" Control it, Layla. You have to control it."The words were echoing in her head, sharp and pertinacious. But it was not that simple. It noway was.Layla gripped her teeth, gaping at her hands. They still bucketed with the energy that had just exploded out of her, transferring a surge of force across the training field. The dust had not indeed settled yet, and one look at the wide eyes of the pack members told her all she demanded to know.She had lost control. Again.A sharp voice cut through the stupefied silence." What the hell was that?"Jax. His face was white, his casket still rising and falling from where he would hardly avoided the blast. His shirt was scorched, the edges coiled and darkened.Layla swallowed." I-"" You nearly took my fucking head out, Layla. *" * His voice was not angry just shaken. And that was so much worse." It was an accident," she said, though indeed to her own ears it sounded pathetic.Before anyone could get a word in edgeways, Tyrrell stepped forwar
" Something's coming. I can feel it."Layla's hands shook at her sides, but it was not sweat. It was something differently, something deeper, foreigner. A pull, like an unnoticeable thread wrapping around her caricatures and lugging her toward the unknown.She stood at the edge of the pack's home, the timber stretching out before her in the dim light. The air felt different tonight, thick with pressure.Footsteps grated against the leaves behind her." You feel it too, do not you?"Tyrrell's voice was low, but there was an edge to it. He did not have to ask what she was feeling. He formerly knew.Layla gobbled sprucely." Yeah." *" What's it?"" I do not know." * That was the truth. And she abominated it.Tyrrell stepped beside her, his aspect surveying the treeline." It's them, is not it?"She did not answer right down. She did not have to.She'd felt the pull for hours, but now it was stronger. Closer." Vampires." * The word tasted bitter on her lingo.Tyrrell strained." How do you
"Control it, Layla. You have to control it."She clenched her fists, heart hammering, as the energy crackled through her veins. She could feel it-wild, untamed, like a storm trapped beneath her skin."Layla-"Tyrrell's voice cut through the chaos, but it was distant, drowned out by the pulse of raw power threatening to consume her.Then, the world exploded.A force tore through the battlefield, sending vampires and pack members alike flying across the ground. Layla gasped, her vision blurring, hands shaking from the surge."Shit!" Jax's voice rang out. "Did she just—?""She can't control it!"* someone else shouted.Lelaya stumbled backward, her breathing ragged. The battlefield around her was carnage—bodies, splintered trees, the scent of blood heavy in the air. The vampires were relentless, attacking in waves, faster and stronger than anything they had ever faced.Tyrrell was at her side in an instant, his arm clamping on hers. "Layla, listen to me—""I can't stop it!"* Her voice was
"It was never supposed to be this hard."Layla sat on the edge of the riverbank, staring at the dark water as it moved sluggishly under the moonlight. The battle was over—for now—but the war inside her raged on. The vision, the prophecy, the power growing inside her… it was suffocating.She curled her fingers into the damp earth, grounding herself, but it didn't help. Nothing did.Behind her, footsteps crunched against the fallen leaves. She didn’t need to turn to know it was Tyrrell."You’re avoiding me," he said quietly.Layla closed her eyes. "I’m thinking."*"That's not what I asked."* He sat down beside her, expelling a hard breath. She could hear his exhaustion in that, the way his body barely held together. The battle had taken something from him. His arm was bound in a hasty bandage, his knuckles still raw. He needed to rest."You're hurt," she mumbled."So are you."*She said nothing. There was silence stretched between them thick with things not said."Layla… talk to me."*S
"Blood is never just blood. It holds secrets, it holds curses, it holds in its midst the weight of every choice made before you were born.Layla ran her fingers over the worn pages of the ancient book spread before her. In the flickering candlelight, the ink seemed to shimmer as if the words themselves were alive. Her breathing was shallow as she traced the symbol scrawled across the parchment-a crest she had seen before, buried deep in her memories.She swallowed hard. "This was my mother's, wasn't it?"Across the room, which was dimly lit, an old woman nodded, her eyes a silver unreadable. "It belonged to your bloodline long before her."*Layla exhaled sharply and set her hands against the table to steady herself. "And you're just telling me this now? After everything?""Would you have been ready to hear it before?" The voice was calm, yet there was something behind it-something ancient, something knowing.Layla gritted her teeth. "I don't know. But I didn't get a choice, did I?""N
"Sometimes, the hardest part isn't the fight. It's what comes after."Layla sat by the window, looking out into the darkness. The night was quiet, almost unnervingly so. She could feel the weight of the silence pressing in on her, the stillness only heightening the storm brewing inside her. The calm before the storm, she thought. But was it a battle storm or the storm that would be her soul's fate?She let out a deep sigh and rubbed her temples. There were days when the weight of the prophecy seemed almost too much to bear. Other days, she could feel the pull of her power like a tide rising within her, urging her to step into the unknown, to embrace her destiny. But each time she thought about it, she remembered Tyrrell’s face, the way he always looked at her, the way he made her feel like there was still a chance for normalcy in a world that had gone mad."You’re thinking too much again."Layla turned to find Tyrrell standing in the doorway, his voice low but warm. He had that look o
" How does one choose between the world and his heart?"Layla leaned her palms into the rough gravestone of the deck, gaping out at the horizon where the dark swallowed the day total. The air was thick and heavy, like it carried a warning she could not relatively decrypt. Her powers had been surging all day, creaking beneath her skin, hard to suppose-harder to breathe. Every time she tried to shove it down, push it down, it came back stronger, as if the universe itself refused to let her ignore it.And also there was Tyrrell. Ever-present. Always watching her with that quiet tolerance, as if he awaited for something. For her to break? For her to choose? She knew not presently. All she knew was that the distance between them grew the ocean between them stretched tense by some great weight neither could utter.The sound of thrills against gravestone made her harden. She did n’t turn around. She did n’t have to." You’re avoiding me again." Tyrrell’s voice was calm, but there was somethi
" Is it a choice, if either way, it leads to destruction?She stood in the dream again, the same endless breadth of dead stretching before her, a sky neither light nor dark, a ground that felt like both air and gravestone beneath her bare bases. She knew this place too well by now. It was where the whispers set up her. Where the weight of her fate pressed against her chest like an unseen force.And tonight, she was not alone.This one stood a many bases down, shrouded in shadow as if the veritably darkness could move and palpitate and flitter as fire, casting no light upon it. There was no face, no point, but its voice felt like ancient stones and heavy- the gathering of the whole world into this one critter with the intent to pass judgment on her." You vacillate."Layla blew air sprucely." Would n't you?"" You formerly know the answer to that."She wrapped her arms around her casket." You keep showing up in my dreams, filling my head with riddles.However, perhaps I would n't be scr
"You should've stopped me."Layla's voice pierced the silence of the war room, as sharp as the blade she had just driven into the wooden table. The candlelight danced, casting long shadows across the stone walls, but neither she nor Tyrrell paid it any mind.Tyrrell stood across from her, arms folded, his expression unreadable. "Stopped you from what? Saving what's left of us?"Layla huffed out an angry laugh as she ran her hand through her hair. "No, for making the damned decision in the first place-for sending Samira on that mission, for allowing myself to dream we had something of a possibility to win in this."Tyrrell's jaw clenched. "She knew the risk.""Don't." Layla pointed a shaking finger at Tyrrell. "Don't even dare act as if that does make it easy.Tyrrell let out a slow breath, the weight of the night bearing down on him. "You think I don't feel it? You think I don't hear her screaming in my head every time I close my damn eyes?"Layla's fists clenched. "Then why do you ke
"You sure about this?"Tyrrell looked up from his blade, running a cloth over its edge one last time. Elias was across from him, arms crossed, brows furrowed. The flickering torchlight in the room lent gravity to the tension between them."We don't have a choice," Tyrrell muttered, sliding the dagger into his belt.Elias let out a slow breath, shaking his head. "We always have a choice."Not this time."Layla stood at the far side of the war room, staring down at the map stretched across the wood table. The enemy's supply lines ran deep-carefully planned, well-guarded. Cutting them off wouldn't just weaken their hold on the siege. It could turn the tide completely.But it had to be done right.Layla dug her fingers into the surface of the table, her mind racing. "Infiltration won't be the hard part," she said finally. "It's getting back out."Tyrrell smirked. "Good thing I like a challenge."Elias wasn't amused. "This isn't a game."Layla raised her head, her gaze sharp. "That's enoug
" They are out there."Layla did not need Tyrrell to tell her that. She could feel it- the weight in the air, thick with expectation. The enemy forces had moved like murk in the night, girding the fort with ruthless perfection. Now they were staying, watching, tensing the mesh.She stood at the edge of the stone wall, surveying the treeline beyond the open field. The torches lining their defenses flitted, their light slightly pushing back the darkness." How numerous?" she asked, voice low.Tyrrell exhaled through his nose, his expression grim." further than we can count from over then. They have cut off every possible escape route. We are boxed in."A muscle in her jaw ticked." No reinforcements?"Tyrrell shook his head." Nothing. No dispatches getting in or out. They have got runners watching every path. The alternate anyone tries to break through, they'll be torn piecemeal."Layla's fingers coiled into fists. This was not just a siege. This was a slow, deliberate suffocation.A fig
" You should not be then." Layla's voice was a whip of sword, slicing through the night.The firelight danced across her face as she goggled at the figure standing just beyond its light. The people behind her were tense, ready to attack at her word, but she raised a hand, averting them. This was n't an ordinary enemy.The man before her took a slow step forward, his movements deliberate, as if testing the weight of her words. His dark eyes glistered with something undecipherable, something Layla did n’t trust.“ I came to talk, ” he said, voice smooth, calm. Too calm. “ That is, unless you’d rather continue this war alone. ”Besides her, Tyrrell shifted, fingers twitching on his belt to where his gun rested." You anticipate us to believe you came then just to sputter, Cassius?" His voice had a healthy quantum of doubt trickling from it.Cassius scowled and crossed his arms over his casket." What can I say? I am feeling generous tonight.Layla studied him, her instincts at war with her
" Move out, now!" Layla's voice cut through the pressure in the camp, sharp and commanding, like a cutter. Her eyes darted over her pack, surveying the faces of those who had gathered. Every one of them stood ready, but she could feel the unease in the air. There was no turning back now.Eerily silent, the camp fell as they came together, importing the storm above them that hung in the air. Everyone knew what was to be gained and lost. Every wolf, every fighter, understood the risk. But there was no fear. Not yet. Layla refused to let in the fear. Not today." Ready?" she rumoured, her voice low but indeed. She scrutinized around, again coming to rest on the figure that stood beside her- Jace deposited himself at her side, was formerly holding his armament, his eyes sharp and focused." Ready as we'll ever be," Jace said, slightly above a murmur in the still air." They are coming. Got to move out."In one nippy stir, Layla gave the order, and the pack surged forward. The earth sounded
" You ready?" Jace's voice was low, the question carrying an edge to it that had not been there ahead. It was the kind of question you ask when you know the answer is everything.Layla did not say anything right down. She dragged on the strips of her gear, and her fritters squeezed tight around the hilt of the brand hanging at her side. She felt its weight all the weight, really, of everything that had brought them to this point every decision, every fight, every defeat leading up to now. And the storm was about to hit.Just get this over with," she murmured, further to herself than to Jace. But he heard it, and the nod he gave her was slightly distinguishable. He knew what she was allowing, perhaps indeed better than she did.They were standing in the camp, the fire fluttering low, the air thick with tension. A many of the other wolves were scattered around, stropping weapons, agitating strategies in hushed tones. But Layla was not concentrated on them. Her eyes were fixed on the hor
"Where is he?"Layla's voice cut into the thick, heavy silence like a blade that had been whetted by the weight it carried within this war room. The room itself was dark-the only light an occasional flickering from the low-burning fire, dancing in shadows across old stone walls. Hard, cool eyes stared without blinking at a map laid flat before her; crumpled, yet serviceable. Plans were being rehashed, people regrouped, and answers were needed.The injuries to Tyrrell had been grievous, and still convalescing, he would not be much help in times to come anytime sooner. Finally, out of danger but still with dark circles beneath his eyes and shallow jerks of breath with movement, he did little good for Layla, who was running out of time after all-not with the threat of war looming in every direction.One of her most trusted warriors, Jace, spoke up, his voice low but firm. "Dorian's families holed up at their estate, a few miles to the west. But it's heavily guarded. No one's gotten in si
Layla felt her instincts kick in as she and her team moved through the dense forest. The air was heavier than it should be, thick with a silence that unnerved her. Even the leaves rustling sounded like they held their breath. She knew something was off, but she wasn't quite sure what. Yet."Something's off," she muttered, scanning around them.Tyrrell, walking a few paces ahead, didn’t respond right away. He was always the more level-headed of the two. “Keep moving,” he finally said, his voice steady, though his own sharp eyes darted to the treeline. “We’ve been through worse.”Layla nodded, but the knot in her stomach constricted. Every part of her was screaming that they were walking right into a trap-a trap she hadn't seen coming, not this one, not from this ally.But with the first chopper sound wave, her thoughts flashed to Dorian-a wolf, one of their staunchest allies who'd fought with them for months-run through her brain. He's the one brought the intel-insisted this route woul
“You’re sure this is the place” Layla asked, her voice tight with a blend of jitters and determination. She squinched low, her eyes surveying the darkened landscape beyond the trees, where the faintest figure of the enemy's fort impended. The night was still, save for the occasional howl of leaves. The air felt thick, as if it was holding its breath.Tyrrell jounced. His aspect cut through the murk sprucely." The information's good. The rogue wolves we've encountered are from this area. We cannot let them get any further, Layla. We need answers."Layla's jaw tensed, her heart pounding in her chest. also, we take them, she said, her voice firm. We get the answers we need, and we do it presto.Tyrrell's eyes darted to her." Stay focused. We need to move still.She smelled her teeth but said nothing. It had been a long way, and the last thing she wanted was to peril this chance at getting inside enemy home. Every step had been calculated, every moment measured. The enemy's operations wer