L'S

ew she was here. Silver. Sharp. Alive. Her presence cut through the darkness like a blade. I c

predatory. Every sense was heightened. The rogues had underestimated her. That w

en I s

under the Blood Moon. Chest heaving. Eyes wide. Every nerve on

muscle tense and coiled, ready to strike. My wolf mirrored her caution, coiled and growlin

inted red in the silver light. Fangs glimmered faintly. Claws brushed the

rds come slo

I rejected you because the world would have killed you tonight if I hadn't. Your bloodline... your awakening... it

her chest. My wolf tensed, mirroring her instinctive suspicion. The

he Blood Moon's silver light. The power emanating from her was undeniable, overwhelming

cutting through the tension like steel. "You told the world

er to confront me so quickly. I had miscalculated the depth of h

n the terror I had felt when she shifted under the B

. "But there was no time. Every second I hesitated would have put you in d

e into a spectacle for the entire pack. You shatt

htened, every nerve alight. The bond between us pulsed violentl

ide you from those who would have killed you before you even realized who you were. And i

wn spine rise. She did not move toward me. She did not run. She stood pois

ery shadow, every flicker of moonlight focusing on this

uld see the rogues scattered nearby, trembling at the edges of their consciousness, sensing

need, the possessiveness I could not contain. "I will never let anyone harm you, Liora," I sai

tion of what I had said. The silver runes along her spine glimmered brighte

, unfinished. My wolf pressed closer inside me, its preda

th mine, silver eyes gleaming. She was trembling, alive,

had awakened the storm that was our bond. Desire, anger, possessiveness, protectio

carried on the cold night air. Rogues. The forest

ond. My body tensed. My claws flexed.

he was the storm I had tried to hide from the world. And I knew, deep in my b

illuminate me, showing her fully-Alpha, p

I asked, voice lo

ecognition. Recognition of power. Recognition of wha

no longer in control. The forest held its breath. The Blood Moon glowed ove

hunt, the reckoning, and the