Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen
Chapter 18:
Lia’s POV
The alley was a battlefield of shadows and blood, the air thick with the scent of frost and betrayal. My claws flexed, sharp and unfamiliar, as the wolf inside me roared, no longer caged but alive, pulsing through my veins. Edgar stood over Maris, his eyes glowing gold, his rage a tangible force that echoed through the bond, making my own heart race. Quinn was frozen a few feet away, her face a mask of shock and guilt, her hands still trembling from the fight. Maris’s words, her mother destroyed the clan, hung heavy, each one a weight dragging me deeper into a truth I wasn’t ready for.
Another growl ripped through the night, closer now, and my wolf senses sharpened, picking up the scent of more Frostclad knights closing in. My shoulder burned, the moonbound mark blazing like a beacon, and my body trembled, not with fear but with power. The wolf was done waiting, it wanted out, and I was too tired, too angry, to hold it back anymore.
“Lia,” Edgar’s voice cut through the haze, sharp and urgent, his hand grabbing my arm. His touch sent a jolt through me, the bond flaring, pulling me toward him even as the world spun. “We need to move. Now.”
“No,” I growled, my voice more wolf than human, my claws digging into my palms. “I’m done running, Edgar. They want me? Let them come.” The wolf surged, my bones creaking, my skin stretching, pain and power blending into something new. My vision sharpened, colors bleeding into shades of silver and shadow, and I felt it, the full shift, tearing through me like a storm breaking free.
Edgar’s eyes widened, a mix of pride and panic flashing in them. “Lia, you’re not ready” he started, but it was too late. The pain was blinding, my body reshaping, fur rippling over my skin, my teeth lengthening into fangs. I screamed, or maybe I howled, the sound echoing through the alley as I became something else, stronger, fiercer, more ‘me’ than I’d ever been.
When the pain faded, I stood on four legs, my senses alive, the world a symphony of scents and sounds. The bond with Edgar was sharper now, a golden thread tying us together, his presence a steady pulse in my chest. I turned to him, my eyes meeting his, and for a moment, the world fell away just him and me, alpha and moonbound, bound by something bigger than either of us.
But the moment shattered as a Frostclad knight burst from the shadows, his claws aimed for me. I moved on instinct, faster than I’d ever been, dodging and slashing back, my claws raking across his flank. He snarled, stumbling, but more were coming, their growls filling the air. Edgar was at my side in an instant, his own wolf form massive, black fur gleaming under the moonlight, his teeth bared as he took down another knight.
“Lia, stay close!” he growled through the bond, his voice a rumble in my mind. I didn’t argue, my wolf instincts syncing with his, our movements fluid, like we’d been fighting together forever. But Maris’s betrayal still burned, and Quinn’s silence was a shadow at my back. I couldn’t trust her, not now, not after Rafe’s taunts and her half-truths about my mother.
A sharp pain lanced through my side, a claw catching me off-guard, and I stumbled, blood matting my fur. Edgar roared, tackling the knight, but the wound was deep, my strength faltering. I felt the bond pulse, Edgar’s desperation flooding me, and then his voice, raw and urgent: “I can’t lose you, Lia. Hold on.”
My vision blurred, the world tilting as I collapsed, my wolf form fading, leaving me human again, weak and bleeding on the cold pavement. Edgar shifted back, his hands on me, his face pale with fear. “Lia, stay with me,” he said, his voice breaking. “You’re too weak to shift again. I have to… I have to claim you. It’s the only way to save you.”
I tried to speak, to argue, but my voice was gone, my body heavy, the mark on my shoulder the only thing still burning. The bond screamed, pulling me toward him, and I knew what he meant, the mating ritual, the one he’d warned would bind us forever, make me a target. But as my life bled out onto the ground, I didn’t care about the danger. I just wanted to live.
“Do it,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Edgar’s eyes locked onto mine, a storm of emotions, love, fear, resolve, swirling in them. He leaned down, his lips brushing my shoulder, where the mark burned, and I felt his teeth, sharp and deliberate, sinking into my skin. Pain flared, but it was different, laced with something deeper, something that filled the emptiness inside me. The bond snapped into place, stronger, permanent, a golden chain that tied us together, heart and soul.
Light exploded behind my eyes, my strength surging back, the wound in my side knitting together as the bond’s power flowed through me. I gasped, sitting up, my body no longer just human but moonbound, mated, whole. Edgar pulled back, his face etched with relief, but his eyes were dark with worry. “You’re okay,” he said, his voice rough, his hand cupping my face. “You’re mine now.”
I nodded, my heart racing, the bond humming with a new intensity. But the moment was cut short by a snarl from the shadows. Quinn stepped forward, her eyes wide, her claws still out, but there was something else in her gaze, jealousy, raw and ugly, twisting her face. “You did it,” she said, her voice low, almost a hiss. “You claimed her.”
Edgar stood, pulling me behind him, his body tense. “Stay out of this, Quinn,” he growled. “This doesn’t concern you.”
But her eyes were on me, burning with something I hadn’t seen before. “You don’t deserve him,” she spat, her voice shaking. “You’re an outsider, Lia. You’ll destroy everything.”
Before I could respond, she lunged, her claws aimed for my throat. Edgar moved faster, tackling her to the ground, but the betrayal hit harder than any claw. Quinn, my friend, the one I’d trusted, had turned on me.