A flicker of fire danced at Alpha Darius’s fingertips. Its golden glow cast shifting shadows against the darkened forest.
He watched the flame, entranced. Yet his thoughts spiraled elsewhere—dragged into the depths of memory, into the haunting tales of his mother’s death.
Above, the Blood Moon loomed, a cruel reminder of his greatest curse. His strength. His instincts. Everything that made him an apex predator—dulled on this night. The beast within him, the force that made him invincible, was shackled by an ancient power he could not fight.
His wolf was asleep.
The fire at his fingertips flickered. Then, it died.
And with it, his consciousness slipped.
---
When he came to, the warmth of his flame was gone—replaced by the chilling sensation of blood soaking through his hands.
Darius
