Sleep refuses to come.
Even after I return to my room, even after I lock the door, even after I sit on the bed with the moonlight spilling across my skin—
my magic won't calm.
The Shadow King's voice still curls in my ears like frost:
"Your Alpha cannot protect you.
The Shadow King is coming."
I wrap my arms around myself.
The room feels too cold.
The packhouse feels too silent.
Even the moon feels wrong.
I lie down eventually, but sleep drags me under like something heavy pulling me into water.
Dark, black water.
The Dream That Isn't a Dream
I'm in a forest.
Not BlackMoon's forest.
Somewhere older.
Somewhere colder.
The trees are twisted like bones.
The ground is covered in ash.
No moonlight.
No stars.
No life.
Only him.
He appears from the shadows, tall, cloaked in darkness that moves like smoke.
His eyes glow white—bright, empty, terrifying.
The Shadow King.
His presence presses against my skin, my pulse, my bones.
"Come closer," he murmurs.
I step back.
But the shadows reach for me anyway.
He smiles.
His voice curls around my throat like a hand.
"Moonfire Witch…
you were always meant for me."
"I belong to no one," I snap.
He chuckles softly, like I'm a child throwing stones at a mountain.
"You carry my curse.
My power.
My bloodline."
"I am not yours."
"Not yet…"
He steps closer, shadows swirling like serpents around him.
"You felt it tonight.
The awakening.
The burn.
The bond."
Goosebumps rise along my arms.
"You think that wolf can save you?" he whispers. "You think he can hold you? Claim you? Protect you?"
My breath freezes.
A shadowed hand cups my jaw gently, mockingly.
"Aiden Black is powerful," he says softly.
"But I made you.
And I always take back what is mine."
His hand travels down my throat—
—and I jolt awake with a gasp.
Sweat drenches my skin.
My magic trembles like wild electricity.
Then—
A pounding on my door.
A deep voice.
Sharp.
Rough.
"Liyana."
I rush to the door and open it.
Aiden stands there barefoot, shirtless, chest rising and falling like he ran here full speed.
His wolf eyes—bright silver—glow in the dim hallway.
"Are you okay?" he demands.
My lips part, but no sound comes out.
He studies my face.
Sees the pale skin.
Sees the shaking hands.
Sees the terror I can't hide.
His expression shifts instantly—
from anger
to worry
to something deeper.
"A nightmare?" he asks low.
I swallow. "No. Not a nightmare. Him."
Aiden freezes. "The Shadow King?"
My breath breaks. "He—he reached me. In my dreams. He touched me. I saw his eyes—"
Aiden's jaw flexes so hard a vein strains in his neck.
He pushes into my room, shuts the door behind him, then cups my face with both hands.
"Look at me," he whispers fiercely.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No."
"He didn't touch your mark?"
"No."
"He didn't mark you?"
"No."
Aiden exhales shakily, forehead pressing to mine.
"Dammit, Liyana… you should've called me."
"I thought you were sleeping."
"I wasn't."
His voice is raw.
"I felt something… wrong."
The bond pulses warm between us.
Golden heat coils under my wrist.
Silver heat coils under his skin.
Aiden notices it too.
He takes my hand gently and flips it over, exposing the Moonfire mark.
It glows faintly.
His thumb brushes over it.
We both inhale sharply.
The bond reacts instantly—
warmth
heat
static
pulling us
closer
closer—
"Aiden…" I whisper.
His voice drops to a tremble that does NOT sound like the cold CEO at all.
"If I touch you again… I'm not sure I'll be able to stop."
I should step away.
I don't.
Instead, I whisper, "Then don't touch."
But he does.
His hand slides to my waist.
My breath catches.
His wolf growls softly—
not aggressive
not angry
but possessive.
Then he forces himself to stop.
He steps back like it hurts.
"Liyana," he says roughly, "whatever he wants from you… he won't get it."
My heart squeezes painfully. "You don't know what he is."
Aiden steps closer again—slow, deliberate.
"I don't care," he murmurs.
"I will fight him. I will kill him. I will destroy the dark realm itself if I have to."
My eyes widen.
"You don't even know why he wants me."
His jaw tightens. "Tell me then."
My stomach twists. "The Shadow King… created the Moonfire witches."
Aiden goes still.
All emotion drains from his face.
"What?" he whispers.
"My bloodline… my power… the curse—
It all started with him."
Aiden's fists clench.
His breath shakes.
His wolf pulses behind his eyes.
"Then he's not just after you," Aiden says darkly.
"He's claiming ownership."
I nod shakily.
"And that," Aiden growls, stepping even closer,
"is something I will never allow."
Before I can respond—
a high-pitched scream echoes from downstairs.
A second.
A third.
Then a roar so loud the walls shake.
Aiden spins toward the door.
Ethan bursts down the hall shouting:
"Alpha!! Someone breached the inner courtyard—INSIDE the packhouse!"
Aiden's wolf bursts to the surface.
"Stay here," he orders me.
"No," I snap. "I'm coming—"
He whips around, eyes blazing.
"Liyana, if the Shadow King or his creatures are inside—"
"They're here for me," I finish.
Aiden's jaw flexes.
His breath trembles.
His shoulders shake from holding his wolf back.
Then—
He grabs my hand.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight."
Before I can even breathe,
he's pulling me with him down the hall,
past panicking wolves,
past terrified servants,
toward the courtyard where the screams are coming from.
And the moment we reach the balcony overlooking the inner yard—
my heart drops.
Black smoke creeps across the ground, moving like a living creature.
Shadows twist into shapes.
Into bodies.
Into monsters.
A voice echoes through the courtyard, icy and amused:
"Moonfire Witch…
your Alpha brought you closer.
How convenient."
Aiden snarls beside me.
His wolf surges, shaking the balcony.
He steps in front of me slowly, teeth bared.
"Stay behind me."
I whisper back:
"Aiden…
he's here."