Zack’s POV
The cavern’s heart had collapsed into a jagged wound in the mountain, vomiting smoke, shards of obsidian, and tongues of unstable magic that shimmered like torn auroras. Every breath scraped my lungs with ash. My boots crunched over blackened stone as I hauled myself upright, body aching from the collapse.
The rift pulsed like a raw vein in reality—lightning bleeding into the world in jagged strikes, scarring the cavern walls. Around it writhed Kieran’s final spite: malformed Lycans, their flesh warped, fur patchy, eyes glowing an unnatural violet. They twitched and snapped, driven by nothing but chaos.
I spat blood, rolled my shoulders, and called Cael, my wolf, to the surface. His fury surged through me, silver light scorching along my arms. My claws split through skin. My
