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Ryan lunged at it. His wolf was fast, his coat a deep, mottled brown, his eyes sharp and burning with vengeance as he charged, throwing himself onto the King’s back. His claws raked down its spine, his jaws locking onto its shoulder.

For the first time, the King staggered. Its too-many eyes glanced over its shoulder toward Ryan, and it grinned. Moving too fast, its elongated arm whipped behind it, claws slamming straight through Ryan’s chest, dragging the wolf to its front.

A revolting wet sound filled the cavern as the King’s fingers plundered inside him. Ryan choked, a harsh, appalling sound, and his body jerked.

Blood poured from his mouth, staining his fur, his legs scrabbling uselessly in the air. The King leaned in, inhaling deeply, as if savoring the scent. With no effort at all, it ripped its claws free, pulling Ryan’s beating heart right out of his chest.

Ryan was dead before he hit the floor.

A deafening silence filled the cavern.

Then Silas snapped.

His roar shook the ground beneath me, his massive wolf launching at the King with a force so violent that even the creatures lurking in the shadows cowered back. He collided with it, sending both of them crashing to the ground, his fangs tearing at the thing’s throat.

Rowan was next, frenzied as he tore into the creature’s side, ripping through muscle and bone.

Varek snarled as he joined his brothers, clawing and biting, forcing the King down.

But it wasn’t enough. The fucking monster was still healing itself.

I forced myself up, my ribs screaming in protest, my vision blurring. We couldn’t just kill it; it would keep coming back.

We had to destroy it utterly.

A violent snarl built in my throat as I ran.

My wolf leaped as high as she could, my fangs sinking into the King’s skull, clamping down hard. It let out a screech, its limbs flailing, but I held on, refusing to let go.

Silas ripped into its chest.

Rowan snapped its spine.

Varek tore its limbs from its body, blood spraying across the cavern floor.

The King screamed, its many eyes rolling, its body shuddering, but we kept up our concerted attack, tearing apart every bit of the hideous monster.

Its limbs twitched once—twice—and then it collapsed. Finally,finally, it stopped moving.

It was dead.

Truly, finally dead.

We stood over the remains for a brief second—panting, bloodied, wrecked body, mind, and soul from the whole experience. My every muscle shook, and my heart was pounding in my chest.

The cost was high, but we had won…

CHAPTER26

Silas

The moment the King died, the Nyktos turned on each other.

There was no sound to signal it, no obvious command, just a sudden, violent shift. One second, they were standing in the shadows, watching and waiting. The next, they were tearing into one another, their long, scrawny limbs flailing, their black eyes wild with fury and madness.

I had seen pack fights before, seen dominance battles where wolves would rip each other apart for control.

This wasn’t like any of that.