Dacian's POV
I can feel everything.
Every blade of grass beneath my paws. Every heartbeat of the twenty wolves surrounding us. Every breath Sloane takes. Every emotion flooding through the bond that I thought was broken forever.
But most importantly, I can feel my wolf again.
Not just feel him. I AM him. We're one again, stronger than ever before, and memories are flooding my mind—memories that aren't mine but somehow are.
A life three thousand years ago. A different name. A different pack. And Sloane—no, Seraphine—standing beside me as we ruled together.
"Dacian?" Sloane's voice cuts through the chaos in my head. She sounds terrified. "What's happening to you?"
I shift back to human form, and it feels as natural as breathing. Two years of being trapped in this useless human body, unable to access my wolf, and now I can shift like it's nothing.
"I remember," I say, my voice shaking. "I remember being with you. Before. In the first age."
Kieran's red eyes go wide. "That's impossible. You weren't one of us. You weren't there."
"Yes, I was." I look at my hands—the hands that two minutes ago were weak and human. Now they're crackling with silver energy just like Sloane's. "I was the Fifth."
"There was no Fifth," Kieran insists. "There were only four Primordials in our group. Seraphine, me, Theron, and Calix."
"Wrong." The memories are clearer now. "There were five of us. I was there. I was Seraphine's first mate, before any of you. But I did something terrible—something that made her reject me. Something that got me erased from history."
Sloane steps toward me. "What did you do?"
"I betrayed you," I whisper, and the guilt hits me like a physical blow. "In the old life. I betrayed you to save my pack, and it started the war that destroyed everything."
The yard goes silent.
Lenora finds her voice first. "This is madness. You're not a Primordial. You're just a broken Alpha."
"No." I turn to face her, and she steps back from the power radiating off me. "I was broken because I was being punished. The universe took my wolf as payment for what I did three thousand years ago. But when Sloane's awakening created the power nexus, it broke the curse."
"What did you do?" Theron asks quietly. "What was the betrayal?"
I close my eyes, seeing it all. "The dark wolves—the Corruption—they came to me in secret. They said they'd spare my pack if I told them where Seraphine would be during the full moon ritual. I thought I could protect my people and still warn her in time. But I was wrong."
"The ambush," Sloane breathes. "The one where Calix died."
I nod. "I led them straight to you. Calix died protecting you from my mistake. When you found out what I'd done, you rejected our bond. You bonded with the others instead—with Kieran, Theron, and Calix after he was reborn."
"So you've been cursed all this time?" Sloane asks.
"Yes. I asked to be reborn in your path. To find you again. To love you again. But this time without my wolf—so I could never betray you again."
"That's why the bond broke," she realizes. "Not because of the rogue attack. The bond was always meant to break because you were cursed."
"Until now." Kieran steps forward. "The nexus broke the curse. When Seraphine bonded with us, the power surge overrode your punishment."
Lenora laughs harshly. "How convenient. Forgive me if I don't believe this fairy tale."
"Believe what you want," I tell her. "But I can feel the power. And I can see things now. Secret things." I look directly at her. "Like the deal you made with Ronan Thrace. The one where you promised to help him take over this territory."
The wolves behind Lenora gasp. Several back away from her.
"That's a lie!" Lenora shouts.
"Then why is your heart racing?" I can hear it pounding. "Why do you smell like fear?"
Before Lenora can answer, the ground starts shaking.
Not like before. This is worse.
Cracks appear in the earth all around us. Dozens of them. Hundreds.
And from each crack, voices call out. Hungry voices. Dark voices.
"The Devourers," Kieran whispers. "All of them. They felt the nexus power increase."
A creature pulls itself from the nearest crack. It's made of shadows and teeth and nightmares. When it speaks, my ears bleed.
"Primordials," it hisses. "Five of you. Together. Do you know how long we've waited for a feast like this?"
More creatures emerge. All of them staring at us with hungry eyes.
Lenora's wolves panic and scatter.
"We can't fight them all," Calix says.
"We don't have a choice," Sloane says, her eyes glowing silver. "Either we fight, or they devour everyone in this territory."
"There's a third option," Kieran says. "We run. Lead them away from the innocent wolves."
"That's suicide," Theron argues.
Sloane looks at me. Even with everything that's happened, I can still see my wife in her eyes.
"What do we do?" she asks.
I look at the Devourers closing in. At the home we built together. At Theron and Calix—my ancient rivals, now my brothers.
"We fight," I say. "All five of us. Together."
The Devourers charge.
In the split second before they reach us, I feel it—all five bonds connecting, power flowing between us, creating something that hasn't existed in three thousand years.
A complete Primordial nexus.
The creature lunges at Sloane. I move to block it, but something incredible happens.
Our powers merge.
Sloane's silver light mixes with my storm-gray energy. Theron's fire and Calix's lightning join in. Kieran's blood-red power completes it.
The combined energy forms a shield, and when the Devourer hits it, the creature disintegrates. Turns to ash.
The other Devourers freeze.
"That's new," Kieran breathes.
The largest Devourer steps forward. "Impossible. The Fifth was erased. He shouldn't be able to bond with the others."
"Well, I'm here," I say.
The creature's eyes narrow. "If the Fifth has returned, that means the Prophecy is activating."
"What prophecy?" Theron demands.
The Devourer grins with too many teeth. "The one that says when all five Primordials bond together again, the ancient war will restart. And this time, we're going to win."
The creature howls. A signal.
From every direction, answering howls echo back.
Not from Devourers.
From wolves.
Thousands of them.
An army of dark wolves emerging from the forest around our territory.
"The Corruption," I whisper. "They're back."