The chamber plunged into darkness so complete it felt like the world had been swallowed whole. The blue torches extinguished in a single breath, leaving only the sound of our own heartbeats echoing off the stone walls.
Jayden grabbed me instantly, pulling me and Jax behind him. Hayden and Kayden shifted, their wolves bristling, teeth bared, growls vibrating through the floor.
Jonah’s massive wolf stepped forward, positioning himself between the creature and the rest of us. My mother shifted too, her silver wolf glowing faintly even in the suffocating dark.
Selena pressed forward, trembling. He is here.
A shape formed in the darkness.
Not a silhouette.
Not a shadow.
A presence.
Ancient.
Cold.
Wrong.
The air thickened, pressing against our lungs. The stone walls groaned. The floor
