"Get her inside.....NOW!"
The automatic hospital doors burst open as Archer, Artemis, Cerius, and the others stord in, carrying Haelyn’s limp body.
Her dress was soaked in blood.
Her face was ghostly pale, her breathing shallow.
A team of doctors and nurses rushed forward, a stretcher rolling ahead of them.
"She’s lost too much blood!" one of the nurses exclaid.
"We need a trauma unit, now!" the doctor barked.
Archer was shaking, his hands covered in her blood. "Do sothing!" he growled.
The doctor didn’t flinch. "We’ll do everything we can. But you need to stay out of the way."
"Like hell I will!" Archer snarled.
Seraphis grabbed his arm, her voice firm but calm. "Let them work, Archer. She’s strong."
His wolf was raging, clawing inside of him, demanding to be at Haelyn’s side.
But as the doctors rushed her down the hall, the doors slamd shut behind them.
Archer was left standing there, helpless.
The air was thick with anxiety.
Archer paced relentlessly, his hands clenched into fists. Artemis sat nearby, his head in his hands.
Rowena and Seraphis stood near the window, whispering spells of protection under their breath.
Cerius remained still, arms crossed, his face unreadable.
After what felt like hours, a doctor stepped into the room.
Everyone jumped to their feet.
Archer rushed forward. "How is she?"
The doctor sighed. "We stopped the bleeding, but she’s not out of danger yet."
Artemis’s throat tightened. "And the baby?"
The doctor hesitated. "The baby is stable....for now. But if Haelyn doesn’t wake up soon, her body might reject the pregnancy due to the stress."
Archer’s chest constricted.
He shoved his fingers through his hair, breathing heavily.
"Can I see her?" he asked.
"Only for a few minutes," the doctor said.
Without another word, Archer stord past him and into the room.
The room was too quiet.
Haelyn lay on the bed, connected to tubes and machines, her face pale against the white sheets.
Archer swallowed hard as he approached her.
He had seen her fight like hell. He had seen her tear through enemies.
But now....
She looked so fragile.
He sat beside her, taking her cold hand in his.
"You always have to do things the hard way, don’t you?" he murmured.
Silence.
His fingers tightened around hers.
"Co back to , Haelyn," he whispered, his voice hoarse.
He pressed his forehead against their joined hands, his body trembling.
Then.....
Her fingers twitched.
Archer’s head snapped up.
"Haelyn?"
A soft, weak sound left her lips....a whisper of pain.
Then her body arched violently, gasping.
Her eyes snapped open.
And they were glowing blue.
The mont Zareth stepped into the grand hall of his estate, he felt it....the stirrings of sothing dark.
His breath ca in ragged pants, his body pulsing with raw, unchecked energy. His claws elongated, veins pulsing with power as his muscles tensed.
Sothing inside him was breaking free.
A roar tore through his chest, rattling the very foundation of the estate.
"Father!"
Nyx rushed forward, her violet eyes wide with alarm.
"Don’t touch ," Zareth growled, his voice inhuman, distorted.
She skidded to a halt, watching in horror as his body convulsed, his sharp canines elongating as his pupils dilated into nothing but black voids.
Zareth clawed at his chest, struggling for control.
"Not now. Not yet."
His breath ca in short, sharp gasps.
He could feel them.
The monsters inside him.
Ripping.
Tearing.
Begging to be let out.
"Do it," he snarled.
Nyx hesitated. "Father, if I...."
"NOW!"
She flinched at his command but didn’t argue.
Instead, she lifted her hands, murmuring an incantation as dark runes began to form around him.
The spell....the locking ritual.
The room darkened, the air thick with an ancient power.
Zareth clenched his jaw as chains of energy wrapped around his body, burning into his skin like fire.
A low snarl escaped his throat.
Nyx’s hands shook as she whispered the spell, her voice strained.
"By the will of the ancients, I bind the beast...."
A deep growl rumbled from within him.
His body jerked violently.
The pain was excruciating.
But he refused to stop.
He had let the beasts out before.....and the last ti he did, an entire bloodline was wiped from existence.
He couldn’t risk that happening again.
He forced himself to stay still as the chains tightened, burning into his flesh.
Then....
A mory surged forward.
The Night That Changed Everything
A Forbidden Love
Lunara had always been destined for greatness.....a Spirit Wolf, born with a power that made the stars whisper her na.
She had grown up beside Zareth and Cerius, the three of them inseparable as pups.
But while Cerius had always been her protector, her sanctuary, Zareth had been her shadow, her storm.
And storms did not love gently.
The night was thick with magic, the wind carrying the distant howls of wolves running free in the valley below.
Cerius pulled Lunara closer to him, his strong arms wrapped securely around her waist as they sat atop the ancient temple ruins.
"This is the last night before the ceremony," Lunara whispered.
Cerius sighed. "I know."
She would be officially acknowledged as the next High Priestess, a spiritual leader ant to guide their kind.
And Cerius would beco Alpha.
They were both bound by duty, but their love had never wavered.
Lunara tilted her head up, eting his golden eyes.
"You still want this, don’t you?" she asked softly.
His fingers traced the curve of her jaw, his touch reverent. "I’ve wanted you since the day I understood what love was, Lunara."
Her heart swelled.
"I love you," she whispered.
Cerius pressed his forehead to hers, his voice a promise...."And I will always love you."
She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his love wrap around her like a shield.
But neither of them knew....
That shield was already cracking.
And soone was watching.
Zareth stood in the shadows, his breathing ragged, his claws digging into the stone pillar beside him.
He had always known....always known....that Lunara and Cerius were drawn to each other.
But seeing it with his own eyes...hearing her say the words ant for him....
It broke sothing inside him.
"She was supposed to be mine."
"She was ant for ."
The stars had whispered her na, but they had whispered it to him.
He clenched his fists, his nails slicing through his own palms, but he barely felt the pain.
Cerius had everything he had ever wanted.
Lunara’s heart.
Her trust.
Her love.
And Zareth had nothing.
The wind howled through the ruins....the first warning of the storm to co.
And that night, Zareth made a decision.
He would not be forgotten.
He would not be cast aside.
And Lunara would not belong to another.
"You seek power."
The three sisters of fate stood before him, their golden eyes piercing through his soul.
"You wish to beco sothing no wolf has ever been."
Zareth gritted his teeth. "Yes."
"Why?"
A flicker of Lunara’s face flashed through his mind.
Her smile.
Her soft laughter when she thought no one was listening.
The way she looked at Cerius and no one else.
"I want her."
The sisters exchanged a glance, their expressions unreadable.
"She is not yours to claim."
A growl rumbled from deep in his chest.
"Then make her mine."
The sisters tilted their heads in eerie synchronization.
"What price will you pay?"
"Anything."
The words left his lips without hesitation.
The mont they did....
Pain.
Unimaginable pain.
His bones cracked, his soul tore apart, sothing ancient and monstrous forcing itself inside him.
A roar ripped through the void....his roar...
And when he finally collapsed to his knees, panting....
He was no longer the sa man.
She had been waiting for Cerius.
The night was calm, the moon a watchful guardian above her.
But the mont Zareth stepped out of the shadows, she felt it....
Sothing was wrong.
"Zareth?" she whispered, her voice uncertain.
He didn’t speak at first.
He simply watched her, his silver eyes glowing like a predator who had cornered its prey.
"You were waiting for him," he finally murmured.
Lunara stepped back.
"Where’s Cerius?"
Zareth ignored the question.
His fingers twitched at his sides. His breathing was uneven, controlled....but barely.
"You love him," he said softly.
Lunara swallowed hard.
"Zareth...."
"Say it."
She hesitated.
"Say it," he demanded.
Her throat tightened. "I love Cerius."
Sothing flickered in his expression....then disappeared.
"You were supposed to be mine," Zareth murmured.
A chill ran down her spine.
"I was never yours," she whispered.
He moved too fast.
Before she could react, his hand gripped her wrist....gentle, but unyielding.
"You don’t understand, Lunara," he whispered.
"I did this for you."
Lunara’s stomach twisted.
"What did you do, Zareth?"
His eyes glowed, his fingers trembling against her skin.
"I gave up everything for you."
Lunara felt her knees weaken.
"No."
She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.
"You don’t have to love ," Zareth murmured, his voice almost gentle.
"You just have to belong to ."
Lunara’s breath caught.
"Zareth, please....."
But he wasn’t listening.
He grabbed her.
She scread, twisting, fighting....but he was too strong, too fast.
She tried to shift....but sothing was wrong.
"The spell...."
"He did sothing to ...."
Her vision blurred as he held her down, his breath ragged, his voice trembling.
"Lunara."
"I love you."
And that night....
Nyx was conceived.
When Zareth finally released her, Lunara curled into herself, sobbing so violently her entire body trembled.
He sat beside her, his head in his hands, his claws shaking.
His silver eyes....always so sharp, always so calculating....were filled with sothing akin to regret.
But it was too late.
Lunara was broken.
She lay there, staring blankly at the sky, her spirit shattered.
And for the first ti since the monsters inside him had awakened....
Zareth felt truly afraid.
Zareth scread as the mory ripped through him, his body convulsing under Nyx’s spell.
Nyx stood over him, watching coldly.
Zareth let out a guttural roar, his body convulsing under the force of the spell.
Nyx stepped back, panting, watching as the dark runes sank into his skin, sealing away the beasts inside him.
The ground shook beneath them, but finally....
It stopped.
Zareth collapsed onto one knee, his body trembling, his breathing ragged.
Nyx swallowed hard, wiping sweat from her brow.
"That was worse than the last ti," she murmured.
Zareth didn’t respond.
He just sat there, clenching his fists, his body still burning from the ritual.
His jaw tightened.
"Haelyn."
He knew why the beasts had stirred.
She was growing stronger.
Too strong.
Nyx watched him closely. "What now?"
Slowly, Zareth lifted his head, his stormy silver eyes dark with rage.
He rose to his feet, towering, terrifying.
Then, he smirked.
"Now?"
"Now, we make them suffer."
"You let your emotions get in the way," she murmured.
Zareth panted, his muscles trembling.
But then.....he laughed.
"She thought she could love soone else," he whispered.
He lifted his head, his silver eyes burning with rage.
"She never had a choice."
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