LILA’S POV
The ground didn’t just shake.
It breathed.
A deep, uneven pulse rolled through the forest like something enormous had turned over in its sleep beneath the earth.
And everything in me went cold.
The corrupted mates all turned at once.
Not because they were ordered to.
Not because I controlled them.
Because whatever that was…
called to them.
Nathan tightened his grip on my hand.
“What is that?” he whispered.
I didn’t answer immediately.
Because I didn’t know.
And for the first time since this entire nightmare began…
That terrified me more than anything Ryker had ever done.
The second pulse hit.
Harder.
Closer.
The trees swayed even though there was no wind.
The ground cracked in thin, spider-like lines beneath our feet.
Ethan stepped forward, eyes scanning the
