Isla POV
I have fifteen seconds to decide if I trust an assassin who wants to use me as bait.
"Isla, don't!" Caius grabs my arm, his amber eyes wild through our mental link. I feel his terror like ice water. "Snow leopards are solitary hunters. They don't bond. They USE people and disappear."
"Then why is the system saying he's one of my destined mates?" I counter, watching Sebastian's ice-blue eyes track every micro-movement I make. He's studying me like I'm prey—or a weapon he wants to acquire.
"Because destiny has a sick sense of humor," Draven growls, flames flickering along his arms. "I agree with the wolf. This smells like a trap."
The ground shakes harder. Through the cave entrance, I see trees snapping like toothpicks as something massive approaches. The Dark King's avatar is coming, and it sounds like a mountain walking.
[10 SECONDS REMAINING]
"You're running out of time," Sebastian says calmly. "I can hide you from the avatar. My stealth abilities can mask your divine scent long enough to escape. But only if you bond with me. NOW."
"Why do you need the bond?" I demand. "If you're such a great assassin, why can't you just hide us anyway?"
For the first time, emotion flickers across his face—respect. "Smart question. Snow leopards can hide ourselves perfectly. Hiding others requires a bond-link. I'd need to wrap my stealth around your energy signature. Without bonding, your goddess power bleeds everywhere like a beacon."
The system confirms it:
[SNOW LEOPARD BOND ABILITIES:]• Perfect Stealth (extends to bonded mates)• Scent Masking (critical for hiding from Dark King)• Silent Movement• Temperature Regulation• Enhanced Agility
[5 SECONDS REMAINING]
A roar shakes the mountain. Not animal. Not human. Something else entirely—a sound that makes my bones vibrate and my goddess blood scream in recognition. It knows what I am. It's HUNTING me.
"Decision. Now." Sebastian's hand stays extended, steady as stone.
I look at Caius—my first mate, my anchor, the wolf who gave me everything. Through our bond, I feel him wanting to say no but knowing we need this.
"If you betray her," Caius snarls at Sebastian, "I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."
"If I betray her, you won't need to. The Dark King will kill us all." Sebastian's eyes meet mine. "I lost everyone I loved to that monster. My entire clan—parents, siblings, cubs. He used them in his experiments trying to create artificial divine blood. I watched them die screaming. So no, little goddess, I won't betray you. You're my only chance at revenge."
The raw pain in his voice hits me like a punch. This isn't just strategy for him. It's personal.
[TIME'S UP!]
I grab Sebastian's hand.
Cold explodes through me—the opposite of Draven's fire but just as intense. It feels like diving into a frozen lake, like ice crystallizing in my veins, like winter itself pouring into my soul.
But unlike the fire trial, this doesn't hurt. It's... peaceful. Quiet. Safe.
Sebastian's eyes widen. "Your power is pulling me in. Fighting me. You need to ACCEPT the bond or it'll reject me completely."
"How do I—"
"Trust me." His voice drops. "Just for one second, trust that I won't hurt you."
Everything in me screams that trusting an assassin is stupid. But I'm already trusting a possessive wolf and an arrogant dragon. What's one more impossible choice?
I stop fighting. Let the cold wrap around my goddess fire. Let Sebastian's leopard essence twine with my wolf and dragon powers.
[THIRD BOND FORMING...]
[WARNING: THREE BONDS IN ONE DAY - DANGEROUS FOR HOST SURVIVAL]
[Wolf + Dragon + Leopard = UNPRECEDENTED COMBINATION]
[Bond completion: 50%... 75%... 99%...]
The cave entrance explodes inward. A creature that shouldn't exist fills the opening—twenty feet tall, made of shadow and bone, with too many eyes and a mouth full of void. The Dark King's avatar.
It sees me and SCREAMS, a sound that shatters stone.
Sebastian moves faster than thought. One second I'm standing in the cave, the next he's pulled me into the shadows with him. The world goes dark and cold and silent. I can't see anything. Can't hear Caius or Draven. Can't feel the ground under my feet.
"Don't panic," Sebastian whispers directly into my ear. "We're in the shadow realm. Between spaces. The avatar can't sense us here."
"What about Caius and Draven?" I try to pull away, but he holds me still.
"Watch."
The darkness clears slightly, like looking through smoky glass. I see the cave from outside reality. The avatar is thrashing, searching for me. Caius has shifted to wolf form, circling and snarling. Draven's entire body is covered in flames, ready to fight.
But the avatar isn't attacking them. It's confused. Searching. It knows I was here seconds ago but can't find me now.
"Your scent, your power, your presence—I'm hiding all of it," Sebastian says quietly. "This is why you need me, goddess. I can make you invisible to your enemies."
[THIRD BOND COMPLETE!]
[SNOW LEOPARD ABILITIES UNLOCKED!]
[NEW SKILL: SHADOW STEP - Move between shadows instantly]
[NEW SKILL: PRESENCE MASKING - Hide divine signature]
[WARNING: Your three mates can now sense each other through you]
[This will cause TERRITORIAL CONFLICTS]
Through the shadow realm, I watch the avatar finally give up searching the cave. It turns and crashes back into the forest, destroying everything in its path.
"It's leaving?" I breathe.
"For now. But it'll be back. The Dark King knows you awakened. He won't stop hunting until you're dead or captured." Sebastian finally releases me, and we step back into normal reality. "That's why we need to move fast. Complete your remaining four bonds before he sends something worse."
Caius and Draven spin toward us, relief flooding their faces.
"How did you—" Draven starts.
"Shadow walking," Sebastian says shortly. "Leopard specialty. Now we need to leave before that thing comes back with reinforcements."
"Leave to where?" Caius demands. "You said yourself the Dark King's forces are everywhere."
"My mountain fortress," Draven offers. "Dragon fire walls. The avatar couldn't breach—"
"Too obvious," Sebastian cuts him off. "He'll expect that. We need somewhere unexpected. Somewhere the Dark King would never think to look."
"I know a place," Caius says quietly. "But you're not going to like it."
We all turn to him.
"My pack's territory is dying. Cursed, my wolves believe. Nothing grows there anymore. Prey animals avoid it. Even enemy packs won't claim it." His amber eyes are haunted. "But the curse that's killing my pack might be exactly what keeps the Dark King out. His dark magic can't exist where—"
The system explodes with notifications.
[CRITICAL QUEST DISCOVERED!]
[THE DYING LANDS - Caius's pack territory]
[Curse Origin: ANCIENT DIVINE SEAL]
[A goddess died there 500 years ago]
[Her death magic is preventing the Dark King's forces from entering]
[BUT it's also killing everything else]
[NEW QUEST: Break the Divine Seal]
[Reward: 2000 Bonding Points + Safe Territory + Fourth Mate Location Revealed]
[Warning: Breaking the seal will allow Dark King's forces to enter]
[You must choose: Safety for a short time, or breaking the curse to save Caius's pack]
My heart sinks. "Your pack's land is cursed by a dead goddess?"
"We didn't know that," Caius whispers. "We just knew something was wrong. The elders say the land is punishing us for ancient sins."
"The land isn't punishing you," I say slowly, reading the system information. "It's protecting you. A goddess died there and her last act was creating a shield against dark magic. But the shield is so powerful it's killing everything inside it too."
"Can you break it?" Draven asks. "You're divine blood. Maybe you can undo what another goddess created."
"Maybe. But if I do, the Dark King's forces can enter."
"Then we'll be ready to fight them," Sebastian says quietly. "But first, we save the pack. They're innocent in this."
Through my bond with Caius, I feel his desperate hope warring with guilt. His pack is dying, but bringing me there might doom them faster.
"Take me to them," I decide. "We break the curse, save your pack, and figure out how to defend the territory before the Dark King notices."
"Isla, that's suicide," Draven argues.
"Everything I've done since arriving in this world is suicide," I counter. "At least this time I'm saving lives instead of just running."
We're preparing to leave when a new scent hits the cave—sharp, medicinal, wrong. Sebastian tenses like a drawn bow.
"Someone else is here," he hisses. "Someone who wasn't here before."
A woman's voice echoes from deeper in the cave system, musical and mocking. "Of course I'm here, leopard. Did you really think you could hide a divine awakening from ME?"
A figure emerges from the shadows—beautiful, wearing strange clothes covered in glowing symbols, her eyes pure white without pupils.
"Who—" I start.
"I am Oracle Elena, Seer of the Beast Council," she says, smiling. "And you, little goddess, are under arrest for illegal divine manifestation. The Council demands your immediate surrender."
The system flashes red.
[NEW THREAT: BEAST COUNCIL]
[They want to CONTROL you, not kill you]
[But their methods are just as deadly...]