Chapter 12A Descent Into ShadowsFiona's POVThe darkness swallowed Quinton whole, leaving me gasping for breath as I lay sprawled on the cold floor. My vision blurred, the remnants of Odin’s broken ritual hanging in the air like shattered glass. The pulse of dark energy still resonated within me, but the one thing I feared most was the gaping emptiness where Quinton’s presence used to be.I scrambled to my feet, my limbs heavy and weak. “Quinton!” I screamed into the silence, but there was no response. The cabin’s walls seemed to close in around me, pressing in like the suffocating darkness outside. It was as if the entire world had collapsed into itself, and all that remained was this void. Odin staggered up beside me, a grim expression on his face. His eyes held a mixture of horror and regret, but also something else—a glimmer of hope. “It’s not over,” he muttered, clutching his side as he straightened. “We still have a chance to save him.”“How?” I demanded, my voice trembling.
Chapter 13Into The AbyssFiona's POVThe darkness crashed over me like a tidal wave, pulling me under so fast, I couldn't breathe. My senses were overwhelmed—suffocating, thick, cold. It was as if the very air had turned solid, trapping me in an unrelenting void. My wolf, once snarling and defiant, was silent now, retreating into the depths of my mind where even she couldn’t fight against this force. I grasped desperately for something—anything—solid, anything familiar, but all I felt was the pulsing rhythm of the shadows around me. There was no ground beneath me, no air to fill my lungs. Only the pressing weight of dark magic that tightened around my chest like a noose. But then, through the crushing blackness, I felt it—a spark. Small, faint, but unmistakably Quinton.His presence flared in my mind, a pulse of warmth amid the icy void, and I clung to it with everything I had. I could feel him, barely there but still alive, fighting beneath the layers of darkness that had swallowe
Chapter 14The Depths Of Despair Fiona's POVThe first thing I became aware of was the cold. It seeped into my bones, deeper than any winter chill I’d ever felt, numbing every inch of my body. I tried to open my eyes, but the lids were heavy, weighed down by exhaustion and the residual effects of the dark magic that had taken hold of me. My mind was a fog, struggling to grasp onto anything solid, anything real. But then the memories came flooding back, slamming into me with the force of a tidal wave. The void, Quinton lost to the darkness, the mysterious figure with the voice that echoed from the abyss. Panic flared in my chest, and I forced my eyes open, desperate to make sense of where I was.I was lying on the cold, hard ground, my body stiff and aching. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and something else—something metallic, like blood. The dim light that filtered through the dense canopy above cast eerie shadows, making it difficult to see anything clearly.I push
Chapter 15The Shadow Within Fiona's POVThe darkness was different this time. It wasn’t the cold, empty void that had swallowed Quinton or the eerie blackness of the forest. It was suffocating, pressing in on all sides, squeezing the breath from my lungs and the thoughts from my mind. I was drowning in it, lost in a sea of shadows, with no light, no hope of escape.But somewhere, deep within that darkness, there was a presence. It was familiar, comforting even, like a whisper of a memory long forgotten. I reached for it, desperate for anything that could pull me from the abyss, but the shadows clung to me, dragging me down, deeper and deeper.Then, just as I was about to give in, to let the darkness consume me, I felt a jolt—a sharp, searing pain that cut through the fog and brought me back to reality. My eyes snapped open, and I was greeted by blinding light, so bright it made me wince. I groaned, raising a hand to shield my eyes as I tried to get my bearings. I was lying on som
Chapter 16Shadows Of FateQuinton's POVThe scent of pine and rain lingered in the air as I crossed the threshold of the forest, leaving behind the familiar warmth of the pack house. My senses were on high alert, every instinct tuned to Fiona’s scent, but I couldn’t find it—couldn’t feel the bond that usually pulsed through me like a lifeline. It was as though something had severed it, and for the first time since we bonded, I felt truly lost.Panic had been a steady companion since Fiona disappeared after that strange energy blast. The darkness that surrounded her, the unnatural force that had drawn her away from me, felt like a bruise on my soul. It was as if the universe had torn her away from my grasp, and now, everything felt incomplete—like a part of me was missing.I had searched every inch of the forest, every hidden cave, every clearing, but there was no sign of her. My wolf growled with frustration, a raw, primal need to protect our mate coursing through my veins. But somet
Chapter 17The Price Of LoyaltyQuinton’s POVThe moon hung low in the sky, casting an ethereal glow over the forest. My paws thudded against the damp earth as I ran, my thoughts racing faster than my legs could carry me. The conversation with Selene and the mysterious man still echoed in my mind—Fiona born of the shadows? A war between light and darkness? None of it made sense, and yet every word had burrowed itself deep into my soul.As I pushed forward through the underbrush, my wolf growled in frustration. The trail was fading, Fiona's scent dissipating like mist before the dawn. It was getting harder to track her, harder to feel the connection that had once been so strong. The bond that had tied us together was fraying, unraveling as though something—or someone—was deliberately cutting the threads.I needed answers. I needed to find her.Selene had led me to this portal, hidden deep within the forest. The creatures that had attacked us—those things with their glowing blue eyes an
Chapter 18Echoes Of DesperationQuinton’s POVI hit the ground hard, the impact forcing the air from my lungs. The swirling shadows dissipated around me, leaving me gasping and disoriented. The forest that had surrounded me mere seconds ago was gone, replaced by a vast, barren wasteland. The sickly gray sky stretched endlessly above me, and the ground beneath my hands was cracked and dry, much like the place I had seen earlier.Fiona’s words—her cold, emotionless voice—still echoed in my mind, cutting deeper than any physical wound ever could. She had told me to leave, to let her go. But how could I? How could I abandon the woman who was supposed to be my mate, my other half?I pushed myself to my feet, my muscles trembling with the effort. The memory of her standing next to that silver-haired man burned in my mind. He had looked at me with a smugness that I wanted to tear off his face, but Fiona… She had looked at me like I was a stranger.No, this wasn’t over. It couldn’t be. I wou
Chapter 19Descent Into ShadowsQuinton’s POVThe icy grip of fear clutched my heart as Fiona lunged at me, her eyes glowing with that unnatural light. This was not the woman I knew, the mate I had fought so hard to protect. Whatever had taken over her was something dark, something I could barely comprehend, let alone defeat. But I couldn’t give up—not on her, not on us.My wolf snarled inside me, ready to tear apart whatever dark force was controlling her. But as Fiona’s hands reached for me, crackling with dark energy, I knew that brute strength wouldn’t be enough. I had to find another way to save her, to pull her back from the abyss she was slipping into.I dodged her attack, barely escaping the searing pain of her energy. The air between us crackled with tension, and I could feel the power radiating off her in waves, each pulse more intense than the last. This wasn’t just a battle of strength; it was a battle for her soul, and I was losing ground fast.“Fiona, please,” I pleaded,