KAEL'S POV
The square was fire and ruin.
My black wolf skidded across the stones, claws sparking as I dug in, the bond thrumming hot and ragged in my chest. Ayla's silver fire lit the night, curling against Veylor's shadow, but the god was no longer testing—he was striking.
The ground split under her paws, black fire coiling up her legs like chains. Through the tether, I felt the shock of cold hit her veins, the brand of our bond flaring in defiance.
"I've got you," I said, my mental voice a molten growl. "He doesn't touch you alone."
I lunged, my wolf slamming into the shadow from the side, claws sinking into a form that felt like smoke and steel all at once. I ripped, and ichor hissed where it hit the snow. Veylor's silver eyes flared in the darkness, his voice a rasp of laughter in my head.
"Little Alpha… you think your love can bite a god?"
