The tension between Caleb and Adrian was suffocating. The air between them crackled like a storm about to break, both men poised on the edge of violence. But it was pointless. No fight between them would change the truth.
Lila was slipping through their fingers.
The silence was shattered by a distant, anguished scream. Both men froze, instincts flaring—Lila.
Caleb was the first to move, shifting mid-stride into his wolf form and charging toward the sound. Adrian followed, faster than any mortal eye could track. They ran side by side, not as allies but as two predators chasing the same prey.
They found her at the heart of the ruins, on her knees, trembling. Shadows coiled around her body like living tendrils, flickering between control and chaos. The air was thick with power—her power—raw and unrestrained. Her breathing was ragged, her fingers digging into the stone beneath her as if grounding herself against something unseen.
