All Chapters of From Escape To Bound: Her Destined Wolf : Chapter 31 - Chapter 33

Ryker’s POVThe wind hit us like a warning the moment we stepped through the shattered gates of Balarin’s Keep. Cold and sharp, carrying with it the smell of old blood and broken promises.Inside, the courtyard sprawled like the husk of a dead god—stones cracked and blackened, walls leaning like weary sentinels. I could almost hear the screams of the past in the wind’s keening, a memory that refused to fade.Seris paused just inside the gates, her eyes closed as if listening to voices only she could hear. Clara stood beside her, the faint glow of her flame steady but subdued. I felt the heat of it even from here—a reminder that no matter how dark this place was, she would always bring light.“We should split up,” Seris said after a moment. “Time is short, and this place is vast. The wards here are old, and they won’t hold forever.”Clara’s brows furrowed. “Are you sure splitting up is wise? We don’t know what’s waiting for us in these ruins.”Seris opened her eyes, silver flashing like the

(Ryker’s POV)That’s when the darkness moved.A shape coalesced from the shadows, taller than any man, its body a shifting mass of black veins and ancient hunger. Two molten eyes opened in the dark.Clara gasped. “Ryker—”I stepped in front of her, Shadowborne singing in my hand. “Get behind me,” I said, my voice low, my heart hammering.The creature spoke, its voice like knives dragged across stone. “The Order is dead. Their light has failed. You cannot win.”“Maybe,” I snarled. “But I’m not the Order.”It lunged.The air exploded with darkness and fury. Shadowborne met the creature’s claws in a shower of sparks, runes screaming with heat. The force of the impact sent me skidding back, boots scraping stone.Clara’s flame burst bright, a searing wave that forced the creature to recoil—but it wasn’t enough. Its claws raked the ground, gouging deep scars into the ancient stone.I charged, sword a blur. Every strike sang with defiance, each rune igniting as I channeled every memory of the fallen—