DOMINIC
The world narrows down to just Viktor and me, as it was always going to be.
This fight has been a long time coming
His eyes burn into mine from below, and I snarl down at him from the balcony.
All the noise, all the chaos around us fades into nothing.
Just him.
Just me.
My pulse thunders in my ears as I leap from the ledge, muscles coiling, ready to tear him apart.
In mid-air, the change rips through me. Bones snap, skin stretches, and fur bursts from my skin. The transformation into my wolf form is savage, overwhelming. And in the space of a heartbeat, I am no longer a man but a beast. I barely register Viktor doing the same, his massive body surging upward to meet mine.
We collide like thunder.
Teeth flash, claws slash, fur and flesh tear.
I drive him to the ground, snarling, biting, desperate to tear out his throat.
But he fights back just as viciously, his teeth sinking into my shoulder with a brutal snap. The pain is white-hot, but I don’t feel it.
Not really.
All I feel is rage.
His blood coats my jaws, his flesh beneath my claws. But he doesn’t go down easy.
Fucker never does.
His wolf is large, powerful- too powerful.
It is almost impressive.
Every swipe of his claws feels like fire, and I realize, somewhere in the fog of battle, that he is dealing me serious damage.
But I don’t care.
Not as long as I am doing the same to him.
I clamp my jaws down on his neck, snarling with triumph as he lets out a yelp of pain. His blood spills into my mouth, and I know I have got him.
But then I hear her.
Rowan
“Viktor!”
Her scream slices through the madness like a blade, and I freeze.
My grip loosens, just for a second, but it is enough.
Viktor shoves me off with a kick of his massive paws, sending me stumbling back.
I whip my head toward the sound of her voice, and there she is, running straight toward us through the battlefield.
The wolves around us are still fighting, bloodied and torn, but none of it matters.
She is all I see, her face twisted with determination and fear as she charges into the fray. And then… she leaps.
For a split second, my mind refuses to process what I am seeing, watching as in mid-air, she transforms.
A massive winter wolf crashes down in front of me, pale fur gleaming under the moonlight, her form large- way larger than I ever imagined possible.
She is… beautiful.
Alpha-sized, a creature of pure strength and elegance.
It makes absolutely no sense.
She doesn’t have a wolf.
She can’t have a wolf.
She never had a wolf.
That is why I hated her, why I resented her.
She was weak.
She was… nothing.
Shock paralyzes me.
I can’t move, can’t think.
How does she have a wolf?
How long as she had one?
Why didn’t I know?
Why didn’t she tell me?
The questions spiral through my mind, tangling with disbelief and fury and she takes advantage and slams into me before I can react, her powerful body sending me flying across the clearing.
The impact knocks the breath from my lungs as I slam into the base of a tree, the bark splintering under the force of it.
I roll to my feet, panting, head spinning.
My vision blurs, but when it clears, the sight before me sends a fresh wave of rage surging through my veins.
Rowan- my mate- is licking Viktor’s wounds, her wolf nuzzling him, tending to him like he is… like he. is hers.
In front of me.
A snarl rips from my throat, fury twisting through me like a wildfire while betrayal sears through my chest, and my claws dig into the ground as I rise.
How could she?
How could she do this to me?
Why didn’t she tell me about her wolf?
Why didn’t she come back to me? Why… why choose another?
All the anger, all the hurt I have buried deep, floods back.
It is her fault.
All of this…
It is all her fault.
She lied.
She betrayed me.
I lunge at her, snarling, claws outstretched.
I don’t care about Viktor anymore.
I can’t even see him.
All I see is her.
All I want is to make her pay for this, to tear her apart for what she has done.
For her betrayal.
But she is fast.
Faster than I remember.
She ducks under my swipe, her wolf agile, and I spin, trying to catch her.
But now, it’s not just her.
Viktor is beside her, both of them circling me, snapping at me, claws raking across my side.
Their movements are precise, coordinated.
Like a fucking team
And they are toying with me, like I am the one who is weak.
Like I am a joke.
The rage swells inside me, a blistering storm.
I lash out blindly, swinging my claws, snapping my jaws, but nothing lands.
They are too quick, too strong.
Every time I strike, they evade me, and their counterattacks grow more brutal.
My muscles burn, my wounds ache, and my vision starts to blur.
Everything hurts.
I am losing.
The realization hits me, cold and unforgiving.
I am losing.
I am not the strongest anymore.
And so my attacks become wild, no longer planned or calculated.
I am just… reacting.
Just fighting because I don’t know how to do anything else.
Rowan ducks under one of my swipes, her claws raking across my belly, leaving deep, bloody gouges.
I stagger back, panting, disoriented, the ground beneath me spinning. I need to breathe. I need to stop.
But I can’t.
I can’t stop.
I don’t know how to.
And then, in a blur of motion, Rowan is on me.
Her massive wolf body crashes into mine, teeth sinking into my throat.
I thrash, trying to shake her off, but she. is too strong.
Hah
The pathetic weakling is now too strong for me.
The injustice of it all.
She snarls, her fangs cutting deeper, and I can feel the blood pouring from the wound, hot and thick.
She doesn’t stop. She doesn’t let go.
My body goes numb as the fight drains out of me. I can feel the life slipping away, the darkness closing in around the edges of my vision. I can’t move.
Can’t fight anymore.
All I can do… is watch… as the light fades out of my vision.