Xander’s POVDarkness swallowed us whole as we crept through the twisted alleys of the Ancient Rogue City. The air was thick with decay, the scent of blood and damp earth saturating my senses. Every shadow felt like a pair of watching eyes, every gust of wind like a whispered warning to turn back. But I wouldn't. I couldn’t.Alison was here. Alone. Trapped. And every second I wasted was a second closer to losing her.Simone moved beside me like a ghost, her footfalls silent against the uneven ground. She grabbed my arm, pulling me into the shadow of a crumbling wall as a group of rogue wolves passed by, their laughter guttural, their conversations laced with violence. I clenched my jaw, suppressing the growl building in my chest. I wanted to tear through them, rip apart anything that stood between me and Alison."Alpha, you need to keep your head straight," Simone whispered, her breath warm against my ear. "If you charge in blind, you're not saving Alison, you’re just getting you
Alison’s POVThe cold stone beneath my bare feet sent a shiver up my spine as I was dragged through the dimly lit corridors. My wrists ached from the tight grip of Kendrick’s men, their fingers like iron clamps around my skin. No matter how hard I struggled, how much I kicked and twisted, they didn’t loosen their hold."Let go of me, you bastards!" I hissed, my voice raw with defiance.One of them yanked me forward, making me stumble. "Save your energy, girl," he sneered. "You’ll need it for what’s coming."A sharp burst of fear tightened around my chest, but I refused to let it show. I lifted my chin, forcing steel into my voice. "If you think I’m going down without a fight, you don’t know me at all."The rogue to my left let out a low chuckle. "That’s what they all say before they break."They shoved me forward through a set of massive double doors, and my breath hitched as the throne room came into view.It was nothing like Xander’s grand hall, this was a place of nightmare
Xander’s POV"Don’t you dare fucking touch her!" I bellowed, my heart hammering against my chest as I tore through the throng of Kendrick’s warriors. Every step I took felt like a war between my body and my soul. Their stench, sweat, blood, and rogue filth clung to the air, but none of it mattered. Nothing mattered but her.Simone moved beside me, her magic flashing like brilliant streaks of light, incapacitating rogues as we cut a path toward Alison. "I’m holding them off, but we’re running out of time!" she shouted, her eyes flicking toward the throne where Kendrick stood, watching with an evil grin curling on his lips.The scent of her, Alison grew stronger as we moved closer, but it was marred with fear, agony. And something darker. I could feel it, feel her slipping away from me, piece by piece. My chest tightened, the bond between us stretching thinner with each agonizing step.No. No, no, no.I shoved through another rogue who dared to block my way, ignoring the sting of
Alison’s POV The world around me exploded in a flash of silver-white light, my senses sharpening to a degree I’d never experienced before. The smell of blood, sweat, and earth filled the air like a tidal wave crashing over me. The ground beneath my paws felt alive, pulsing with energy, every vibration humming through my body. My bones ached as they shifted, but the pain was nothing compared to the power that surged through me. I could feel everything. The weight of the air. The pressure in my lungs. The pulse of the earth beneath me. Every footstep, every breath of Kendrick, every heartbeat in the room, it was like the world had slowed, and I was the center of it all. "Impossible…" Kendrick's voice echoed around the room, laced with disbelief and anger. I didn’t need to look at him to feel the fury radiating from his every cell. He was terrified. But so was I, though I couldn’t fully comprehend why. The connection to Xander flared again.. warmth, light, his energy coursing thr
Xander’s POVThe acrid scent of blood and burning wood filled the air, a grim reminder of the battle we had just survived. The Ancient Rogue City lay behind us, its silence far more unsettling than the chaos that had erupted just moments ago. The weight of what had happened pressed against my chest, but there was no time to reflect. We had to leave now.Simone stepped forward, her hands glowing faintly as she conjured a shimmering veil of energy around us. “This should keep us hidden long enough to escape the rogue warriors hunting us down,” she murmured, her voice laced with exhaustion. Sweat clung to her brow, but she pushed forward without complaint.Alison, however, was another story. She was barely standing, her body trembling from the aftermath of her first shift. Her silver-white fur shimmered under the moonlight, a sight both mesmerizing and concerning. She had unlocked something ancient, something powerful but right now, she was weak, her strength flickering like a dying
Alison’s POV "Don’t move, sweetheart! Just… just breathe." My mom’s voice cut through the heavy fog in my mind, soft but laced with panic. My eyelids fluttered open, and a sharp ache shot through my skull as the room’s dim light hit me. Every inch of my body felt heavy, like I’d been run over, twice. Then the flashbacks slammed into me with full force. The shift. The raw power tearing through my body. Bones snapping and reforming. Silver light. Kendrick’s face twisted in a sneer. The blood. The pain. A groan clawed its way out of my throat as I clutched my head. A wave of pain bloomed behind my eyes. “Maureen!” my mom cried out, her hands catching mine, pulling them gently away from my head. “Don’t move, baby. You’re safe now.” Her face swam into focus, she looked teary, worried, her features creased in panic. My mother. Standing right there. “Mom?” I rasped. My voice felt like it had been dragged across broken glass. “Oh, thank the goddess,” she whispered, cupping my cheek.
Xander’s POV"You really think you can just… what? Nearly die and then brush it off like it’s nothing?"The words tear out of me before I can stop them, bouncing off the walls with more force than I intended. I don’t care.Alison’s lying in bed, her skin pale against the dark sheets, shadows clinging beneath her eyes. She looks fragile… too fragile. But even now, with barely enough strength to sit up, she’s staring at me like I’m the one being unreasonable.“Xander, please…” Her voice is soft, strained, but it still digs under my skin.I can’t sit. I can’t even stand still.Instead, I pace the room, each step heavy, the frustration clawing at me like wildfire. My hands are fists at my sides, knuckles white, the air thick with everything I want to say but can’t figure out how to.“Don’t please me, Alison,” I snap, stopping short of the bed. My heart’s racing too fast, chest tight like it’s about to crack open. “You almost died. Do you get that? Do you even realize what the hell you did
Alison’s POV The cold night air bit into my skin as I stepped outside, the faint scent of pine lingering in the breeze. Each step felt heavier than the last, my body still drained, my muscles aching from the transformation. But none of that compared to the hollow ache in my chest. Xander stood a few feet away, his broad shoulders tense, the moonlight painting silver streaks across his dark hair. He didn’t move. Didn’t turn. Just stood there, staring at the sky as though it held all the answers he couldn’t find. I wanted to say something…anything but the words twisted in my throat. “Xander,” I finally managed, my voice soft and strained. No response. My heart thudded painfully. I took another shaky step forward, my bare feet brushing over the cool grass, and before I could overthink it, I slipped my arms around his waist from behind. His body stiffened under my touch, hard lines of tension locking into place. I laid my cheek against his back, my pulse thudding in my ears.
Alison’s POVThe garden had always been my little sanctuary.I sat beneath the shade of the old flowering tree, its blossoms heavy with color, the sweet fragrance dancing lazily in the evening breeze. The sun hung low in the sky, painting streaks of orange and gold across the heavens, while the soft rustle of leaves filled the silence.I let out a gentle sigh, one hand absently cradling my now-round stomach, the other bringing a snack to my lips. Little sweet biscuits.. my latest craving. The soft crunch was comforting, the simple pleasure grounding in a world that had been nothing but chaos and blood not too long ago.For a while, I just sat there, watching the blooms sway and the little insects that busied themselves among them. These were flowers I had nurtured myself… tiny, fragile things that somehow clung to life and bloomed despite the odds. A little like me, I thought with a small smile.But then…That feeling again.The prickling on the back of my neck.The weight of invisibl
Xander’s Point of ViewThe moment Alison’s body collapsed into my arms, my heart lurched violently inside my chest. “Alison!!” I shouted, the sound more a guttural, desperate growl than a word. I scooped her up without hesitation, her head lolling against my shoulder, her skin pale and cold.Panic gripped me like a vice.“Get the physician! Now!” I barked at one of the nearby omegas, my voice rough and sharp.I didn’t wait. I carried her up the stairs, my steps uneven thanks to my injured leg, but there was no force in this world that could keep me from her side. I laid her gently on our bed, brushing hair away from her face, my fingers trembling.“Alison, come on baby… open your eyes for me.” I spoke in a broken whisper.Within moments, the physician arrived, his scent familiar, his face lined with age and wisdom. Before he could even get close, I rounded on him.“What’s wrong with her? What's happening he suddenly collasped?!”“Xander,” my mother’s voice cut through the haze of my p
Alison's POVThe sky was blushing with shades of amber and gold as we reached the Nightfang border. The forest smelled different, cleaner, sweeter somehow. The war was over, and for the first time in what felt like forever, peace hung thick in the air. I felt Simone’s arms squeeze me in a final hug as we approached the edge of Crimson Pack territory.“I’ll be fine from here,” Simone promised, forcing a smile, though her eyes glistened. “You saved us, Ali… go home you need to rest.”I swallowed hard, nodding, my throat tight. “I’ll come see you soon.”“Promise?”“Promise. Tell my father I'd come by later”And with that, she turned and disappeared into the trees.By the time Xander and I made it to the Nightfang courtyard, dusk had started creeping in. The warm orange glow settled over the stone walls and the scent of the pack filled my lungs. Familiar… comforting… mine.Elders, pack members, and Xander’s mother, Katherine, were already gathered, their faces breaking into joy the second
Alison POV“Xander?”The name left my lips in a whisper, barely carried by the cold night air. I stood there, my white fur matted with blood and earth, my chest heaving after the final clash beneath the cursed red moon. The sky was clearing now… the eerie crimson glow fading back to its rightful silver. I should have felt victorious. I should have felt alive.But all I felt was dread.The world around me was too quiet. The earth no longer trembled, the cries of the damned had faded into suffocating silence. I lifted my head, my ears twitching, desperately searching for the familiar voices for them. For Xander. For Simone. But the forest was empty, and the only thing that brushed against me was the cold wind.Where are they?Mother Eliza had promised. Victory will spare them. That was her exact fucking promise. She said the evil witch’s curse would break with the witch’s fall. I had shattered the monster's heart with my own claws, I felt the magic unravel. So why… why wasn’t I hearing
Alison’s POV "I refuse to die like this… not today, not like this.” I thought it was the end. I braced myself, teeth clenched, heart hammering so loud I could hear it echo in my ears. The witch’s spell, an ominous swirl of darkness and crackling green light, shot toward me like a bullet from hell itself. I shut my eyes so tight they hurt, waiting for the searing pain to tear through me. But it never came. Everything around me… froze. I mean literally… frozen. The howling wind stopped mid-scream, the leaves hung motionless in the air like trapped confetti, and the cursed magic hovered right in front of me, suspended like some twisted work of art. My pulse thundered in my ears as I cracked open one eye, then the other, slowly taking in this eerie, impossible sight. “What the…?” I gasped, my voice trembling and shaky. A sudden warmth, gentle but firm, filled the air around me. Then came a voice I hadn’t heard in what felt like forever… soft, familiar… maternal. “Alison, use your
Alison’s POV"I don’t have a goddamn choice, do I?"The words slipped from my lips like a broken prayer, hanging in the cold, cursed air around me. I stood at the ragged edge of that dark, twisted forest a place that reeked of death and old magic, where even the moonlight was too afraid to fall.Behind me, the world I knew was unraveling.I turned, my throat burning, and let my eyes fall on them. Xander, lying there, so pale it hurt to look at him. His chest barely rose, his lips bluish. And beside him, Simone… barely alive, a wisp of breath between her lips, her skin almost translucent in the fading light. My heart shattered, a million jagged pieces tearing at my insides.“I’m sorry Xander! Simone!,” I whispered, the words trembling as they left me. “I swear to you both… I’ll fix this. I’ll make it right… or I’ll die trying.”My chest heaved, but I forced my feet forward, into the cursed forest.Every step I took felt like walking deeper into a grave. The air grew thick, heavy with s
Alison’s POVAs time passed minute by minute I couldn’t hear anything anymore. Not the ticking of time, not Simone’s footsteps circling endlessly, not even my own heartbeat.All I could hear was silence… and the weight of failure.Xander’s head lay on my lap, his face pale, body limp, chest rising and falling in irregular shudders. His once steady heartbeat now thumped like a fading drum. I gently brushed the hair from his forehead, my hands trembling. How could he have done this for me? For all of us?I bowed over him, a tear splashing onto his cheek. “Please,” I whispered. “You can’t die, not now. Not like this.”I looked up, only to see Simone pacing like a trapped animal. Her eyes were wide, frantic, as she pressed her palms against the invisible barrier again and again, trying to push through. Nothing worked. The ancient spellbook… our only hope was lying just inches beyond the boundary. So close. Yet unreachable.Her voice cracked. “Dammit!” she screamed, slamming her fists agai
Alison's POV"No!"It was all I could scream. Just one word. One desperate, gut-wrenching, soul-tearing scream that tore from the deepest part of me. Because right in front of me, Xander had done the unthinkable. The unimaginable.He had thrown himself in front of the witch’s curse.One second, I was standing there, trying to gather my wits, watching the cursed energy coil around her fingers like smoke from hell and the next, Xander had shoved me back and taken the hit meant for me.The sound that came out of him wasn’t human. His body convulsed violently, jerking like a puppet with its strings slashed. The blast hit him dead in the chest, and he fell with a sickening thud onto the dirt-covered ground.“XANDER!” I screamed, dropping to my knees beside him. My voice cracked from the sheer agony tearing at my insides.His eyes were wide open, but they were... blank. Hollow. Like the spark of him had been pulled from his soul. His body trembled, every inch of it twitching in jerks that m
Xander’s POV“She’s breathing… right? Tell me she’s breathing.”I could barely move, my limbs were trembling, my chest tight with exhaustion and panic, but I didn’t care. I dragged myself forward, forcing every muscle in my body to function as if my very existence depended on it, because it did. Alison lay there, still as death, her chest unmoving, her skin pale, and it felt like my world was being ripped apart right in front of me.“Alison,” I whispered, crawling to her. “Baby… come on, wake up. Please.”Her head was tilted to the side, her lips parted slightly, her face bruised from the force of her fall. My heart cracked open. My voice cracked harder.I didn't even realize I was crying until a tear slid down her cheek… no, my tear… my agony transferred onto her skin.Simone appeared at my side, blood dripping from her nose and the edges of her mouth. She looked just as wrecked as I felt, maybe even more. Her hands trembled as she rummaged through her pack. She pulled out a small gr