The world is collapsing.
Chunks of the observatory rain down like judgment from the sky as I fight Darius on the crumbling ridge. Stone and steel groan and shatter around us. Flames lick at broken beams. But none of it compares to the agony ripping through the mate bond.
Sienna is screaming in terror for herself and our son.
I feel the pup’s spark — that bright, defiant little light I whisper to this morning — flickering dangerously low. He is fighting so hard to protect his mother, but he is too small. Too early.
Darius laughs, dodging my claws with infuriating grace. “Still clinging to sentimentality, Alpha? Your mate is bleeding out her strength. Your child is tearing her apart from the inside. Give him to me, and I will save them both.”
“Never,” I snarl, my voice distorted into s
