She doesn’t even acknowledge him with a response. Her wolf circles closer to mine, prepared to fight rather than negotiate.
I position myself between them as Bastian advances. Every instinct I have screams to tear his throat out for what he tried to do to her, for everything he did to Raegan before she figured out what a snake he is.
“This is pointless,” he continues, talking to Sera like I’m not even here. “You think breaking some ancient curse makes you strong? You’re still just an omega who needs protection.”
Wrong thing to say.
Sera’s wolf moves so fast I barely track it. She hits him from the side with enough force to knock the suppressor from his hands. The device skitters across the ground, and I crush it under my paw before he can recover it.
Bastian shifts to wolf form, abandoning the pretense of negotiation. His brown coat blends with the shadows as he circles us both, looking for an opening.
Multiple suppressors detected,Veva’s voice cuts through pack communication. She’s positioned somewhere nearby withher magical abilities ready to counter Thornridge’s technology.I can disrupt them, but I need time.
How much time?Oren asks.
Thirty seconds per device.
Thirty seconds is an eternity in a fight like this. Bastian lunges for Sera, and I intercept him midair. We collide with enough force to make my teeth rattle. His jaws snap toward my throat, but I twist away and rake my claws across his shoulder.
Blood darkens his fur. He yelps and retreats, reassessing his strategy.
Around us, the battle continues. Ash fights beside her pack with the kind of coordination that comes from years of leading warriors. Kira’s wolf tears through two Thornridge bastards while Emaline provides backup. Their teamwork is flawless despite the chaos.
But Bastian isn’t interested in them. He wants Sera, and he’s willing to go through me to get her.
He’s trying to separate us,I warn her as Bastian feints left, then goes right.
Let him try.
Her confidence surprises me. The reserved, emotionally distant woman I met just weeks ago has transformed into someone who knows her own strength.
Bastian shifts back to human and produces another suppressor from the satchel around his neck, and this one activates before I can destroy it. The device emits a high-pitched whine that makes my wolf want to crawl out of my skin. I feel my connection to my animal form start to weaken, like someone’s pulling us apart.
Sera staggers as the suppressor affects her, too. Her wolf form flickers, threatening to collapse back into human shape at the worst possible moment.
“That’s better,” Bastian gloats, his voice smug. “Now we can talk like civilized people.”
Veva’s magic rushes across the battlefield as she works to counter the suppressor’s effects. I can feel her power wrapping around the device, trying to unravel its function.
Hold on,she sends.Almost have it.
But Bastian isn’t waiting. He advances on Sera while she’s vulnerable, back in wolf form with his teeth bared and ready to finish what he started.
I throw myself at him again. This time, my attack lacks the power of my full wolf strength, weakened by the suppressor’s influence. We tumble across the ground in a tangle of fur and claws and snapping jaws.
Pain blooms in my foreleg as his teeth find purchase. I respond by going for his throat, forcing him to choose between maintaining his grip and defending himself.
He chooses defense, releasing my leg to avoid my counterattack.
Now!Veva shouts.
The suppressor explodes in a shower of sparks and broken circuitry. My connection to my wolf snaps back into place with such force that I nearly black out from the rush.
Sera’s transformation stabilizes instantly. Her wolf rises to full height, and there’s something different about her now. Breaking the curse has changed more than just her emotional range. Now, she has the power to fight back.
She launches herself at Bastian with speed that takes us both by surprise. Her jaws close around his back leg, and she pulls him off balance with a strength she shouldn’t possess.
I move to support her, but she doesn’t need it. The weeks of research and fighting to understand herself have prepared her for this moment. She knows exactly how to use her restored abilities.
