Page 83 of Curses and Casualties
Then Fenris collapses.
His wolf form shudders violently, muscles spasming as he tries to hold the shift. But he’s spent everything, every reserve of strength, every drop of magic, possibly pieces of his own life force. The transformation reverses against his will, bones cracking and reshaping wrong, leaving Magnus naked and broken on the blood-soaked ground.
Scarlett rushes him, stumbling through her own injuries until she’s forced onto all fours, crawling until she pulls his head into her lap with shaking hands.
“Magnus?” Her voice breaks on his name, tears streaming down her face. “Magnus, please. Open your eyes.”
His eyelids flutter, and when they finally focus on her face, the anguish in them is devastating.
“It wasn’t...” his voice is barely a whisper, raw and broken, “wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
Then his eyes roll back, body going limp in her arms. Still breathing, but only just.
“We need healers!” Scarlett screams, but when Amara starts forward, a growl rips from Scarlett’s throat. “Don’t—” She catches herself, cradling Magnus tighter. “Please. Just... help him. Please.”
Chapter 31
Georgia
That’s when Elder Gray makes his move.
Maybe he sees his last chance to salvage some control. Maybe he’s just stupid. But he yanks on Scarlett’s father’s collar, dragging the broken man to his feet.
“The Alpha is dead!” he shouts. “By pack law, the strongest takes leadership. I claim?—”
“You claim nothing,” Ryan says, each word clear and impossible from a wolf’s muzzle. “Your time is over.”
Elder Gray staggers back, eyes wide with terror. Around us, wolves and humans alike stare in shock.
“The old ways are dead,” I continue, Luna’s silver form radiant and glowing. “We offer a new path. Soul Bonds restored. Humans and wolves as equals. Magic free for all who seek it.”
“Stay and help us build this future,” Ryan adds, looking at each pack member in turn. “Or leave now with safe passage. But the time for half-measures is over. Choose.”
Some wolves immediately drop to their bellies in submission—those who’ve lost children, lost mates, lost hope under the old system. Others, mostly the Alpha’s strongest supporters, edge toward the forest with tails low.
“Go,” I say. “Run far and fast. But know this—the magic we freed tonight touches everything now. There’s nowhere left where the old cruelties can hide.”
They flee into the night, and I feel only relief. Elder Gray remains, still clutching the length of rope in his hands like a drowning man gripping driftwood. He’s been clever for decades, always betting on the side of cruelty, and now he looks old—broken—as the world pivots out from under him.
He drops to his knees. Not for show, but because he has nothing left to stand on. Ethan is quick to rush over and help Caspian.
In the sudden silence, the air tastes new. Lighter. The heartstone dust spirals in the air, catching on the ragged clothing and hair and fur of every survivor. The battle’s aftermath doesn’t look like the aftermath of any war the pack has ever seen. There are battered bodies, yes, but also laughter, relief, wonder. A few packmates, even some who bared teeth at us only hours before, begin to drift toward the crater, uncertain but drawn by a raw, animal curiosity.
“Your eyes,” someone gasps as Ryan and I shift back to our human forms.
“What does it mean?” another asks, voice hushed with reverence.
Ryan and I look at each other, and I see what they mean. His eyes now carry an oil-slick shimmer, shifting and changing with every angle like living opals.
“You have rainbow eyes,” I gasp, answering the question Ryan hadn’t even had a chance to form.
“So do you.”
“Are we stuck like this?” I ask, my eyes finding Amara.
Amara approaches us, her expression caught between awe and scholarly fascination. “Not stuck,” she says, examining our eyes with the intensity of someone witnessing a miracle.“Blessed. The rainbow effect—it’s the mark of a true Soul Bond. It won’t always be visible.” She tilts her head, watching how the light plays across our irises. “In normal light, your eyes will appear as they always have. But in moonlight, in moments of strong emotion, when you use your power… Then the rainbow will show.”
“So we can still pass as human?” I ask, relief evident in my voice.
