Page 37

37

LANDON

T he ground was cracked beneath Landon’s boots, pulsing with a deep, sickening red that crawled like rot through the earth.

Roman’s voice boomed above the clash of the battlefield, chanting words that didn’t belong in any tongue Landon recognized—guttural, thick with malice, the kind of language that made your bones hurt just hearing it.

Landon was closing the distance fast, muscles tight, power vibrating beneath his skin.

But he was too far. Too damn far.

Then he saw her.

A white streak cut through the chaos—Sonya.

She barreled into Roman at full speed, throwing her shoulder into his chest and sending him stumbling backward, the dark energy around him flickering like a flame about to go out.

His voice faltered, the summoning circle beneath him sputtering, cracking under the pressure.

But Roman was faster than she expected.

“No—” Landon choked out, sprinting now, knowing he had to get there.

Now.

Roman’s hand whipped around, a flash of steel catching the light just before it sank deep into Sonya’s chest.

He saw her breath hitch.

Her body froze. A sound—half gasp, half growl—tore from her throat.

The blade embedded just below her collarbone, angled cruelly, twisting in Roman’s grip.

Time stopped.

“No!”

Landon didn’t remember shifting.

One second, he was a man sprinting.

The next, he was a monster of heat and rage and light.

His body ripped apart and rebuilt itself mid-air, deep red fur exploding from his skin, claws slashing at the wind.

His eyes burned—molten gold and searing green, ancient power erupting from his bones like a star had been lit inside him.

Roman barely had time to release Sonya before Landon was on him.

They collided like meteors.

The shockwave from their clash blasted outward, flattening trees and throwing nearby fighters into the dirt.

Landon didn’t speak.

There were no words now.

Just fury.

He tore into Roman with teeth and claws, their massive wolf forms locked in a brutal dance of dominance and death.

Roman, pitch-black and massive, met him with equal force, biting into Landon’s side with snarling hatred.

Landon roared, the sound echoing like a thunderclap through the hills.

He ripped free and slammed Roman into the blood-stained stone of the compound, claws dragging furrows through the Alpha’s ribs.

You. Don't. Touch. Her !

Each word echoed loudly in his mind like a slash, a blow, a promise as the growl erupted from his chest.

Roman snarled, lunging back with unnatural speed, shadows clinging to his fur like smoke. His eyes glowed red now—sickly and wrong. The magic hadn’t left him entirely. It twisted his form, made him bigger, darker. Wrong.

You don’t know what you are! Roman hissed through his mind, blood pouring from his mouth. You’re nothing but a scared little mutt dressed in a dead king’s skin.

Landon struck him in the jaw so hard it cracked sideways. And you’re a coward hiding behind dead gods.

They crashed again, fang meeting fang, claw against bone. Roman was a whirlwind of wrath and black magic, but Landon burned brighter—faster. Stronger.

Because he wasn’t fighting for power.

He was fighting for her .

In the chaos, he caught sight of Sonya crumpled on the ground, blood soaking through her shirt, her hands trying—failing—to keep pressure on the wound. She looked up at him, her icy eyes clouded but fierce.

And that nearly broke him all over again.

His rage boiled into something purer—his wolf no longer just wild but divine.

Power rippled off him like fire. The very ground beneath him cracked and split. The air shimmered with heat. He tackled Roman again, digging his claws deep into his enemy’s shoulders, dragging him down, down, until they crashed into the remnants of the summoning circle.

The sigils sparked and hissed, unable to hold their form beneath the force of Landon’s fury.

Roman howled in pain as the corrupted magic turned on him—veins of flame licking up his sides, scorching his fur, branding his skin.

I was born for this , Landon growled low, voice reverberating through the air like thunder. Not to rule. To end monsters like you.

He sunk his fangs deep into Roman’s throat.

Blood exploded into the air.

Roman kicked, claws raking down Landon’s ribs, but it wasn’t enough.

It wasn’t even close.

Landon tore the corrupted Alpha back, slamming him into the shattered stone again. Roman coughed blood and magic, writhing beneath him like a wounded snake.

He raised a claw to finish it—when a weak voice whispered behind him.

“Landon…”

Sonya.

He spun, shifted halfway back into human form, bloodied and breathing hard, and stumbled to her side. She was pale, her lips tinged with blue. The blade was still in her chest.

“Shit, Sonya—” He dropped to his knees. “Stay with me, come on. I got you.”

Her fingers trembled as they reached for him, blood coating them like paint. “You… look good… when you’re pissed off.”

“Yeah?” His throat tightened. “Then you must love me right now.”

She laughed, a weak, broken sound.

He leaned down and kissed her, gentle despite the shaking of his hands. “You’re gonna be okay. I promise. You don’t get to leave me, not now.”

Behind them, Roman’s broken form groaned, dragging himself toward the circle.

Landon turned, eyes burning.

But the gate had already begun to close—its power unraveling, the ancient spell collapsing under its own weight now that the conduit had been severed.

The Revenant would not rise.

Not today.

Landon scooped Sonya into his arms, pressing his forehead to hers.

“It’s over,” he whispered. “You did it. We did it.”

But in his heart, he knew—this was just the beginning.