The room felt different after she said it.
Not heavier.
Not darker.
Sharper.
Charged.
Like the air itself had been waiting for those words.
Fight with me instead.
Ronan didn't move for a long second.
Didn't speak.
Didn't breathe.
He just stared at her—really stared—like he was seeing her for the first time not as someone he had to shield, but as someone who could stand in the fire beside him.
Not fragile.
Not protected.
Not hidden.
Equal.
Dangerous.
Chosen.
Finally, he spoke. His voice was low. Steady. Certain.
"Then we change everything."
Evelyn felt it in her bones when he said it.
The bond shifted.
Not tightened.
Not softened.
Aligned.
Something ancient and instinctive clicked into place—like two forces finally locking into the same direction.
Ronan stepped closer.
Not as Alpha.
Not as wolf.
As her partner.
"If we fight together," he said quietly, "there are rules."
She lifted a brow. "You don't get rules."
His mouth twitched. "Fair."
Then, serious again.
"But there are truths."
He took her hands.
"You don't run alone."
"You don't carry everything alone."
"You don't decide to sacrifice yourself without me."
"And you don't let the shadows decide who you are."
Her chest tightened.
"And you?" she asked softly.
He didn't hesitate.
"I don't treat you like glass."
"I don't cage you with protection."
"I don't make choices for you."
"And I don't stand in front of you anymore."
He rested his forehead against hers.
"I stand beside you."
The mark on her shoulder warmed.
Not flaring.
Not burning.
Recognizing.
Accepting.
Outside the room, Moonfall was transforming into a war machine.
Inside it, something else was forming.
A bond that wasn't just fate.
It was choice.
The Training Begins
By midday, the pack knew.
Not through announcement.
Not through command.
Through instinct.
Through energy.
Through the way the air changed when Evelyn walked through the courtyard at Ronan's side.
Not behind him.
Not hidden.
Not shielded.
Beside.
Whispers followed her.
Not fear.
Not hatred.
Something else.
Reverence.
Curiosity.
Awe.
Respect.
Some bowed their heads.
Some stepped aside.
Some stared openly.
Ash leaned toward Cassian and muttered, "Yep. That's it. We're all definitely living in a prophecy now."
Cassian didn't answer.
He was watching Evelyn.
Not as a threat.
Not as a symbol.
As a force.
Ronan raised his voice.
"Clear the eastern grounds."
Instant movement.
Warriors shifted.
Mages repositioned.
Healers retreated.
Scouts formed perimeter lines.
Evelyn looked at him. "What are you doing?"
"Teaching you how to fight without burning yourself alive."
She exhaled. "That's comforting."
The shadows stirred.
Not violently.
Curiously.
Ronan faced her.
"Don't summon them."
She frowned. "What?"
"You don't command power," he said. "You anchor it."
He placed one hand over her heart.
"Here."
Then one over her shoulder.
"Here."
Then one on her wrist.
"And here."
She swallowed.
"Now breathe."
She did.
Slow.
Deep.
Controlled.
The shadows didn't surge.
They settled.
Ronan nodded. "Good."
Then, unexpectedly—
He shifted.
Not fully.
Half-form.
Silver-black fur along his arms.
Claws extended.
Eyes glowing.
Wolf presence rolling outward like thunder.
Evelyn's pulse spiked.
"Ronan—"
"This is real combat," he said calmly. "Not prophecy. Not visions. Not dreams."
He stepped back.
"Show me what you can do."
Her heart hammered.
The courtyard held its breath.
She lifted her hand—
The shadows responded.
Not exploding.
Not flooding.
Flowing.
Like liquid night.
Like living smoke.
They wrapped around her arm, forming a blade-like shape.
Gasps echoed.
Ronan's eyes narrowed in focus.
"Good. Now move."
She stepped forward.
He lunged.
Fast.
Brutal.
Alpha speed.
Instinct screamed.
The shadows reacted—
But she didn't let them take control.
She twisted.
Pivoted.
Redirected.
The darkness formed a shield instead of an attack.
Ronan's claw hit it.
Impact thundered through the air.
He staggered back a step.
Surprise flashed in his eyes.
Then pride.
"Again."
They moved.
Strike.
Block.
Shift.
Redirect.
Not predator and prey.
Not protector and protected.
Partners in motion.
Warriors watched in stunned silence.
Ash whispered, "We're all dead if they ever argue."
Cassian muttered, "The region is doomed."
Evelyn stumbled once.
Ronan caught her instantly.
Not to stop her.
To steady her.
"Again," he said gently.
She nodded.
The Council Reacts
By evening, word had spread.
The Shadowborn was training.
Not hidden.
Not restrained.
Not locked away.
Training.
With the Alpha.
Some elders panicked.
Some mages prayed.
Some warriors felt hope.
One elder whispered, "If she masters it…"
Another answered, "Then Bloodmoon isn't the greatest threat anymore."
Nightfall
The moon rose full and bright.
The mark pulsed gently.
Evelyn sat on the training ground stone steps, exhausted, sweating, breathing hard.
Ronan handed her water.
She drank.
Then laughed softly.
"I almost fell over three times."
"You almost took out Cassian with a shadow lash," he replied.
"Details."
They sat shoulder to shoulder.
Quiet.
The pack moved around them.
But the world felt distant.
"Ronan," she said quietly.
"Yes?"
"If I lose control one day…"
He didn't let her finish.
"You won't."
"And if I do?"
His voice was calm.
"Then I bring you back."
Simple.
Certain.
Absolute.
She leaned into him.
For the first time since the prophecy, she didn't feel like she was standing at the edge of a cliff.
She felt like she was standing on solid ground.
With someone who would fall with her if the world broke.
Far beyond Moonfall…
Bloodmoon's war fires burned.
The Shadow Father stirred.
The prophecy tightened its grip.
And the shadows whispered through the ley lines of the world:
The Shadowborn is no longer alone.The Alpha no longer stands in front.They stand together.
And that…
That changed everything.