AXELThe howl filled the night, freezing the blood in my veins for a moment. My heart started to pound hard against my chest as the four of us ran toward the training yard, which was where the sound came from. None of us spoke, but we all knew the howl meant trouble.By the time we got there, the stench of blood was already thick in the air.A warrior lay on the dirt with claw marks all over his chest and blood soaking his shirt. He was alive, but barely. He was breathing raggedly, and his eyes were fluttering like he was fighting to stay conscious.And standing over him, like he had all the time in the world, was Blake Coleman.He wasn’t running. He wasn’t even trying to hide. He just stood there with his shoulders relaxed, and a wide grin on his face like he was enjoying a private joke all by himself.“Blake,” I growled, already curling my hands into fists because I was ready to attack him.Zade didn’t waste any time saying anything like I did. He charged straight at Blake immediat
AVAThe first thing I noticed when I woke up was the smell. The whole room was filled with the smell of herbs. It felt bitter and sharp, like mint mixed with smoke. My head was pounding, my throat was raw, and every breath I took in was with some effort. I blinked a few times until the blurry ceiling above me stopped spinning.I wasn’t in my room. The wallpaper was different, and bundles of dried plants were hanging from the beams above. It looked like a healer’s room. I was lying on a narrow bed, and my body was covered in thick blankets. My arms ached like I’d been carrying boulders.Some movement caught my eye just then. Axel was sitting in the chair next to me with a knife in his hand. He wasn’t looking at me; his gaze was focused on the weapon he was sharpening, and for a moment, that was the only sound in the room.His expression was blank—really blank—the way it got when he was pissed but didn’t want to talk about it.“You’re awake,” he said without looking up.“Barely,” I cro
ZADEWe didn’t waste a second as soon as we heard the guard’s statement. We were already moving as fast as we could. The eastern watchtower had fallen. So this was where their Alpha had led them all to after disappearing in a cloud of smoke…?But that wasn’t supposed to happen. The tower guarded the weakest part of our pack. If it was gone, then the Bloodfangs could cause a lot more harm to us. We ran without stopping. The smell of smoke got thicker the closer we got there. The smoke slipped into my throat, burned it, and choked my lungs too, but I ran even harder and faster, refusing to let it slow me down. Ava was right beside me. Her breathing was sharp, and her eyes were glowing in the light from the sky.When we ran past the trees, the sight I was met with almost made my mouth fall open in shock. The watchtower was on fire. Flames were rising up the structure, the sky was filled with smoke, and there were sparks everywhere. The wooden beams inside were cracking and groaning a
AVAMy whole body was as hard as ice. I felt like it had been locked, then frozen from the inside out. I felt so cold.My wolf, who had been clawing, snarling, and was always ready to fight, was now silent. She was normally fierce but now she wasn’t even just submissive; she really was completely silent. No. No, no, no, was the only thought that my mind could form. I knew I had to fight it. So I tried to move my claws, growl, or do basically anything. But it turned out that I couldn’t. My chest was heaving, but no sound came out. My wolf wasn’t listening to me anymore. It didn’t even feel like she was in my body.Suddenly, I felt the Alpha’s cold and smooth voice right in my head. “You are mine by blood and by right.”I wanted to scream at him and tell him that he was wrong. I wanted him to know I wasn’t his and would never be. I also wanted to tell him that I belonged to no one. But the words couldn’t even come out of my mouth. They were swallowed before they could leave.Then som
AVAThe guard’s words were the only thing on my mind the whole way to the western border.The Bloodfang Alpha was at our border.It didn’t feel real. Not after everything that had already happened. First Blake had been in my room. Then came the corrupted wolves in the courtyard. Now this. It was like the world had decided to crumble all at once, and all I could do was try to keep up.The triplets didn’t say much as we ran. Roman was focused, but his shoulders were stiff. Axel’s jaw was tight, and his eyes were fixed straight ahead. Zade was the worst of them. His body was shaking so much because of how hard he was trying to keep his wolf under control.The rest of the warriors followed close behind us. There were lots of paws hitting the ground around me, and claws digging into dirt and stones as we rushed toward the border. My lungs were burning, but I didn’t slow down. When we got to the clearing around the border, I almost tripped. The Bloodfang Alpha was right there.He stood in
ZADEThe horn was still echoing in my head when we got to the courtyard. Wolves were everywhere. Their claws were out, and their teeth were snapping, but when I looked closer, I noticed it wasn’t rogues charging around the place. No, this was worse.They were ours. These were wolves from our pack.I froze for a second, just long enough for me to let it sink in. My chest tensed up, and confusion flooded through me, together with a rush of adrenaline. Why were wolves from this pack tearing each other apart like enemies?Suddenly, a strange scent hit me. It smelled sharp, cold, and wrong. It was definitely silver mixed with something rotten. My wolf snarled so loud it rattled my ribs.“They’ve been corrupted,” I spat.Roman was already shifting as I spoke. His bones cracked as thick fur spread over his skin. Axel shifter next. His wolf hit the ground hard, and his claws sparked as they met the stone.I didn’t wait any longer. I let my wolf go, shifting as fast as I could.Just then a wol