The night should not have been this bright.
The moon hung swollen and heavy above the treeline, a white fireball bleeding silver across the forest. The branches cast long shadows that crawled over the ground like living things—whispering, twitching, waiting.
And Evelyn felt every single one of them.
Her body trembled in Ronan's arms as he held her, his back pressed to a large boulder, his breathing sharp and controlled. His wolf was awake—too awake. His eyes glowed gold-rimmed silver, flickering with violence.
He smelled the danger before she did.
The Ironfang Pack wasn't subtle.
Twigs snapped.Leaves rustled.Heavy paws hit the forest floor in coordinated rhythm—closing in.
Ronan lowered Evelyn carefully onto her feet."Stay behind me," he growled, posture dropping into a lethal stance.
Evelyn shook her head. "Ronan, I—"
"Evelyn," he said, voice low, raw, and almost feral, "listen to me."
His hands framed her face—and even in the terror of the moment, his touch was gentle.
"I can fight them. But I can't fight them and worry about you breathing."
Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs. "I'm not helpless."
"I know."His thumb brushed her cheek."That terrifies me more."
Something tightened in her chest—something soft and dangerous.
But the forest didn't give them time.
A deep, guttural howl split the night.
Ronan's head snapped up. "Ironfang."
Evelyn's stomach dropped. The howl was unmistakable—low, metallic, distorted from the iron collars they carved into their own throats to prove their loyalty to pain.
Ronan's voice dropped into a lethal growl."They've crossed my border. Bold bastards."
Shadows around Evelyn coiled like snakes sensing prey.
Ronan noticed. "Control it."
"I'm trying," she whispered.
More howls.More footsteps.More wolves in the dark.
The atmosphere thickened until the forest felt suffocating.
And then—they emerged.
Ten.Twenty.Thirty wolves stepped out from between the trees. Massive. Dark-furred. Their eyes glinted like knives. Their bodies were marked with the signature Ironfang scars—thin, jagged lines carved deliberately into their skin.
The largest stepped forward.
A monstrous black wolf with red-tinted eyes.Alpha Kael.
Ronan's jaw clenched. "You cowardly son of a— shift and face me."
Kael didn't shift.
He didn't need to.
His growl rolled through the clearing like thunder.
"Give us the girl, Blackthorn.The Shadowborn belongs to Ironfang."
Evelyn stepped forward, instinctively, but Ronan's arm snapped out, pinning her behind him in a heartbeat.
"She belongs to no one."
"She belongs," Kael snarled, "to power. And you threw her away. We didn't."
Shame flickered through Ronan's eyes—but only for a second.
"Come closer," Ronan said softly. "I dare you."
Kael roared.
Ironfang wolves launched toward them.
And Ronan moved.
He shifted mid-step, bones cracking, muscles expanding, fur erupting like black fire from his skin. In less than a breath he became something huge, monstrous, terrifying—Alpha Blackthorn in full form.
He hit the first Ironfang wolf so hard it flew into a tree trunk with a sickening crack.
Evelyn staggered backward as wolves swarmed Ronan, claws raking his sides, teeth snapping, but he ripped through them like a storm let loose.
But there were too many.
Three wolves lunged toward Evelyn—
—and the shadows around her answered the threat before she could scream.
They rose from the ground like a tidal wave, slamming into the attacking wolves with the force of solid stone. The wolves yelped as they were hurled backward, smashing into trees.
Evelyn stared at her hands—glowing faint silver, her skin pulsing with dark light.
"Oh God…"
More shadows spilled from her feet, flowing outward in ripples that made the earth tremble.
Kael snarled at the sight."Shadowborn!"
The word hit Evelyn like a punch."What… what does that mean?"
But the shadows didn't care.They knew.
They wrapped around her like armor, like wings, like a creature she didn't recognize but somehow belonged to.
Another Ironfang wolf lunged—
Evelyn raised her hand.
The shadow shot forward like a spear, slamming directly into its chest, pinning it midair.
Her breath hitched.She had lifted a full-grown wolf with nothing but darkness.
Ronan tore through another attacker, whirling around just in time to see Evelyn's power surge.
His wolf froze—eyes wide with disbelief.
And something else.Awe?Fear?Need?
But he didn't have time to dwell on it.
Kael finally shifted into human form—tall, scarred, his body streaked with iron markings that glowed faintly under the moonlight.
He pointed at Evelyn.
"STOP PLAYING WITH HER, BLACKTHORN!"His voice carried."WE WANT THE GIRL!"
Ronan shifted back too, breathing hard, blood streaking down his side."You're not taking her."
Kael smiled slowly."You think you can protect her?"He tilted his head."From us? From the prophecy? From what she is?"
Evelyn's heart skipped.Prophecy.
Ronan stiffened."Don't."
Kael's grin sharpened."She hasn't told you, has she? Or maybe"—he looked at Evelyn—"you don't even know yet."
"Kael," Ronan growled, "shut your mouth."
"Or what?" Kael sneered."You'll reject her again?"
Evelyn went still.
Ronan's breath caught.
Kael's eyes gleamed."The whole forest heard your rejection, Alpha. Every neighboring pack felt the bond tear. You marked her as unwanted. Unprotected. Free to claim."
Evelyn's chest tightened painfully.
Ronan stepped forward, voice breaking with fury."I didn't know—"
"You knew enough."Kael snapped his fingers.More wolves circled."She is ours by right now."
Evelyn whispered, "Ronan…"
Ronan's eyes flickered with something shattered."Evelyn, I—"
But Kael attacked.
Ronan shoved Evelyn backward just as Kael shifted midair, launching himself with enormous speed.
The shadows reacted before Evelyn did.
They erupted upward in a towering wall—
BOOM—
Kael slammed into it and was hurled back like a ragdoll.
Every Ironfang wolf stepped back.
Even Ronan froze.
Evelyn's eyes glowed bright silver, shadows swirling violently behind her like black flames.
"I'm not yours," she said, voice not quite her own."And I never will be."
Kael snarled."You will be. Or you will die."
The shadows surged forward, ready to crush him—
Ronan caught Evelyn's arm, pulling her back into his chest.
"No," he murmured against her ear. "Not like this. Don't let them twist you."
His touch grounded her.Her eyes dimmed.The shadows steadied.
Kael stood, wiping blood from his mouth."This isn't over, Shadowborn."
He signaled his wolves.
One by one, Ironfang retreated into the trees, fading into the dark.
But Kael's last words echoed through the forest:
"Next full moon… she's ours."
The forest fell silent.
Evelyn collapsed to her knees, chest heaving. Ronan caught her, pulling her against him.
She felt the beat of his heart.
Fast.Uneven.Terrified—for her.
"Evelyn," he whispered, voice shaking, "what are you?"
She buried her face in his shoulder.
"I don't know."
Ronan held her tighter.
"Then I'll find out," he breathed."And whatever you are… I'll kill anyone who tries to take you."
His hand cupped the back of her head.
"And I swear it—"his voice dropped to something dangerously intimate,"—I am never letting you go again."
The bond pulsed between them.
Alive.Unbroken.Stronger.
Too strong.
The moon blazed overhead as the shadows curled around them, whispering a secret neither of them yet understood—
This is only the beginning.