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The attack came just after midnight.

No warning. No call for surrender.

Just silence-

followed by fire.

Crescent Fang's southern wall lit up in a burst of red and orange, wolves howling through the trees as the first wave of Ashmoon warriors tore through the forest.

And I was already awake.

I'd been waiting for this.

Waiting since Jace said the words I knew he meant:

?

Kael met me in the war corridor, already armored, his eyes hard but steady. "You stay with Mira. Guard the eastern line."

"I can fight."

"I know."

"I'm not just your mate. I'm your warrior."

He paused-just long enough to let the weight of his next words land.

"No," he said. "You're my equal."

And then he kissed me like it might be the last time.

?

The forest was chaos.

Ashmoon wolves surged from the shadows, teeth bared, eyes wild. Their growls were rage. Their claws didn't hesitate. They weren't here for territory.

They were here for me.

And I wasn't hiding.

I shifted mid-run, my wolf bursting through me with a howl that split the air, white fur catching the moonlight like lightning. Mira ran beside me, deadly and fast, her fangs stained red within seconds.

We fought.

Claw against claw. Fang against fang.

I moved like I'd trained for this moment my whole life.

Because maybe I had.

Every bruise, every rejection, every broken version of me... had led to this.

Not vengeance.

Victory.

?

In the middle of the battlefield, I saw him.

Jace.

Covered in blood, standing at the center of the chaos like a king fallen from grace. Our eyes locked across the burning field.

His wolf growled low in his chest. But he didn't shift.

He just stared at me-like I was the prize he couldn't win, the choice that slipped through his fingers.

And for a second, just a second... I saw regret.

But regret doesn't stop war.

I turned away.

And kept fighting.

?

By sunrise, Crescent Fang still stood.

Barely.

The fires were out. The wounded were being tended. The air smelled like smoke and sweat and broken pride.

Ashmoon had retreated. Not defeated, but rattled. The border held.

Kael found me near the ruins of the old wall. I was covered in dirt and blood, but I was still standing.

He touched my face gently, his thumb brushing a streak of ash from my cheek.

"You saved us," he said.

"No," I whispered. "We saved me."

?

The storm had broken.

But the battle for peace wasn't over yet.

And I wasn't done fighting.