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LOGAN

E ve.

Even in the chaos of the Heraclid lands, the world seemed to still the moment my eyes found her. Her wolf form was striking, with grace and raw power that I hadn’t expected but should have known was there all along. Her coat shimmered faintly in the dim light, brilliant white that caught the eye like moonlight on water. It wasn’t just her appearance—it was the way she moved, her head held high despite all she carried.

Seeing her like this, a piece of her that had been locked away for so long finally set free, did something to me. The ache in my chest, the one that had been wearing at me since the moment we bonded, softened enough for me to catch my breath.

My wolf stirred, weak but awake, his growl low and possessive. Ours , he rumbled, the word less a declaration and more a truth so deeply rooted it shook me to my core .

Even as warmth spread through me, my gaze shifted, landing on Rhys.

He was on the edge of the clearing, flanked by a group of Heraclid enforcers. His stance was tense, his arms crossed, his head constantly swiveling as he tracked every movement, even as his own life was on the line. I felt his anger simmering, could see it in the tight set of his jaw and the way his wolf lingered just beneath the surface.

And it enraged me.

I wasn’t angry at Rhys—he was doing what any beta should, ensuring the safety of his alpha. But the fact that he had to be here at all, in this den of vipers, with enforcers who should have been defending Orion, not walking headfirst into the lion’s mouth, lit a fire in my chest. My pack had been forced into this because of Grayson, because of the Heraclids’ manipulations and the curse that had been hanging over us like a shadow for years.

The anger was almost enough to drown out the weakness in my body, the fog in my head. Almost.

I brought him here. I brought this on us. Eve has come back to the very place she escaped because of me. And now I am helpless, utterly helpless, in this state.

Heraclid wolves began to join us in the clearing, gathering small groups, curious and concerned, huddling along the perimeter.

I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails biting into my palms as I forced myself to remain steady. The bond between Eve and me hummed faintly and I couldn’t let her see me falter—not now, not when everything was coming to a head .

I was on the verge of failure. The edge of the cliff was in front of me, awaiting my fall. I couldn’t believe it was because of Eve. Grayson’s talk of all our alphas being cursed hit too close to home.

I didn’t see a way out.

My knees buckled.

“Logan!”

Eve arrived at my side in human form, a cloak around her as she pulled my head into her lap.

The bond lit between us, her touch rushing through me like water to a parched man. “My Eve, my mate. I’ll be?—”

“Such a wonderfully emotional scene. It’s enough to make my stomach turn.” Grayson sighed and cocked his head. “Now is a good time for my friends to step forward. Allow your eyes to feast on the downfall before you. She is the one I think will interest you. Which is just as well, since our alpha friend’s hours are numbered.”

I raised my head to figure out what the fuck Grayson was talking about. First one, then more, figures emerged from the shadows, tentative. Shifters from the meeting I’d come here to uncover. Each carried an air of authority, but it wasn’t the kind that came from mutual respect—it was the kind born of fear, manipulation, and ambition.

These weren’t even packs with the greatest assets or numbers or power, which only made it more alarming. This sure as hell wasn’t a conclave. These were wolves who thrived in shadows, who fed on chaos and opportunity. And now, they were here.

I recognized them by their scent, and my blood simmered hotter. The Canisse pack, infamous for their speed and precision, known more as scavengers than leaders. They were cunning enough to hold sway in the darker corners of the Shadow Moon territories. One of their wolves—a wiry man with sharp eyes like a predator’s—hovered to the side of the clearing, like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

Then there was Dorado, a pack that dipped so deep into human criminal elements they’d blurred the line between wolf and man. Indiscriminate violence was their weapon of choice. Their alpha, a broad-shouldered figure with a long scar from temple to chin, strode forward with the swagger of someone who’d sold more than his share of souls to survive.

And Musca. My stomach turned. Musca, a pack nearly extinct, wiped out decades ago after their failed rebellion against Shadow Moon leadership. Yet here they were, their alpha a gaunt, silver-haired woman with an expression so impassive it felt more dangerous than any snarl.

And I was in no state to protect Eve.

A Canisse wolf with a lean, wiry frame and a too-wide grin moved first. His steps were slow as he approached Eve with a vulture-like curiosity.

“What have we here?” he drawled. “An oracle wolf, untethered and misunderstood. Dangerous and powerful. And wasted.” His repugnant glare slid to me, his smirk deepening. “You’ve been hoarding something precious, haven’t you, Alpha?”

A growl rose in my throat, but my body refused to back me up. My legs felt like lead, my lungs constricted, and the fog in my head thickened. I couldn’t move, but I couldn’t look away either .

Eve.

She sat rigid as the Canisse wolf circled us, and I sensed her wolf’s hackles rising. He came too close, leaning in as if to inspect her, his movements exaggerated and condescending.

“Such a treasure,” he murmured, his tone dripping with mockery. “Too much for one pack to handle. It’s no wonder the rest of us weren’t invited to share.”

My wolf roared within me, our bond flaring painfully as Eve’s emotions bled into mine.

Eve leaned forward, her teeth bared in a warning growl that silenced the Canisse wolf. His smirk faltered, and that was all it took for her to assert herself.

“ You will not touch me ,” she snarled with a force that made even the surrounding wolves flinch.

I could have sworn it was an alpha command.

Could she be an alpha? Is that why Grayson has done everything in his power to reduce her, enslave her, damn near kill her?

The Canisse wolf took a measured step back, his hands raised in mock surrender, but his grin returned quickly. “Feisty,” he said, glancing at the wolves around us, as more Heraclids joined along the outskirts. We were attracting a crowd. “And bold. Imagine what we could do with her—if she were properly guided.”

Eve had only just discovered her wolf. If she was an alpha, it might take time for her to know how to harness that authority.

The Musca alpha stepped forward next, her silver hair glinting in the low light. She spoke in a way that hypnotized, silencing the murmurs of her peers. “The oracle wolf does not belong to any one pack,” she said. “She belongs to all of us. Her curse, her power—it is a burden we must share.”

“She belongs to no one but herself!” I shouted, surprised at the energy that rose in my voice. I sat up straighter and found I could get to my feet, Eve bracing me as we rose.

“Such altruism.” Dorado’s alpha chuckled, a deep, guttural sound that grated against my nerves. “Awfully ironic, coming from Orion, the pack that couldn’t hold on to what was theirs.”

“Do you hear yourselves?” I snapped. “Is this what the Shadow Moon packs have become? Vultures fighting over scraps?”

The Musca alpha’s expression was unreadable. “We are survivors,” she said simply. “And survival demands sacrifice.”

Her words were like a death knell, their implications clear. This power grab was a calculated move to control Eve, to control her curse, and by extension, to control the fate of every pack tied to the Shadow Moon.

I glanced at Eve, my chest tightening as our bond flared once more. Her wolf’s determination was shining through, but I could feel her fear beneath it—the fear that maybe, just maybe, they were right.

They weren’t. They couldn’t be.

“Try,” I growled. “Try to take her and see how far you get.”

The Dorado alpha didn’t move. The tension in the clearing crackled like a storm about to break, every wolf poised on the edge of action.

And in that moment, I knew one thing for certain: this wasn’t just a fight for Eve. It was a fight for everything we were, everything we stood for. And I wasn’t about to lose.

If I had to fight… I wasn’t sure I could win.

Grayson stepped forward. His presence rippled through the air. Strength and dominance radiated off him in waves, a palpable energy that even the other alphas hesitated to challenge.

“Lesser wolves,” he said, the words carrying effortlessly across the space, smooth and mocking. “All this bickering over something none of you have the right to touch.” A cruel smile curved his lips. “She’s mine.”

My wolf snarled, fighting against the chains of my weakened body. Our bond flared again, the pain sharper than ever, but I forced myself to stand taller, to meet Grayson’s gaze with all the defiance I could muster.

“You’re delusional!” I shouted. “She doesn’t belong to anyone, least of all you.”

Grayson chuckled, a low, menacing sound that sent a ripple of unease through the growing gathering. “Ah, Logan,” he drawled, his tone almost pitying. “You’ve always been so righteous. So blind.” His gaze flicked to Eve. “You think finding your wolf changes anything? That you can run from what you are? From me ?”

Eve’s wolf bristled inside her, and how I relished in the sensation of her beast. I felt her resolve, her refusal to bow to him, but I also felt the fear beneath it.

“I still decide your fate, oracle bitch.” Grayson’s smirk widened. “ Shift .”

The word slammed into the air like a physical blow, an alpha command so strong it made even the other shifters flinch. In wolf form, he could more easily command her. That was obviously his intent now that this band of cronies had shown up.

“No,” I growled, stepping forward instinctively. The pain in my chest intensified, and my knees almost buckled again.

Eve’s body trembled as she fought against the command, her wolf snarling and clawing within her. I sensed her resistance, the way she pushed back with everything she had, but Grayson’s power bore down on her like a vice.

“ Shift ,” he repeated, his voice sharper, the command rippling through Eve.

A cry escaped her, half-human, half-wolf, as her body gave in. The change cascaded through her, violent and wrenching. Her limbs contorted, her skin shimmered, and the sound of bones breaking and reforming echoed through the clearing. It was painful to watch, every second of it a battle she wasn’t allowed to win.

She was her wolf…

And then she wasn’t.

Like a shimmer of moonlight on the sea, she shifted back. Smooth as a feather floating to the earth. And she was changed .

My breath caught.

Her body was taller, her posture more commanding, so radiant it was almost blinding. Her skin glowed with an ethereal sheen, a faint light that seemed to come from within, like the moon itself had touched her.

She was breathtaking .

Grayson’s expression darkened as he took in what he’d summoned. “That wasn’t the shift I commanded,” he said, his voice low and threatening, but there was an edge of uncertainty.

Eve’s wolf was still burning within her, her defiance stronger than ever. “You don’t own me,” she said with an authority that made even Grayson pause.

His hesitation didn’t last long. “It’s you against every other wolf here, your dying alpha excluded. Your future is already decided. The only question is whether you will go easily or if we’ll have to make it hard on you.”

“ Leave her be ,” I alpha-commanded, knowing its effect on Grayson while on Heraclid land would be minimal, but I wasn’t going to let this happen.

Even if death was simmering in my gut, a wrenching agony that was stepping ever closer to me.

Grayson’s head snapped to me. “Your bravado is amusing, Logan. But you’re no alpha here. You think you can protect her?” he sneered. “You’re a dying man playing at strength, and everyone can see it. Your bond with her is killing you, and you’re too blind to see it. You’ve already lost.”

I looked around at the wolves surrounding us. Hundreds of Heraclids were now gathered. The packs Grayson had invited to do Goddess-knows-what with Eve hovered nearby. Rhys was out of reach. Eve was close enough to touch but tremors in my core held me in place.

I was a lone alpha. I couldn’t protect anyone, not even myself.

I had lost.

Let me in.

I lifted my head to Eve. I could hear her speaking through the bond for the first time since she’d appeared here. It sounded like we were underwater, my ears clouded over even though she was right in front of me.

Let me in , I thought I heard. The message made no sense. Let me in.

I never shut you out , I replied, and I swear to the Shadow Moon Goddess, Eve’s eyes widened with such relief I thought she’d rush at me then and there.

Grayson is wrong. She spoke to me with such conviction. You have lost nothing, Logan.

A shifter chucked. I didn’t know why—perhaps because the idea that any of them could laugh at the despair we were facing was enough to fire up the rage within me—but I wouldn’t let it pass.

Grayson is wrong.

I didn’t know if it was her or me who thought it, the fog still not clearing from my mind, but there were a few things I was sure of. I was the alpha of Orion, I had found my fated mate, I would do everything to save my pack from extinction, and I would not back down.

“You have been a plague for long enough,” I said to Grayson with enough force to silence the murmurs of the gathered wolves.

I straightened despite the weight in my limbs. Each movement sent a fresh wave of pain through my body, but I embraced it, used it to fuel the storm building within me.

“ I challenge you , Alpha Grayson of the depraved Heraclid pack,” I shouted, my voice ringing out in the clearing.

The sound of Eve’s gasp hit me hard, but she would understand that I had no other choice. I had been forced into a corner, and I was going to fight my way out.

Or die. The thought didn’t scare me, because I knew it in my bones—between the curse and the exhaustion that had taken hold of me since Eve and I had begun our bond, I was as good as dead.

I am the Orion alpha. I will fight for my mate and for my pack with dignity and pride to my last breath .

“I challenge you to a fight to the death.”