Lira Kane's heart hammered
as the fog swirled on the cliffs, the sea roaring below. The new shadow
creature loomed, its red eyes brighter, bigger than the last, claws glinting
like steel. Zane Blackwood stood in front of her, blood dripping from his torn
shoulder and back, his growl low and fierce. Mira clung to Lira's side, her
sobs muffled, but Lira's curse burned in her chest, screaming one truth: this
thing wanted her. The cloaked figure's words—"The eclipse comes"—echoed in her
head, and her latest vision, her mother's face and a bloody symbol, made her
skin crawl.
"Get Mira back!" Zane
barked, his gold eyes locked on the creature. His body was a bloody mess, but
he stood tall, claws extended, alpha strength holding him up. Lira hated how
his defiance stirred her, how his blood on her hands felt like a chain.
"No way I'm leaving you,"
Lira snapped, her voice sharp despite the pain ripping through her arm, leg,
and back. Her magic flickered, weak from blood loss, but she gripped a jagged
rock, ready to fight. "You're half-dead, Blackwood."
His eyes flicked to her, a
flash of something—respect, maybe, or annoyance. "Stubborn witch," he muttered,
almost a smirk. "Stay close, or you're done."
Mira whimpered, and Lira
shoved her behind a boulder. "Stay down," she hissed, her friend's pale face
nodding. The creature's laugh—cold, like shattering glass—cut through the fog,
and it charged, shadows trailing like smoke.
Zane met it, his claws
slashing its chest, black blood spraying. But it swiped back, faster than
before, tearing his thigh. He roared, staggering, and Lira blasted a firebolt,
her magic weak but enough to graze its arm. The creature hissed, red eyes pinning
her, and her curse pulsed, like it knew her soul. Two smaller shadows lunged
from the fog, their claws aimed at Lira.
She dove, rolling through
wet grass, pain blinding as her wounds tore open. She smashed her rock into one
shadow's face, black blood oozing, but the other tackled her, claws digging
into her shoulder. Lira screamed, kicking its gut, and rolled free, gasping.
Zane tore the shadow off her, his fangs sinking into its neck, but the main
creature slammed him into the cliff wall, rocks crumbling.
"Zane!" Lira yelled, fear
choking her. She blasted another firebolt, hitting the creature's leg, and it
staggered, giving Zane a chance to break free. He shifted human, blood gushing,
but grabbed a fallen branch, swinging it like a club. The creature laughed,
dodging, and Lira's curse flared, her vision blurring—her mother's scream, the
bloody symbol, and a whisper: "You can't run."
"We need cover!" Zane
roared, grabbing her arm. His touch sparked, blue light flaring, and Lira's
pulse raced, magic humming. He yanked her toward the trees, Mira scrambling
behind. The creature's shadows circled, but Zane's growl kept them at bay as
they ran, fog swallowing the cliffs.
Lira's legs shook, blood
soaking her jacket, but Zane's grip steadied her. "Outpost's half a mile," he
said, voice tight. "Pack's there. We hold out."
"Great," Lira muttered,
sarcasm her shield. "More wolves who hate me."
His eyes met hers, fierce
and unreadable. "They'll hate you less if you're alive."
The forest thickened,
branches clawing their faces, but howls—rogue, not pack—echoed behind. Lira's
curse throbbed, and the hum returned, vibrating the air. "It's following," she
said, breathless. "That thing's not letting up."
Zane nodded, blood
dripping from his thigh. "It's not natural. Like you said."
Lira's chest
tightened—he'd heard her, back on the cliffs, when she'd called it like her.
She shoved the thought down, focusing on Mira's gasps. They broke into a
clearing, a stone outpost looming—a pack bunker, its walls carved with wolf
runes. Zane pounded the iron door, shouting, "Cassian! Open up!"
The door swung wide, and
Cassian Drake, Zane's second-in-command, stood there, his calm eyes scanning
their bloodied forms. "Hell, Zane, what'd you drag in?" His gaze flicked to
Lira, wary but not hateful, unlike most of the pack.
"Trouble," Zane growled,
shoving Lira and Mira inside. "Rogues and… something else. Lock it down."
Cassian barred the door,
and Lira collapsed against a wall, pain screaming. The outpost was a
fortress—stone walls, weapon racks, a firepit glowing—but it felt like a trap.
Mira sank beside her, trembling, and Lira squeezed her hand. "We're okay," she
lied, her wounds bleeding through Zane's bandages.
Zane leaned against the
table, blood pooling, his face pale. Cassian tossed him a cloth, but his eyes
stayed on Lira. "You're the witch," he said, voice steady. "Heard you're
cursed."
"News travels," Lira
snapped, sarcasm hiding her fear. "Got a problem with it?"
Cassian's lips twitched.
"Not yet."
Zane growled, cutting them
off. "Enough. Kane, sit. You're bleeding out." He grabbed a med kit, limping to
her. His hands were rough but careful, peeling her torn jacket to check her
shoulder. His touch sparked again, blue light flaring, and Lira's breath
hitched, her curse humming. Zane's eyes locked on hers, gold and intense, and
the air thickened, like the world held its breath.
"Stop moving," he
muttered, wrapping her wounds. His fingers grazed her skin, sending heat
through her pain, and Lira's heart pounded. She hated him—his rules, his
hate—but his closeness felt right, and it scared her.
"Don't get used to playing
nurse," she said, voice shaky. "I'm not your pack."
His gaze softened, just a
flicker. "Keep talking, witch. Means you're alive." His hand lingered, and
Lira's magic surged, their glow brightening. Cassian raised a brow, but Zane
pulled back, jaw tight, like he'd felt too much.
A crash shook the outpost,
stone dust raining. Howls—rogues, dozens—mixed with that unnatural hum. Lira's
curse flared, her vision flashing—the bloody symbol, her mother's voice: "It's
awake." She gasped, clutching her chest, as the door buckled, claws tearing
through iron.
"Brace!" Zane roared,
grabbing a spear from the rack. Cassian drew a blade, and Lira staggered up,
magic weak but stubborn. Mira screamed, hiding behind the firepit, and Lira
gripped a dagger from the table, pain be damned.
The door exploded, rogues
pouring in, their fur slick with blood. But the red-eyed creature led them, its
half-wolf, half-nightmare form towering. Its claws gleamed, and Lira's curse
screamed, like it was part of her. Zane charged, spear piercing its side, but
it flung him across the room, crashing into weapon racks. Cassian slashed a
rogue's throat, blood spraying, but two tackled him, claws raking his chest.
Lira blasted a firebolt,
hitting a rogue, and dove for Mira, shielding her. "Stay down!" she yelled,
stabbing a rogue's leg. The creature's eyes locked on her, its laugh chilling,
and it swiped, claws missing her by inches. Lira rolled, blasting another firebolt,
but her magic flickered, her vision swimming.
Zane roared, back on his
feet, and tackled the creature, his claws tearing its arm. Black blood oozed,
but it threw him into the firepit, flames bursting. Lira screamed, running to
him, dragging him out. His skin was burned, blood gushing, but his eyes burned
gold, locking on hers. "Get… out," he rasped, grabbing her arm. The blue glow
flared, brighter, and Lira's heart stopped, their pulses syncing.
"No way," she said, voice
breaking. She pulled him up, his weight heavy, and blasted a rogue, her magic
fading. Cassian fought off two more, but the creature charged Lira, claws
raised. Zane shoved her behind him, taking the hit, his chest tearing open.
"Zane!" Lira screamed,
fear choking her. She blasted the creature, her last firebolt hitting its face,
and it staggered, howling. Cassian drove his blade into its back, black blood
spraying, but the creature spun, slashing his arm, and retreated, rogues following.
Lira dropped beside Zane,
hands shaking as she pressed his chest, blood soaking her. "Don't die, you
idiot," she whispered, tears burning. The glow pulsed, magic tying them, and
his eyes fluttered open, weak but alive.
The hum spiked, the air
cracking, and Lira's vision flashed—her mother's face, the symbol, and a new
voice: "The blood binds you." The outpost shook, and a cloaked figure appeared
at the broken door, eyes glinting, a silver blade in hand. "The witch is mine,"
it hissed, voice like ice.