All Chapters of From Escape To Bound: Her Destined Wolf : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Ryker’s POVA cold dread settled in my chest. “And if I can’t control it?”He took my hand, his mark searing warm against mine. “Then I’ll hold the darkness back. Even if it kills me.”“Don’t say that,” I whispered.His lips curved into a crooked smile. “Then promise me you won’t let them take you. Promise me you’ll fight.”I swallowed hard, the weight of his words heavy on my tongue. “I promise.”A wind rose around us, carrying the scent of charred earth and old secrets. The trees thinned, revealing a clearing where the ground split like a broken mirror.A wound.The Cradle.Its heart pulsed beneath the earth, a sickening glow that painted the trees in shades of crimson and violet. Shadows danced at the edges—forms that might have been men once, now bound to the Aether’s will.“They’re waiting,” Ryker said, his voice like iron.I felt the fire stir inside me—wild, dangerous. “Let them.”I stepped forward, the flame rising like a crown around me. Every step felt like walking into my own grave—an

Ryker Pov “We have to finish this,” she said, her voice trembling but resolute. I reached for her hand, our marks blazing in unison. “Together.” She nodded. “Together.” We stepped onto the platform, the Aether shivering at our approach. The runes beneath our feet ignited, casting shifting shadows across our faces.A voice rose from the pool—an echo of the Architect, but older, deeper, more primal. “Queen and Shadow,” it intoned, each syllable vibrating with ancient power. “You stand at the forge of all things. Here, you must choose: to remake the world in your image—or to seal it away, forever.” Clara’s flame flared, bright as a sun. “We choose freedom,” she declared. “No more chains. No more Cradle. We will forge our own path.” The voice trembled with something like laughter. “Then let the forging begin. The Aether rose in a surge—a tidal wave of light and darkness, heat and cold, promise and peril. It crashed around us, battering our bond, testing every weakness. I felt the Shadow w

Clara’s POV The dawn of our new world was not the fiery birth I had always imagined. It was gentler, a glow that spread slowly across the horizon, chasing away the remnants of darkness. I watched it with a strange ache in my chest—a longing for peace, but also a fear that peace was never meant for people like me.Beside me, Ryker stood watchful, his shadow blending with the ground beneath us as if it belonged there. His eyes, always so fierce, were softer now, searching the sky for threats that might not come.I reached for his hand, lacing my fingers with his. His warmth grounded me. “Do you ever think,” I whispered, “that maybe we were always meant to be here?”He turned to me, his gaze a question and a promise all at once. “I think we were meant to fight,” he said quietly. “But this—this is where we choose who we become.”His words settled into my bones like a quiet flame. I had always been the weapon, the key, the Queen. But now I was more than that. I could be a builder, a guide. Ma

Clara's Pov Seris emerged from the darkness like a secret given shape. Her silver eyes glowed with a knowledge that felt too old for any one soul to bear. She moved with the quiet confidence of someone who had seen empires rise and fall, and her presence both soothed and unnerved me. She stood at the edge of the circle of warriors and survivors Ryker and I had begun to gather. The people were wary—trusting me, yes, but untested by the new threats we now faced. They shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, as if her very existence challenged their understanding of the world we’d fought so hard to save. “We need to prepare,” I said, my voice carrying across the clearing. The ward I had woven still shimmered faintly, a fragile promise of safety. “Seris says the Old Ones are stirring, and if that’s true, this world will need more than a Queen and a Shadow to survive.”Seris nodded, her dark hair falling like a curtain around her face. “You will need knowledge—of the old magics and the deepe

Ryker’s POVThe sun rose over the camp like a bruised promise—pale and uncertain. I’d never trusted the dawn much; too many times, I’d seen it herald a new day of bloodshed rather than hope. But today, something felt different.Clara stood at the heart of the camp, her hair catching the light like fire. Around her, warriors gathered in a rough circle, some with blades at their hips, others with worn hands and eyes that had seen too much. They were tired—gods, we all were—but there was a kind of determination in their faces that made my chest ache.I took my place at her side, my hand never straying far from my sword.“Today,” Clara began, her voice steady and strong, “we begin preparing for the darkness that’s coming. We will train, we will learn, and we will build the alliances Seris spoke of.”Seris stood at the edge of the circle, her silver eyes watchful. She hadn’t said much since last night, but the weight of her knowledge pressed on all of us like a shadow.I scanned the faces in th