I couldn't believe what was happening to my body. All this reaction for what? A voice?
"Where are you, Damon?" Kale groaned, his face hardening.
"I doubt you can show her around the castle… once it's rubble. Can you?"
Before we could even react, the walls groaned, windows shattered, and the roof began to collapse in jagged bursts of splintering wood and stone. Dust and shards rained down, filling my mouth with grit.
"Fuck." Kale grabbed my hand, yanking me toward the exit as fast as he could. My boots slipped over crumbling stone, and the roar of falling debris filled my ears.
A massive beam fell in front of us, and I screamed as it struck the ground with a deafening crash.
"Eve!"
I looked up just in time to see a shadow vanish into nothing, gone in the blink of an eye.
He dropped the stones on purpose.
We threw ourselves through the doorway a second before the entire castle collapsed into a heap of jagged ruins. The ground shook beneath us, dust choking the air, the acrid scent of smoke and broken stone stinging my nostrils.
I couldn't believe it. The mate bond had locked into place with someone who had just tried to kill us. My chest ached with disbelief and shame, my wolf growling, pacing, confused and angry at the turmoil inside me.
My legs gave out beneath me, and I felt powerful, pathetic.
Behind us, the ruins groaned, stones grinding against one another as if the earth itself mourned the loss of the once-proud castle. Shards of shattered windows glittered like dangerous gems in the dust, and splintered beams lay scattered like jagged teeth.
Kale crouched beside me, his eyes scanning me with a mixture of concern and frustration. "Eve, love, are you hurt?"
I shook my head, though the lie felt heavy on my tongue. My body was whole, but my soul… it felt split in two. The mate bond pulsed, a relentless fire inside me. How could it be him? How could the Fates tie me to the wolf that had nearly killed us both?
"I'm fine," I murmured, letting Kale help me to my feet. My knees and arms were streaked with blood, grit ground into the cuts, and every movement sent sharp jolts of pain through my body. I brushed the dust and rubble from my skin, wincing at each sting.
"Was it your twin brother?" I asked, barely above a whisper, my throat raw and dry, tears threatening to spill.
"I think so." Kale's expression hardened, like some invisible weight had settled onto him. "How did you know?"
I swallowed hard, fighting the truth. My wolf knew.
"I… I just guessed," I murmured, forcing the lie down.
Before Kale could respond, four wolves emerged from the shadows, circling us with a protective growl.
"Are you okay?" one of them asked, voice low and rough, directing the question to Kale.
"Yes. But she's not," Kale snapped, his tone sharp, commanding. "Take her to my mother. Make sure she's checked. Fury, Walt, and I will find Damon."
The wolf who had approached me nodded, shifting into human form with ease, his arms outstretched to lift me from the ground. "Hold on to me," he murmured, eyes flicking to Kale. "Are you sure? He probably isn't alone."
Kale's eyes blazed, a storm of anger and determination. "I've prepared for this day my entire life. I was just waiting for him. Now, I'll give him what he deserves."
His body twisted violently, bones snapping and fur erupting as he shifted into a massive wolf, the largest I had ever seen. Muscles bulged beneath dark fur, his eyes gleaming with a fierce, predatory light. My chest tightened as awe and fear coiled inside me;
Before I could protest, the three of them disappeared into the dense forest, leaving me trembling in the arms of a stranger.