Eira's POV
I was waiting for Jake to kill me.
I looked toward Adrian.
He was still trapped beneath the silver chains, struggling against them despite the agony tearing through his body.
"I don't care who you are, Adrian," I whispered, my voice trembling. "But I can't let you die."
I swallowed hard.
"I just can't…"
"Leave her!"
Adrian's voice tore through the forest.
"Don't touch her!"
He struggled desperately against the chains, but the silver only tightened around him.
Jake took another step toward me.
Then—
He was suddenly hurled across the forest.
His body crashed into the ground several feet away.
I gasped.
"What—?"
I turned.
A man stood between us.
Mike.
Adrian's father.
Before I could process what had happened, another figure appeared beside him.
The wolves holding Adrian's chains barely had time to react.
The man moved with incredible speed.
Within seconds, both wolves were thrown to the ground.
Dead.
I stared at him.
I knew him.
He was one of Adrian's friends.
I couldn't remember his name.
He calmly dusted off his coat as though nothing unusual had happened.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Drek."
He glanced around the battlefield.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to make a heroic entry."
A wolf growled behind him.
Drek slowly turned his head.
"Animal."
He sighed, looking at the wolf with mild annoyance.
"You can never be taught how to behave."
The wolf growled again.
Drek raised an eyebrow.
"Always talking in between."
Jake suddenly roared.
"Get out of here!"
Drek stepped forward.
"You think we came all the way here just to leave?"
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Then I guess you heard us wrong."
He glanced toward Adrian.
"Adrian said you have to leave."
His gaze returned to Jake.
"So…"
He shrugged.
"Leave."
Jake's expression darkened.
He turned toward Mike.
"Look around you, Mike."
His voice was cold.
"You're going against your own clan."
He gestured toward Adrian.
"Do you really think the vampires will forgive this?"
His eyes narrowed.
"They'll kill you."
He looked toward Adrian.
"And you can't save him now."
Drek's expression remained calm.
"Listen closely, Jake."
He took a slow step forward.
"And look carefully."
Before Jake could respond, the forest erupted.
The wolves charged.
The vampires moved to meet them.
Bodies collided between the trees.
Claws tore through the darkness.
Fangs flashed beneath the moonlight.
A wolf slammed into a vampire, sending both of them crashing through the undergrowth.
Another vampire seized a wolf and hurled it against a tree.
Blood splattered across the forest floor.
A scream pierced the darkness.
I froze.
My breath caught in my throat.
My fingers curled tightly into the fabric of my dress as I watched the violence unfold around me.
Everywhere I looked, vampires and werewolves were tearing into one another.
Growls.
Roars.
The sound of bodies hitting the ground.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
I instinctively took a step backward.
Another wolf lunged past me.
I flinched and stumbled.
Before I could fall, Adrian was suddenly in front of me.
He pulled me into his arms, turning my face against his chest.
"Eira."
His voice was urgent.
"Close your eyes."
I didn't move.
His arm tightened around me.
"Just close your eyes."
I slowly obeyed.
The battle continued around us.
Growls.
Roars.
The violent crash of bodies against trees.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the sounds.
For a moment, I stayed still in Adrian's arms.
Then curiosity overcame fear.
I instinctively opened my eyes.
Adrian immediately pulled my face back against his chest.
"I told you not to look."
His voice was quiet but firm.
His arms tightened around me as he shielded me from the chaos.
I didn't try to look again.
Then a voice shouted through the chaos.
"Mike!"
I looked up.
One of the vampires was fighting several wolves at once.
"Take them and leave!"
He struck another wolf away.
"We'll stop them here!"
Mike looked toward Adrian.
Then toward the battlefield.
"We have to go."
I was still trying to understand what was happening when Adrian suddenly bent down and lifted me into his arms.
I gasped.
"Adrian—"
"We're leaving."
He turned away from the battlefield.
Behind us, Jake was still fighting.
He saw Adrian carrying me.
"Eira!"
He tried to push through the vampires blocking his path.
One vampire attacked him.
Jake threw him aside.
Another moved in front of him.
Jake fought him off as well.
He kept trying to reach us.
But the vampires continued preventing him from getting through.
"Adrian!"
Mike called.
"We have to leave now!"
Adrian tightened his hold around me.
Then he looked down at me.
"Eira…"
I met his eyes.
His expression held something I couldn't understand.
"Don't be afraid."
Before I could answer, he turned and ran.
Mike followed close behind.
Behind us, the battle continued.
Jake was still trying to break through the vampires.
But Adrian didn't stop.
He carried me deeper into the darkness, putting as much distance between us and the battlefield as possible.
Jake's POV
I drove my claws deep into the vampire's body again and again.
My beta stepped toward me.
"He's dead."
I slowly pulled my claws free.
I looked around.
Blood covered the forest floor.
Bodies lay scattered everywhere—werewolves and vampires alike.
But I barely noticed them.
My eyes searched the darkness.
Eira.
I still couldn't believe it.
Princess Lunaria's daughter.
The girl carrying Selenathyx.
The first person who had ever made me believe I was more than an alpha.
More than a werewolf.
And she had been ready to die for that bastard.
I remembered the way she had looked at Adrian.
The fear in her eyes.
The tears running down her face.
The way she had begged for his life.
Adrian loved her.
And somehow…
She cared about him too.
That realization burned through me.
Why, Eira?
Why did you care about that creature?
I had spent so long wanting you.
Wanting to make you mine.
And now I had discovered that you carried the very Stone I had spent years searching for.
Selenathyx.
The source of power that could make me more than an alpha.
Stronger than any werewolf.
Perhaps even immortal.
But I didn't want the Stone instead of Eira.
I wanted both.
I wanted her beside me.
And I wanted the power inside her.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned.
My father stood there.
His gaze moved over the bodies scattered across the forest.
"We need the girl."
His voice was cold.
"Kill her."
He stepped over a fallen wolf.
"Take Selenathyx."
His eyes met mine.
There was no hesitation in them.
Then he turned and walked away.
I said nothing.
I knew where I had to go.
I turned toward the mountains.
Toward Ryan.
The old werewolf who had told me about Selenathyx when I was young.
The one who had taught me how to become stronger.
The one who had disappeared from our world long ago.
He lived alone in an old cave, far from the pack.
I reached the cave and stepped inside.
A fire burned near the back wall.
Ryan didn't turn around.
"Why did you come now?"
His voice was calm.
"I already gave you what you wanted."
He stared into the flames.
"You wanted to kill vampires."
"You wanted power."
"To become the strongest alpha."
"I showed you the way."
"I can't kill her."
My voice echoed through the cave.
Ryan finally looked at me.
"Then forget Selenathyx."
"You know I can't do that."
He studied me.
"Love makes people foolish."
His voice became quieter.
"Sometimes, it makes them destroy themselves."
I clenched my fists.
"Can you help me or not?"
Ryan sighed.
"I helped you because you saved my life."
I stepped closer.
"I told you I would give you anything you asked for."
Ryan remained silent.
"I mean it."
My voice grew desperate.
"I'll give you whatever you want."
I looked directly into his eyes.
"I'll give you the whole world if that's what it takes."
Ryan's expression didn't change.
"I don't want the world."
He turned back toward the fire.
"I left this world of blood and war a long time ago."
I stared at him.
"Then help me."
My voice broke slightly.
"Please."
Ryan remained silent for a long moment.
Finally, he turned toward me.
"Fine."
He took a slow breath.
"I'll do this for you."
My eyes lifted.
"But after this…"
His expression hardened.
"Your debt to me is over."
He paused.
"After this, don't come back to me."
I nodded.
"Agreed."
Ryan stepped closer.
"There is another way to claim the Stone."
I frowned.
"What way?"
"Mark her. "
I stared at him.
Ryan continued.
"You must mate with her."
My heartbeat quickened.
"Once your mark is placed upon her, the power of Selenathyx will begin to flow between you."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"You will become connected."
"One soul…"
He paused.
"Two bodies."
"And then?"
Ryan's voice became grim.
"The Stone can become yours."
I said nothing.
The thought of marking Eira didn't frighten me.
Eira being mine was what I had wanted from the start.
I wouldn't lose her.
She would be mine forever.
I had wanted her long before I knew who she truly was.
If marking her meant she would become connected to me…
And if it meant I could finally possess Selenathyx—
Then why would I refuse?
I could have her.
And Selenathyx.
Both.
And once I marked her, she would never be able to leave me.
A faint smile touched my lips.
Maybe fate hadn't taken everything from me after all.
Maybe it had finally given me exactly what I wanted.
Eira's POV
I held tightly onto Adrian.
I didn't know how long we had been running.
The forest blurred around us.
Trees disappeared behind us almost before I could register them.
The wind tore past my face, but Adrian never slowed.
He moved with impossible speed, carrying me as though I weighed nothing.
I buried my face against his chest.
Then, suddenly—
He stopped.
Adrian lowered me carefully to the ground.
I looked ahead.
An old, broken house stood in the middle of nowhere.
Its walls were cracked.
Several windows were shattered.
The roof looked as though it could collapse at any moment.
It seemed completely abandoned.
Then I looked down at my hand.
It was covered in blood.
My blood ran cold.
I looked at Adrian.
"Adrian…"
He turned toward me.
"Your hand…"
Then I noticed the blood staining his clothes.
"You're bleeding."
"I'll be fine."
He tried to dismiss it.
"Don't worry."
"Are you hurt?"
Before Adrian could answer, a familiar voice came from behind us.
"How romantic."
I turned.
Drek stood there with an amused expression.
He looked at Adrian, then at me.
"Tell me, Adrian. Are you hurt?"
He glanced at me again.
"Or should I assume you're conducting your own medical examination?"
Adrian gave him a cold glare.
Drek lifted his hands innocently.
"What? She asked."
He looked at me.
"Don't worry. He'll survive."
A faint smirk crossed his face.
"Unfortunately."
Adrian's expression darkened.
Drek shrugged.
"I've seen him survive worse."
Before Adrian could respond, Mike appeared with Elisa and several other vampires.
Mike looked toward the old house.
"Let's go inside."
We followed him.
Adrian stayed beside me.
He led me through the broken entrance.
Inside, the house looked even worse.
Dust covered the furniture.
The wooden floor creaked beneath our feet.
Old curtains hung from broken windows.
Several rooms had clearly been abandoned for years.
Then Mike opened a hidden door beneath the staircase.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
We went down.
And everything changed.
The basement was completely different.
It was clean and organized.
There were chairs, tables, shelves filled with supplies, several lamps, and enough food and water to last for days.
It looked as though someone had prepared it long ago.
Mike turned toward Adrian.
"We need to talk."
Adrian looked at me.
Then he walked over and opened one of the doors.
"Come."
I followed him inside.
It was a small room.
A bed stood against one wall, with a wooden table beside it.
There was a small lamp and a chair near the opposite wall.
Adrian stepped aside.
"You rest here."
I looked at him.
"Adrian…"
He paused.
"Thank you."
He didn't answer.
He simply looked at me for a moment.
Then he turned and walked away.
I watched him disappear through the doorway.
For some reason, my chest tightened.
After everything I had learned about him tonight…
After seeing what he truly was…
After witnessing the violence that followed him wherever he went…
I still wanted him to stay.
And that frightened me more than anything else.