One heartbeat can change the course of everything.
The strike continued, closing the final distance, aimed with precision that left no margin for error. A professional assassination executed from the perfect position at the perfect moment.
Through the bond, Darius's consciousness exploded—not thought, not strategy, just pure instinctive rejection of a reality where his mate died while he watched.
His wolf took complete control. Human restraint evaporated. Alpha dominance channeled through desperation into impossible speed.
He moved faster than physics should allow, faster than exhaustion permitted, faster than the distance between us justified.
His wolf half-shifted. Claws extended. Muscles tore from sudden acceleration beyond safe limits. His body sacrificed future function for immediate necessity.
The assassin's strike met not me but Darius's intercepting form. The impact was devastating—a blow meant to kill transferring into a body that had thrown itself into the trajectory.
