The Temple's announcement hangs in the air like a blade pressed against my throat.
"Only one will walk out alive."
Aiden freezes.
His breaths turn sharp, violent, almost feral.
His grip on my arms tightens until I can feel the tremble in his fingers—
not strength.
Fear.
"Aiden…" I whisper.
He lifts his head slowly, eyes glowing silver-white, wolf ready to tear the world apart.
"No," he breathes.
"NO. Absolutely not."
"Aiden—"
"I SAID NO!"
His voice cracks with a pain so deep it shakes the air.
Ethan pulls Kai behind a wall.
Kai whispers, "He's losing it…"
Aiden's voice drops to a growl.
"No one dies. Not you. Not me. Not this bond. NOT TODAY."
I step closer and place my hands on his cheeks.
He jerks—like my touch is the only thing holding him together.
"Aiden, listen—"
"Moonlight…"
His forehead drops to mine.
His voice is barely human.
"I can't— I won't— watch you die."
"And I won't watch you die!" I shoot back.
"We're not sacrificing one for the other!"
"Then how—"
His voice breaks.
"How do we survive something made to end us?"
"I don't know."
My voice shakes.
"But I know we survive together."
He looks at me like that is the first breath he's taken in hours.
Then he pulls me into his arms—
so tight I feel the thundering panic in his heart.
"Don't let go," he whispers.
"I won't."
THE CLOCK STARTS TICKING
A soft hum ripples through the Temple walls.
A countdown.
One hour.
Aiden pulls away just enough to look at me—
hands on my jaw, eyes burning.
"We run."
"What?"
"We run. We get out. We don't do the trial."
I swallow.
"We can't escape."
"WE TRY!"
His voice cracks, wolf surging.
"We fight the Temple, we blast the door, we—"
"It won't open."
"We MAKE it open!"
He drags me toward the exit.
The door slams shut immediately.
Aiden roars and slams his shoulder into the stone.
Nothing.
He tries again.
Blood smears the wall.
"Aiden—STOP!"
He ignores me.
He shifts halfway—
claws tearing at the stone, fangs bared, wolf pushing to save me.
"Aiden—PLEASE—"
He slams into the door again—
harder—
harder—
HARDER—
The bond snaps painfully in my chest.
I scream, grabbing him.
"AIDEN, IT'S KILLING ME—STOP!"
He freezes instantly.
Then collapses to his knees.
His hands cover his face as a raw sob tears from him.
"Liyana… I'm hurting you… I'm hurting you—"
"No," I whisper, pulling him into my arms.
"It's the bond. It's not you. It's the power inside me."
He shakes in my arms like a storm breaking.
"I can't lose you. I can't—"
"You won't."
He lifts his head, eyes red.
"You don't know that."
I cup his face.
"Aiden… look at me."
He leans in, forehead against mine.
"I love you."
His voice is ragged.
I stop breathing.
"What?"
He pulls back just enough to see my face.
"I love you," he repeats, voice shaking like he's terrified saying it will kill him.
"I've been trying not to—
because I didn't want my love to become your death sentence—
but I failed. I love you."
My heart shatters in the most beautiful way.
I touch his lips with trembling fingers.
"Aiden…"
He closes his eyes, tears slipping out.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know it makes everything worse. I know—"
"I love you too."
His breath catches.
Everything inside him stills.
"Say it again," he whispers.
"I love you."
He pulls me into a kiss so slow, so desperate, so broken that the bond flares painfully—
like it's tying a knot tighter around our souls.
His hands grip my back.
My fingers twist into his hair.
Silver and black sparks dance around our bodies—
Moonfire and Shadow reacting to our bond.
When he finally pulls away, his forehead presses against mine.
"We live," he whispers fiercely.
"You hear me?
We live.
Together."
I nod, tears falling.
"Yes."
THE SHADOW RETURNS
The chamber grows colder.
A wind blows through the room.
A whisper curls through the air.
"Love makes you fragile."
Aiden snaps up, ready to fight.
"SHOW YOURSELF!"
The shadows on the floor ripple—
and rise into a tall, hooded form.
Not the full Shadow King.
A projection.
He smiles at Aiden.
"You care too much."
Aiden snarls.
"I'll rip your shadow apart."
"You cannot kill a god with emotion."
"I can try."
The Shadow King shifts his gaze to me.
"The final trial will be simple."
Aiden growls, stepping in front of me.
"No. No trials. No choices. We're done."
"One of you dies," the Shadow King says softly.
"And the survivor becomes mine."
Aiden lunges.
I grab him back.
"Aiden, stop—"
He's shaking so hard I can barely hold him.
But the Shadow King continues:
"You hold two powers you cannot contain."
His voice is soft.
Predictable.
Killing.
"When the trial begins… you kill the wolf."
Aiden freezes.
His face drains of color.
"What…?"
"No…" I whisper.
"No—no—NO—"
"The powers inside you will demand release."
He points at Aiden.
"He is the closest vessel."
Aiden stumbles backward like he's been stabbed.
I grab him.
"Aiden—WAIT—NO—"
He looks at me with horror.
"Liyana…"
His voice breaks.
"I'm going to DIE because of you."
My knees buckle.
"No—NO—please—don't say that—Aiden—DON'T—"
He cups my face with shaking hands.
"Moonlight…"
His voice is filled with a pain I've never heard.
"You might kill me. Without meaning to."
I choke on a sob.
"I would NEVER—"
"I know," he whispers.
"But your power…
won't care."
The Shadow King steps closer.
"At nightfall… one of you will die."
His smile curves.
"And I wonder which ending she fears more—
watching her wolf die…
or killing him herself?"
Aiden wraps me in his arms—
protective
desperate
breaking.
"Get out," he snarls.
The Shadow King fades.
And silence crashes into us.
ONE LAST HOUR
We sit together on the floor—
my head against Aiden's chest,
his hand tangled in my hair,
both of us shaking.
The bond pulses weakly—
but steady enough to hold.
"Aiden," I whisper.
"Yes?"
"I'm scared."
"Me too."
"Will we survive?"
He swallows.
"I don't know."
I look up at him.
He looks down at me.
And for a moment—
we are just two broken souls holding onto each other before the storm.
He brushes my lips with his thumb.
"If I die…"
His voice cracks.
"I want my last breath to be yours."
A sob escapes me.
"Aiden—don't—please—"
He pulls me into a kiss—
Slow.
Soft.
Forever.
The kind of kiss that asks the universe for mercy.
The kind that makes promises it knows it can't keep.
When he pulls away, his lips tremble.
"I love you," he whispers.
"And I'm not letting go."
I press my forehead to his.
"Then neither am I."
But the Temple hums—
counting down.
60 minutes.
45.
30.
Aiden holds me the entire time, whispering:
"Stay with me…"
"Don't break…"
"I'm right here…"
And when the final bell echoes—
the chamber fills with blinding white and black light.
The final trial begins.
The floor cracks.
The bond screams.
Aiden's grip slips—
I scream his name—
And the world explodes.