78

78
Jaden’s POV

The forest bled silence.

Each breath tore through my chest like broken glass. The world tilted, blurred, then steadied again — just enough for me to take another step.

I could still feel her.

Even through the haze, even through the burn of the curse digging claws into my veins, the bond refused to die. It pulsed faintly under my skin, like a stubborn heartbeat that belonged more to her than to me.

Thalia.

I pressed my hand to a tree trunk to stay upright, fingers sinking into the bark. Smoke curled from beneath my nails — not real fire, not yet, but the mark of what was coming. The curse wanted out.

“Stay away,” I whispered hoarsely, though she wasn’t there to hear it. “Please, Thalia… don’t follow me.”

But the bond disagreed. It tightened, pulling at me, urging me to turn back.

The trees shuddered as wind swept through the clearing, carrying her scent — faint but undeniable. She was close.

Damn it.

My knees buckled, and I hit the ground hard, dirt filling my lungs as I tried to breathe. The curse wasn’t just pain anymore — it was alive, moving beneath my skin like a second heartbeat.

Images flashed — the council hall, Coran’s sneer, the fear in Thalia’s eyes when she saw me lose control.

I’d sworn I wouldn’t let her see that part of me again. The monster.

A low growl rumbled from my throat, deeper than my human voice, and my vision wavered between shadow and red light. The wolf inside me stirred — not the one I’d trained, not the loyal beast that had always obeyed, but something else. Darker. Ancient.

“Not now,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Not her. You don’t touch her.”

The answer came as pain — a searing burst through my spine, forcing a cry out of me. The ground cracked beneath my palms as the curse fed on the earth itself, pulling in energy, feeding, hungering.

Then, through the haze, her voice reached me.

“Jaden!”

The sound of my name on her lips nearly broke me.

I turned sharply, vision narrowing. Between the trees, she appeared — cloak torn, hair wild, eyes wide with fear and determination. She looked like she’d walked straight out of my dreams and into my nightmare.

“No…” I rasped. “You shouldn’t be here.”

But she didn’t stop. She came closer, her hand outstretched, her face lit by faint shafts of morning light breaking through the canopy.

“I told you not to follow me!” I shouted, the ground trembling under my voice.

“I’m not leaving you,” she shot back.

The curse responded before I could. Shadows rose around me, thin wisps curling upward, darkening the air. My wolf pushed against the surface, half-shifted, eyes burning gold and crimson.

Thalia flinched but didn’t back away.

I took a step backward, breathing hard. “You don’t understand what’s happening to me.”

“Then tell me!” she pleaded. “Let me help—”

“You can’t!”

The words came out like a growl, and a shockwave rippled through the air, scattering leaves and snapping branches.

Her cloak whipped around her, but still, she didn’t move. Gods, she was stubborn. Too brave for her own good.

I closed my eyes, trying to focus, to breathe — but her scent filled the world, grounding and dangerous. The wolf inside me recognized it too, and it wanted her with a hunger that wasn’t entirely mine.

“You need to go,” I said through gritted teeth. “Before I lose what’s left of myself.”

“No.”

Her voice was soft but unyielding. “I won’t leave you to fight this alone.”

Something inside me cracked. Maybe it was control, maybe it was hope — maybe both.

The curse surged again, and for the first time, I didn’t fight it fast enough. My claws tore through my skin, half-shifted limbs shaking with power I couldn’t contain.

Thalia gasped, but instead of running, she stepped closer.

I wanted to warn her, to push her away — but the moment she touched my face, the world stilled.

Her hand was warm, trembling against my cheek. The bond flared so bright it hurt.

And for a heartbeat, the curse recoiled.

The shadows that had crawled around us froze, the crimson in my vision dimming. My breathing slowed. I could feel her heartbeat through the bond, steady and strong, anchoring me.

Her eyes shimmered with tears. “You’re not the curse, Jaden. You’re still you.”

I closed my hand around hers, afraid that if I let go, the darkness would take me again.

Then, from somewhere behind her, the forest shifted. A whisper carried on the wind — not a sound, but a presence.

The curse wasn’t retreating. It was waiting.

“Thalia,” I said, voice hoarse. “We need to go. Now.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Because it’s not just me anymore.”

Even as I said it, the ground beneath us pulsed. Roots split open, black veins spreading across the soil like ink. The trees bent inward, their branches twisting as if alive.

And in the distance, a shape moved — large, crawling, made of shadow and flame.

The curse had taken form.

Thalia’s breath hitched. “What is that?”

“The thing that wants my blood,” I said, pulling her behind me. “And now it knows yours.”

The creature’s voice slithered through the trees, more felt than heard.

You defy what you were born to be.

My wolf snarled in answer, but the sound was drowned by the roar that followed. Fire tore through the clearing, setting the edges of my vision alight.

Thalia clutched my arm. “Jaden!”

I turned toward her, forcing every shred of control I had left into my voice. “When I say run—you run. Do you understand me?”

Her eyes widened, but she nodded.

I stepped forward, feeling the curse claw through my veins again. Only this time, I didn’t hold back completely. I let the power rise — not to consume, but to protect.

Flames burst from my hands, forming a barrier between us and the creature as it lunged.

Thalia screamed my name, but I barely heard it. The only thing that mattered was keeping her alive.

Even if it meant burning myself from the inside out.