The trees seemed to groan in warning as the night thickened around them. A storm was coming, not of weather but of something older, darker even Zaria could feel it—the air wasn't easing. It was tightening. Like something vast and unseen was pulling all light, all sound, all hope toward itself.
Lucien's chest rose and fell as he stalked toward the treeline, golden eyes burning with a feral brilliance. His shirt was torn at the shoulder from the earlier clash, streaked with blood but the scent of iron clung to him all the same. Zaria felt her own pulse hitch, her body vibrating with the bond between them. Every breath he took seemed to echo inside her, every step reverberating in her bones.
"Stay behind me," Lucien growled, his voice low, edged with command. "Whatever comes next, you will not move from this spot."
Zaria's throat tightened. She wanted to obey. Every instinct screamed that this man—this Alpha bound to her by something bigger than fate—was a wall between her and death. But something deeper than fear pushed against the command. It was the same force that had made her disobey when he told her not to follow earlier. A compulsion she couldn't explain, as though her presence mattered more than her safety.
She swallowed hard. "What's coming?"
Lucien tilted his head, nostrils flaring as he tasted the air. His golden eyes narrowed, glowing brighter in the gloom. "Not just rogues," he said at last. "Something older. Something that should not be this close to my lands." His voice was harsh with fury, but beneath it was something else—unease.
Zaria felt it too. The air shifted, a bitter wind curling through the trees. It carried with it a chorus of whispers, low and discordant, like voices clawing at the edge of hearing. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, though it wasn't the cold that chilled her.
The trees ahead stirred, though there was no breeze. The shadows pooled unnaturally at the base of the trunks, seeping like ink into the ground. Shapes moved within them—tall, lean, and wrong, their edges blurred like smoke.
"Shadows," Lucien spat, his fangs flashing in the moonlight. He shifted his stance, shoulders rolling back, every inch of him radiating predatory power. "Zaria. Do not look at them. Do not listen to them."
But even as he spoke, the whispers grew louder, slipping into her ears like oil. Her name hissed between them. Zaria…Zariaaa… The sound stroked her mind, coaxing, seductive, promising relief from the bond that tied her so achingly to Lucien.
Her knees buckled. She bit her lip hard enough to taste copper, trying to force herself to stay anchored. "Lucien…" Her voice shook. "They know my name."
Lucien whirled, golden eyes blazing, his jaw taut with fury. "Because they're after you," he snapped. "They want what's mine." His gaze locked on hers, sharp as claws. "Fight them, Zaria. You hear me? Fight them!"
The words cut through her haze like a blade. Something about the possessive way he said mine sent a tremor through her chest, equal parts fear and heat.
The shadows swelled, rising higher, their forms elongating until they towered above the treeline. Their voices converged into a chorus, a sound so deep it rattled her bones.
Lucien's claws extended fully, gleaming like obsidian. His body vibrated with the urge to shift, though he held himself in check. He wanted to fight as he was, to face them with eyes wide open rather than give over to the beast within.
"Stay back," he snarled again without looking at her.
But Zaria's legs moved of their own accord. She stepped closer, so close her shoulder nearly brushed his arm. She couldn't stop herself—her defiance was no longer rebellion, but instinct. The bond between them tightened like a rope pulled taut. Her very soul screamed that she could not leave him to fight this alone.
The shadows lunged.
Lucien moved in a blur, his body intercepting the first of the tendrils that lashed toward them. His claws ripped through the black mass, tearing it apart like smoke scattered by wind. But where one fell, three more surged.
"Run!" he roared, his voice like thunder.
"I'm not leaving you!" Zaria's shout ripped from her throat, raw and desperate. She raised her hand—not to shield herself, not even knowing what she meant to do. But the moment her fingers stretched out toward the writhing dark, something ignited inside her chest.
Light burst from her palm.
Not fire. Not lightning. Something older, purer. A silvery-white glow exploded outward, searing the air, slicing into the shadows like blades. Their screams shrieked through the clearing, high-pitched and furious. They reeled back, writhing, their forms unraveling in the brilliance.
Zaria gasped, stumbling, the light flickering but refusing to die. Her hand trembled, yet the power clung to her skin like a second heartbeat.
Lucien froze for a single second, his golden eyes wide with shock. Then something darker flickered there—something like awe.
"You…" His voice was ragged. "You awakened it."
She looked at him, chest heaving, terrified of what she'd done. "What…what is it?"
Lucien didn't answer. Not because he wouldn't—but because the shadows weren't finished.
From the treeline, a howl split the night. Deep. Savage. Echoing.
Zaria's blood turned to ice. This was no whisper, no half-formed specter. This was flesh and bone. Something alive.
Lucien stepped forward, body trembling, his claws dripping shadow ichor that hissed as it hit the ground. His golden eyes burned brighter than the moon itself.
"They sent him," he muttered under his breath, his voice full of hatred. "The Shadow Alpha."
Zaria's lips parted. The very name sent a tremor through her veins. "Who—?"
Lucien didn't give her a chance to finish. He shifted in a single, explosive motion—bones snapping, fur bursting forth, his body elongating into something monstrous, magnificent. His golden-eyed wolf form towered before her, a predator forged of power and rage.
The trees shook as something vast stepped into the clearing opposite him. Red eyes gleamed in the dark, enormous shoulders bristling with shadow-forged fur. The Shadow Alpha.
Zaria's breath hitched. Her entire body screamed for her to run. Yet her feet remained planted, rooted not by fear but by something else: the tether that bound her to Lucien.
Two Alphas. Light and dark. Flesh and shadow.
The battle was inevitable.
But as the ground trembled beneath their growls, Zaria realized something far more terrifying—whatever this Shadow Alpha wanted, it wasn't just Lucien.
Its red eyes turned to her.
And it smiled.