CHAPTER 34: FIRE AND SHADOWS

I froze where I stood.

Across the cliff, a wolf emerged from the shadows, so large his paws sank into the earth like he was made to break worlds. His fur was pitch black, absorbing the moonlight rather than reflecting it.

But it was his eyes that rooted me in place.

Crimson. Glowing so fiercely they seemed like two pools of blood carved into his face.

I had never seen such eyes. No wolf I knew bore them. No wolf should.

Who is he? The question rose unbidden in my chest, my lips parting as the wind shifted.

His scent reached me. Stronger than any I had ever breathed in, sharp and heady at once.

It clung to my senses like smoke and spice, overwhelming. My knees weakened because I knew what it meant.

A pureblooded Alpha. No doubt.

I snapped back as Finn’s wolf snarled, the sound so sudden and close that I flinched. His growl rumbled low, teeth bared, his golden eyes blazing as he stepped closer to me - protective, possessive, furious.

I closed my eyes against the force of it, breath caught in my throat.

When I opened them again, the two Alphas faced each other. One on this side of the cliff, one on the other, the broken bridge yawning between them.

The moon had climbed higher, its pale light spilling into the gorge, caught square between the cliffs.

They were not moving. Only staring.

But the silence wasn’t empty. Something thick hummed in the air.

I realized then, they were speaking. Not aloud, but through their minds.

Alpha to Alpha.

Their gazes locked, their hackles raised, their wills pressing against each other in the invisible language of dominance.

I swallowed hard. Whoever this wolf was, he had not come by chance.

Was he the intruder? One of those who had set the town ablaze? Perhaps his pack was hidden somewhere in the smoke, finishing what they had started.

But I couldn’t think of the fire. Not now. Not when my mother’s blood still stained the stone at my feet. My chest tightened, rage threatening to break me. I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t bear any of this.

I had to get away.

Somehow.

Finn’s wolf threw his head back and howled, the sound tearing through the night like thunder. I knew that howl. A call for his warriors. Reinforcements. Perhaps not everyone but some of the best.

But on the other side of the cliff, the black wolf snorted.

No, not a snort. A sound that almost resembled a laugh. His lips curled faintly, and I caught it. A snicker. Mocking, as though Finn’s summons meant nothing to him. As though he was mocking him for not having the guts to fight alone.

"Something is strange," Leika murmured inside me, her voice unsettled.

What do you mean? I asked, forcing my thoughts toward her.

She didn’t answer right away. And before she could, I felt it.

A spark.

It was small at first, like a flicker under my skin, but it spread swiftly. A warmth that flowed through my veins, seeping into every inch of me. It thrummed with energy, alive and relentless, making my heart race and my breath quicken.

My wolf was stirring. Not just stirring actually. She was growing stronger. The bond between us pulsed until I thought it might split me open.

My eyes burned. The world shimmered gold at the edges, and when I blinked, light spilled from me. My gaze glowed, catching the night.

And then, I heard them.

Not just Leika.

The Alphas.

The words cut clear into my mind, sharp as if they had been spoken aloud.

"I’ve warned you, Morrigan," Finn snarled, his voice raw with rage. "Step into my lands again and I’ll bite your head off."

The black wolf’s reply rolled low and steady, carrying a deep timbre that made my skin prickle.

His voice was calm, but edged, dangerous in its restraint. "I’m only taking a stroll, Finn. You ought to be more hospitable to your guests."

My stomach flipped. Morrigan. That was his name?

Finn answered not with words but with fire.

The night exploded.

A ball of flame erupted from his jaws, hurling across the cliff. The fire roared like a living thing, heat searing my skin even from where I stood. It streaked toward the black wolf and his pack.

But shadows leapt up to meet it.

Darkness swirled, thick and impenetrable, like a living mist. It wrapped the wolves across the way, swallowing them whole, and the fire broke against it, scattering embers that died before they touched fur.

The shadows held. Unshaken.

The black wolf’s voice rumbled again, cold amusement in its depths. "We don’t need fire here, do we? Your land already burns well enough."

Another surge of flame shot from Finn, bigger this time, the air splitting with its heat.

The cliff trembled under my feet. But again the shadows rose, twisting and twirling, unbroken.

The black wolf stood at the center of it, his crimson eyes glinting, unblinking, as if none of it mattered.

Power met power, fire against shadow. Sparks hissed, smoke filled the air, light clashed against dark, and still neither Alpha yielded.

And I—

I could not watch it any longer.

While they fought, my feet carried me closer to the cliff’s edge. I barely realized I had moved until the ground dropped sharply before me. My breath caught as I looked down.

The river below raged like a beast, frothing and snapping against jagged rocks. It carved the valley floor into a chasm of black water and white foam, merciless and endless.

A fall like that... There’s a good chance I’d die but it can also be the only way for me to escape.

My hands clenched at my sides.

I leaned forward, my toes brushing the very edge, heart pounding in my throat.

Then I heard it.

A voice. Deep, commanding. It pressed into my mind like a brand, unlike Leika’s warmth or Finn’s fury.

"Shift and jump your way to me, woman."