Riley’s POV


    Finished


    A sharp crack rang out as Lucien mmed Ronan into the pavement, ws sinking deep into his opponent’s shoulder. But Ronan’s brute strength allowed him to twist free, retaliating with a vicious swipe that tore through Lucien’s side.


    1 gasped, watching blood stain Lucien’s obsidian fur.


    No more.


    Lucien was fighting for me.


    And I–I was just watching.


    Frozen.


    Again.


    Like I had been in that cell. Like I had been when they dragged me through those corridors, chained and bleeding, for “discipline.” Like I had been when Ronan watched it all with that twisted little smile and did nothing.


    No. Not again.


    I couldn’t lose Lucien. Not him. Not the only one who ever looked at me and saw more than damage.


    A heat surged through me so suddenly I could barely gasp. It spread like fire through my limbs, my chest, my skull. I dropped to my knees.


    Nyra controls.


    I couldn’t breathe..


    The world exploded in light.


    Paws.


    I looked down.


    White.


    And I was angry.


    Ronan didn’t even see meing..


    Iunched from behind, my jaws unhinging with a sound that didn’t belong in this world. I sank my fangs into the thick muscle of his throat, right where wolf met man. His blood gushed hot against my tongue, but I didn’t let go.


    He roared–more from shock than pain–and I bit down harder.


    Then I threw him.


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    Finished


    I don’t know where the strength came from. All I knew was I needed him away from Lucien. Away from me.


    Ronan’s body sailed through the air like a broken doll and crashed headfirst into a jagged stone. The impact echoed like thunder. His body twitched… then went still.


    His wolf form shimmered, copsed in on itself, and left behind his human body–naked, bruised, unconscious.


    Unmoving.


    I shifted back.


    The transformation left me breathless. I copsed to the pavement, gasping, shaking, my skin still tingling from the white wolf’s rage.


    I stared at Ronan’s body. At the blood pooling beneath his head. At his too–still chest.


    “No…” My voice came out broken. “No, no, no–what have I done?”


    I pulled my knees to my chest, curling into myself. “I didn’t mean to- I didn’t want-”


    They’re going to send me back.


    That was my first thought. My only thought.


    Back to the prison. Back to the chains. Back to being nothing but a file and a cage.


    I was shaking so badly I didn’t even feel Lucien until his coat was around my shoulders and his arms were around me.


    “I didn’t mean to,” I whispered again, because maybe if I said it enough, the moon would hear me. Maybe the gods would believe me.


    “Riley,” Lucien said, his voice low, firm, like a hand on my spine. “Breathe.”


    I couldn’t.


    “I think I killed him,” I choked. “Lucien, I killed someone–he’s going to die because of me-”


    “No, he’s not.”


    His hand cradled the back of my head, tucking me into his chest. He smelled like blood and ash and the forest in autumn. He felt like safety.


    “You did what you had to do. He came for you. And you stopped him.”


    “But I wasn’t supposed to fight like that–I wasn’t supposed to be like that. I–what if they see me as a threat? What if-”


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    OX


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    “I’ll protect you,” he interrupted, without hesitation. “Always.”


    I didn’t want to believe him.


    But I did.


    Because he had never once broken a promise to me.


    His voice deepened in that strange, silent way I was still getting used to. A mind–link.


    “Duke. Now. Bring a medic. Quietly.”


    I heard the answer ripple back in his mind, clear and obedient.


    Lucien stayed with me. Didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Just held me as if I wasn’t a killer. As if I was still someone worth saving.


    Finished


    A few minutester, Duke arrived with a healer. I didn’t look up–I didn’t want to see anyone’s judgment.


    But the healer knelt beside Ronan and checked his pulse.


    “He’s alive,” she said. “Barely. But he is.”


    I exhaled so sharply I almost passed out.


    She touched his neck, frowning. “His wolf isn’t healing the wound. The bite’s too deep. He’s been marked by a White Wolf. That kind of wound… his body won’t regenerate on its own.”


    “What does that mean?” I asked, my voice so small.


    She nced up at Lucien. “It means he’ll live. But not without help. We’ll need to get him to Mooncrest’s. primary pack hospital. Now.”


    Duke nodded and called in the transport.


    They loaded Ronan up and drove him away, unconscious and bleeding.


    Still alive.


    I was still staring at the space where his body had been when Lucien crouched beside me again.


    “You did well,” he said.


    I blinked at him. “What?”


    “You fought back. And you won.” His hand found mine, firm and warm. “You’re strong, Riley. Stronger than any of them thought. Stronger than they wanted you to be.”


    “But I hurt him.”


    “He was going to hurt you. Again. Don’t you see?” He leaned closer, his forehead brushing mine. “Anyone who tries to harm you is my enemy. And now, yours too.”


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    Finished


    I swallowed the lump in my throat. “They’ll hate me.”


    “Then let them hate you from under your feet,” he growled softly. “Because you are a white wolf, Riley. Your are rare. You are powerful. And from now on…”


    His eyes burned with gold.


    “….anyone who dares to hurt you will answer to us.”


    And for the first time in years, I believed it.


    I wasn’t weak anymore.


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