Page 25 of The Alpha's Shattered Bonds

The dark relic he clutched gleamed ominously. The wolves at his side growled in response, their eyes glowing like embers.

Tyler straightened, defiance igniting in his chest. “You can’t intimidate me. A true leader doesn’t hide behind curses and shadows.”

The tension crackled between them as Tyler shifted once more into his mighty silver wolf.

“Unnuak atuutluktuku!” Alpha Marcus’s voice boomed with power. The ancient language of the goddess was sharp and guttural as his curses flew at me like arrows.

I’d never felt anything as powerful or grotesque. That last word of the incantation pulled at me: “tuku— kill.”I felt the certainty in that word and in the oily residue that pulsed from the artifact and Marcus’s will.

Sweat broke across my brow, rivulets winding down my back. With every ounce of determination, I reinforced my barrier. I clenched my fists and teeth, willing all of my strength into the force field around us. The rhythmic thud of my heartbeat drowned out the growls around me, filling my senses with urgency. But the artifact glowed ominously, and a pulse ofmalevolent energy rushed at me—a darkness that seemed almost alive as it barreled toward me.

“No!” I screamed. I reached out with my magic, pouring my essence into the barrier, but it shimmered and faltered dangerously. Shards of light shattered like glass around me, splintering, leaving myself and the two silver wolves exposed. I felt the oppressive surge of the Black Moon’s power crushing my own as time seemed to slow and stretch around me.

“Unnuak atuutluktuku!” The Black Moon leader chanted again. His voice was all-consuming. The bloodlust in it centered on me as he sent another wave of darkness from the relic toward me. Without my barrier, I knew this was it. I didn’t have the energy to conjure anything else. I didn’t even have the energy left to shift into my wolf’s form, who might have been able to outmaneuver this dark magic. The whisper of my wolf beneath my skin was too weak to even rise to the surface after I’d drained my magic.

But then, Tyler’s wolf threw himself in front of me. A low growl resonated from Logan, too, as he joined him, the two of them forming a wall of silver fur. Protectiveness radiated from them both as they positioned themselves between me and the encroaching tide of dark magic. Like a crashing wave, the darkness hit the two wolves. The air crackled with tension as their bodies collided with the oncoming threat.

Terror and shock pounded through me. The world around me was a cacophony of growls and the breaking wave of darkness. Then, both my protectors, who had taken the full force of that hit, slumped to the forest floor.

Were they all right? But before I could check on them, two massive black wolves stole toward me. My heart raced as I braced myself to fight, not just for my sake, but for Tyler and Logan’s. The air hummed with tension, the distance closing all too quickly as the wolves charged.

Chapter Eleven

Seraphina

With each thud of the black wolves’ paws against the forest floor, my heart raced violently, drumming a frantic beat in my chest. Dizziness swirled through me, and I gasped for breath, desperately trying to steady myself. Tyler and Logan lay incapacitated, and I felt the weight of exhaustion creeping in, threatening to steal me away at any moment.

The fragile wisps of magic within me felt painfully inadequate against the murky shadows pressing in from all sides. Panic churned as a primal instinct clawed at me. My wolf roared for freedom, especially with the two menacing wolves charging at me. But I clamped down the urge to shift; fangs and claws would do little against the tide of dark magic enveloping us.

“No!” I screamed, my voice piercing the damp air, trembling with desperation and determination. “I won’t let you have them!”

I pressed my palms to the earth, feeling the vibrant energy of the Nuvuja Mountains swirl beneath me like a living entity. I reached deep into the ground, calling upon the hidden roots, ores, and crystals that lay buried far below. The ancient energy sang through my blood, reverberating with the pulse of the mountain yet trembling under the malignant influence of the dark artifact.

The forest itself whispered encouragement, urging me to tap into the raw wildness coursing through its roots, an instinctivereminder of our land’s potent power. The mountain’s magic surged through me, igniting a renewed strength within my body and fueling my spirit.

I leaped forward, positioning myself protectively over my fallen companions.

As the black wolves lunged, they collided with an invisible barrier of pure energy. One wolf snarled, jaws snapping fiercely, but recoiled as if struck by lightning, its eyes wide with shock. The second wolf crashed into the first, jerking back with a yelp of pain, confusion flickering across its sleek, dark face. Power coursed through me, amplifying my magic and lending resilience to the shield enveloping me, Tyler, and Logan.

Then, howls I knew deep in my marrow suffused the air: Silver Moons. They’d seen the flare. They’d come. I barely had time to process the wonderful energy of my pack joining me before the Silver Moon warriors swarmed. Silver fur flashed like lightning through the dusky backdrop of the forest, driving the Black Moons back.

As the Black Moon leader retreated with his medallion, a renewed fire ignited within me, and I felt the current of my energy roaring through my veins.

As the last of the black wolves slipped into the shadows, a heavy silence fell over the clearing, broken by the panting Silver Moons catching their breath.

But my heart sank as I turned to where Tyler and Logan lay, their bodies crumpled on the forest floor, the nightmare of the darkness we’d just faced evident in their stillness.

I ran to them, my mind racing. Transforming into my human form, my hands ran over them. “No,” I breathed. The dark magic still pulsed through them, clinging to them like an oily residue.

But…the sound of two steady heartbeats were apparent beneath my palms and flooded my heightened shifter senses as I was finally able to focus on them both. Relief washed over me.

Tara joined me, kneeling beside them, worry etched on her delicate face. Her short, tousled hair framed her worried hazel eyes. “What happened?” she asked.

“They protected me,” I managed, warmth stinging behind my eyes as tears threatened to spill. “They shielded me from a curse.”

“I’m pleased you’re okay, Seraphina,” Tara said gently, her eyes soft with understanding that cut through my spiraling thoughts.

She reached out, squeezing my shoulder, the simple touch grounding me in a way words couldn’t.

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