Page 118 of Shifting Hearts 1
He’s strong. But I’m angry. Angrier than I’ve ever been.
“You were my brother!” I snarl, pinning him to the earth. “We took oaths…”
“And you broke them!” he spits back. “You were supposed to lead us, not lie with that.”
He says it like a slur. Like she’s filth and I see red. I bury my claws in his chest, right over his heart and I rip. When the blood pools beneath us, silence falls.
The Night Shade Alpha looks at me without emotion. “You just killed your past,” he says.
“No,” I reply, shifting back, bloody and naked under the moonlight. “I buried it.”
Then I turn to Emilia. She hasn’t moved an inch. But there’s a strange look in her eyes - fear, yes… but more than that. Resolve.
I offer her my hand, and she takes it without hesitation. The Alpha watches us in silence for a long moment. Then he steps forward and cuts his palm before offering it to me.
This time the price was blood, and I paid it. Now the wolves will follow. But it doesn’t feel like victory it feels like sacrifice. Like every step forward costs a piece of my soul. But I’ll any price to keep my mate safe.
For her? Everything.
EIGHTEEN
The Hunt Ends
Six Months Later
Emilia
He’s not what I expected. He’s not a rogue wolf frothing at the mouth or a monster in human skin. He’s just a man.
He’s lean and cold-eyed. Smelling of pine and old blood. And he knows Lucian’s name before either of us speaks.
“You finally found me,” he says with a quiet smile, as if Lucian’s blade isn’t drawn.
Lucian’s jaw clenches. “You killed an Alpha and claimed land that wasn’t yours.”
“I claimed what was taken from me,” he retorts.
I step forward, magic crackling faintly at my fingertips. “You murdered an entire pack.”
He looks at me then. And his smile turns bitter.
“There you are,” he says.
Something twists in my gut. “Do you know me?”
“I know what you are.” He spits. “Witch-born. Just like her.”
Lucian stiffens beside me. “Who is her?”
The man’s gaze finds mine again. “Your mother.” My entire world tilts.
He’s still speaking, something about betrayal and secrets, about how the Crystal Falls territory belonged to a line of half-bloods before the Council purged them.
“Your mother was their last witch, and she ran. She just disappeared.”
My stomach turns to ice. “You’re lying.”
He shrugs. “Ask your mate.”
