Thorne gazed across the lands as Caelum updated him for the third time. "Perimeter's clear. Every guard's on high alert. If the beast shows, it's not getting past us."

"It'll show," Thorne muttered, his voice like steel. "I can feel it." He didn't even bother to sit as he checked the map again. "Today, it dies."

"You need to leave now, My king. The ceremony is beginning, and I'm sure Adina is worried. You don't want to keep her waiting," Callum said.

Thorne nodded, taking a deep breath. He had spent way too much time on this already. He was already messing things up by not showing up at the exact time he should. He just had to go over the checkpoints again. It was fine though; he would apologize to Adina after the ceremony and tell her everything that's been going on. Adina was nothing if not understanding.

"Let me know if anything is out of place, Caelum," he said, turning to leave only to freeze in his tracks.

"They've breached the ceremony grounds!" A loud bell rang immediately, alerting the warriors and guards who began running towards the palace grounds.

Thorne was already running before the words finished, his Lycan snarling under his skin. He should've been there. He wasted time checking the security that he let the most important place slip through his fingers. Adina.

"Adina!" He called through the mind link but was met with a block.

"Mason! Mason, are you there? Is Adina safe? Is she with you?" He called over the mind link and still… was met with a block.

"Shit, shit, shit," he cursed under his breath. The beast had slipped through his palms and attacked the one place he thought would be safe. That place was littered with people Thorne cared about and the one person he held dear to his heart, Adina.

As he ran, his mind flashed with the past. Roseanne being attacked by Khaos. How did he let the past repeat itself? No! There was still saving Adina. No beast would ever take her from him. Not this time.

By the time Thorne hit the courtyard, the place that should've been glowing with lanterns and flowers was shredded apart. Tables overturned, guests scattering, blood soaking the carpet that was supposed to lead to his mate.

His heart dropped at the sight. It was pure chaos.

In the middle of the chaos, a figure in a shredded black dress turned, eyes glowing red, claws dripping blood. She moved like a predator, too fast to be human. His warriors lunged at her, but she ripped through them like paper, flinging them against the walls with just a raise of her hand.

The beast.

Two bodies lay crumpled in the center, torn limb from limb.

Thorne saw red. His Lycan burst free with a bone-cracking roar, ripping out of his skin in a haze of rage. He could no longer see anything—nothing except the beast fighting and killing his people.

He lunged at the beast, roaring with such intensity it shook the palace walls. He pounced at the beast, grabbing her head with his claws and slammed her against the wall.

The wall cracked under the impact, but the beast didn't even flinch. A guttural inhumane snarl ripped from her throat.

She lashed out, faster than lightning, her claws slicing across Thorne's chest. Thick blood sprayed. He staggered back, eyes wide. No creature had ever hit him like that.

"Kill." The word echoed in Adina's head, over and over, drowning out everything else. Kill. Kill. Kill.

She wasn't herself anymore. There was an overwhelming urge to kill, to take blood. She could barely fight against it, could barely form words in her mind or speak them.

She lunged again, her blackened vicious claws swung at him. Thorne swerved every swing. Her strength was brutal, and she was faster than anything he'd fought in years. The ground cracked under her feet as she pushed off with unnatural speed, slamming into his ribs hard enough to send him crashing through a pillar.

Above them, the once clear blue sky turned black as if it were midnight. Hundreds of crows wheeled in, their cries deafening. The air was thick with dark energy—her energy. Petals that had been scattered across the ground and dust rose up on their own like they were being controlled by her.

Warriors surrounded the beast in hundreds, some in their wolves, some in their human forms, drawing out their swords.

"No! Wait!" Mason screamed, but it was useless. He lunged at them, shifting into his wolf mid-air.

"Gamma! Stay back!" Caelum yelled, seeing what the gamma was about to do, but it was of no use. He would die!

Mason had lunged towards the beast, and in a surprising turn, he turned to face the warriors and the Lycan. He was defending the beast.

"It's Adina! You're making a mistake!" He yelled in his mind, but none of the mind links were on. They all had their blocks up.

"The gamma has betrayed the realm! Attack!" The head guard yelled, and again, it was chaos.

Thorne lunged for the beast behind Mason while the warriors fought the gamma.

Kora fought too, drawing a blade from a dead warrior. She too joined Mason, trying to do her best. They can't hurt Adina! Something was wrong, Kora knew it! She saw it all happen right in front of her eyes! "Adina! Stop! It's us!" She yelled, but it was useless.

Adina was gone, swallowed whole by the beastly instincts in her veins. Her movements were animalistic, every strike of hers was meant to kill. When two warriors lunged at her from behind, she didn't even blink, she turned, claws arcing clean through their throats. Blood sprayed across her now black gown, soaking it.

Thorne roared and leapt, jaws wide, fangs aimed for her shoulder. She caught him midair. Caught him like he weighed nothing and slammed him into the ground so hard it left a crater.

No beast! No creature has ever matched even a quarter of Thorne's strength.

"Your Majesty!" Caelum tried to push through, but a wall of crows dived, cutting him off.

Thorne surged up, fury overtaking every cell. His claws extended, his Lycan strength doubling as rage pumped through his veins. He tackled her back, teeth sinking into her arm. She shrieked, her voice piercing so loud it cracked for a second, his heart cracked.

Something warm curled in his guts. Just for a second.

But it was gone in the blink of an eye as the beast pushed back against him, sending him flying back.

"Kill the beast!" One of the warriors yelled.

She lunged at him, claws extended, ready to strike for a short second. Mid-air, she blinked. Her heart heavy with familiarity. The person she was fighting… he felt familiar. So familiar it had her eyes burning with tears.

Seeing the beast distracted for a second, Thorne came up swinging. The two met mid-air. This time, his claws sunk deep into her side, stabbing her.

A tear slipped past her eyes, her mind working for a second. She recognized him in that moment. He was Thorne. Her mate.

"Thorne." She whispered.

Everything stopped. His Lycan form shuddered, horror ripping through him. Adina.

No—" He yanked his claws back, hands reaching for her as she fell. "No, no, no—"

But the air turned heavy, smoky. The mist around them turned black, filling the air in an instant. The crows dove in a screaming spiral, blotting out the sky.

"Adina!" Mason roared, lunging forward before the black mist blinded him too, grabbing her arm. Kora did the same, trying to pull her back too.

The black mist swallowed them whole.

When it cleared, they were all gone. Mason, Kora, and especially Adina.

The palace square was silent, save for the constant drip of blood on the ground. Thorne dropped to his knees, chest heaving, his mate's blood still hot on his claws.