AYLA'S POV
My silver wolf met Maric's beast with enough force to split the temple's spine in two. Stone screamed beneath our paws. The shockwave ripped through the ruins, shattering pillars into dust, sending Cassia sprawling to the ground with a shriek.
Our jaws locked, fang to fang, his breath rancid with blood, mine burning with fire. His strength was sheer brutality, every muscle forged in war. But my power wasn't muscle. It was something else.
Silver fire coursed through me, through every strike, every howl. My claws tore into his chest, carving glowing wounds that sizzled as if molten iron had entered him.
"You—" he snarled, voice vibrating through our locked jaws, "—were meant to be—mine!"
"Not yours," I growled, fire flaring hotter. "Never yours."
Kael roared somewhere behind us, his golden wolf circling, blood still dripping from his side. He couldn't join—not yet. His eyes burned on me, torn between awe and fury, fear and pride.
