Page 56 of A Reign of Malice
“Aurora!” I roar, my voice shredding the silence like a storm tearing through glass.
I don’t care if she’s a goddess or a curse in a pretty dress. If she intends to stand between me and my mate, I’ll rip her apart.
My wolf surges forward, fangs bared, claws splitting through my fingertips, but just before I lose myself completely to the shift, my world flips sideways.
Julian steps into the hallway, and I freeze.
He’s free.
My heart lurches painfully, torn between elation and fear. He’s here. He’s breathing. But something’s…off.
His fists are clenched at his sides, veins bulging along his forearms. His shoulders rise and fall with each heavy breath, his chest expanding like he can’t get enough air. But he doesn’t look up. Doesn’t see me. It’s like he doesn’t even know I’m here.
A soft golden sheen coats his skin, shimmering faintly like sunlight trapped beneath the surface. It clings to him, ethereal and wrong, like something borrowed from a force far too powerful to belong to any wolf.
And then I see her.
Aurora.
She steps into view beside him, her hand curling around his bicep like she owns him, her lips brushing the shell of his ear as she whispers something I can’t hear. Her body leans into his, far too close for comfort, and the possessive snarl building in my throat is nearly impossible to contain.
“What’s happening?” Estee whispers beside me, her voice barely audible.
I can’t answer.
Julian’s entire form begins to shimmer, the glow intensifying until his head falls back, his eyes squeezed shut. His mouth opens wide, but no sound reaches us. The opaque wall between us absorbs everything, including his apparent agony and the lingering fury, leaving us helpless spectators to whatever Aurora is doing to him.
My claws gouge into my palms as I fight the primal rage building in my core. My wolf thrashes inside me, slamming into my ribs, begging for release. I grit my teeth, trying to hold her back, but the moment Julian vanishes into Aurora’s energy, I lose the fight.
A feral roar tears from my lips, my bones snapping, skin stretching as my shift begins and not the smooth, fluid shift of my usual transformation. No, this is jagged and painful, like my body itself is resisting.
What the hell is happening?
“You wolves have no patience.” Aurora’s voice slithers through the air, smooth and mocking. “I honestly don’t know why I keep coming back to this miserable realm.”
My shift falters, pain surging through me as my body is forced back into human form with a jarring snap. My knees buckle, and I hit the floor, panting and shaking with frustration and pain.
When I can open my eyes again, Julian is standing there, whole and perfect and alive.
My chest cracks wide open, everything inside me spilling out in a flood of raw emotion. Relief, joy, fear, and rage—all crashing together until I can’t contain it.
His eyes meet mine, and they shine with that bright, endless blue I’ve dreamed about. His skin is clean, glowing with health. His hair is no longer the uneven mess it was moments ago. He’s even fully dressed in black pants and a grey collared shirt that clings to his heaving chest.
Every part of him healed and brought back to what I imagine he was the day he was cursed. Strong, powerful, and now…mine.
I launch myself forward, my body moving before my mind can catch up. His arms open just in time to grab me, holding me so tightly my ribs protest, but I don’t care.
“Julian,” I whisper, my voice cracking as I press my face into the warm curve of his neck. His scent—clean yet wild, and faintly metallic from the magic still clinging to his skin—floods my senses, slowly unraveling me.
His hands press against my back, fingers digging into my waist like he can’t bear to let go. His chest rumbles, a sound halfway between a growl and a sob.
“I’m here,” he murmurs, voice rough and thick with emotion. “I’ve got you.”
Tears prick my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. I can’t—not yet. Not with Aurora standing there, watching us like an animal toying with its prey.
“I hate to break up whatever this is,” Aurora says, her voice cutting through the fragile moment like a blade. “But we need to go.”
I jerk back, still clutching Julian’s hand. “We’re not going anywhere. I have a pack to protect from Aeson.”
