Cassian fought just behind me, twin daggers shing silver He was quick, precise, ruthless everything an alpha was trained to be. For a moment, we moved in perfect sync, a rhythm built by years of battle and training,


    Cassian shifted as he downed one rogue and moved to intercept another. They were pouring from the treeline now, too many to count in the chaos.


    Every second brought more danger and urged me to move faster, harder. Stop this before it could spread.


    Cassian''s wolf form, huge and copper brown, dominated the field. Drew attention in the dim light that masked my own form.


    I realized just a moment toote that the storm-deep darkness was working against him. Cassian was engaged with a rogue, his focus on dodging the des swinging at him.


    A rogue slipped through the trees behind Cassian, de angled toward the vulnerable gap at his spine.


    It was a crippling blow, if not a killing one. My blood turned to ice as I processed the scene in an instant.


    I didn''t think. I didn''t have time to.


    "Cassian-!"


    Cassian turned, but toote.


    Iunched forward, intercepting the strike with my own body.


    The de dug into my side – hot, blinding, a white sh of pain that stole the breath from my lungs – but I kept moving, twisting, using my momentum to m the rogue into the ground. The man didn''t rise again.


    For half a heartbeat, Cassian stared at me, shock and something dangerously close to panic flickering across his


    features.


    Then battle swept us back into motion.


    The remaining rogues lunged. Warriors intercepted. des shed. Snarls tore through the clearing. It was a blur of movement and sound the kind that left no time to think, only survive.


    Rain began to fall and in the lightning shes I could see the snapping of Cassian''s jaws, his growlspeting with the thunder overhead.


    Maybe it was the storm, maybe Cassian''s vicious offensive, but the rogues began to retreat. Slowly at first, then all at once.


    And then, finally, silence.


    The forest sagged into stillness, the aftermath hanging heavy in the air. The only sounds beneath the storm werebored breaths and the drip of blood onto soil.


    Cassian dropped to his knees beside me. His hands pressed against my side without hesitation. Blood soaked through the torn fabric of my shirt, dark and steady, too steady.


    I was distnatly aware of it, as if I was standing nearby and observing rather than experiencing the injury. I knew that I was pale, that I was cold, and that it bing more difficult to keep my thoughts clear.


    "Damn it," Cassian muttered, voice tight with guilt and fury. "You took a de meant for me. You idiot."


    I managed a faint, grim smile. "You''d have done the same.


    “Don''t talk.” Cassian looked up sharply. "Get the medics here now!" he barked to one of the warriors.


    +25 Bonus


    My vision wavered. The world swam in and out of focus-ees stretching, faces blurring, light slipping away at the edges. Someone was speaking. Someone was wrapping thy wound. Someone was lifting my arm. But the details smeared together like wet paint.


    Cold air bit against my skin. The scent of soil filled my lungs. A warrior''s voice echoed from far away, calling for stretchers, for supplies, for haste.


    Through the haze, one thought rose clear and sharp.


    "Ellie..." The word slipped out before I could stop it.


    Cassian''s hand tightened on my shoulder. "She''s safe. You see her soon. Just hold


    on."


    I tried to nod – or maybe I only thought I did. My limbs stopped obeying him. My breaths felt distant, as though they belonged to someone else.


    The warriors lifted me onto a stretcher, Cassian at my side, his face set in a mixture of determination and fear I had never seen on him before.


    It made him look younger. Made him look like Ellie.


    And the boys.


    The image of August andn came into my mind so sharply that for one startling moment, I thought they were there in front of me. My heart raced.


    The forest blurred overhead. The sky darkened.


    Thest thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me was Cassian leaning over me, shouting orders, refusing to let me slip away.


    I wanted to reassure him. Wanted to tell him that I had to do it, that I couldn''t let Ellie''s brother be hurt, but I couldn''t speak.


    Then everything went still.


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