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Chapter twelve
Tristan
I wrenched against the bindings until my skin tore, rage fueling my escape.
Serena, wild-eyed, fought to free herself from her restraints.
The altar glowed with eerie light, celestial stones flaring as Ewan and Alaric now loomed over the ritual.
The air felt alive and angry, humming with ancient energy and the acrid scent of burning herbs.
The chamber, carved deep in the mountain, trembled as I finally snapped the enchanted ropes.
I launched toward Serena, locking eyes with her as a silent promise passed between us. This ended now.
The room was something ancient, something meant for wolves and magic.
Carved stone columns, towering and cold, lined the walls with snarling wolf faces.
The moonlight cut through crystal skylights, jagged shards of silver that glinted off the floor.
It was like being inside an old god’s mind.
Scents of ceremonial herbs burned sharp, mixing with the heat of bodies and sweat.
Celestial stones flickered like the eyes of dead stars, throwing pale colored lights across the altar.
I could feel it all, humming through my skin, trying to pull me under.
My muscles burned as I forced myself to fight harder.
My rage at Ewan and Alaric twisted with desperation, fueling the beast inside.
The ropes glowed hot where they cut into me, some kind of shifter magic that wouldn’t fucking quit.
I focused on Serena, struggling like a wild wolf against her own bindings, her eyes a mix of fury and fear.
The air was charged with it, vibrating with ancient power and our refusal to break.
I tore at the ropes until my arms screamed, the energy in the room flaring around us like a living thing.
Alaric watched, smug and detached, like he already had what he wanted.
The stones near the altar burned brighter, lighting him and Ewan in an otherworldly halo.
They were playing with forces none of us should touch, and they thought they were winning.
Ewan’s betrayal cut deepest, twisting through my rage.
My most loyal beta. My brother. I wasn’t about to let him do this.
I let the pain and anger flow into my body, and finally, the bindings snapped.
I didn’t stop to think. Didn’t stop to breathe.
I bolted toward Serena, and we caught each other’s eyes.
Her birthmark glowed bright, like it was burning through her skin.
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t waver. Her determination shot through me, and I felt the spark of us together, raw and defiant.
Her restraints gave way and she was by my side, and we both knew what came next.
With a furious nod, we launched ourselves into the fight.
Teeth and claws instantly bared as we transformed.
Instinct and rage. Ewan’s followers came at us in a rush of bodies and snarls, but I didn’t care how many of them there were.
I had one goal, one single thought. I would not fucking lose this.
Serena moved like a force of nature, her wolf form sleek and deadly.
We were back-to-back, a single entity of blood and fury.
My alpha strength collided with her speed, each of us fueling the other.
Wolves closed in, teeth bared and eyes wild, and we cut them down one by one.
Ewan’s wolves. Alaric’s pack. Our enemies.
Their betrayal lit a fire in me that couldn’t be contained.
We should have been outnumbered. We should have been outmatched.
But it didn’t matter. This was life or death.
Our lives. Their death. We tore through the first line sending them sprawling, only to meet the next wave with equal ferocity.
I lost myself in it, the rawness of muscle and power, the thrill of fighting at Serena’s side.
But they kept coming. Ewan’s lackeys surged forward, regrouping, pushing harder.
Even with our momentum, I could feel the pressure building, the inevitability of being overwhelmed.
A flash of teeth near my throat, and I snapped back with brutal force, sending one wolf crashing into the altar.
Serena was the same, a whirlwind of defiance, yet I saw the brief flash of uncertainty in her eyes.
I knew we couldn’t hold out forever. The air was too thick with it—power, tension, betrayal.
And something else, too. A charge. A shift.
As we fought, the room seemed to close in around us, pulling tighter like a noose.
Serena and I locked eyes again, a promise that we would fight this to the end.
Her birthmark lit up once more, casting an eerie glow that matched the stones.
A third wave closed in, fierce and determined, cutting us off from the exit and hemming us in.
Ewan and Alaric’s followers were relentless, their loyalty absolute, their desire for us to fail all-consuming.
We moved together, a wild blur of instinct and survival, but the walls felt too close.
The space too small. And with each breath, each movement, I could feel it creeping up on us—the possibility that we might not make it out this time.
The altar's light grew violent and blinding, alive with energy and rage.
Serena broke from my side, tearing through the chaos toward Alaric.
His voice was a distant echo, trying to shape her fate with words of control.
But she was more than his daughter. More than a cursed mark.
This was her fate to break. She was a force, untethered and wild, rejecting every part of him that held her back.
I turned to Ewan, our betrayal a living thing that breathed between us.
I barely felt the first blow. My mind was full of Serena, her raw power as she fought her way across the chamber.
Then Ewan came at me again, fangs out and relentless.
I met his eyes and saw nothing left of the brother I knew.
His rage, his certainty, his commitment to the old ways—all of it made him savage, made him brutal.
And it left him empty. He thought he could take me down, but he didn’t realize I was fighting for more than a pack’s legacy.
I was fighting for her. For us. I let his next blow land, then lashed out with all the force I had.
The crack of bone echoed like a gunshot as I knocked him back, and I felt the first sting of victory.
“You’ve lost it,” Ewan growled, circling me with his hackles raised. “You think this is about love, but it’s about power. You’re a fool if you think you can have both.”
“Funny,” I said, dodging his next strike. “I thought I could trust you.”
“Your trust is weakness. Just like that girl.” He lunged at me, but I was ready. I caught him by the neck, slammed him into the stone, and watched the shock cross his face as it split with the impact. He wasn’t used to losing.
“It’s called strength,” I said, breathing hard, every muscle in my body alive with energy. “Maybe if you had any, you’d know what it looks like.”
I sent him flying, felt the power in my limbs as it followed through.
But then the light caught my eyes, Serena’s fight pulling my focus as she shifted back into her human form to deal with her father.
I saw her and Alaric in a tangle of emotion and defiance, the raw force of their connection spiraling into the air around them.
Alaric had no clue who he was dealing with. His voice, so full of authority, tried to cage her in. “The ritual is the only way. Your stubbornness will destroy us both.” He grabbed for her arm, but she twisted away, the glow of the altar painting her face with fierce determination.
“Destroy you, maybe,” Serena shot back. Her words cut like knives.
“I’m not your daughter anymore. I’m Tristan’s mate.
Do you have any idea what happens if the wrong wolves use these stones for this ritual?
” Her agility made her a blur as she broke free from his grasp.
She was beautiful in her defiance, a wild and unstoppable force.
“You think you have a choice?” Alaric said, the scent of desperation thick on him. He didn’t understand, not really. And that’s why he would never have what he wanted.
“I know I do,” she said, landing a blow that sent him reeling. She stood over him, chest heaving, heart blazing with the truth and freedom she’d been denied. Her gaze locked with mine for a heartbeat, raw and powerful. We knew this was it. We were too far gone.
The air crackled with tension, energy looping and tangling, binding us in a way that made the whole damn room feel like it was about to collapse.
Ewan closed in again, a blur of speed and anger, but his attacks meant nothing.
Not against the heat of my blood and the sight of Serena finally breaking free.
We were locked in combat, the walls narrowing around us as power swirled through the space.
The sound of fangs, fists, of battle, of defiance—they filled the chamber, echoing with the force of everything I’d ever wanted to say.
Everything I couldn’t. I let it out with a guttural howl, every word left unspoken a blow that sent Ewan staggering back.
I was stronger than him, stronger than any of them. Because Serena made me that way.
The altar flared brighter, violent and insistent. I felt it in my bones, the ritual near completion, and knew we were almost out of time. Serena’s raw need to end this radiated across the room, charging the air with urgency and fire. And then I saw it in her eyes—a spark, a decision.
She looked at the altar, then down at the mark glowing on her wrist. “It was never about killing the curse,” she whispered. “It was about breaking the cycle.”
Before I could shout her name, she broke from her fight with Alaric. Broke away from everything, a wild determination on her face.