Chapter 276
Elowen's POV
I reached for Casper, my hands finding his shoulders despite Juno's protests screaming through my mind. His skin burned fever-hot beneath my palms, muscles trembling with the effort of staying conscious.
"Don't be stupid," I muttered, sliding my arm under his. "You can barely breathe."
"Always... so bossy." His attempt at a smile turned into a grimace as I hauled him upright. The weight of him against my side sent a sharp ache through my lower back, and I felt the twins shift restlessly in response to my stress.
Alaric materialized at Casper's other side without a word, taking most of his weight with practiced ease.
"We need to get him to a healer," Alaric said quietly.
I nodded, already turning toward the exit. The crowd parted like water, their phones still raised, their whispers following us like a tide. I didn't care. Let them record. Let them gossip. I just needed to get Casper somewhere safe, somewhere I could think without the weight of a hundred staring eyes.
We'd made it maybe five steps when the temperature in the room plummeted.
The change was instantaneous—one moment the Moonrise Den felt warm and alive despite the violence, the next it was cold enough that my breath misted in front of my face. The lights flickered once, twice, then steadied to an eerie amber glow that made every shadow stretch too long across the floor.
"Well, well." The voice slithered through the air like oil over water. "This is unexpected."
I knew that voice. Had heard it in my nightmares for six months, smooth and mocking and wrong in ways that made my skin crawl. My head snapped toward the source, and there he was—Raven, standing in the center of the room like he'd simply materialized from the darkness itself.
He looked exactly as I remembered: unremarkable brown hair, gray eyes that shifted to crimson when the light caught them wrong, dressed in that same black coat that seemed to absorb the light around it. Ordinary. Forgettable. Except for the aura of wrongness that clung to him like a second skin.
"You," Casper snarled, and the sound that ripped from his throat was pure Leo—guttural and inhuman. His body went rigid against mine, every instinct screaming to attack despite his injuries.
Raven's smile was all teeth. "Me. Did you miss me, Thornwood? You certainly put on quite the show." His crimson gaze slid to where Alaric held Casper upright, then down to my rounded stomach. "Though I must admit, I'm disappointed. You were supposed to kill at least three more people before someone put you down. Elowen here really did ruin my fun."
The casual cruelty in his voice made my blood run cold. "What?"
"Oh, sweetheart." Raven's tone turned mockingly gentle. "Did you really think all of this just... happened? The separation? The choice? Six months of delicious suffering?" He laughed, and the sound echoed wrong in the space, like it came from somewhere deeper than his chest. "I've been pulling strings since the moment Selene told you about those precious twins. Every. Single. Move."
Through the bond, I felt Casper's fury spike so high it burned. Felt the moment Leo surged forward, trying to take control despite the broken ribs and exhausted body. Alaric's grip tightened, holding him in place even as his own wolf's presence flared in response to the threat.
"You're lying," I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew they were false. Felt the truth of it settling into my bones like ice.
Raven tilted his head, his smile widening. "Am I? Tell me, Elowen—did it never seem strange? How perfectly everything fell apart? How every choice led to maximum pain?" He took a step closer, and several people in the crowd bolted for the exits. "I don't want you happy, sweetheart. I never did. Happy mates are boring. Broken, desperate, suffering mates? Now that's entertaining."
"The girl," Alaric said suddenly, his voice cutting through Raven's monologue like a blade. "This is about the girl twin."
Raven's crimson eyes gleamed with approval. "Very good, Alpha Ashford. Yes, the girl. She's special. Powerful. And she belongs to me." His gaze dropped to my stomach again, possessive and hungry in a way that made bile rise in my throat. "Well, she will. Eventually. Once she's born and properly... prepared."
"Over my dead body," Casper growled.
"That can be arranged."
The air shimmered, and suddenly there was a creature standing beside Raven that made my hindbrain scream run. Massive and wrong, with fur the color of dried blood and eyes that burned like coals. A hellhound. Grimm.
The few people who'd remained in the bar fled screaming. I heard glass shatter, chairs overturning, the thunder of footsteps as supernatural beings of all types abandoned any pretense of dignity in their haste to escape. Within seconds, the Moonrise Den was empty except for us and the demon and his monstrous companion.
"Here's what's going to happen," Raven said conversationally, like he was discussing the weather. "Grimm is going to kill your mate—slowly, painfully, just the way I like it. Then you're going to come with me back to Hell like a good girl. Because you've been very naughty, Elowen. Running around trying to save people. Making choices. Being a liability." His smile turned sharp. "I can't have that."
I moved before I could think, stepping in front of Casper despite Alaric's warning growl. My hands spread protectively over my stomach as I stared Raven down. "No."
"No?" Raven's eyebrows rose. "Sweetheart, you don't get to say no."
Behind me, Casper made a sound that was half-laugh, half-snarl. "You really don't know her at all." His hand found my shoulder, squeezed once. "I'm not leaving her," he said, his voice steady despite the pain I could feel radiating through the bond. "I'll kill your dog. Then I'll kill you. And then I'm getting my mate back."
Raven laughed. "You can barely stand, Thornwood. What makes you think you can fight a hellhound?"
"He doesn't have to."
The new voice came from the entrance, and I turned to see Kade and Ronan striding into the bar like they owned it. Kade's black hair was disheveled, his amber eyes already starting to glow with his wolf's presence. Ronan looked grimly amused, his copper skin seeming to absorb the dim light as his emerald gaze assessed the situation with predatory focus.
"You know," Kade said conversationally, stopping a few feet away, "I really should have gone on that date tonight. Would've been a hell of a lot safer than whatever this is." His gaze slid to Grimm, and his smile turned sharp. "Guess we're doing this instead."
Ronan's transformation was seamless—one moment standing, the next a massive wolf with fur the color of storm clouds and eyes that gleamed like cut emeralds. He hit Grimm with enough force to send them both crashing through the bar, wood splintering like kindling.
Kade shifted a heartbeat later, his wolf smaller but faster, circling to flank the hellhound as it recovered. The two Alphas moved with perfect synchronization, a dance of violence and precision that spoke of years fighting together.
Alaric's presence flared behind me, his power washing over the room in a wave of dominance that made my knees weak. "Stay with Casper," he ordered, and then he was shifting too—a massive silver wolf that gleamed like moonlight as he joined the fray.
Grimm's snarl shook the walls. The hellhound was bigger than all three wolves combined, its movements too fast for something its size. I watched in horror as it caught Ronan across the ribs with one massive paw, sending the Alpha crashing into the wall hard enough to crack the plaster.
"You can't beat my pet," Raven said, sounding almost bored. "They're Alphas, yes. Strong, fast, well-trained. But Grimm is mine. Forged in Hell itself. This isn't even a fair fight."
He was right. Even as I watched, even as my three brothers fought with everything they had, I could see it—Grimm was toying with them. Playing. Every attack they landed barely left a mark, while the hellhound's counterattacks sent them flying.
Kade yelped as Grimm's teeth found his shoulder, shaking him like a ragdoll before throwing him across the room. Alaric lunged for the beast's throat and got batted aside for his trouble. Ronan—brave, reckless Ronan—tried to go for the legs and ended up pinned beneath one massive paw, the hellhound's jaws descending toward his exposed throat.
"No!" The word ripped from my chest as power surged through my veins—hot and wild and desperate. Juno's presence exploded forward, demanding release, demanding blood, demanding we protect our pack.
I felt my body start to shift, bones beginning to crack and reform. Felt the familiar burn of transformation racing through my muscles.
"Don't!" Casper's hand clamped around my wrist, his grip surprisingly strong despite his injuries. "Elowen, don't!"
I turned to face him, saw the terror in his amber eyes. Felt it echo through the bond—not fear for himself, but fear for me. For the twins. For what shifting might do to them.
"I have to," I said, and my voice came out layered with Juno's growl. "They're my brothers. My pack. And you—" My free hand found his face, thumb brushing over his split lip. "I'm not letting him take you from me. Not again. Never again."
Through the bond, I felt Casper's heart break and mend simultaneously. Felt Leo's absolute certainty that we were the strongest, bravest, most frustratingly stubborn mate in existence. Felt six months of separation and suffering crystallize into one perfect moment of understanding.
"Together then," he breathed. "If you're doing this, we do it together."
I felt his power join mine through the bond—felt Leo's strength pour into Juno, felt the twins' presence flare bright and fierce in response. The transformation that had been building exploded outward, and for the first time in six months, I let myself fully shift.
And the Moonrise Den erupted in golden light.