Chapter 13
888 Words
The night split open with the first clash of wolves.
The northern border burned with torchlight as Darius’s pack collided with Lucien’s rogues, a wall of fur and teeth under the swollen moon. The forest shook with snarls, screams, and the sound of claws tearing through flesh.
Darius was everywhere at once—golden fur a streak of motion as he tore through the enemy line. His wolf form was massive, more primal than any wolf on the field, his jaws closing around the throat of the first rogue that dared to lunge for him. Blood sprayed hot across the leaves, and the pack roared in answer.
Seraphina fought at his side, her body humming with magic that surged to the surface at last. Her blades sang as she cut through rogue after rogue, the silver catching the moonlight.
When one of Lucien’s enforcers tried to flank them, Seraphina flung out her free hand and snarled a word in the old tongue. The earth itself rose in answer, thick roots exploding from the ground to snare the attacker mid-leap.
Gasps rang out from nearby pack wolves who had never seen her magic unleashed. Darius didn’t even glance back—he’d known she had this kind of power all along.
“More incoming!” a beta shouted as a second wave of rogues poured from the tree line.
Darius shifted mid-leap, landing on two feet, his chest heaving. He grabbed an axe from his back and brought it down in a clean, brutal arc that sent one rogue sprawling.
“Hold the line!” he bellowed, his Alpha voice cutting through the chaos. “Drive them back!”
The pack surged forward with renewed ferocity.
Seraphina’s blades danced, her movements precise and almost too fast to follow. Sweat and blood streaked her face, but her focus was absolute. Every time a wolf came too close to breaching the line, she was there, steel flashing, magic sparking like lightning.
Then she saw him.
Lucien.
He stood just beyond the tree line, watching. Calm. Smiling.
Their eyes met across the field, and her blood turned to ice.
Darius followed her gaze, and his snarl rolled through the clearing like thunder. “Lucien!”
His brother stepped forward at last, shedding his cloak as he shifted. His wolf form was even bigger than before, black fur rippling, scars glinting pale under the moon.
“Fall back!” Rowan shouted. “Let the Alpha through!”
The pack parted, giving Darius a clear path.
Seraphina’s stomach twisted, but she didn’t stop him. This was blood against blood—Alpha against Alpha.
Darius shifted again, and the two wolves met in the center of the battlefield with a sound like thunder, jaws locking, claws tearing.
It was brutal and fast—too fast. Darius drove Lucien back with sheer power, his golden fur flashing as he slammed him into the earth.
But Lucien wasn’t done. He rolled, kicking Darius off, and went for Seraphina.
She met him head-on.
The first swipe of his claws tore across her shoulder, hot pain searing through her, but she didn’t fall. She drove her blade up under his guard, slicing deep into his side.
Lucien howled, staggering back—just in time for Darius to slam into him again, pinning him to the ground.
“Call them off!” Darius snarled through his teeth. “Call them back now!”
Lucien laughed, even with his brother’s claws at his throat.
“You think this ends tonight?” he rasped. “Kaelen is already gone—taken beyond your borders. You’ll never reach him before the eclipse.”
Seraphina froze, blood running cold.
“What eclipse?” she demanded.
Lucien’s amber eyes gleamed with dark triumph. “The Black Moon. When the veil thins, when the bond between worlds breaks. That’s when he becomes mine.”
Darius’s growl turned feral, but Lucien wrenched free before he could finish him.
A sharp whistle cut through the night, and as if on command, the rogues began retreating into the trees.
“No!” Darius roared, shifting back as he lunged after his brother, but Lucien was already gone—swallowed by the forest.
Silence fell, broken only by the ragged panting of wolves and the groans of the wounded.
Seraphina staggered, clutching her bleeding shoulder. Darius was at her side in seconds, catching her before she could collapse.
“You’re hurt,” he growled, fury and fear warring in his eyes.
“It’s nothing,” she said through clenched teeth. “But we don’t have much time, Darius. He’s planning something with the eclipse.”
He pressed his forehead to hers, his chest heaving. “Then we find him before the Black Moon. Whatever it takes.”
Around them, the pack slowly gathered, battered but alive.
“We hold the border,” Rowan said grimly. “But this isn’t over.”
Darius rose to his full height, still holding Seraphina’s hand, his golden eyes burning. “No,” he said, voice like iron. “This is just the beginning.”
Seraphina squeezed his fingers, her gaze locked on the dark forest where Lucien had vanished. For the first time since Kaelen was taken, she felt something other than fear.
Hope.
Because this time, they weren’t running.
They were going to war.
- Writer
