“You don't have to do this, Eira,” Kael’s voice cracked through the tension in the air. His gaze was intense, his usually stoic features filled with raw emotion. “We can find another way.”
I didn’t look at him. Instead, I focused on the horizon, where the sun was beginning to set behind the ruins of the pack’s shattered territory. The battle was over, but its aftermath had left its mark on all of us.
“I've already made my choice,” I said, my voice steady but heavy with the weight of everything I had lost. "You failed to protect them. Now I must protect what’s left.”
The twins stood beside me, their hands held tightly together. They, too, had changed. My children—once innocent and untouched by the world's darkness—were now warriors. They understood the consequences of their existence, th
