All Chapters of FALLING FOR THE ALPHA'S SHADOW: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

 Kairos’s POV “Seren, wherever you are, hold on to my voice.” The fall felt endless. Wind tore past my ears even though there was no wind in this place. The darkness around me shifted like thick water. Every breath tasted like metal. I reached for something—anything—to stop the drop. Then the world snapped open. I hit solid ground so hard my knees buckled. Pain shot up my legs. I gritted my teeth and pushed myself upright, breath rough and shallow. The place around me was not the same realm where I lost Seren. This one was harsher. The sky above me was a flat sheet of black with a single line of silver running across it like a scar. The air smelled like smoke. The ground was cracked stone stretching forever in every direction. No trees.No light.

Kairos’s POV“Tell me why the realm took her from me.”The question came out raw, almost a growl. Vaughn flinched a little, but he did not look away from me. Smoke curled around the edges of the broken doorway where Seren had fallen through only moments before. The ground still shook with a faint pulse, as if the realm beneath us was breathing.“She crossed on her own,” Vaughn said carefully. “You know she did.”I gripped the stone frame with both hands. My fingers dug into the cold surface hard enough to crack the edge. “The realm should not have opened at all. Not unless something called her.”Rowan stepped forward. “Something did. The flame changed color before she fell. It was not Ravager fire. It was… older.”My chest tightened.Older meant Keeper magic.Ancient magic.Magic tied to her.My heart kicked hard inside my ribcage. Marek paced in the back of my mind, restless and uneasy. His voice was sharp.Find her before the realm claims her.I pushed off the stone and began walkin

Kairos’s POV“I will tear this realm apart if it keeps her from me.”The barrier crackled under my palms, burning hot and cold at the same time. Light pulsed in slow breaths, opening and closing like the ribs of a beast. Every time I struck it, the whole clearing shook.But it did not break.Seren stood on the other side, her skin glowing with a sharp silver light that made my chest tighten with fear. Her eyes looked torn, pulled between pain and something deeper.She tried to come toward me.The barrier flared brighter and pushed her back.“Seren,” I said, my voice shaking, “I am right here.”“I know,” she whispered.Her voice cracked.And something inside me cracked with it.The shadow wolf circled behind her like smoke with teeth. Its eyes locked on mine with a slow, cold hunger. It enjoyed this. It wanted this.I slammed my fists into the barrier again. Light shot out, throwing me back a few steps. My heart pounded loud in my ears.Marek snarled inside me.Break it. Break everythi

Kairos’s POV“Bring her back, or I will burn your realm to the ground.”Light wrapped around Seren’s legs like soft chains and dragged her across the forest floor. Her fingers scraped the ground as she reached for me. Her breath came out in sharp gasps. Her eyes were wide with fear.“Kairos!” she cried. “Help me!”I lunged forward, but the ground split between us again. A sudden crack of light shot up, blocking my path. Heat slammed into my chest and threw me back into the dirt.I forced myself up on shaking arms. “Seren, hold on!”“I am trying!” Her voice broke. “I cannot stop it.”The boy stood beside the glowing crack, his face tight with worry. “The Core has chosen her. It will pull until she answers.”“I do not care what it chooses,” I growled. “Let her go.”He shook his head. “I cannot.”The shadow wolf rose behind him like a storm of darkness. Its eyes glowed with cold hunger.“You should not fight the Core,” it warned. “You will lose.”I bared my teeth. “Watch me.”The shadows

Kairos’s POV“Alpha Kairos, are you ready to see what you fear the most?”The clearing was too quiet after Seren vanished. The air felt thin, as if the realm had swallowed its own breath. I stood in the middle of the broken stone circle, staring at the place where she disappeared.A soft glow still lingered there. I reached toward it.My fingers passed through nothing.I closed my hand into a fist.“She is gone,” the boy said quietly.“She is not gone,” I growled. “She is somewhere inside this Core. Tell me how to reach her.”The shadow wolf curled around the far edge of the clearing, its eyes locked on me. “You cannot enter until the realm judges you.”“I did not ask permission.” My voice came out rough. “I am not leaving her in there.”The boy stepped forward. His face flickered between young and older again. “Then your trial begins now.”A cold shiver ran down my spine. “What trial?”“The trial of truth,” he said. “Every Keeper who enters the Core must face their shadow. You are no