The night held its breath.
Killian’s body was a wall of fury in front of her, his golden eyes blazing, claws out and ready. Aria could feel the Alpha bond thrumming through her chest, urging her to stay behind him, stay safe — but her wolf was restless, prowling, whispering that she was the reason this enemy had come.
The Shadow Alpha tilted its head, the black glow of its eyes reflecting like oil. “I expected more of you,” it said in that strange double-voice, male and female overlapping, making Aria’s skin crawl. “The last key-bearer was braver.”
“What do you want?” Killian snarled.
The Shadow Alpha laughed, the sound wrong — too human, too wolf, too ancient all at once. “I think you already know. Give us the girl. Do it willingly, and we will spare your pack when the moon bleeds.”
