Chapter 21 A Shadow

SERAPHINA

I wanted to avoid it. I truly did. I bwanted /bto avoid Ronan tonight, but it seemed destiny had other ns for us.

Still, I didn’t back down. I never had. I never would.

Every instinct inside me screamed–to shift, to fight–because deep down, I knew this Alpha bwas /bhere to kill me.

I squared my shoulders and met Ronan’s wolf stare head–on.

“I know now,” I rasped, my voice slicing through the heavy silence. “It wasn’t Asher who touched me.

His ears twitched sharply, his body going brigid/b.

“I made a mistake. No… I misunderstood,” bI /bsaid, voice steady. “But I won’t believe it.

It’ll sound like an excuse–as iif /iI’m afraid of fighting, of dying. Won’t exin myself. Whatever I say, you

I lifted my chin higher and murmured, “So let’s end this quickly.”

I dropped into a fighting stance. “I have a hunt to finish after all.”

For a heartbeat, the forest froze.

I braced myself, ready for him to pounce, to attack–or worse. bInstead/bb, /bthe Alpha took a step toward me.

Then anotherb. /b

And another.

Closing the distance between us.

I stiffened.

What bwas /bhe doing?

Then-

A blur of silver.

I barely had time to gasp before the ck bwolf /blunged. His heavy body crashed into mine, mming me hard against the bdamp /bearth.

A suarl tore from my lips, but it was already toote.

His massive paws pinned my wrists to the ground, his weight caging me inpletely.

“What the- I bthrashed /bonce, but froze when ban /bunexpected heat touched my skin. Ronan’s body heat.

Pinned beneath him, my eyes locked with his, I found he was already staring at me bwith /ban intensity burning in his gaze that made my breath catch.

It was like he could see through me–bthrough /bmy disguise–past Seth, straight to the real me.

Seraphina

And then

The ck wolf’s muzzle dipped low, dragging hotly down the curve of my neck, over the skin exposed by my ruined shirt.

My muscles tensed.

I clenched my fists, nerves rattling.

What was he doing?

Chapter 21 A Shadow

He inhaled deeply, the low rumble of his growl vibrating straight through my chest.

Despite myself, my breathing hitched.

Our eves Inend in bthat /bmoment, the world fell away.

The heat

The earth beneath me.

The looming danger.

None of it mattered.

It was just him and me.

Phina, usually dormant, cold, and unbothered by any male’s proximity, suddenly surged to life binside /bme.

She let out a soft, whimpering growl, shaking the iron walls I had built around her for so long.

No.

No, no, no.

But it was toote.

For the first time in my life, my wolf responded. To ba /bmale.

My body betrayed me, arching slightly beneath bhim/b, drawn to the raw, wild bdominance /bradiating from him.

And Ronan noticed.

His violet eyes darkened.

A low, primal rumble escaped his chest, sending ba /bshiver through me..

+8 Pearls

I was suffocating under the close proximity, the maddening pull of him–the way his scent, bwild /band furious, wrapped around me, binding tighter than any chain.

A scent I shouldn’t have even been bable /bto pick up through the heavy perfume I wore… yet I did.

For the first time ever..

t

I didn’t know if I wanted to break free.

What’s happening to me?

Confusion, fear, blonging/b…they all collided inside me.

Just as the air between us crackled with something dark and bdangerous/bb, /bsomething neither of us could name, a violent roar tore through the forest.

1 jerked my head toward the sound, heart hammering

A massive shadow crashed through the trees, charging toward us with terrifying speed.

Huge bSnarling /b

a bear!” I yelled, as it barreled straight for us

Ronan’s wolf moved firs

With ba /bsavage snarl, he released me band /bhurled himself at the bear, teeth bshing /bin the dim light

The two beasts collided with a sickening thud, snarls and roars exploding bthrough /bthe clearing

Chapter 21 A Shadow

I didn’t wait. I couldn’t wait

Heart pounding. I scrambled to my feet and sprinted into the trees, leaving the chaos behind.

He could handle the bear.

I bhad /bmy own missionb. /b

My prey bwas /bstill out there. bAnd /bmy time was running bout/b, it was already four in the morning.

1 darted deeper into the forest, weaving through thick underbrush, keeping low, moving fast,

I forced myself not to look back.

Not at Ronan

Not at the bloody battle behind bme/bb. /b

This was my only chance.

I wasn’t going to waste it

+8 Pearls

Half an bhour /bbled away as I moved through the tangled wilderness, tracking faint hoof prints in the muddy earth, broken branches, and the heavy musky scent only one creature could leave behind.

A bison. While I kept hearing the howls of other Alphas that kepting from the distance one by one. It was a victory howl Someone hadpleted their bhunt /band already returned!

Finally, as the sky shifted from inky ck to deep navy, heralding theing dawn, I found it.

A bison.

It loomed bahead/bb, /bmassive, brutal–its breath steaming in the cold air as it pawed the ground, ready to charge at the slightest threat

Its sheer size made my stomach clenchb. /b

I took a careful step forward band /bfelt my heart sink. In bmy /bhuman form, I didn’t stand a chance.

bNot /bagainst that.

A direct hit from its horns would shatter every bone in my body,

i clenched my fists. I had two choices-

Shift or bfail/b.

Failure meant elimination

Failure meant being dragged out of the Academy in defeat.

Failure meant returning to my pack and bing someone’s bLuna/b.

Uneptable.

I locked bmy /beyes on the beast, my bdecision /bmade.

I would take it down, no matter the cost.

ncing around, I checked for other Alphas

Nothing

No scent

No sound but the restless wind.

Chapter 21 A Shadow

Satisfied that I was alone, I quickly stripped off my clothes and hid them behind a fallen tree.

Breathless, I let the shift take bover/b.

Bones cracked, flesh stretched.

And then Phina burst free.

I stood on four powerful legs, white fur gleaming in the dim light.

The world sharpened–the scents richer, the earth more alive under my bpaws/b.

Locking my wolf’s bright eyes onto the bison, I crouched low, muscles bcoiling/b, ready bto /bstrike.

Time to hunt.

When suddenly, a faint sound snapped my head around

From the shrubs–a shadow moved.

My heart mmed into my

Someone bwas /bthere.

Watching.

Since when…?