The night was thick with tension. Shadowfang territory lay under the Blood Moon, silver light glinting off frost-covered leaves.
Kael stood at the edge of the cliff, eyes scanning the horizon, wolf instincts tense. Nyra's pulse mirrored his — their bond thrumming beneath the surface, linking them in rhythm and power.
"They're here," Kael murmured.
Nyra's chest tightened. She could feel it — the hunter, the assassin, a presence darker than anything they had faced.
Then, from the shadows, a figure moved like smoke — swift, silent, deadly. A knife glinted under the moonlight, aimed directly at Kael's heart.
"Kael!" Nyra screamed, energy erupting from her hands before she even processed the attack. Silver light exploded outward, wrapping around him like a living barrier.
Kael's eyes widened as he felt her ancestral energy slam into him. The assassin struck again, faster, but the silver tendrils intercepted, knocking him back without harm.
Nyra's pulse raced. She could feel his heartbeat, his wolf instincts, the fear that never surfaced in words. Don't let him die. Not now. Not ever.
The bond flared. Gold and silver intertwined, coursing through her veins, amplifying her power beyond anything she had controlled before. Ghost wolves materialized around Kael, circling protectively, striking at the assassin with precise, non-lethal blows.
Kael recovered quickly, fully shifted, massive black fur bristling. "Nyra… focus on the assassin, not me!"
Nyra inhaled sharply, letting her fear flow into control. The silver energy pulsed, condensing into razor-sharp arcs, striking the assassin repeatedly. But each strike required her full concentration; one misstep, one burst too strong, and she could harm Kael.
The assassin lunged again, faster than humanly possible, knives spinning. Nyra's pulse synced with Kael's fully now — their mate bond amplifying reflexes, speed, perception. Together, they moved as one: Kael intercepting physical strikes, Nyra's energy redirecting the force, holding the hunter at bay without breaking her control.
Sweat and energy mingled, the forest shaking under the force of their combined power. Nyra's breath came in short, fierce bursts. The ancestral whispers in her mind urged her onward, showing glimpses of every past protector in her bloodline, every wolf who had fought to defend their pack.
She channeled it all, silver light exploding in a wave so massive it sent the assassin crashing into a tree. The energy flared around Kael, amplifying his roar and his strength.
The assassin groaned, disoriented, finally incapacitated without a single lethal strike. Nyra collapsed beside Kael, trembling, energy still flickering around her fingertips.
Kael shifted back to human form, gripping her shoulders gently, golden eyes soft but intense. "You… you saved me," he murmured.
"I… I couldn't let him…" Nyra gasped, chest heaving, tears mixing with sweat. "I almost lost control…"
Kael cupped her face, brushing damp strands of hair from her forehead. "And you didn't. You held both of us together. That bond… that's what saved me. That's what saved the pack."
Nyra pressed her forehead to his chest, feeling his heartbeat steady beneath her hands, the gold of his wolf energy still pulsing faintly around them.
"Kael… what if next time… I can't control it?" she whispered.
He pulled her close, forehead to hers, voice steady and strong. "Then I'll be here. Every time. Every battle. Every step. You are not alone, Nyra. Never alone."
The forest fell silent again, but somewhere beyond the trees, Lucien's cold, calculating eyes watched from the shadows.
"She protects him… yes, she awakens… but power alone will not save them from what I will bring next."
And deep in her chest, Nyra felt it — the ancestral bloodline, the bond, the storm of power she now fully understood. She was no longer just a follower of destiny. She was a force of nature.