The battlefield fell silent. Wolves stood bloodied, rogues burned to ash. But Ronan remained, his amber eyes glowing, his body wrapped in shadow.
He stepped forward, his voice a hiss that echoed in the bones of every wolf. "Do you see, witch? He is fragile. He is flesh. He is already mine. The shadow will take him, as it has before. But you—" His eyes locked on her, hungry, unholy. "You belong to me."
Her fire flared, her body trembling in Kael's arms. "I will never belong to you."
Ronan's smile was sharp, cruel. "You already do. Every time you burn, every time you falter, it is the shadow you feed. And soon, when Kael falls, you will come to me. Because you will have no one else."
Kael staggered to his feet, his chest still bleeding, his green eyes blazing with fury. "Touch her, and I will end you."
Ronan only laughed, his shadow twisting around him. "We will see, Alpha. We will see."
And then he vanished, leaving silence, blood, and a vow of war.