The world narrowed.
The forest.The blood on the leaves.The wolves frozen mid-breath.Three packs surrounding one girl whose heartbeat suddenly felt too loud in her own ears.
Evelyn could feel every stare like a blade against her skin.
Ironfang.Moonfall.Bloodmoon.
All waiting.
Waiting for her.
Ronan stepped in front of her with a snarl so deep the earth trembled. His silver wolf was massive even injured, fur marked by fresh gashes, teeth dripping blood that wasn't only his.
But Bloodmoon didn't flinch.
Their alpha—tall, built like stone, with eyes glowing an unnatural crimson—moved forward slowly, like a predator savoring a meal he knew nobody could steal.
The shadows around Evelyn curled tighter, restless, protective… hungry.
Ronan growled louder, blocking the Bloodmoon alpha's path.
"You're trespassing," he snarled."This is Moonfall territory."
The alpha tilted his head, unimpressed.
"This ground belongs to the prophecy now."
His eyes slid past Ronan as if he were nothing.
They landed on Evelyn.
And the shadows rose instantly—sharp, vicious, forming jagged patterns around her feet like black lightning.
The Bloodmoon warriors inhaled softly.Recognition.Fear.Awe.
"Shadowborn," the alpha murmured, voice like a dark hymn."Your power calls to us. You were never meant for Moonfall. You belong with us."
Ronan's roar shook the branches.
"She belongs with me."
The Bloodmoon alpha arched a brow."Does she?"
His voice sliced through the air.
Evelyn's breath shattered.
The shadows flickered violently, reacting to the challenge—swelling high behind her like wings of darkness ready to strike anything that moved.
Ronan's wolf stepped closer to her, brushing against her leg, a silent promise.
Mine.
But the Bloodmoon alpha smiled slowly.
"You think you can protect her, Moonfall? She can barely control the power in her veins. She is a danger to herself. To you. To everyone."
Evelyn flinched.
Because some part of her knew he was right.
Ronan's head whipped toward her at the tiny motion, eyes burning.
"No," he growled, voice half-human, half-wolf."You listen to me, Evie. You're not a danger. You're not a mistake. You're not their weapon—"
"She is our destiny," the Bloodmoon alpha snapped.
The shadows behind Evelyn surged, reacting so violently the ground cracked beneath her boots.
A ripple went through both packs.
"She is the one born under the broken moon," Bloodmoon alpha continued."The one whose shadows answer only to blood and command."
Evelyn's vision wavered.
Her heartbeat pulsed through the shadows, binding them tighter to her.
"You feel it," he said softly."Don't you, girl?"
She did.
Every breath felt heavier.Every sound sharper.Every fear louder.
Power throbbed through her veins—unstable, expanding, desperate to break free again.
Ronan sensed it instantly.
His hands (half-shifted, claws long and glinting) grabbed her arms and pulled her against him.
"Evie. Look at me."
She tried.
But the Bloodmoon alpha stepped closer—and the shadows shifted toward him, drawn by something ancient, something deep in her bones.
Evelyn gasped and stumbled back.
The alpha smiled as if that proved everything.
"Your power recognizes mine. Blood calls to blood, Shadowborn."
Ronan's growl turned feral.
"You're not touching her."
The Bloodmoon alpha ignored him entirely.
"Evelyn," he said, voice almost gentle."Come here."
Her body jerked.
Not willingly.Not fully.But the shadows responded—surging forward, dragging her a half-step.
Ronan's arms clamped tighter around her waist.
"STOP," he snarled, voice breaking with panic."Evie, fight it!"
"I— I'm trying," she choked.
The shadows weren't listening.
They were leaning.
Calling.
Choosing—
No.No.No.
Evelyn dug her heels into the dirt, shaking.
But the pull was stronger.
Too strong.
The Bloodmoon warriors lowered to one knee, their alpha raising a hand like he was welcoming a queen to her throne.
"You were born for us," he murmured."Born to lead us. Born to finish what the prophecy began."
Ronan lost it.
He didn't shift.
He tore.
One moment he was holding Evelyn.The next he launched himself at the Bloodmoon alpha with a roar that tore the night open.
The alpha caught Ronan's attack mid-swing with one hand.
One.Hand.
The impact shook the air, but he didn't stumble.
Moonfall warriors cried out.Ironfang wolves backed up in fear.Evelyn screamed.
"RONAN!"
The Bloodmoon alpha smirked, tightening his grip around Ronan's throat.
"You challenge me? For a girl who does not even belong to you?"
Ronan's claws ripped through the alpha's arm—deep, brutal.
But the alpha didn't release him.
"You're weak," he hissed."You're all weak. And she will break here in your hands."
Evelyn's power snapped.
The shadows exploded outward in a burst of black fire, knocking warriors off their feet.
The Bloodmoon alpha released Ronan—not because of the attack, but because Evelyn was losing control again.
Her shadow surged around her like a storm, swirling violently enough to rip leaves from trees.
She fell to her knees, gasping, clutching her chest.
"Evie!" Ronan fought to crawl toward her."Evie, breathe—"
But she wasn't hearing him.
The world narrowed again.
Dark.Darker.Darkest.
The shadows inside her screamed—
CLAIMEDCLAIMEDCLAIMED
And then—
Everything went silent.
Completely.Utterly.Horrifically silent.
The Bloodmoon alpha stepped closer, voice low and cold.
"Shadowborn… choose."
Ronan dragged himself up, blood dripping down his arms, eyes terrified.
"Choose me, Evie," he whispered.
She lifted her head—
Eyes black.Completely.Utterly.Shadowborn.
Both alphas froze.
The shadows rose around her—
Forming not wings this time.
But a throne.
And Evelyn stood slowly, voice echoing with something not entirely human:
"I… choose…"
The forest held its breath.
Ronan held his heart.
The Bloodmoon alpha held his victory.
Evelyn's shadows whipped outward—
Deadly.Decisive.Final.
"I choose… myself."
And the shadows attacked.