AYLA'S POV
Kael's arms were iron around me, his chest heaving against mine, his scent grounding me like an anchor in a storm. But the storm wasn't outside anymore.
It was inside.
The fire roared under my skin, the chains rattled in my veins, and through it all—voices. A thousand, overlapping, whispering, howling, chanting. Some urged me to burn. Others told me to bind. All of them pressed against my mind until I thought my skull would split open.
More… more… take more…
The wolf king is in your arms. End him, and you end their war.
Claim the crown. Claim the world. Claim everything.
"No," I croaked, my nails digging into Kael's tunic. "Shut up. Shut up."
But they didn't shut up. They laughed, sang, snarled, a cacophony that drowned even the sound of my own breath.
And beneath the chaos—one voice stood apart. Softer. Colder. The First Luna herself.
