(Mari POV)
The night explodes.
That's the only word for it.
One second, Blackstone Keep stands proud against the mountains—dark stone, iron gates, arrogance carved into every wall.
The next—
Fire rips through the southern watchtower.
The blast shakes the earth beneath my boots, a thunderous crack that splits the silence wide open. Stone shatters. Flames roar skyward. Screams follow immediately, sharp and panicked, echoing through the valley like a death song.
"NOW!" I roar.
Nightblade surges forward.
We come out of the shadows like a curse unleashed.
Explosions bloom across the outer defenses as enchanted charges detonate, fire tearing through supply sheds and armories. Midnight warriors scramble, half-shifted, confused, dragged out of sleep and straight into hell.
Asha is at my side, blades flashing. "Southern gate is down!"
"Push!" I shout. "No mercy!"
The air fills with smoke, ash, and the sound of bodies colliding—metal against metal, claws against stone, fury against fury. Midnight Pack fights back hard, but they're scattered, disoriented.
They weren't ready.
They trusted the dark.
They trusted us not to stab them in the back.
I take down the first guard who charges me, knocking him aside with brutal efficiency. No hesitation. No pause. I don't let myself think about his face.
Only the mission.
Nightblade wolves move like ghosts through the chaos—silent strikes, coordinated attacks, lethal precision. Midnight is strong, but strength means nothing when it's blind.
"Outpost three is falling!" someone shouts through the link.
"Good," I reply coldly. "Burn it."
Flames spread fast.
Fire eats banners, devours weapons, turns the proud symbol of Midnight Pack into smoke and ruin. The scent of burning wood and magic clogs my lungs, but I keep moving.
Always forward.
A Midnight warrior lunges at me from the smoke. I duck, pivot, slam him into the ground hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs. He tries to rise.
I don't give him the chance.
"Clear!" Asha calls.
I glance toward Blackstone Keep itself.
The gates are still standing.
Barely.
"We take the keep," I say. "Now."
Nightblade rallies instantly.
We crash into the courtyard like a living storm.
Midnight defenders finally start to regroup, forming defensive lines, their howls shaking the air. The fight turns brutal—no more surprise, just raw force.
Clashes explode around me.
Asha goes down hard under the weight of a Midnight wolf—then rolls, shifts mid-motion, and slams him into a wall with a snarl. I move instinctively, covering her flank, striking fast.
"You good?" I bark.
She grins, blood on her lip. "I've had worse dates."
Another explosion rocks the keep, blowing apart a staircase and sending chunks of stone raining down. Screams rise, overlapping, desperate.
This is what war looks like.
This is what revenge sounds like.
And yet—
Something twists in my chest.
The pack bond screams.
Not Nightblade.
Midnight.
A sudden surge of power rolls through the air—strong, familiar, furious.
My head snaps up.
No.
Not yet.
"He's here," Asha breathes.
I feel him before I see him.
Luke Vrenatta hits the courtyard like a fucking hurricane.
Midnight reinforcements pour in behind him, bloodied, furious, eyes glowing with rage and shock as they take in the destruction of their home.
Fire.
Bodies.
Ruins.
Luke's gaze locks on the burning keep.
Then it finds me.
The world narrows.
For a heartbeat, everything goes silent.
Then he roars.
"What the FUCK did you do?!"
His voice cuts through the chaos like a blade.
Midnight surges forward, clashing violently with Nightblade in a fresh wave of fighting. The courtyard erupts again—screams, snarls, explosions, steel.
Luke stalks toward me through the chaos, eyes wild, power crackling around him like lightning barely contained.
I don't retreat.
I step forward.
"You should've stayed north," I shout back. "This is what happens when you leave your home undefended."
His laugh is sharp and furious. "You stabbed us in the back!"
"You murdered my family," I snarl.
He freezes.
"What?"
For just a second—just one—confusion flashes across his face.
Then the ground between us explodes as two wolves collide nearby, snapping the moment apart.
"LIAR!" he shouts, fury flooding back in full force. "You think this makes you strong?"
I gesture around us. "Look around, Luke. This is strength."
"This is betrayal!"
"This is justice!"
We circle each other amid the chaos, wolves clashing around us, fire lighting the night. His presence presses against mine—heat, dominance, fury.
My wolf snarls, pacing beneath my skin.
He steps closer. "You did this knowing Shadowfang was attacking us."
"Yes."
"You waited."
"Yes."
"You used it."
"Yes," I say again, voice steady. "I'd do it again."
His eyes burn. "You've doomed your pack."
I smile coldly. "You should worry about yours."
A Midnight explosion rocks the far wall as reinforcements try to push back Nightblade. The battle teeters—neither side giving ground.
Asha appears beside me. "Mari—we've done enough damage. We can pull back."
I look at Luke one last time.
At the rage.
The devastation.
The hatred burning between us.
This was never going to end peacefully.
"Fall back," I order through the link. "Phase retreat. Take what we came for."
Nightblade begins to withdraw, melting back into the smoke and fire, leaving Midnight in ruins.
Luke shouts after me. "This isn't over!"
I turn once, meeting his gaze through the flames.
"No," I say quietly. "It's just begun."
Then I disappear into the night.
Behind me, Blackstone Keep burns.
And whatever I once felt for Luke Vrenatta—
It dies in the fire.