Shadows aren't supposed to have weight.
But the ones in the courtyard do.
They move like smoke—but hit the ground like stone.
Tall, twisted, with claws made of dark mist and eyes like hollow white holes.
Not wolves.
Not humans.
Not ghosts.
Something worse.
Aiden's wolf surges so strong the balcony railing vibrates. His hands slam down on the stone, claws half-formed.
Below, pack members are fighting.
Some in wolf form, some half-shifted, some trying to shield the younger wolves behind them.
Every time they slash at the shadow creatures—
Their claws pass through.
The shadows laugh.
Actually laugh.
The sound is wrong. Cold. Echoing.
Ethan yells up from the yard, "Alpha! They're not solid!"
Kai stabs one straight through the chest with a silver dagger. It sinks in—
Then falls through.
The shadow dissolves, reforms, and knocks him backward.
"They're using magic," I whisper.
No ordinary rogue could get inside the inner courtyard.
No ordinary enemy could walk through wolf guards and barriers.
This is the Shadow King's work.
Right on our doorstep.
Right in front of me.
Right inside Aiden's home.
"Stay here," Aiden snarls.
I grab his arm. "If you jump into that without my magic, you'll die."
He stares at me, eyes burning silver. "If I don't jump into that, my pack will die."
The bond pulses hot between us.
He closes his eyes for half a second—just one.
When he opens them, his voice is quieter. Rough. Honest.
"I'm asking you… as your Alpha. Stay where it's safe."
"I'm asking you… as the witch they're hunting," I shoot back, "trust me."
We stare at each other over a battlefield of wolves and shadows.
Something inside both of us bends.
Not breaks.
Not snaps.
Just… shifts.
Then Aiden growls, "Fine. But you stay beside me. No matter what happens. Understood?"
I nod once.
His hand finds my wrist, squeezing it hard enough to ground himself.
For one insane moment, I see the image we're about to be:
The Alpha King and the cursed witch
jumping into a war
together.
"Ready?" he asks.
"No," I say. "Go anyway."
He almost smiles.
Then he shifts.
Bones crack, skin tears, muscles ripple.
His body explodes outward into a massive black wolf with glowing silver eyes and fangs like polished knives.
He's bigger than any wolf in the courtyard.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Rage burning off him like heat.
He scoops me onto his back without warning.
"W–wait—!"
Too late.
He leaps.
We fall.
The air tears past my face as we drop from the balcony. My stomach flips. My fingers clutch instinctively at his fur.
He lands hard in the center of the courtyard.
The earth cracks under his weight.
Every head turns.
Every wolf freezes.
Every shadow creature flickers toward us.
The Alpha has arrived.
And he did not come alone.
Moonfire vs Shadows
The shadows hiss, bodies twisting toward us like snakes of smoke.
One of them stretches taller, head tilting.
"Ah…"
The voice drips through the yard, echoing from nowhere and everywhere.
"Here you are."
Not the creature's voice.
His voice.
The Shadow King.
Using them as his mouth.
Aiden's wolf snarls, fur bristling.
He lowers his body so I can slide off.
I stand beside him, my hand against his shoulder, feeling his muscles coil like a bow. The bond pulses between us like a shared heartbeat.
"Come out," I say, voice steady even though my magic is already burning under my skin.
The shadows ripple.
"You are brave," the voice purrs through three of the creatures at once. "Brave… or foolish, little witch."
Wolves circle around us, forming a loose wall.
Some are bleeding.
Some shaking.
Some growling in fear.
But all of them are looking at me.
Not with respect.
Not yet.
With questions.
And fear.
Aiden's wolf steps slightly in front of me.
Protective. Instinctive.
"I warned you," his voice echoes in my head through the bond.
"Stay close."
I lift my hand instead.
Moonfire trembles beneath my skin.
"Liyana," Aiden's wolf voice warns again.
I ignore him.
For once, I'm not running.
I'm done hiding.
My magic spills from my palm in a soft golden light, swirling lazily through my fingers like smoke made of sunlight.
The nearest shadow creature lunges.
I flick my wrist.
Moonfire shoots forward—
not as a blast this time—
as a circle.
It hits the ground around us and spreads, forming a burning ring.
White-gold flame rises high.
The shadows scream when they touch it.
They can't pass through.
The wolves inside the circle gasp.
"What is that?"
"Fire that doesn't burn us?"
"Is she—?"
Ethan reaches out slowly, hand shaking. He touches the flame.
It doesn't hurt him.
His eyes widen. "It's only burning them."
Aiden stares at me, his wolf eyes wild.
"Your magic… protects the pack."
I don't answer.
Because my arms are shaking.
This is the most power I've used in years.
The Moonfire is loving it.
Heat fills my veins, my chest, my vision.
And beyond the flames—
The Shadow King laughs.
"Look at you," his voice purrs.
"Already acting like a queen."
The biggest shadow of all slowly rises, towering over the wall of Moonfire.
Its form is empty, long, thin, with those same hollow white eyes.
"Do you really think…"
the voice whispers,
"…you can hide behind a wolf forever?"
The shadow stretches an arm made of darkness toward the ring of flame.
The fire flares.
The shadow hisses.
My mark burns.
I grit my teeth.
"You can't pass," I say.
"Not yet," the Shadow King replies.
"Your power is incomplete. Your bond is newborn. Your Alpha is still trying to decide if he loves you or destroys you."
A murmur goes through the wolves.
My throat tightens.
Aiden's fur bristles, his lips pulling back from his teeth. He snarls so loud the stone trembles.
He takes a step forward, fur nearly touching the flames.
"Quiet," he growls.
The shadow tilts its head.
"You think you can command me, little wolf?"
"Touch her," Aiden snarls, "and I will end you."
Shadows shake with laughter.
"You can't even end your own fear."
My magic spikes.
Flame rises with it, higher, brighter.
The Shadow King's attention returns to me.
"Moonfire girl," he whispers.
"You feel it, don't you? The way the bond feeds you. The way his wolf anchors you. The way his heart trembles every time you're in danger."
My face heats.
The bond pulses hard—
once.
Twice.
I don't look at Aiden.
I can't.
I know he hears every word.
Shadow King smiles through the hollow eyes.
"Break the bond," he says softly, almost kindly,
"and I will spare his pack."
My heart stops.
"If you come to me willingly," he continues,
"BlackMoon will live. Your Alpha won't die screaming. His precious white moonlight will keep her soft little heart."
Serene flinches where she stands near the back.
I feel her eyes on me.
On Aiden.
On the ring of fire.
The wolves look at each other, shaking.
If I go… they live.
If I stay… war.
I swallow hard. "And if I refuse?"
The shadows lean closer, mouth stretching wrong.
"Then I will kill them slowly. One by one. While you watch."
The world tilts.
My hand trembles.
I feel Aiden's wolf press closer, fur brushing my leg.
He presses his massive head against my hand.
His message is clear:
Don't.
Don't go.
Don't believe him.
The bond hums, louder, stronger.
His fear.
My fear.
Our anger.
"Why me?" I demand, voice shaking but loud. "Why my bloodline? Why my magic? Why Moonfire?"
The Shadow King chuckles.
"Because," he says simply,
"out of all the witches I created…
you are the only one who still burns."
Ice crawls up my spine.
"So choose, Moonfire," he whispers.
"Come willingly… or watch them fall."
The flames waver.
Not because the magic is weak.
Because my will is shaking.
Aiden steps in front of me fully now, huge back blocking my view.
He turns his massive head slightly, one silver eye on me.
"Don't even think about it," his voice rumbles in my mind through the bond.
"I will never let you go to him."
"This is your pack," I whisper back, throat tight. "Your home. Your people—"
"They are my responsibility," he growls.
"You are my bond."
The word slams into me.
My chest aches.
His gaze burns into mine.
"I am not giving you up," he says,
"even if I have to fight the dark realm itself."
The Shadow King hums softly.
"So the wolf has chosen."
The shadows pull back a little.
"Very well. We will play your way."
The creatures multiply suddenly, forming new shapes—
taller, sharper, faster.
A few slam themselves into the Moonfire ring.
The flames explode higher, eating them, but with every strike—
I feel myself weakening.
My knees wobble.
My vision blurs at the edges.
I can't hold this forever.
"Aiden," I gasp. "I can't—"
His wolf presses closer, letting me grab onto his fur with my free hand.
"Use it," his voice echoes in my head.
"Use the bond. Take what you need."
"I don't know how—"
"Yes, you do."
Because instinctively…
I do.
I close my eyes.
I reach through the bond.
Heat floods into me like a wave—
not magic, not flame.
Strength.
His.
Power.
Will.
Rage.
Alpha dominance.
It rushes into my body, my veins, my mark.
The Moonfire answers.
The ring explodes outward—not just a circle now, but spears of gold rushing out like lightning.
They stab through the shadows, piercing them, burning them from inside.
One by one, the dark creatures shriek and dissolve into nothing.
The courtyard shakes.
Minutes—
or seconds—
later…
Silence.
No shadows.
No dark smoke.
Only scorched stone and the smell of ash.
My vision swims.
The flames vanish.
My knees buckle.
I would have hit the ground—
But Aiden shifts halfway in a rush of cracking bone and catches me in his arms.
"Liyana!" he snaps.
My head lolls against his chest.
I can feel his heart racing.
His hands shake.
"I'm… fine," I mumble. "Just… tired."
He lets out a long breath—half relief, half fury.
The pack stares.
At him.
At me.
At the way he's holding me like I'm the last real thing in the world.
Elder Mira steps forward slowly, eyes wide.
"You…" she whispers. "You used the Alpha's power through a bond. Witches don't do that. Witches steal. You… shared."
Aiden straightens, still holding me against him.
His voice is cold steel.
"She's not just a witch," he says.
"She's mine."
And somewhere, far away, in a realm made of shadows—
I know the Shadow King is smiling.
Because tonight proved something he never had before:
The Moonfire Witch and the Alpha King together
are powerful enough to burn his monsters—
But only if they stay bound.
And that bond…
is exactly what he plans to break.