All Chapters of THE LAST SHIFT: A Werewolf without a Wolf : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

When I hit the shadow, it wasn't like hitting a stone. It was rage meeting emptiness.The shadow's teeth crashed into my burned hands. For a split second, I thought they'd cut right through me. The impact rattled every bone in my body, trying to shake me apart. But I held on.Heat poured out of my skin like my blood had caught fire. The silver chains still burned in my palms, cutting deeper, but instead of breaking me, the fire inside rushed through those wounds, straight into the shadow's bite.The thing shrieked, of the sound so deep the whole cavern shook, roots screaming like they were alive. Its jagged teeth cracked under my touch, breaking into black glass that melted before hitting the ground.The girl sobbed against my shoulder, her small body shaking, but that cry kept me grounded, sounding human and real. The one thing this monster couldn't fake.I stumbled forward, pushing the shadow back with nothing but burned hands and raw fury. It wasn't strength. It wasn't magic. It wa

The shadow's storm of faces rushed at me, screaming, laughing and crying. A thousand mouths trying to swallow my fire, drag it down into their black pit.I didn't slow down.My body was falling apart, every step tearing me open, but the flames didn't care. They weren't just mine anymore; they were something older, angrier, born from every wound I'd carried and every person I refused to lose.The first wave hit.A face lunged at me, jaws wide, teeth made of shadow. My fire met it head-on, flames driving through its throat until the whole thing crumbled to ash.Another face came. Then five. Then fifty. Every time they tried to bite, I shoved the fire deeper, forcing them back.But for every one that fell, three more rose up.The shadow screamed in a chorus, the sound rattling my bones until I thought my ribs might crack. Blood dripped into my eyes, everything blurred, but I kept going. Stopping wasn't an option.Not when his voice was still echoing in that swarm.Not when the girl was b

The cavern didn't just shake, it screamed.Stone groaned like something alive. Dust poured down from the cracked ceiling. The heat hit us like a punch, making the air itself feel sharp. I held Kieran tighter, my heart torn between joy and terror. I had him back, finally, but the fire we'd broken wasn't finished with us."Kieran…"The word came out broken.He leaned against me, his skin burning hot, his breathing rough. Even weak, even barely standing, he felt solid in my arms. His eyes found mine, those golden-brown flames I knew by heart, dimmed but still fighting."You shouldn't have come here," he said, his voice like gravel.I almost laughed. It came out more like a sob. "Too late now."The ground split next to us. Red fire poured out, thick and angry. It spread across the stone like blood, creeping toward us. The girl cried out and stumbled back, covering her face with her hands. I grabbed her arm and pulled her close.This wasn't random. The fire was hunting.Something moved in

The tunnel squeezed us tight. Stone walls dripped with heat, and every breath felt like swallowing fire. Behind us, that red glow kept pulsing slowly, then faster. Like a heartbeat, but wrong. Nothing human about it.Kieran leaned into me, still burning hot from whatever that thing had done to him. His grip on my hand was solid though. Real. I kept checking, kept squeezing back, making sure he was still there."I'm not going anywhere," he mumbled, reading my thoughts.The girl beside us moved like she had lead in her boots, but she didn't stop. Soot streaked her face, sweat dripped from her hair, but those eyes of hers glowed. Faint, but there. Like she'd stolen some of that fire for herself."Where exactly are we going?" I asked her."Deeper." She didn't even turn around. "Away from it."The way she said it made my skin crawl. "Stay with me," I whispered to Kieran when he stumbled.He managed a weak smile. "You giving me orders now?"My throat closed up. "Don't you dare leave me."H

The world felt quieter than I'd expected.It wasn't silent as per say, roots still groaned, stones still shifted, water still bubbled somewhere, but the roar that had lived in my chest, my head, my bones was gone, the shadow was gone, the Warden was gone too.What I had left was ash in my mouth and the girl's shaking body in my arms.I dropped to my knees, every muscle screaming. My burned hands stuck to her dress, skin peeled and raw, but I wouldn't let go. She was crying, and the sound was just human, like a normal human and that was enough."Kaia!"I looked up fast.Through the broken cave mouth, Kieran stumbled toward us. His body was covered in blood, his shirt ripped, one arm pressed tight to his ribs, but his eyes found me, wild and desperate and alive.I tried to talk but only made a scratchy sound. He closed the distance anyway, falling to his knees in front of me. His hand touched my face like he needed to make sure I was real."You're…" His voice broke. He pressed his foreh