The Council Hall plunges into pitch-black darkness.
Candles die.
Torches hiss out.
Cold wind slashes across the room as though winter itself just stepped in.
Wolves gasp.
Elders tremble.
Some fall to their knees instinctively, whimpering.
Even the strongest warriors shift halfway, claws scraping the floor.
Aiden pulls me behind him so fast my breath catches.
His back is warm, solid, shaking with fury and instinct.
"Aiden—" I whisper.
"Stay behind me," he growls, voice vibrating with his wolf.
The darkness thickens, swallowing the hall whole.
And then…
A voice.
A voice so cold
so ancient
so powerful
that the air itself cracks around it.
"Moonfire Witch."
My heart stutters.
He is here.
Not a messenger.
Not a shadow.
Him.
A projection—
but still him.
Aiden's snarl shakes the room.
"SHOW YOURSELF!"
His voice echoes like thunder.
The darkness twists, gathers, condenses…
And a figure slowly forms at the far end of the hall.
Not flesh.
Not shadow.
Something in between.
Tall. Cloaked.
White glowing eyes.
A face veiled in dark mist.
The Shadow King.
Even his projection radiates power that feels like a storm pressing on my skin.
Elders drop to the ground in terror.
Kai curses under his breath.
Ethan pulls out silver weapons, hands shaking.
Serene sobs quietly in the corner.
But the Shadow King only has eyes for me.
Even through the projection—
I feel his gaze like fingers closing around my throat.
Aiden steps forward, blocking him completely.
"Look anywhere but at her," he growls.
The Shadow King's lips curl.
"Alpha King of BlackMoon."
His voice is layered—like a thousand voices speaking through one.
Aiden bares his teeth.
"You dare enter my territory?"
"You call this territory?"
The Shadow King laughs softly.
"Wolves and stones? A fragile barrier fueled by a girl who does not belong to you?"
Aiden steps forward again.
"I don't care who you are. You come near her again, I will end—"
"You will end nothing."
The hall shakes.
Shadows creep across the walls like black veins.
A few wolves scream when the darkness touches their skin—they drop instantly as if frozen from the inside.
Aiden snarls, lunging forward to attack—
The darkness slams into him like a wall.
He's thrown backward several feet.
"Aiden!" I cry.
He slides across the floor but pushes himself up immediately, blood dripping from his lip.
His wolf is barely contained.
The Shadow King lifts his head slightly—almost amused.
"You fight well, Alpha."
A pause.
"But you fight the wrong battle."
My chest tightens painfully.
"Why are you here?" I force out.
His glowing eyes shift toward me.
Aiden immediately blocks me again, breathing hard, voice ragged with fury.
"DON'T SPEAK TO HIM."
The Shadow King chuckles.
"And that is why I am here."
His gaze drifts almost lovingly to me.
"Your bond is awakening too quickly."
A pause.
"Too strongly."
My breath catches.
Aiden stiffens.
"What do you mean?" Aiden snarls.
The Shadow King tilts his head.
"The Moonfire bond was never meant for wolves."
His eyes glow brighter.
"If she continues to draw from your power… she will break."
My heart stops.
Aiden goes completely still.
"What?" he growls quietly.
The Shadow King speaks slowly, as if savoring each word.
"Her body is not built for wolf strength. She is a witch. Her veins are woven with flame, not fur."
He steps closer, his form glitching like smoke.
"Every time she touches your bond… she takes your power.
And every time she takes your power… it burns her from within."
The hall gasps.
Aiden turns to me, eyes wide.
"Liyana…?"
"I—I didn't feel—"
But the truth hits like ice.
I DID feel it.
The shaking.
The heat.
The way my body trembled after using magic.
The Shadow King continues.
"If the bond strengthens, witch will become wolf… and then neither."
"What does that mean?" Aiden snarls.
"It means she will die."
I inhale sharply.
Aiden's wolf explodes.
He shifts partially, claws and fangs emerging, eyes glowing silver with panic and rage.
"YOU LIE!"
The Shadow King laughs, the sound cracking through the hall like glass shattering.
"Do you want proof?"
He lifts his hand.
Dark shadows snake across the floor—heading straight toward me.
Aiden lunges in front of me—
The shadows slam into his chest, throwing him back again.
"AIDEN!"
Kai rushes to him, but Aiden shoves him away, eyes locked on me.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not of death.
Not of war.
Fear of losing me.
The shadows reach my feet.
The moment they touch—
my Moonfire mark burns so violently I scream.
A blinding white-hot pain shoots up my arm.
I collapse to my knees.
Magic explodes under my skin.
White sparks crackle through my veins.
"LIYANA!" Aiden roars, shifting fully.
He charges toward me—
The Shadow King flicks his wrist.
Darkness binds Aiden mid-air, trapping him like chains of smoke.
His wolf thrashes, claws tearing at the shadow-bindings, eyes wild with terror.
He can't reach me.
I can't breathe.
The pain consumes me, burning, suffocating.
The mark glows bright gold—
too bright—
The Shadow King whispers:
"See? She is breaking."
My scream tears through the hall.
Magic bursts out of me in a violent explosion, lighting the entire room in white-gold fire.
Elders shield their faces.
Wolves fall to the ground.
Serene cries out.
Kai and Ethan drag others away.
Aiden roars, pure agony in his voice.
"LIYANA—FIGHT IT! COME TO ME!"
The fire spirals out of me like a storm—
And suddenly—
I am standing.
Not in the hall.
Not anywhere real.
A dark void.
A sea of shadows.
A glowing moon above.
And a tall figure standing behind me, voice touching my ear.
"Come to me, Moonfire.
Let me take the curse away."
I spin—
The Shadow King is behind me.
Closer than ever.
And for the first time—
I see his real face.
Pale. Beautiful. Ancient.
Eyes white as death.
A smile carved from sorrow and hunger.
He reaches for my cheek, soft and slow.
"The bond is killing you.
Let me free you from him."
My heart pounds.
He's right.
The pain…
The burning…
The bond pulling too hard…
It will break me.
But something else pulls too—
Something warm.
Strong.
Wild.
Aiden's voice.
Faint, but real.
"Liyana…
come back to me."
The bond tugs at my heart, at my magic, at my soul.
The Shadow King holds out his hand.
"Choose me."
Aiden's voice trembles with pain.
"Choose us."
My chest explodes with heat.
Magic.
Love.
Fear.
Bond.
Destiny.
And I scream—
A blade of Moonfire erupts from my hand, slicing through the void.
The Shadow King recoils, his white eyes widening slightly.
The void shatters.
The hall returns.
The fire fades.
And I collapse straight into Aiden's arms.
He catches me before I hit the ground, shaking violently.
"Liyana—Liyana, open your eyes—dammit—please—"
His voice cracks.
His wolf howls.
Wolves stare in shock.
The Shadow King's projection flickers, eyes glowing brighter as he fades.
"The bond weakens her, Alpha.
Break it… or lose her."
Then he vanishes.
Leaving silence.
Terror.
And Aiden holding me like his entire world is falling apart.