The alarm bells tolled through the Council fortress, each clang vibrating in Selene’s bones like a war drum.
Torches flared to life in the corridors, casting shadows that stretched long and monstrous. Shouts rose, boots thundered against stone, the stench of sweat and steel thickening the air.
Selene flexed her wrists. The runes had dimmed, but angry burns still circled her skin like bracelets of fire. Power simmered beneath, raw and unsteady — the silver sparks she had spent her life trying to hide now bursting against her veins. Her wolf snarled for release.
She bared her teeth, a sharp, savage smile tugging at her lips. For the first time in days, she wasn’t bound. She was free.
“Move,” Lucian ordered, voice sharp, cloak sweeping as he took the lead.
Kael bristled, stepping in fron
