Diva’s POVThe silence after the battle felt too loud.Derek held me, his heartbeat strong beneath my cheek. Warm. Solid. Alive.But something had shifted inside me.The power I’d unleashed still lingered beneath my skin, pulsing like a second heartbeat. It wasn’t fading. It wasn’t done.And neither was Ronan.He hadn’t lost.He had wanted this.Derek’s fingers brushed against my jaw, tilting my face up. “You with me?”I swallowed hard. “Yeah.”His eyes searched mine, golden and fierce, but beneath the fire, I saw it—the flicker of doubt.Not in me.For me.The sound of footsteps snapped our attention toward the shadows.Lukas.Bloodied, exhausted, his usual arrogance dulled. His gaze flicked between us before settling on me.“I didn’t know he’d do that,” he muttered.Derek stiffened beside me, his voice a low growl. “You helped him.”Lukas raised his hands, wincing. “I didn’t have a choice.”I crossed my arms. “Why should we believe you?”Lukas exhaled sharply. “Because I know where
Diva’s POVThe silence after the battle was unbearable.The ruins still reeked of blood, of burnt magic, of something unholy.Derek’s arms were wrapped around me, his grip solid. I clung to him, to his warmth, to the reality of him being alive.But the way he looked at me—Like I was different.Like I wasn’t just Diva anymore.And maybe I wasn’t.The power I had unleashed still pulsed beneath my skin, whispering, curling, waiting. It had listened to me. Obeyed.And it wasn’t gone.A groan pulled me from my thoughts.Lukas.He staggered to his feet, face pale, his usual cocky smirk nowhere to be found.“Well,” he muttered, running a hand through his blood-matted hair. “That was… horrifying.”Derek ignored him. His golden eyes were locked on me. Searching. Questioning.I could feel what he wasn’t saying.What are you?I took a shaky step back. Derek’s hands dropped from my arms. The loss of his touch sent a chill through me.“I—” My voice cracked. “Is it really over?”Derek’s jaw tighte
Diva’s POVI woke up gasping.The nightmare clung to me, thick and suffocating. My skin was damp with sweat, my fingers trembling as I shoved the blankets away.Derek was already awake. Sitting at the edge of the bed, his back tense, shoulders rigid.He’d heard me.I swallowed hard. “Derek…”He turned, golden eyes locking onto mine. His expression unreadable.Then, after a long beat—“What did you see?”I hesitated.How could I tell him?That my father—a man I had never known—had spoken to me? That the power inside me wasn’t an accident?That I was never supposed to be weak?Derek’s patience thinned. “Diva. Tell me.”I forced the words out. “My father.”His entire body went still.“What?”I exhaled shakily. “He was in my dream. He spoke to me.” I clenched the sheets, grounding myself. “He said I was almost ready.”Derek swore under his breath and stood, raking a hand through his hair. “Almost ready for what?”I shook my head. “I don’t know.”Lies.I did know.I just wasn’t ready to say
Diva’s POVThe world felt off.Everything around me was sharp, too real, like my senses had been stretched to their limits. I could hear the thud-thud of my own heartbeat, the uneven breaths of the warriors around me, the whisper of the wind curling through the trees.But worst of all—I could still feel him.Ronan’s presence clung to me like a phantom, wrapping around my ribs, pressing against my skin like a second pulse.Derek’s hands tightened around my arms. “Diva.”His voice was low, rough, edged with a concern he never showed.I forced myself to meet his gaze. His golden eyes searched mine, and for a moment, I thought I saw something there—Fear.Not for himself.For me.I pulled away. “I’m fine.”Derek’s jaw clenched. “You’re not.”He was right.I could still hear Ronan’s words echoing in my mind."You’re already mine."And the worst part?A small, hidden part of me believed him.—Derek’s POVDiva was slipping away.I could see it.She stood in front of me, but she wasn’t here
My body went rigid.The moment I saw Diva standing beside Ronan, something inside me snapped.No.This wasn’t happening.This couldn’t be happening.But the truth was right in front of me.She stood next to him, her face blank, her eyes—black as the abyss.Not a flicker of recognition. Not a single sign of her.A slow, cruel smile spread across Ronan’s lips. “Didn’t I tell you, Alpha?” His voice slithered through the air like poison. “She was already mine.”I couldn’t breathe.I couldn’t think.Because my mate—my Luna—was standing beside the very man who wanted to destroy everything we had fought for.A dark energy pulsed from her. The warriors behind me shifted uneasily, their growls rumbling in the cold night air.Lukas appeared at my side, eyes wide with horror. “What the hell is this?”Diva didn’t move.Didn’t blink.Didn’t even acknowledge us.I took a step forward. “Diva.”No response.I clenched my fists. My heart pounded, a battle between rage and desperation.“I know you’re i
I didn’t sleep.Didn’t eat.Didn’t stop moving.Because if I stopped—if I let myself think—I would lose control.Lukas, Gareth, and the warriors were gathered in the war room. Maps covered the long table, marked with red ink.Ronan’s territory. His strongholds. His weaknesses.My fists clenched.Diva was in his hands.Every second that passed was a second too long.Lukas paced, frustration rolling off him in waves. “We don’t have time to waste, Derek.”I knew that.But rushing in blind would get her killed.And I wasn’t losing her. Not again.I lifted my gaze. “We go at dawn.”Lukas stopped pacing. “Dawn?”“The full moon is tomorrow.” I inhaled sharply. “He’ll use it to strengthen the curse.”A heavy silence fell over the room.Everyone knew what that meant.If Ronan succeeded—if Diva became his—she would be lost forever.Gareth spoke first. “Then we don’t wait. We will end this.”I nodded.Because there was no other choice.—Diva’s POVPain.It wrapped around me like a second skin.
I held Diva against me, my pulse hammering in my ears. She trembled, weak and unsteady, but she was here. She was back.But we weren’t safe. Not yet.A low, inhuman growl rippled through the air.Ronan.He stepped from the swirling shadows, his eyes glowing a sickening red. Power crackled around him, thick and suffocating. The walls shuddered, stone crumbling from the ceiling.I didn’t move.Didn’t blink.He had already taken too much.And I would rather die than let him take her again.Ronan’s lips curled. “You think you’ve won?”My grip on Diva tightened.She exhaled a shaky breath. “Derek…”Her fingers dug into my arm, her gaze blurry, unfocused. But there—a flicker of recognition.Hope.I inhaled slowly. “I’ve got you, Diva.”A cold laugh echoed. “You’re a fool.”Ronan raised his hands.The room exploded.Shadows lashed out, living creatures of darkness, slamming into me with bone-crushing force. I flew backward, my spine smashing into stone. Air ripped from my lungs.Diva’s screa
Diva was nestled in my arms, limp body, shallow breathing. The passion that had blazed so hot within her had been expended now, leaving her depleted, exposed.I pulled her closer, my heart racing. She was alive. That was all that mattered.The fortress was collapsing around us, walls falling, shadows fading into the void. The curse was broken.But we weren't safe yet.The ceiling groaned as massive cracks split the stone. Debris rained down, dust choking the air. A low, booming rumble vibrated the earth beneath our feet.I gritted my teeth. "Diva, we have to get out."Her eyelids fluttered, but she was too weak to respond.I scooped her up and ran.The hallways were crumbling, the floor shattering under my feet. I pushed through, dodging crashing wreckage, my wolf snarling in despair.I was not going to let this place kill us.I was not going to let anything keep her away from me again.Light.I spotted it—a break in the fallen walls. An exit.I plunged through.As I reached the openi
She looked at Derek. His own eyes, still burning with determination even though he was hurt, reflected her own horror and shock. They both felt that moment of wordless comprehension that every second now counted.The stranger went on, "Three days from now, judgment will be upon you. Until then, you need to prepare and gather your spread light. Only thus can you try to overcome the darkness that will cover you.".Diva's brain went haywire. Three days. The countdown has begun. Each second was a precious, clockwork moment that could rescue her or nothing. Her heart thumped with adrenaline and utter terror. "And what is your price?" she snarled, voice steady over the tempest raging within her.The stranger's eyes clenched and he gave no swift reply. He extended his hand—a gesture in silence full of potential and threat. The air was charged with tension.Diva hesitated, hand hanging between the palmar calluses of destiny and trembling skin. She knew that to take it would reverse everything
The beat of Diva's heart was a war drum pounding as she led the pack into the ruined courtyard of the stronghold. The sunrise on the horizon-painted with red and gold—a bitter reminder that even a morning plucked from the darkness had horrors yet Chapterunimagined. Every step a battle cry, every breath a challenge of the shadows that would consume them.Diva's gaze scanned the horizon, where morning's earliest light and smoke from burning fires were combined. The enemy was advancing again. From that chaos, the Void awoke from slumber—its strength always on standby, devouring at her whim. She gripped her sword firmly, with brute strength flowing through her, a skill she'd had pounded into her veins and given.By her side, Derek strode with desperate circumspection, his gold eyes blazed hot though welts on his battered frame testified to a struggle of another sort. His hand is still fast around hers, a promise that they should never be parted, no matter what. They had fought for this fl
Diva paused in the doorway of an enormous room. The ground was strewn with shards of broken mirror, each with partial reflections of the past—a past of love, loss, and endless struggle. In the center of the room, balanced atop a pedestal, sat a glowing fragment of mirror. Its beam was peaceful, nearing in upon her.Varin invited them in. "That is the Fragment of Light," he said to them. "It holds in it the promise of rebirth, but at a price. To claim it, you have to let go of that which binds you to your sorrow."Diva's stomach pulled in. Every memory, every sob, every whispered promise was hers. To let it go…was like erasing her very being.She looked at Derek. His eyes silently pleaded with her—a mix of love and sadness that nearly shattered her determination.She closed her eyes for a moment, drawing a jagged breath. When she opened them again, they burned with a fierce resolve. "I choose our future," she whispered. "Not the pain of the past."A brilliant light poured out of the sh
Diva's heart thrummed as she sprinted down the stronghold stone corridor. Every step echoed like a rebellious drumbeat. Wind sliced across her cheek, mixed with the foam and purpose. Before her lay the dark threat beating like a living shadow; behind her lay the pack's warriors in a wall of growls and biding talons.Derek charged at her side, his golden eyes afire with a fierce determination that belied his battered body. His eyes, usually steady and reassuring, now blazed with urgency. During the fleeting interludes between battles, their eyes spoke all that needed saying—a silent vow to hold on, to fight on, no matter the cost.The enemy was no longer dark threat. Mutters had evolved to bellowing. The Void—the hoary, amorphous monster described in halcyon recollection of old myth—came into being. Its presence squeezed against the ramparts of the fortress like a hug of vengeful haze, distorting reality in fiendish, chaotic ways.A slam from the outside wall jarred the fortress brutal
Diva's heart pounded against her ribcage as she sprinted down the fortress corridor, blinded by the black-outs. Every step a frantic trot through the silence of the aftermath. The devastation of the previous day's battle—scorched dirt and acrid shreds of broken vows—remained etched on the walls. Every burst of torchlight made her jump, every figure vanishing into the shadows reminded her of decisions now weighing on her conscience.She gripped her side where the bruise pulsed with pain, but not pain that hindered her—it was betrayal, the cold sting of doubt in her veins. Her mind whirled back to Caelan's words moments before, a poisonous truth that questioned her who she was. Even as the pack bayed her name in triumph, she felt a void gnawing in her chest, as if something was ripped away from her.Derek's dark form emerged from the corridor down the hall. His gait was uneven; each step a tell-tale for a man fighting the battle against fatigue and hidden grief. When his gaze met hers,
For one moment, as the first blush of dawn stole above the line of the world, the universe paused as a single breath.Then a distant symphony of horns shattered the fragile calm. The enemy forces marched forward—black hordes marching with death in their minds through the valley. The land trembled under the weight of their advance.Diva's heart thudded. The energy that seethed in her was wild and unforgiving, a fire she barely recognized but was bent on controlling. The strands of light within her, the potential of the new beginning, were for redemption.The war had barely ended. Preyed on by the Void, an emptiness just coming into being, there was threatening her on the horizon like a storm. But upon seeing Derek, then Alaric's stern face, a spark of rebellious hope was kindled in her."We have three days," she repeated again, voice a soft command that rang in every warrior's head. "Three days to gather our strength, to prepare ourselves for the coming darkness. And if we do. we might
Diva leaned against the slippery balustrade of the fortress, her gaze raked over the storm-shrouded horizon on which waves of clouds seemed to twist around like maddened phantoms. There had been a triumphant shouting at last, but a cold stillness closed in about her like a second skin. All the pack roars now seemed so hollow, as if victory had been won at a cost, biting deep into every heart.He moved slowly through the courtyard, each step a struggle with his own wounds.Diva's heart pounded, each beat a reminder of that dark turn in her life. Ronan's words reverberated in her mind: "You were never meant to exist." The memory of that cold statement mixed with the bitter aftertaste of betrayal. She clenched her fists until they turned white, refusing to let that ugliness claim her future.A ruckus of boisterous shouting from inside the hall attracted their attention. Wolves—pack members—huddled anxiously, eyes wide with fear and confusion. Jorah stepped out into the open, shaking voic
Diva stood at the balcony of Blackfang stronghold, gazing out over rolling hills now hers. The full moon cast silver light upon the ravaged battlefield, shining down upon the wolves once at war with each other but now united.She should have won. She should have won.Instead, a pain was firmly rooted in her chest.Being Alpha never was a dream of hers.She had spent her life fighting for survival, not for power. But power had found her anyway.A warm presence moved behind her.Derek.His touch was gentle as he placed his hands on her shoulders, his fingers tracing the bruises and healing wounds that still marked her skin."You’re thinking too much," he murmured.Diva exhaled sharply. "There’s too much to think about."Derek turned her to face him, his yellow eyes locked on hers. "Then let me take some of it."She wanted to.By the gods, she wanted to.This was her responsibility now.She had become the Alpha, and with that came the burden for every life in her pack.And not everyone a
Diva's hands closed around Derek's blood-soaked shirt as she held him to her breast. His body was limp, his breathing shallow—too shallow."No, no, no," she whispered, her trembling hands applied to his wound. "Stay with me, Derek. Please."But his golden eyes remained shut. His skin was growing cold.Horror clutched at her chest.The battlefield was quiet, wolves still in the aftermath of Ronan's fall. Blackfang warriors hoped cautiously, but the survivors of Ronan's army had already surrendered, their commander nothing but ash.It did not matter.Not if she lost him.Diva clenched her teeth, attempting to disregard the burning of her own wounds. "Someone get the healer!" she shouted, voice raspy.No one moved.They were still in shock, still waiting for her command.Then—A person pushed through the crowd.Jorah, Derek's beta. His eyes were wide with fear, his actions quick. "We have to move him," he said urgently. "Now."Diva nodded, but when she went to lift Derek, a rough hand pu