Before, I used to gaze at the valley and think nothing of it, just appreciating its beauty because I didn't know any better. Now, I know that the Bitterroot Valley carries secrets, much like the secret of my heritage, and where my bloodline links to. I sigh as all the weights I've ever carried throughout my life slip away in that moment, and I feel drawn to Damian in a way I haven't been able to feel before.
I turn to him slowly, frowning when I notice the way his body goes still, head tilting slightly as if he’s listening to something I can’t hear. I notice the way the color of his eyes flickers with a recognizable glow, and I know he's having one of his moments.
The moment stretches before he exhales sharply.
“There’s movement in the south,” he says, voice tight. “Demons...a small cluster.”
My stomach drops.
He turns to me immediately, concern etched across his face. “You should stay here.”
The words don’t feel like an order. They feel like fear, and I can see it written all across his face.
I look out over the valley, the image from my dream flickering at the edges of my mind—fire consuming everything, Damian lost beyond the flames. My hands curl slowly into fists at my sides, heat stirring in response to the familiar threat.
“I don’t want to stay back, Damian,” I say honestly. “Not if something goes wrong.”
He studies me for a long moment, searching my face, the bond between us humming with unspoken understanding. He knows what I am now. And I know what I can’t control.
Yet.
“If you come,” he begins carefully, “you listen to me. The moment I tell you to step away, you do it.”
I nod without hesitation.
“I will.”
The fire beneath my skin flares softly in agreement. Not wild, not hungry, just awake. It's as if my power is responding to the threat, just as it always has, and while I'm not in control of it, and I'm not sure how to use it on command, I can feel it surfacing now.
“We’re meeting Conan and Heinrich first.”
Damian rises to his feet, stretching out his hand toward me, and when I slip my hand into his, the awareness of our bond is more powerful than ever, surging through me like electricity.
A force.
That's what standing beside Damian feels like.
Chapter 19 - Damian
The moment Sophie and I were having is lost when the first report reaches us before the sun has fully cleared the mountain ridge.
Southern ruins. Multiple signatures. No retreat.
I feel the alarm and panic settle into my bones the moment Heinrich finishes speaking through the mind link, the quiet certainty that this is no longer reconnaissance, no longer a test of borders. Demons don’t gather like this unless they intend to hold ground or draw blood.
We’ve seen nothing like it before, and it's like a war is being waged upon us by the demons. Sophie stands beside me, rooted deep in thought, worry, as she keeps her composure, but I know what she’s thinking because I can feel it—not just a hum through the mate bond, but a vibrating echo that remains ringing in my ears.
“Again?” Conan mutters, pacing near the edge of the clearing. His energy crackles sharp and restless, like a storm that doesn’t know when it’s going to break. “We pushed them back two nights ago.”
“That was a probe,” I say. My voice is steady, even as something tightens in my chest. “This isn’t.”
Heinrich nods grimly. “Scouts confirm it. They’re nesting in the ruins. Anchoring themselves in whatever is awakening in that part of the valley.” His eyes flit to Sophie for a split second, as if she’s the reason for it, but he isn’t blaming her. Still, my inner wolf growls internally, and I plant myself in front of Sophie as if I’m protecting her. I turn toward the valley, toward the trail that leads back to the cabin. Then toward Sophie.
The subtle pull of the bond, warm and aware, like a hand resting against my spine, tugs on me when she meets my eyes.
“I’m coming,” she says before I can open my mouth.
It’s not a challenge, nor defiance, but a statement that comes even before she knew I’d ask her to stay back. The stakes sound higher after meeting with Conan and Heinrich and hearing that the demons are up to something, and I really wish she wouldn’t be so adamant about coming.
