The first crack sounds like the sky itself breaking.
A jagged line of golden light runs across the shimmering barrier that surrounds BlackMoon Packhouse. The air hums, vibrating so hard it feels like the ground is breathing beneath our feet.
Wolves flinch.
Some gasp.
Some whimper.
Some stare in frozen horror.
Aiden's hand tightens around mine until I can feel his claws almost breaking skin.
"Liyana," he growls softly, eyes glued to the barrier, "don't let go of me. No matter what happens."
My heart hammers. "I won't."
The crack spreads.
The barrier flickers—
bright
dim
bright again—
like a dying star trying to fight the dark.
Through the tear in the sky, the portal pulses.
A spinning vortex of black and purple energy, swallowing light.
The middle of it is deeper than night—
and then, in that depth,
An eye opens.
White.
Pupil-less.
Ancient.
Not the messenger.
Not a shadow.
Him.
The Shadow King.
Aiden steps in front of me on pure instinct, his body forming a wall of heat and muscle.
His wolf rumbles under his skin, so close to the surface that his nails are already lengthening into claws.
Behind us, wolves drop to their knees, whimpering.
"Is that—"
"The king of shadows?"
"We're dead—"
"Shut up," Kai snaps, but even his voice shakes.
The Shadow King's eye narrows, focusing.
On me.
The air turns icy.
My Moonfire mark burns.
"Moonfire…"
His voice pours through the portal, chilling and intimate.
"You run farther every time. I am tired of chasing you."
Aiden snarls, stepping forward. "You're not welcome here."
The eye shifts, studying him like he's an amusing inconvenience.
"Alpha… You have been annoyingly persistent."
The wind picks up.
Leaves tear from trees.
Small rocks lift off the ground.
My hair whips around my face, stinging my cheeks.
The golden barrier struggles, pulsing frantically.
"Aiden," Ethan shouts from behind us, "if that portal fully breaches, we won't be able to stop him!"
"I know that," Aiden growls.
Kai grips the hilt of his daggers until his knuckles go white. "Maybe we should— I don't know—run? Relocate? Fake our deaths? Play dead? Something?!"
Aiden ignores him.
The Shadow King's eye glows brighter.
"You cannot protect what is mine."
The wind slams into us.
My feet lift an inch off the ground before Aiden yanks me back, wrapping an arm around my waist, anchoring me against his chest.
He digs his claws into the earth, muscles straining, veins standing out along his arms and neck.
"Hold onto me," he grits out.
"I am," I whisper, fisting his shirt.
The wind howls louder.
The barrier screams.
CRACK.
The golden shield fractures even more—
long lines of light spiderwebbing across it.
"Aiden!" Elder Mira cries, voice shaking. "If the barrier breaks, the pack—"
He roars back without turning,
"Get everyone inside! NOW!"
Wolves scramble.
Some drag the wounded.
Some pull frightened pups away.
But most are rooted, frozen, eyes locked on the portal tearing open above us.
The Shadow King's voice deepens.
"You were meant to walk beside me, not hide behind a wolf."
My skin crawls.
"I will never walk beside you," I shout back, the wind stealing half my breath.
"You will," he murmurs.
"Or you will burn trying to deny me."
The barrier flashes one last time.
Then—
It shatters.
The sound is deafening.
Pieces of golden light fly outward like shattered glass made of stars, raining down across the forest, across the packhouse roof, across every wolf.
The shockwave hits us like a hurricane.
Aiden moves faster than thought.
He throws his entire body over mine and slams me to the ground, wrapping his arms around me, curling himself into a cage of muscle, fur, and warmth.
Everything explodes.
Wind.
Light.
Stone.
Magic.
Something sharp slices across Aiden's back; I feel him jerk in pain but he doesn't move away.
He only tightens his hold.
"Don't—" he grits out, voice broken, "—let go—"
"I won't!" I choke, clinging to him.
The pressure around us is suffocating.
It feels like the entire world is being pulled upward toward the portal.
The Shadow King breathes in, like he's inhaling our fear.
"Moonfire… do you feel it? No more barrier. No more walls between us."
My mark burns, so hot I almost black out.
The wind tugs at my body, trying to pry me from Aiden's arms.
He digs his claws deeper into the soil, muscles shaking with the effort to keep me grounded.
"Take me instead!" he roars suddenly.
The wind falters.
Even the portal seems to hesitate.
My heart stops.
Did he just—?
The Shadow King hums, amused.
"You offer yourself?"
Aiden's breath rasps, but his voice is steady.
"Yes."
"No!" I scream, fists twisting in his torn shirt. "Aiden, stop—!"
He presses his forehead against mine—just for a heartbeat, just long enough for me to see the battle in his eyes.
"I won't watch him take you," he whispers harshly. "I'd rather—"
His voice breaks.
The Shadow King laughs.
Not kindly.
Not cruelly.
Like he's genuinely entertained.
"You would sacrifice yourself for her?"
Aiden snarls back,
"I already have."
For once, the Shadow King goes quiet.
The wind lessens.
The pressure on my body softens—just a little.
Then his voice drops into something colder.
"You are loyal, little wolf… but you are not the one I want."
A hand emerges from the rift.
Pale.
Long-fingered.
Runes carved into the skin, glowing softly with dark magic.
Black veins pulse beneath the surface like liquid shadow.
Serene screams.
Wolves scramble back, some dropping fully to the ground in terror.
"That's— That's a real body—" Ethan chokes.
"He's crossing," Kai whispers. "He's actually crossing realms—"
The Shadow King's upper body pushes through the portal.
Not fully.
But more than enough.
His form is tall, draped in a cloak of moving black mist. The edges of his figure blur and reform, like reality itself can't decide if it wants him here.
His face is veiled by shadows—
but his glowing eyes burn through the dark.
Aiden shifts halfway in front of me, claws fully extended now, fangs out, eyes burning silver.
He looks small compared to the ancient power in front of us.
He still doesn't move.
"Don't come closer," Aiden warns.
The Shadow King smiles faintly.
"You think you can stop me?"
"You're not touching her."
"You think she belongs to you?"
Aiden's answer is a snarl ripped from his soul.
"She's my mate."
The words crash over the clearing like a second shockwave.
Everything stops.
Wolves freeze.
The forest falls silent.
Even the wind pauses.
Serene lets out a broken sound, half sob, half scream. She clutches her chest and collapses onto the ground.
Kai goes absolutely still. "He said it. He actually said it. Out loud."
Ethan can't even pretend to breathe.
My heart slams against my ribs so hard it hurts.
Mate.
He said mate.
Out loud.
In front of everyone.
In front of him.
The Shadow King stares at Aiden for a long moment.
Then, slowly—
He laughs.
Not cruel.
Not mocking.
Heavy.
Sad.
"Then you are more foolish than I thought, Alpha."
Aiden's claws dig so deep I hear the earth crack beneath him.
"What do you mean?" he growls.
The Shadow King's glowing eyes shift past him.
To me.
"You call her mate," he says softly.
"But you don't even know what she is."
The words scrape down my spine.
Aiden snarls, "She's Moonfire. She's a witch—"
"She is not just Moonfire."
The air tightens.
I suddenly feel very small.
Very exposed.
Very seen.
The Shadow King lifts his hand, fingers glowing.
My mark burns.
Not just hot—
white-hot.
I gasp, clutching my wrist.
He speaks slowly, with the weight of centuries.
"She is the last heir."
Aiden's breath catches.
"The heir of what?"
The Shadow King's smile darkens.
"Of me."
My lungs forget how to work.
No.
No, no, no.
"You're lying," I whisper. "You're just—playing with my head—"
He takes another step out of the portal, shadow-cloak swirling like liquid night.
"You were born under my curse," he says.
"My power runs in your blood. Your Moonfire is not nature's gift."
A pause.
"It is mine."
I sway, knees weak.
Aiden reaches back blindly, grabbing my arm, grounding me even while staring in horror at the Shadow King.
"Liyana…" he breathes.
I shake my head.
I don't want it to be true.
I don't want any of this to be true.
The Shadow King looks at me with something almost like… pride.
"You are my legacy, little flame."
His voice softens, chillingly gentle.
"My child."
The world drops out from under my feet.
Everything goes silent in my head.
I hear wolves screaming.
I hear someone sob.
I hear Kai mutter "No freaking way" over and over.
But all of it feels far away.
My father.
The monster who cursed my bloodline.
The king who burned witches and twisted power.
The creature who has hunted me across nightmares and worlds—
My father.
I taste bile.
Aiden moves.
He throws himself fully in front of me.
"Don't touch her," he snarls. "I don't care what you say—she is not yours."
The Shadow King tilts his head.
"You claim her as your mate, little wolf, while denying her blood."
A small chuckle.
"You don't even realize—you are trying to steal from a king."
His hand lifts and reaches toward me.
The bond inside me surges, panicked.
Aiden lunges—
but the Shadow King flicks his wrist.
Invisible force slams into Aiden's chest.
He's thrown backward like a ragdoll, crashing against a tree with a sickening crack.
"AIDEN!" I scream.
He slides down, groaning, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
He tries to get up.
Falls to one knee.
Tries again.
His eyes lock onto mine—
wild, desperate, breaking.
"Liyana—don't go—don't—"
The Shadow King's fingers wrap around my wrist.
Cold.
Too cold.
Like being grabbed by winter itself.
My mark explodes with pain.
Magic surges out of me, wild and uncontrolled.
I scream.
It feels like my veins are splitting open, like someone's trying to rip my magic out through my skin.
Aiden roars, fighting to stand, claws tearing into the ground as he drags himself forward inch by inch.
Gamma wolves move to help him, but he shakes them off.
He will reach me or die trying.
The Shadow King pulls.
Reality stretches.
The portal widens, swirling faster, trying to swallow me whole.
Wolves scramble to grab me—but his power blows them back.
Only Aiden keeps moving forward.
On his hands and knees now.
Bleeding.
Shaking.
Eyes locked on me.
"LET HER GO!" he roars, voice raw.
The Shadow King never even looks at him.
His hand tightens.
The wind screams.
The world blurs.
And I—
am being dragged toward the portal by the monster
who is not just my curse—
But my father.