Kiara's POV
The battlefield is nothing but chaos. Mud, blood, and rain swallow everything. Wolves slam into each other, claws raking, teeth tearing. The air stinks of iron and smoke. My ears ring from the howls, from the clash of steel, from the cries of the dying.
Grey's grip is tight around my waist, dragging me against him as if I am the only thing holding him upright. His chest rises and falls hard, his eyes lit like molten silver. He does not look at the rogues who are bleeding for him. He does not look at Kaine tearing into Xander. His gaze stays fixed on me, and it is terrifying.
"She is mine," he roars again, his voice echoing like thunder. "Kaine is a traitor. Xander is prey. Follow me, or fall."
The rogues hesitate. Their eyes flick between him and Kaine. Their bodies are restless, caught between loyalty and fear. Kaine is laughing even as Xander claws at him. Blood pours down his side, but he does not care. He laughs because he knows the truth. Grey is split in two. His army can see it.
"Look at your king," Kaine howls. His teeth glisten red. "He protects a girl more than his crown. He cannot lead you. He is already broken."
The words cut deeper than claws. I feel Grey's chest tighten behind me. I feel his claws dig into my arm. He wants to deny it. He wants to silence Kaine. But Kaine's words are already out there, and the rogues know it.
Veyra appears through the smoke. Her dark robes cling to her skin, her red eyes gleaming with something close to delight. She does not fight. She only walks closer, her presence enough to still the warriors nearest to her. "The spirit is stirring," she says, her voice soft but carrying. Her gaze settles on me. "You can feel her, can't you, girl?"
My breath sticks in my throat.
"I can feel her," I whisper before I can stop myself.
Grey stiffens. His claws dig harder. "Ignore her," he growls in my ear. "Ignore the witch."
But I cannot. Because Veyra is right. There is something inside me, moving, restless. It scratches at the edges of my skin like it wants to crawl out. My lungs burn. My chest tightens. I clutch at Grey's arm, gasping.
"She's in me," I choke. "I can't stop her."
The world tilts. For a heartbeat, I see her. A woman in the shadows. Silver hair braided down her back, eyes too bright, smile soft and cruel at once. She reaches for me through fire.
"Selene," Grey breathes. His voice cracks, and I know in that second he sees her too.
The bond between us pulls taut, sharper than pain. I scream, falling forward. Light bursts from my skin, silver sparks scattering across the mud. Wolves recoil, covering their eyes. For a moment, the battlefield freezes. Even Xander and Kaine halt mid-strike.
Her voice slips through my lips. It is not mine. It is not even human.
"Enough."
The storm stops. Rain halts in the air. Wolves tremble, forced to their knees by a power that is not mine. My body is weightless, lifted off the ground by something I cannot control.
I am terrified.
Grey stares at me like he has seen a ghost. Maybe he has.
"Selene," he says again, louder this time. His voice is a plea, a wound, a curse.
The light burns brighter. My chest feels like it will split open. I try to scream, but it is her voice that comes out, layered and wrong.
"Grey. Save me."
It shatters him. I see it. His knees nearly buckle. His claws shake. His eyes lose all their fury and fill with something worse. Hope.
Kaine spits blood and laughs. "You see. She is not Kiara. She is a corpse walking in another skin."
The rogues murmur, restless. Some step back from Grey. Some look toward Kaine with hungry eyes. The army is splitting in half before my eyes.
Xander's wolf tears through his skin, massive and golden. He charges toward me, his voice ripping through the air. "She belongs to Crescent Moon. She is mine!"
The light around me falters at his words, pulled by something I do not understand. The bond I share with him is weaker than Grey's, but it is still there, tugging me, reminding me of the promise I never wanted.
"No," I whisper, forcing my own voice through the fire. My body shakes. My skin burns. "I am not Selene. I am not yours."
The light shatters. I crash into the mud, choking on the taste of earth and blood. My arms shake too hard to push myself up.
Grey is there in a heartbeat. He kneels in the mud, his claws trembling where they hover over my skin. His face is caught between fury and desperation. "Kiara. Look at me. You are not her. You are mine."
I want to believe him. I want to believe I am still me. But my chest still hums with her voice. I feel her rage. Her grief. Her love for him. And it is tearing me apart.
Before I can answer, Kaine moves. His wolf lunges, claws slashing for Grey's throat. Grey twists, meeting him in the air. They crash into the ground, a blur of blood and teeth.
Xander does not hesitate. He barrels toward me, mud spraying under his paws. His hand closes around my arm and yanks me up. His grip is bruising, his golden eyes burning.
"You are coming with me," he snarls.
"No." I struggle, but my body is too weak. "I am not yours."
His grip tightens. His voice is sharp with anger. "You are my Luna. You are Crescent Moon's future. I will not let him keep you."
The battlefield erupts again as rogues and Crescent Moon warriors clash, but all I hear is Grey's roar. He throws Kaine into the mud and turns on us. His voice shakes the ground. "Touch her again, and I will tear you apart."
Xander bares his teeth. "Try me."
The two of them collide, claws raking, jaws snapping. They are monsters, bigger and stronger than anything I have ever seen. They are not fighting for a kingdom. They are not fighting for their packs. They are fighting for me.
And I do not want to be theirs.
The mud soaks through my dress as I crawl back, trying to escape the pull of both bonds. My body aches, my skin burns, my chest still humming with Selene's presence. She whispers in the back of my mind, her voice soft and cruel.
Let me take it from you. Let me fight.
"No," I whisper to myself. My hands shake. My breath comes fast. "I will not give you control."
But the war around me is tearing everything apart. Rogues are killing rogues. Crescent Moon warriors are spilling into the mud. Kaine is dragging himself back to his feet, his body broken but his eyes wild with hunger.
Veyra watches from the edge, her lips curved in a smile that makes my stomach twist. "The spirit will win," she murmurs, her voice cutting through the chaos. "And when she does, none of them will matter. Not Grey. Not Xander. Not you."
The words hit harder than claws.
Because deep inside, I know she might be right.
If I do not find a way to silence Selene, if I do not find a way to break free from both of them, I will not survive this war.
And worse, I will not survive myself.