The Eclipse Vow

LyraThe three red-eyed wolves lunged at once. They weren't just hungry; they were rabid. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the feel of teeth on my throat.But the attack never came.Instead, a sound like a whip cracking filled the air. I opened my eyes to see a wall of solid shadows standing between me and the wolves. The shadows didn't just block them, they swallowed them. One second the wolves were snarling, and the next, they were gone. No blood. No bodies. Just silence.Zade Valerius stood over me, his hand still extended. He didn't look like a hero. He looked like the monster that lived under the hero’s bed."Get up," he commanded. His voice was deep and rattled in my chest. "Unless you want to wait for the next pack to finish what Caleb started."The mention of Caleb’s name felt like a fresh wound. I forced myself to stand, even though my legs felt like water. I wiped the mud from my face and looked at him. "Why did you save me? Nobody helps a rankless girl for free."Zade s

LyraThe shadows wrapped around my throat like cold, iron fingers. I couldn't breathe. My feet left the floor as the man who looked like a nightmare version of Zade lifted me into the air with a flick of his wrist."Father, stop!" Zade’s voice was a roar. He lunged forward, but the older man simply raised his other hand, and a wall of black spikes erupted from the ground, pinning Zade against the stone wall."You’ve grown weak, Zade," the man hissed. His eyes were leaking black ink that stained his face. "You brought a human-scented stray into our sacred halls. You think she is your cure? She is a parasite."I gasped for air, my vision starting to blur. Not like this, I thought. I didn't survive the kitchen just to die in a castle. I reached for my Void power. I didn't try to fight the shadows; I tried to delete them. I imagined the darkness around my neck simply ceasing to exist.Gone, I whispered in my mind.The pressure vanished instantly. I hit the floor, coughing and gasping. The

LyraThe black SUVs roared toward us like hungry beasts. Their headlights blinded me, cutting through the dark parking lot. Zade was slumped against the car, his breathing wet and shallow. The black ink leaking from his ear was spreading, staining his collar."Lyra… go," Zade wheezed. He tried to push me away, but his arms had no strength. "The Council… They don't want a peace treaty. They want a funeral.""I’m not leaving you," I snapped. I grabbed his arm and draped it over my shoulders. He was heavy pure muscle and dead weight but the anger inside me made me feel like I could lift a mountain.I looked at the oncoming vehicles. They weren't stopping. I could see the silhouettes of men in tactical gear through the windshields. These weren't just pack

LyraFifty rifles were pointed at my heart. The red laser dots danced on my skin like fireflies, but I didn't feel afraid. I felt cold. A deep, heavy cold that started in my chest and flowed out to my fingertips.The woman in the white suit of the High Inquisitor stepped closer. Her silver hair glowed under the moonlight, and her smile was as sharp as a razor. "You’ve caused quite a mess, Lyra Thorne. An Alpha-heir is pinned to a tree, and the Shadow King is a shivering wreck. The Council doesn't like messes.""Then you should have picked a better Alpha to protect," I said. My voice didn't shake. I could feel Zade’s heavy weight against my side. He was breathing, but barely. The black ink was still leaking from his skin, staining the grass beneath us."Kill the beast," the Inquisi

LyraThe horizon was bleeding orange. It wasn't sunset. It was the Obsidian Fortress Zade’s home, my only sanctuary burning to the ground.I looked at Zade’s father, Silas. He stood there with a cold, proud smile, holding the leash of the creature that used to be Caleb. The "Alpha" was now a shivering, mindless wolf with white eyes. He whimpered at Silas’s feet, his dignity gone, his soul trapped in the Deadlands because of the deal I had made."You did this," I whispered, my voice trembling with rage. "You let the Crescent Moon Pack attack your own son’s home.""I let a weak structure fall so a stronger one could rise," Silas said. He stepped toward Zade, ignoring me as if I were still just a maid. "You were always too soft, Zade. You wanted to p