He blows out a breath through his nose. “At lea
*Lilah*I surface hard enough that my whole body jerks.Air rushes into my lungs like I’ve been underwater too long. My heart is racing, slamming against my ribs so fast it hurts. For a second, I have no idea where I am—just white, pain, and a voice echoing in my head:*Don’t…choose them over me again.*“Easy.”A low voice. Not in my ear this time—across the room.I blink up at the ceiling. The familiar rough wood and faint crack in the corner above the bed come into focus.I’m back in the room.My pillow is damp under my cheek. My hair sticks to my forehead. My hands curled in the blanket like they tried to grab on to something while I was out.“How long…?” I manage, throat dry.Ronan steps into view. He’s by the wall, arms folded, shoulders braced against it like he’s been there a while.“Couple of minutes,” he says. “You dropped.”Great. I faint now.I push myself up slowly, ignoring the spinning at the edges of my vision. “Did I hit my head?”“You grabbed the frame before you fell
*Lilah*I don’t dream.Or if I do, I don’t remember—just a heavy press of sound and heat and too many eyes.When I wake, my throat is sore, and my head aches behind my eyes like I’ve spent the night crying and trying not to.The room is dim, and curtains are drawn. For a moment, I lie still and pretend this is just another crappy morning before another double shift. If I roll over, my alarm will be buzzing on my cracked nightstand, Mom’s latest bill pinned to the peeling wall.Then I smell it.Wood smoke. Pine. Fur.That wolf‑world scent that has already burned itself into my brain.The lodge. The pack. The Gathering.Kade’s claws swinging for my throat.Ronan’s hand slammed down on his.I sit up too fast. The room tilts. I grab the edge of the mattress, sucking in a breath.Everything from last night hits in one wave.They call me human, meat, and curse. Ronan saying *mine*. I'm not saying *Luna*. Malric told him to choose.I press my palm to my sternum, right where that invisible st
*Ronan*The world narrows.Kade’s claws are a breath from Lilah’s throat.The bond between us yanks tight—hard enough that for a heartbeat, it feels like my own neck is under his hand.My wolf roars up.I move.One moment, my hand is empty. The next, Kade’s wrist is in my grip. Bone crunches.He howls.Mid‑lunge.The sound rips through the clearing as I twist, ripping him sideways, slamming him down onto the stone at Lilah’s feet.Rock cracks under the impact. His claws scrape uselessly, gouging the platform instead of her skin.Noise explodes around us.Shouts. Growls. The thick, electric hum of a pack on the edge of violence.I barely hear any of it.All I hear is Kade’s ragged breathing and the frantic thunder of Lilah’s heart pounding through the bond.My other hand clamps around his throat.He choked, claws flailing inches from where Lilah stood.“Back,” I snarl, not looking at her.The word isn’t just sound—it’s command. I shove it down the bond, a pulse of raw order and ter







