Jax moved before I could inhale. One second he was behind me, his hand gripping my arm, steadying me. The next he surged forward like a storm dropping into the valley. His wolf exploded through his skin mid-step, amber light bursting outward in a wave that shook dust from the cliffs.
He planted himself between me and Eidos with a snarl that cracked the world open.
Eidos stilled. Slowly. Intentionally. Like a creature assessing prey rather than an opponent.
But Jax was no prey.
His wolf had grown again. Taller. Broader. Fur lit from within like strands of molten gold. Every step he took left shallow craters in the earth. His aura rolled across the valley floor in thick waves, a pulsing rhythm that made my chest ache. Vessel bond. Lunar burn. Rage. All braided into something feral and im
